13/14 Months!!

Time has completely got away from me because I missed Benjamin's 13 month update and I'm even late on his 14 month update so I'm going to kill two birds with one stone(blog post?)

Height:  not sure exactly (you were 31 1/2 inches at 12 months) but I do know that your jeans are getting short!  Probably around 32 1/2 inches maybe?  We'll find out next month

Weight:  again not positive (you were 27 lbs at 12 months) so we're guessing about 28 1/2 lbs?  We love your chub :-)

Likes:  You love your books!  We went to the library this past week and you love having some new ones at home to read.  You love, love, love to be outside.  You walk in our neighborhood and soak it all in.  You also like going to the park, watching Praise Baby, playing the piano/watching mommy play the piano, stacking blocks, racing your cars on the floor, wrestling with Daddy, helping mommy sweep & vacuum, taking all the books and shoes off of their shelves, and of course you love Elmo.  You still love remotes and cellphones too!

Dislikes:  You no longer dislike the vacuum, and haven't disliked it for the past couple of months.  Now you play with the cord while I vacuum and I let you pretend to vacuum with our little dirt devil.  You do however, still highly dislike getting your face wiped.  It's so silly, but you just hate it and whine terribly every time we do it.  You dislike having to hold mommy or daddy's hand when we're walking somewhere where you need to be protected/guided.  As is most often the case with kids, you don't like when you are told not to get into something.  Mommy is working on being really patient as I teach you to learn to obey.

Eating:  You drink whole milk and boy oh boy do you love it.  You still also drink water and have only had juice about 5 times in your life.  This past week you tried drinking from a big boy cup on your own....it was sort of a wet failure but it's great practice.  You LOVE vegetables.  I usually give you more carrots, peas, green beans or peas than I serve to either Peter or I.  You just love them.  You also like fruit and now like mandarin oranges and pears too!  You also had your first fresh strawberries and you really liked those.  You're starting to like peanut butter more, you've tried raisins, you love pickles and olives, and you pretty much eat anything.  You're usually only a bit picky when you're super tired or when you're teething.  You also ask for "cookies?" after you're done.  Usually after one meal a day Mommy lets you have 5 chocolate animal crackers as your "cookie" dessert :-)

Sleeping:  This past month has been interesting because you've switched over to one nap a day on most days.  You'll go down for a nap at 1pm after lunch and you've been sleeping 2-3 hours.  Occasionally you'll still take a short morning nap if you were up really late the night before or were up in the middle of the night because of teething/growing pains.  You've been up a couple times in the middle of the night this past month but as much as it stinks to get out of bed, I don't mind at all the extra cuddle/comfort time I get with you.  I secretly love it!

Personality:  You are sooooo fun!  We just love you to pieces.  You'll walk around the living room just laughing at seemingly nothing.  You love to tackle and wrestle Daddy and he can make you laugh uncontrollable belly laughs like no one else.  You are very opinionated and independent.  You are starting to be a little sneaky too!  You will try to stick food from your high chair tray in your seat underneath your thigh.  I don't think it's because you don't want to eat it but more because it's a game.  You seem to love observing other kids but also play a lot by yourself.  You never stop moving!  Seriously, you are always on the go.  You're not a huge cuddler but you give the greatest kisses when you're in the right mood.  You're loud and talkative and spunky  and goofy and soooo lovable!

Highlights:  We celebrated your birthday again with a trip to Idaho, and you had your first overnight babysitting this past month.  You're now walking around super fast and can stand up on your own without pulling up on something.  You have 8 teeth now, maybe a 9th popping through?

Benjamin, these months are just flying by but there isn't a night that we don't go to bed just SO incredibly grateful to be your parents.  You make us laugh, you make us stare at you with such pride, you make us want to stop and enjoy the "little moments".  We simply can't get enough of you and we love you to the moon and back!