Alia is 16 months old!

Well, as I said last month, this is my first monthly post that Alia is not an only child...she's now officially my oldest, a big sister, a sibling. And what a month it's been. Alia's sister Amelie has been with us almost 3 weeks now and there is so much to say but so little time to say it these days.

As I've said before, I am so proud of who Alia is and who she is becoming. With the arrival of Amelie, we've come to see a whole new side of Alia...Alia the caretaker, Alia the concerned older sister. She comes to the bathroom to make sure all is okay when Amelie is crying while getting her diaper changed. Alia brings Amelie's pacifier and offers it up like "here, Mommy, try this...she likes it". Alia hasn't shown too many signs of jealousy or done much lashing out, although she seems to accept that I hold the baby nearly all the time, but doesn't like her Dad to hold her at all.

Alia has all sorts of new tricks. She now walks backwards, turns in circles on command, and pulls her barrettes out of her hair as soon as they go in. Alia eats with a fork and spoon, but still prefers to go at it with her hands from time to time. What started out as a fascination with Daddy's belly button has turned into a full blown obsession with all belly buttons...her own, mine, her Grandma's and even our neighbor, who is kind enough to show her whenever she asks.

Alia's understanding of the world around her has grown exponentially this month. You can tell Alia to do just about anything and she understands what's being asked of her. When we say "namaste", she smiles her biggest Alia smile and puts her hands together in prayer position in front of her. If we ask her where something is, her little palms face the sky and her shoulders shrug as if to say "you got me, Mommy!". Alia's verbal vocabulary is growing as well, although not quite as quickly as her understanding of words. If I ask her to say doggy, she responds with a big smile and says Bow Wow! With the arrival of Amelie, Alia added "baby" to her repertoire, and now proudly points out every baby she sees, be it in magazines, mailers, or at the park.

Alia has loved having her Dad home with her since I went into the hospital. My stay there was really tough on her, but she's bounced back and it's as if I was never gone. She is also enjoying all the extra visitors...my Mom, Ajay's Mom, and my sister who arrives this Friday. Ajay returns to work tomorrow, which is bound to be a big adjustment for her, but we've decided it's best to tell her when her Dad is leaving and where he's going as opposed to our old method of distracting her and having him sneak away....this tactic only made her panicky and feel the need to follow him every minute of the day to make sure he doesn't disappear.

Alia is starting to interact with her surroundings much more this month. She plays with toys much more independently now.  She loves to hide in her tent and play with her new stove; she loves bouncing and throwing and kicking balls. She is a happy and beautiful child if I do say so myself.

So all in all, we're surviving! A newborn and a 16 month old is a little crazy, but it's our life and I vasilate between wanting to freeze time and keep them both at this age forever, and hoping they'll grow up just a little bit so I can see what's next, and getting a little sleep would be a bonus!