Taking Stock at Month 16. 6-6-13

Here's what's happening at 16 months old:

• We have settled into a routine, which probably looks more like chaos to outsiders. I was surprised I was able to report weekly updates as long as I did. I was so far behind that I just gave up. Boop will be 17 months old in a couple of weeks. At least I could give an update before the month is over.
• Boop has just learned to say 'jes' and nod her head. It is a huge improvement over the indignant 'no' that I got in response to every question I asked. We have lots of great toddler words now, like 'MINE'. She's speaking in sentences, but I just can't understand her beyond the 1st few words. She probably feels the same about me. 
• One thing that she has clearly picked up from me is my 'what/why/how <insert incredulous phrase like what gives?!?, why are you in the dog crate?!?, why did you rip the screen out of the door?!?>' with palms up. She looks at me, turns her little palms up, and says 'wa-wa?!?'. 
• We have a few recognizable songs. There's the classic rocking chair song "Rock-a-Baby ah da dip dop", which I have previous featured. There's also Boop's old favorite "Baby, baby, bee" also known as "Baby bumble bee." She sings a lot, but I can't quite figure out the songs. 
• It seems that Boop and Winnie have been apparently UTI free, but it seems like I'm 'it' now, after my visit to the Urgent Treatment Center yesterday.
• I finally paid off my student loans this month, and I'm trying to save up money for braces and retirement. I'm a little obsessed with retirement, now. Does that tell you anything about the current status of my job? Well, everyone has their highs and lows in the working world, and this is definitely not a high point. 
• My friend, A, was nice enough to go out to dinner with us last night to help me get my mind off of things. A bit of African goat curry never hurts. We were both surprised to see Boop take the spoon and start digging in, especially when 1. she's not crazy about utensils, and 2. she would have none of the matoke when I tried to feed her.