birdie at 16 months

Birdie is about to be 16 months and this just about has to be my favorite age. She's growing and changing so fast I can barely keep up (her dresser full of clothes that no longer fit is yet another example of how badly I am lagging). I would say that this has truly been the age when she has become a little "person." And to tell you the truth after all my work at daycares, all my babysitting experience and all my little cousins I had no idea just how fun this would be. I love being able to tell her "let's go" and she will instinctively grab my hand and we'll walk together. I love the way we wake up to the chatter from her crib in the mornings. I love just how well I know this girl.
I wanted to take the time to write all this down because I never want to forget it. She's such a good little helper already and the most fascinating thing is I don't even know where she gets these ideas because we've never taught her any of this but every day she helps us unload the dishwasher and does other little "tasks." Recently she started feeding Belle too. We were just watching tv, papa bear and I, when we noticed her take the lid off of Belle's food pail, dip the cup in and start ambling towards the bowl. Now every morning she repeats this process - making it all the way across the living room, little bowl full of food in her two tiny hands and then she meticulously empties it into Belle's food bowl. It's just about the most darling thing I've ever seen.
Another morning habit of hers is to request a baby wipe which she will then use to clean the entire house - the floors, the tables and chairs and occasionally, if I'm lucky, my socks. She does this with such incredible determination and it's absolutely heart melting. She also likes to pretend that she's swiffering, just like mama. She likes to put all her toys back where they go and to bring me tiny pieces of dirt or trash she finds around the house. She's already becoming quite the neat freak, as they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
As far as toys go she's absolutely besotted with her cow wheelie bug. In fact, she demands to take it outside with her and it's quite a comical sight to see her try and push it down our gravel driveway. She's also a huge fan of coloring. When she first started months ago her masterpieces would often end up on the rug, not just the paper but since then she's learned to keep it to her drawing pad. Her dog and her are still inseparable, perhaps more than ever before. Every night papa and I have to be vigilant about hiding it before bath time because she will attempt to take it in there too and if you don't let her? Well it's a full on meltdown and no baths will be had that night.
She's such a fun little person, such a happy girl. She wears us out no doubt about it and yet every night after she's been asleep for a little while papa bear and I will lament about how much we miss her already. As cliche as it sounds she is our little light making us smile and laugh all day long. She's so much more than I could have ever hoped for in a little girl, continuously surprising me and delighting me. The only thing I wish for is that she could stay like this forever...