14 Months

On Sunday Avery turned 14 months old – I can’t believe how fast the time has flown! She has definitely changed more over the past month or so than ever before. It is so fun to see her grow and learn everyday. Some things we have been up to lately:

Talking: She is really developing a little vocabulary. It is so fun! She can say mama, dada (her favorite word), thank you, hi, bye, ball, night night, and no. She doesn’t always say the correct word at the correct time, but she does say them and gets right about half the time. She can understand many more words but hasn’t mastered the art of saying them yet. She will repeat animal sounds which is hilarious. She can moo, baa, quack, ruff and cock-a-doodle-do. Of course, none of them sound anywhere near what Josh and I are saying, but they are so cute!

Walking: She can go ANYWHERE now. She loves to walk around the house and “guide” us to where she wants to go. She will leave a room, then poke her head back around to make sure Josh or I are following her. She sometimes gets going too fast which results in bumping into walls or tables, so that part has not been fun. We have had one bloody lip and a few small bruises. I guess that is to be expected when they get going and build their confidence.

Eating: She is becoming a better eater. She will try new things more often now when she is in the mood. Her favorites still include: black beans, cheese, peas, yogurt, toast, and grapes. We try to eat dinner as a family most nights, so she will usually eat what Josh and I have if she notices us enjoying it. One night she ate more than half of my pork chop! I told Josh he was going to have to start making her her own!

Sleeping: She still sleeps like a champ. Usual bedtime is 7 and she wakes up between 6:30 and 7. Unless she is sick or getting teeth, we don’t hear a peep out of her all night. She is down to one nap a day – usually between 1-2 hours but has been known to sneak in a 3 hour nap here and there when life gets really tiring!

Playing: She LOVES to play outside. She will sit in the yard and pick up leaves and move them around for as long as we will let her. She likes her swing in the front yard and lasts 5-10 minutes on average until she decides she needs to be walking around exploring. She got so many new toys for Christmas and has enjoyed them all. Her favorites are a cooking pot with veggies in it from Aunt Sandy (hoping that will mean she will cook for us one day) and a purse from Josh’s Uncle David and Aunt Maureen. It has a tube of lipstick in it and she loves to pretend like she is putting it on. It is funny because I don’t know if she has ever seen me put lipstick on, but Josh showed her how it worked and she loves it. CC and Pop Pop got her a tent that she can crawl through which offers lots of fun. She has a lot of stuffed animals and dolls but she still is not very interested in them. Maybe she is still too young; I don’t know.

That is our 14 month update. She gets to be more fun with every month that passes. She is such a joy and good-natured little girl. I can’t wait to continue to see her little personality develop. We sure do love our baby girl, and I can’t imagine life without her!