Our Big 14-Month-Old

Oh, our baby boy is getting so big. What an absolute joy he is - an active, busy, almost-running joy...but truly a delight. He's hilarious and is obviously trying to talk to us but of course, we have no idea what he's saying. :) These pictures capture his personality perfectly. He's becoming a bit of a challenge to photograph these days...he's always moving and definitely is not gonna slow down to smile. :)

He loves this pose. He does this with wide-open-mouth-and-object-against-the-cheek move with anything resembling a stuffed animal.

And, of course, hitting objects together and making noise is a favorite pastime.

sweet boy (with post-nap bed head) and his blankie (his sleep sack)

We have another binky-lover.

Walker can still give us some serious fuss.

He gets mad and frustrated when he doesn't get what he wants (usually something of his sister's, like her milk cup).

But generally, he can snap out of it pretty quickly and move his attention and focus onto something else. :)

Walker enjoys:

• opening and closing doors/gates (but he gets a little confused when he gets stuck behind whatever door/gate he closes)
• trying to catch dust mites as they float through the air (I think he thinks they might be bubbles!)
• sitting on the couch. And getting off the couch. And trying to get back on again.
• his cousins and his sister.
• being naughty. He gets this funny grin on his face and lets out this silly laugh when he gets somewhere that he's not supposed to be. Like halfway up the stairs, up the ladder to the landing on the playset, in another room with his sister's cup, across the church narthex to the stairwell... He just looks at me and laughs! Stinker.
• trying to drink the bath water. Yum.
• piles of pillows/blankets.
• picking up newspapers while on walks. He will carry one for a long time - until he sees another one that he wants to get. :)
• throwing things into the potty. Victims thus far: two plastic toy balls, one pair of Dora swim goggles. He'll either throw the item in the potty, close the lid, and walk away, or he'll throw the item in there and then get frustrated when he can't get it back out. :) Nice.
• trying to lift heavy things - like the bathroom scale, a large toy, etc.
• food. He likes a lot of different kinds of foods. Favorites are peanut butter/honey/banana sandwiches, yogurt, mac and cheese, popcorn... I can't believe that he eats so much. Because he was so NOT a fan of eating for such a long time. We're not quite sure where he puts it all. He's steadily gaining weight, but I wouldn't say that he's a chunky monkey.
• putting his hand inside the collar of my shirt. Hilarious and I have no idea where that comes from. He likes the skin-to-skin contact, I think.
• his sleep sack. He's becoming more and more attached to it, just like his big sister. :)
• being dramatic. Sometimes, when he's really frustrated or upset, he just lays down on the floor and puts his head in his hands. Life can be tough when you're just a year old.
• trying to put his head under stuff. Blankets, the cuff of my shorts, his sleep sack...
• carrying around soft things, like his t-shirts, his sleep sack, his sister's clothes, his shorts, my shirts and/or Ben's shirts. He holds the item up behind his head, either with one hand or both hands, and just walks around with it.
• being an expert bird-spotter and airplane-spotter. He's good at both of those things.

Walker does not enjoy:

• being cold. He gets blue lips and goosebumps and chattering teeth and he shivers . No body fat!
• biting his finger. He will sometimes bite his finger while feeding himself. He's not a happy camper when this happens. :(
• being trapped anywhere. Especially when his sister is allowed to "roam free." Examples: grocery store, Target, car seat (he prefers to be put in his seat after she gets in hers), stroller...you get the idea.

Walker can:

• find his binky in the dark! At night! Hallelujah! Finally.
• climb. He's a good climber.
• usually point out his nose and other people's noses, but he's definitely not batting 1,000 on this one.
• say something similar to "hi" while waving his hand. It's not really "hi" but it's close...
• say "mamamama" for everything. I'm pretty sure he doesn't connect it to me, but he says it all the time when he's frustrated or when he wants something.

Walker has:

• eaten a piece of dog food and a part of an orange crayon.
• gotten a lot better at sleeping. He's not sleeping as fitfully as he used to and he's clocking a good 11 hours a night. Plus, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, he takes a good afternoon nap at the same time as his sister. I love this. Tuesdays and Thursdays are tough because we're on the go (Lainey's school days) so he usually sleeps in the car at least once, sometimes twice, on these days. I think, ideally, he'd like to take a short morning nap - like 10 minutes - and then a big afternoon nap. But I'm comfortable with him just getting one good nap a day.
• pretty much stopped falling asleep on my shoulder. Only if he's really tired will he still fall asleep on my shoulder. Now, we just put him in his crib and he rolls over and falls asleep.
• started copying his sister. And vice versa. It's funny. For example, Lainey puts any food that she doesn't want on the table in front of her. She doesn't want it touching her tray at all. She also puts her cup on the table in front of her if she's finished drinking. Walker has started doing this exact same thing. He will put all of his unwanted food (let's say, blueberries) on the table in front of him, along with his drink. I think it's his way of saying that he's finished. :)

Happy 14 months, little one. We love you!