14 Months Old

Since it's October 1st, its official that we have a 14 month old now. (Her birthday is on the 31st, so on months that only have 30 days, I never know whether to count it on the 30th or the 1st...) Either way, it's been WAY too long time since I've done an update on our baby's milestones and progress.

First of all, she started walking 2 months ago. Just 3 days after her first birthday, she totally surprised us by taking those first steps. In fact, I missed them. Our son was the one who exclaimed, "She walked!" At first I didn't believe him, but she proved him right by taking more steps a few minutes later. With our son, he had practiced walking so much, we were just expecting it any day. With this little one, she hadn't practiced much, but just decided to try it out! She still looks like a "drunken sailor" at times, because she loses her balance, stumbles and falls down occasionally.Taken just a few days after those first steps

Helping Papa wash the car

She does love to walk, though, and even more, she loves to climb.

This is another difference between her and Big Brother...she will climb up anything that she can swing her foot up onto. We are continually taking her down from on top of the coffee table, ottoman, and step stool. She is at that stage where it is pretty taxing to keep up with her and keep her out of things. She especially likes to empty out the recycling trash can and play in the toilet! So, basically I've got to keep a hawk-eye on her all day.

Today we were working out in the yard and cleaning up our sandbox area that has been largely neglected all summer. Our son was helping with the hose, to rinse and wash toys off, meanwhile making a lot of mud puddles that our daughter plunged straight into. So of course, we debated, "Do we let her play in the mud, & finish getting our work done?" or "Do we waste a lot of energy trying to keep her out of the water & mud, and consequently don't get our chores finished?"

Guess what we chose?

Our daughter's personality is definitely coming out more and more, and at times it scares us just a little. We love it, but she is SO expressive! She is already saying her first words, and she says them with such gusto and emotion. She knows her mind and voices her opinions. Mostly it's just through a high-pitched scream or grunting, "Ungh, ungh, ungh" and pointing. She says "No" while shaking her head back and forth vigorously. She loves to cuddle, and she has figured out how to give kisses, by pressing her lips on our face and saying, "Mmmmwwwah!" She also says "Da," for Yes (just like big brother did!). And she says "Kikuol, kikuol, kikuol" for tickle (she also makes this sound for a duck quacking).

And she has three teeth. Her first two were the bottom center ones, and the third one to break through was her right incisor (the fang teeth, not the middle ones). We are awaiting the matching left fang any day now. She is incredibly slow to cut teeth.

But this doesn't hold her back on eating...(see last post). She has yet to meet a food she doesn't like, or won't eat. She does have her favorites, but she generally will eat whatever you give her. (Again, a little scary at times!)

And she loves babies. We received 2 new cousins this summer, and our daughter can't get enough of them. She eagerly goes over to Baby Josh's crib every time we visit their house, looking for him. And our other cousin lives out of town, but we received her birth announcement in the mail, and our daughter loves it and carries it all over the house. She grunts and points to it on the fridge until I get it down and give it to her!

Our little girl brings so much joy and love into our family. We love the enthusiasm she has for life. She helps all of us have a better sense of humor and lightens up the tone in what can be a pretty serious family. What surprises she has in store for us, we will see! We are so proud of you and love you so much, precious girl.