14 months

Lincoln City outside Moes

Relaxing with Daddy

Playing with buddy, Parker

Cracking herself up (a very regular occurrence)

This month has been a month of very busy discovery (I'm blaming this as the reason I'm late again for the monthly post!)-new toys, new skills, new words, etc. Callie doesn't usually just say words by herself, (with the exception of balloon) but she is starting to try words when we say "say_______" or "can you say___________?). She has successfully said: tree, cat, hat, ball, boon (balloon), woof woof (dog), Poppy, & corn (a new favorite food)! One day, Callie found our church directory and started looking at all the pictures. She came to a woman wearing a hat and pointed and said "hat" in a surprised voice, like "hey, I know what that is!"

She's also gotten really good at her hand eye coordination and dexterity. She's getting the hang of the shape sorter toy, though we will continue working on that for a while! Her throwing skills are getting more practiced and improved. She loves books-wants to read them over and over again. She knows (and will point to) eyes, ears, mouth, nose, head, hair, toe, foot. She will also, point, wave, blow kisses, kick her foot or a ball, and put toys or objects back where they belong-when she feels like it! She has started giving real kisses when she's feeling very loving. They are seriously the sweetest thing!

She is now eating a lot more! Going through at least 3 things of baby food a day, 16 oz of milk and various snacks (cereal bars, graham crackers, fruit). She lets me know when she's hungry by running to the snack cupboard, squatting and saying "mm, mm" over and over and then pointing to the cupboard. Apples are a favorite snack. She loves to just hold the whole thing herself and take little bites (she sat on the counter with an apple for 15 minutes while Mommy cut vegetables for dinner). If I want her to actually swallow what she's eating I have to give her peeled, small pieces.

She still loves being outside, but walks have become more difficult as she wants to participate actively instead of just riding in her stroller. I always laughed when I saw a baby on a leash, but I finally realized the necessity of them (and the genius behind them) this month. She wants so badly to walk herself but won't hold hands, so it's really the only way to keep her safe. She now has a very cute puppy backpack "harness" (it sounds so much better than a leash :-)).

We've gone a couple days with only one nap. However, on these days she still sleeps for the same amount of time (1 1/2 hours) as one of her 2 normal naps, so we are all a little cranky by the end of the day. I've decided we will stick with the 2 naps as long as possible. I get more done and enjoy my more cheerful daughter the rest of the day. It does make it a little difficult to go anywhere, but that will come soon enough. At this point, I'd rather stay home with a happy baby than be gone with a cranky baby any day! She's still sleeping from 8-7:30 at night...though now with the help of makeshift blackout shades.