14th Month Report....

Well, I can't believe it, but my beebop is 14 months old today! How did that happen? It seems like she was nothing but a little worm in my arms the other day. *sigh* Seeing as though I am always so resistant to change, I honestly think that I am going to fight this my entire life. Anywho, like I did last month, I am going to list the highlights and the lowlights of the last month of her life in no particular order. So, here goes..........

1. Lia has developed a relationship with her crib this past month. She absolutely loves it! Now, the second I put her in it and pop the paci in her month, she immediately falls down in some laying position and just stares up at me. She lays there calmly while I put the blanket on her and give her the stuffed bunny. This is quite the change from the Lia of yesteryear who would immediately stand up whenever placed in her crib and start "rattling the cages" for the next several minutes. She is just so happy in there. And, whenever she wakes up from her nap, she can busy herself forever in there. I have no idea what she does, but she can be heard over the monitor making all of her noises and moving around.
2. Lia is employing three successful modes of transportation right now: crawling, "knee walking," and walking. She can go through all three in one minute! It is such the funny sight. She mainly crawls if she wants to get to something fast and mainly walks when mommy and daddy are encouraging her and the knee walking just fills the time in between. People keep on commenting how they have never seen a baby travel on her knees like that!
3. She has perfected the art of "power crawling." When she wants something and she wants it now, she gets on all fours and just TAKES OFF! It's amazing how fast she travels.
4. One of her lowlights: She is starting to be a bit clingy and, at times, is preferring mom over dad. Neither one of us like this one. This is especially the case in the morning.
5. Her personality is becoming quite playful and she has begun to really enjoy playing games with us. Some include playing "peek-a-boo" with the shower curtain while in the bath, playing chase with her parents all over the house and under tables, and tilting her head side-to-side while we do the same.
6. Another lowlight: Once a great eater, she has started to develop an aversion to a few foods such as some meats and vegetables. We have determined that it is a texture thing. For example, she might refuse to eat cut up green beans, but will scarf down an entire container of green beans baby food. Argh! So, I still haven't been able to rid my pantry of those little bottles! She also has found that throwing a total fit (crocodile tears included) when refusing a certain type of food can be most powerful. We are not thrilled with her flair for the theatrics that she is currently developing.
7. She popped teeth #6 and #7 without making a fuss. Hallelujah again! Can't wait to see what fun the molars bring!
8. She is starting to figure some things out that I have never really pointed out to her such as taking her comb or brush and moving it around her hair or bringing the phone up to her ear (never mind the fact that the speaker/buttons side is facing away from her ear....we'll get this eventually). Such a smart little girl.
9. She is still going strong with her one and only word, "Uh oh." She says it all the time.
10. She has truly found her lungs this past month. Once or twice a day, she will get excited over something and just scream for several seconds at the top of her lungs while scrunching up her face and making it all red. It is hilarious. She has especially found this to be effective in a room with a lot of people and noise. Want some attention? Why then, just scream!
11. Her new favorite toy is her belly button. She can be found several times a day rediscovering it and digging around in it.
12. We have begun handing Lia the spoon and letting her feed herself. She is doing a pretty decent job with it as only a minimal amount of food is landing on her bib or the tray. However, it slows the entire meal time waaaaaaaaay down. I just sit there and deal with it, but Ron refuses to pass the time in such a boring manner. He has solved the problem by including David Letterman and his nightly Top 10 in the whole meal process (via his laptop, of course. Contrary to what you might be thinking, Mr. Letterman is not joining us in our kitchen on a daily basis).

None of these pictures were taken today on her actual 14-month birthday, but they are some of my favorites from the past week or so.

Lia and I have discovered that she loves to ride her little toddler car. We get in position and go wheeling all over the house. Although it kills my back, Lia is a big fan!

Much to my chagrin, Lia has discovered our shoes lately and loves to play and chew on them. I'm not quite sure how I feel about these dog-like tendencies that she is developing (i.e. following me everywhere, carrying socks in her mouth while she crawls, chewing on shoes) .

I know that I posted a similar shot of her in a the high chair with the pigtails earlier, but I just loved this one and decided to include it anyways. Look at that mouth full (well, not really) of teeth!