14 Months Old

Nathan,

You are 14 months old! Your daddy and I are enjoying and cherishing each month of your little life. Our hearts are certainly full having you in our family. We've been having a fun summer. I can't get over how different life is this summer than it was last summer. It makes me wonder what next summer will be like with you.


Unfortunately, your daddy has been traveling for work for most of the month. He spent a week in France and is finishing up a 2 week trip to China right now. We both miss him a lot. Thankfully, we get to Skype with him almost every day. You get so excited when you hear his voice and run straight to the computer if you are in the other room when you hear it. You'll smile and laugh and point at him on the screen. I also catch you pointing at the computer and saying "daddy" all the time now throughout the day. You sure miss him. You are more clingy when he is gone, and I think it's because you feel a little less secure when he is away. You make sure to stick close to me. He will be home soon and is staying put for awhile which we are both excited about.

You are still not super verbal, just saying a few words and mainly communicating through pointing (and grunting sometimes). Your receptive vocabulary continues to amaze me though. You understand (and obey) simple commands that I tell you all the time- like "bring that to mommy," "go find your milk," , "give mommy a kiss" etc. Again, I know that you are understanding even more than we think you are.

Your favorite toys right now are your dump truck and your popcorn popper. You ride on your dump truck and push the buttons all day long. You are figuring out your popcorn popper more and more too. It's rarely quiet in our house anymore. You continue to enjoy looking at books but will only sit still and let me read an entire book to you when you are sleepy. Playing outside is one of your all time favorite things. Grammy and Papa Joe got you a water table and between that and your swing set, and Rhapsody's toys, you are entertained for a long time when we are outside. I just wish it wasn't so hot, so we could be out there more. You definitely love water but prefer just playing in it as opposed to swimming. I think you get insecure when you can't touch and walk around in the swimming pool. You love sprinklers, water hoses, pitchers, and the bath tub, of course.

 

 Sesame Street is your favorite show (probably because it's the only one I let you watch). You start dancing and laughing when I take the remote and tell you I'll turn it on for you. You hand me the remote several times during the day to turn it on, but I usually just let you watch it once per day. I'm noticing improvement in your attention span. You used to lose interest about 10 seconds after the intro song ended, but now it will hold your attention for several minutes at a time. 

I'm guessing you weigh close to 24lbs. You wear 12-18 month and 18 month clothing and a size 4 diaper. You are growing up so fast!

I think you are getting close to being ready to drop your morning nap. We have had such a consistent nap schedule for so long that it feels weird changing it up, but I've noticed in the last few weeks that if you take a good morning nap, you will not go down in the afternoons. There are still days when you take two naps, but lately I've been trying to keep you up in the morning and put you down after lunch (between 12:30 and 1:00), depending on our schedule for the day. You're doing pretty good on one nap a day, but you are definitely more tired in the evenings now while you are adjusting.

You are sleeping pretty consistently from 8:00pm to 7:00am. You wake up happy every morning and play in your crib until we come and get you. I've noticed you like being in your crib a lot more now that you have to leave your pacifiers there. Even if you won't take an afternoon nap, you are content to sit and play in your crib (and suck on your paci). You'll sit and play for close to an hour sometimes before you want to get out. When I got in to get you, you'll grab two to three pacifiers before you reach up for me to get you, and then you'll drop them one by one back into your crib. I wonder if you're trying to sneak one out :). You don't like me to rock you as much anymore. You'll either want to sit up and play in my lap or you'll squirm and want down, so I'll just put you in your crib and you usually play for a few minutes before you fall asleep. I miss those sweet, cuddly, quiet times with you, and on the off chance you're really tired and will let me rock you, I soak it up!

Your favorite foods right now are bananas, yogurt, applesauce, grilled cheese sandwiches, blueberries, pasta, blackberries, cheese, goldfish, cheerios, and fruit snacks. You're not a big fan of vegetables, but your favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, and peas, and sometimes you'll eat green beans willingly. You also don't really like meat. I think it's because it's hard to chew for you until you get some more teeth. I say sometimes that you hoard food. When you're eating a snack you'll take a fistful of food in each hand and hold onto it until you're ready to eat. Sometimes after a meal, I'll try and wash your hands and find you are still holding food in your fist, while I'm trying to wash it. It's like you just want to save a few bites for later.

You are completely off the bottle. I almost forgot to mention that because we dropped it shortly after you turned 13 months old, so it seems like old news now. I've noticed as the month has gone on, you drink milk out of your sippy cups much better now than you used to. You drink 3-4 cups of milk a day. You eat breakfast shortly after you wake up in the morning between 7:00-7:30, lunch around 11:00-11:30, and dinner between 5:30 and 6:00. You have a snack (usually fruit snacks) and a cup of milk after your nap and usually have some milk shortly before bedtime.

We love you Little Man!