Isolde at 16 Months

She's already 16 months and three weeks actually but I haven't got around to posting this until now.  

• Starts dancing to any music the second she hears some.  She's always done it but now it's more conscious and she has a number of signature moves.
• Not much of a talker (as in proper words, she babbles a lot, so she's not quiet) yet. She takes after her father who didn't really speak until he was 3 (but is very talkative now).
• Very cuddly and wants to hug and kiss her little friends who are not always as keen as she.  She is very careful (most of the time) with other little babies, and it's so cute when she's kissing her little cousin Olivia (four months old).
• Also cuddles with her stuffed toys and dolls and she imitates stuff we do to/with her such as wipe their mouths, feed them välling and carries (or tries to at least) them on her shoulders. 
• Can sit on a regular chair if we prop it up with pillows or similar so she can reach the table.
• Got into a period of falling asleep on her own in the evenings but with a fever the week before we went on holiday, she got out of that routine.  Luckily it changed as soon as we got back from holiday, however she seems to dream a lot at night at the moment and the nightmares (?) often wake her.  She sleeps pretty well in general but comes to our bed at some point during by morning (by 5 at the latest usually) and lately she's had a period of waking up around midnight (because of the dreams?) and not being able to go back to sleep in her own (well, probably she would if we spent half an hour or so but we don't always feel like it in the middle of the night). Perhaps one of those developmental leaps?
• Now has six teeth - four bottom ones (one has recently come up) and two in her upper gum - and has a seventh on the way and possibly an eight.  I just read that teeth also matter for their speech development so maybe the fact she just recently started getting teeth is one reason why she doesn't say that many clear words?
• Has more will and shows more frustration, especially lately when she's wanted to be more carried and not had as much patience when things don't go her way.  That developmental leap again?
• Likes her toy pram (wooden Mikki one from when I was growing up) and puts all sorts of stuff in it. She also likes rocking on the rocking train/stuffed animal and driving around on her wheely bee.
• Is slowly learning how to get up and down stairs.  Well, up is fine but down is trickier since she has to do it backwards.  But if we tell her "sit down first, do it like when you go down from the sofa or the bed", it's like she's thinking and then she remembers.  She has friends who are much taller who are starting to learn how to walk up and down stairs on their own but our girl is too short for that.  It's also good that she's becoming more and more aware about dangerous things like stairs so she stops at the top now and waits.
• Likes wearing shoes and hats and is trying to dress herself and she's usually helping when we're dressing her - except when she's being naughty and is trying to run away from us instead :)
• Really likes baths (and showers, but baths are better) and has a lot of fun with her toys in the tub.  She mostly pours water on herself and blows bubbles and she likes playing with the water from the tap (not as fun anymore when the tub is filled and we turn it off).  She usually sits in a tub chair but lately she's becoming much better at sitting reasonably still without the chair, though a couple of times she's slipped and fallen under and swallowed water, but luckily it hasn't made her become afraid of water or baths.
• No progress on the potty front - she tends to pee when we put her there half of the times but she doesn't give us advance warning - but we haven't made a concerted push yet; will try during the summer when she can run around naked outside.
• Likes playing with keys and tries to unlock any doors or keyhole she can find.
• Can pull out the kitchen drawers, even the really big (1,2 m wide) and quite heavy ones and it looks funny when she uses her whole body as pulling weight. She likes playing with the contents while we are cooking but mostly she wants to be carried and look at what we're doing in the kitchen.

Blogmeet (and Work) in Lund

This evening you find me in a hotel room at Lilla Hotellet in Lund due to a little work trip (onto Malmö tomorrow).  I took the train southwards mid-day today and when arrived and settled in the hotel, I met up with Västmanländskan and accompanied her home to her family for dinner and a chat.  It was the first time we met and it's always so exciting to meet a fellow blogger IRL!  Thank you for a lovely evening!

I walked back to the hotel through beautiful Lund scenery on a warm evening. Summer is really here now! Here are some pictures from my walk.

It's very green now.  I love the yellowy green of early summer!

Lund University Library, Lund's most beautiful building according to Västmanländskan (if I remember correctly).

I liked this student house.

I love all the brick buildings in Lund.  I think this is the the University's Department of Philosophy.

There's an exhibition about climate change outside the Cathedral.

One of many streets with cute little houses in Lund.

What Difference A Year Makes

Isolde in almost the same spot on the sofa (sporting new covers) in the Nice flat in April 2011 and in May this year. She was just three months last year and back then we felt she was getting big but looking at the photo now she seems so tiny of course!

Dresses

When on holiday and when in France, the home of fashion, little girls have to wear dresses, naturellement.

Isolde actually wore the blue dress on Midsummer last year but it was a bit big then... Both are size 6-9 months. Sometimes I wonder about the measurements of some children's clothing. Isolde is on the small side but not that small.

Un Peu de Shopping

Bikini top (white and blue; not black and white as it looks like in the photo), three pair of shoes (two budget and one pair of the more pricey sort, see close-up) and some gifts (not pictured naturally).

Little Dancer

Nice in Nice

We've arrived in Nice for a well-needed break (though don't know why we opted for the 6am flight..?) and today is just about settling in and chilling (except for over an hour of shopping at Carrefour, which Isolde wasn't happy about). Before the shopping trip we had lunch in Garibaldi square, followed by nap/rest in the flat, and now we're soaking afternoon sun on the balcony. It's like a really nice Swedish summer day.


 Leisure eating style



Place Garibaldi

Evening hung-out

Bubbles

It's amazing how quick learners children are!  I showed Isolde how to blow bubbles in the water - and I didn't even show her in the water - and she caught on right away!

Ball Girl

For some reason this photo makes me think of football. I think it's the socks and the slippers (and less so the dress, as it's in tennis women still wear skirts, right?). Maybe Isolde will grow up to play football like me (and not quit at 16 like me)?

Cherry Too

I just had to venture down to Kungsträdgården to see the cherry blossom before it's too late (for this year). It doesn't come out too well in the photo but the ground was covered in pink petals that have fallen off the trees. I think that is almost as beautiful as the blossoming trees themselves.