14 months

I like what my sister has done by marking the passage of another month with a recap of what Ava is doing that month. I thought I could always go back and fill out the baby book of milestones later, using the blog to help me reconstruct it. I thought that was the whole point of this blog, after all. But it turns out this blog has morphed into more of a collection of vignettes about life with Jack, not always recording the little daily achievements and/or burying them in other stories that makes it hard to look up later. And I've already forgotten so much! Talking to our friends Dunagan and Mandy about their new baby has made me realize that I lost track of when exactly Jack started sleeping through the night, or making sounds that sound like syllables instead of velociraptor noises, or clapping, or giving hugs. I can't put my finger on when he stopped sleeping anywhere anytime, or getting the hiccups everyday, or making that cute little "ooh!" sound after he sneezed, which I never did manage to catch on video.

So in the interest of not losing any more to the sands of time, here you go Jack, sorry I didn't start sooner, but better late than never!

At 14 months, Jack

- still has only eight teeth and rejects most meat products owing to his lack of molars

- has all but weaned himself of the bottle and skipped the sippy cup completely, much preferring to drink like a big person

- gives not just hugs but kisses (or at least leans in real close with his mouth hanging open until you kiss him)

- is almost almost walking, taking up to five or six steps at a time, but only when he's not paying attention to the fact that he's not holding on to something

- has slowed his freakish rate of growth, now wearing clothes for kids four to ten months older than him, instead of clothes for kids several times his age

- is very gentle with his cat and his chickens

- is a total flirt, mostly with older women

- likes peas, carrots, corn, banana, oranges, pasta, crackers, grilled cheese, and pretty much anything he can feed himself

- is down to one nap a day, although he could probably use more, he doesn't want to miss out, the world is just too interesting

- sleeps from 7 to 7 and usually only wakes up once

- can name some of his favorite things: "bur" (bird), "boo" (book), "baaa" (any farm animal, including chickens, we have to work on that), "bah" (ball, not to be confused with baaa) "caa" (cat), "tray" (train), and "mmm" for food (when he's in the mood)

- stacks his rings and his blocks, sometimes, but still prefers knocking them down and throwing them

- knows where his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth are (sort of, the nose he really has down at least)

- will entertain himself in his crib for almost half an hour in the morning if I give him a few books

- can unlock daddy's iphone

- loves looking at pictures and videos, especially of kids, most especially of himself (and why wouldn't he? look at this little character!)



Happy 14 months, Jack!