Our dramatic, intrigued, 14 month old

...eats with spoons and forks... and hands.  :-)

... has to have at least two spoons or forks when she eats

... loves to sit on things... and finally has her own chair to do that in

... understands us when we say things like "get me your diaper" or "get me x book" or "let's go get dad"

...makes a bee line for the front door when we turn the alarm off

...is now hellacious in stores... loves to run around and doesn't want to stay with you.  Gotta work on that


... totally knows when she's doing something she shouldn't do.  For example - starts to walk toward the bathroom, looks back at us, smiles, keeps walking, looks back, smiles, then runs for it.  When can we start smacking her little booty?

... decided when G.G. and Grandpa Bob were here that it'd be great to climb behind the tv.

...loves going up and down stairs.  Spent 30 minutes going out the gate, down the stairs, back up the stairs, and closing the gate.  Repeat.

...is working on going upstairs by holding on to railings

... is getting her molars in the back, I think.  She shoves her hands as far back in her mouth as possible, drools all the time, is fussy, and has had a fever.  And she eats teething tablets like they are candy.

... has now had frozen yogurt a few times - she's a big fan.  Pomegranate blueberry is apparently quite yummy.

...is trying to climb into the bathtub... succeeded once when Eric was getting ready with her in the morning.

... is getting better at keeping bows and hats on her head, though she sometimes adamantly refuses still.

... puts the bows and combs up to her hair when I hand them to her

... can generally follow along with "When you're happy and you know it" when we sing it along with the Elmo book we have.... rubs her belly, touches her nose, claps her hands... sometimes.  We're still working on it.

... Hands me her plate, cup, and utensils when she's done eating or just pushes whats left of the food to the far side of her tray.

... closes/opens the garage door every time we go in there.

...got her 2nd haircut - super short so I didn't have to do it again for a while.

... doesn't say any words yet, but I'm pretty sure she's got uh oh down pat.

... is too tall for 12 month pants, but can still pull off the onsies though 18 month ones are looking better and better.

... is attempting not to brush her teeth now - even though she runs for the stairs when we say "let's go brush your teeth".  Once she gets up there she's uninterested.

... climbs up the stairs very well.  But I still make sure I'm right behind her.

... still falls a lot but way less than she used to.  And runs into things, usually with her head, and it doesn't faze her.  Probably too many hits to the head. 

...is trying to open doors.  Do they sell baby proofing for lever door handles???  Gonna have to invest.

... now likes juice - especially out of squeeze boxes - but that might just be a fun factor.

... waves bye and hello very well now.  She's waved for a while but she went through a phase where she forgot why she was supposed to wave.

...likes to put things away - she can be very neat when she wants to be.

... has formed an attachment to the blanket given to her by "Aunt" Katie - it was small enough and heavy enough (hand crocheted by ladies at the hospital) that we've put her to bed with it every night since she got out of the swaddle.  And now as she's going to bed she finds that blanket.  So far it hasn't had to leave the crib for any comforting but it's sweet to know she wants it to go to bed.

...is attempting to learn to rub mommy's belly when Eric tells her about her little brother.


...likes to play ring around the rosie, and knows that signing "more" will get me to do it again.... over and over and over again. I'm surprised she doesn't get dizzy!

... is a very determined and persistent little girl.  If something doesn't work right away she generally will keep trying, though sometimes there are tears or yells of frustration. 

... is trying to fit things together - like blocks inside the holes they belong in or lids on sippy cups.

... loves to put shoes on her feet - or at least try to.  She will grab a shoe, whether it's hers or not, and put it up against her foot.  And if her shoe falls off for some reason she almost immediately sits down or brings you the shoe so you can put it back on.
We can really see that she understands us now and understands what's going on around her.  It's really fun to watch her now and to talk to her to get her to point out body parts and pick out books and toys.  She is such a joy... and a pain.  She can't yet tell us what's wrong so she just cries when things are working out the way she wants them to but we can't figure out what she wants.  Obviously sometimes we know, but when she points at things, you hand them to her, she doesn't want them, and then cries when you put it down you're left baffled.  But, the day will come when she doesn't stop talking or when we can't figure out what's going on even though she is talking to us so I'm not rushing anything.  We're having fun growing with her and watching her grow up and become a cute little toddler.  So dang fun!