14 Months

14 Months Old: 10/19/13

19 pounds, 13 ounces and 29.1 inches

Fourteen of the sweetest months of my life. 

And I'm just going to go ahead and say it. 

This month has been the best yet. 

And yes. 

I will say it next month too. 

It's been quite exciting to see actual family relationships blossom.
While I feel that there is nothing like this tight-knit mother-daughter relationship we share, your dad would say your father-daughter relationship is arguably the best.

Your communication skills continue to develop significantly, and I feel like we have each other figured out. *Most of the time.* We each have our special places within the family. You need me for certain things, and you prefer your dad for others. When you're feeling especially needy or under-the-weather, you let the whole world know you want your mama. But when you're feeling playful and mischievous, you want absolutely no one but your dad. 

We fall deeper in love with you every day. 

Cliche as it may be, it's the honest truth.

Some noteworthy happenings this month...

• You make your father one big puddle of mush. Daily. Everything you do he just looks at me and says, She's just the sweetest. But it's like there's straight up syrup in your bloodstream this month. You show affection for Sam and Sienna by gently patting them as they walk by. You reach your little arms out as far as they can go so you dad or I can pick you up. Then you hug us and put your head on our shoulders. You willingly give kisses. Especially to your mom. You'll be in the middle of working hard on playing, and you'll stop, look up at me, and plant a giant kiss right on my lips. *Swoon*

• Speaking of affection, you've reached a stage that I've been eagerly anticipating! You l.o.v.e. your baby. I mean, love. You like to take her everywhere you go. You love to kiss her and rock her. You share her with Sam. You put her in special little places like under the coffee table. But the best is in the mornings, before you can even open your little eyes, you kiss your baby and hold her out for me to kiss her too. *Swoon...again*

• You get the biggest kick out of playing make-believe. Well, that's what I call it. But you pretend to "eat", "drink", and "cook". You'll take little cups and "drink" from them while making the cutest little slurping sounds. Then you give your cup to me so that I can "drink" too. And you "eat" off the coffee table and "cook" with your big pot and spoon while Mama's in the kitchen. Little mini-me. 

• It is so cool to watch your communication skills develop. Especially your understanding. If you are in another room, and we say Lyla come here. You do it. If we start putting on your shoes or if a car drives by, you wave and say bye-bye. If you see or hear a dog you say ruff-ruff. But I think the most remarkable is your association with things that are "bad". Like the nose-sucker. You really hate that thing. Whenever you see it, you get the saddest little look and say uh-oh. Or when you slipped and hit your head on the edge of the dresser, you sniffled, made a sad face, and pointed to that same dresser and said uh-ohhhh.

• You love playing games this month. Especially with your grandparents. You love Buster-Brown with Gi-Gi and the blinking game with Gramps. And you think it's downright hilarious when your stuffed animals talk and dance with you. Which speaking of dance, I am not kidding, you have such rhythm. You absolutely love to dance!!! Tu-Tu's and pointe shoes can't come soon enough!

• According to Baby Center, you've reached two social milestones this month. Both are adorable - parallel play and playing "fetch". Parallel play is when you "play" with other toddlers your age by playing right next to one another, but not actually together. I first noticed it with your little buddy Cal. You were both so entertained while playing right next to each other. And you've been playing "fetch" for awhile - it's your favorite. It's when you have an object and you "share" it with someone. And in return you want them to share it back with you. It is your little way of socializing. So cute. 

• You talk all.the.time. You especially love to point to objects and name them, often special Lyla words. But your favorite real words this month are uh-oh, dad, and ruff-ruff, and you just started saying thank you! At first I didn't believe it until you kept saying it every time we gave you something.  And apparently you've been saying it at GiGi's to which she always responds You're welcome. You've also started repeating me when we see a lion or tiger by saying roarrr and after you swallow a bite of food you say Mmmm. My favorite though is your sweet little take eww, said in the softest little girl voice. 

• Speaking of being a girl, your favorite thing of all time at the moment is Mommy's closet. You love "organizing" my shoes and trying to put them on your feet. That's my girl!

• You are a tiny little thing. Still haven't hit 20 pounds yet, but we are at the 40th percentile which your doctor is happy about. You wear size 6-12 months still and even some 9 month clothes. But I recently bought all 18 month jackets, etc. so you have plenty of room for growth this winter. You wear a size 3 diaper and a size 2 shoe. Your feet aren't big enough to be toddler size, so many of the shoe options don't have rubber on the soles to help you walk. So we go barefoot a lot. And you have 6 teeth, including one back bottom molar, another molar on the way, and one cutting as we speak. So just about 7 total. 

• You may not be walking like many other babes your age, but you sure are a movin. You're crawling, squatting, cruising, and even climbing stairs. You try to stand independently by very quickly letting go of the couch, but only for a few seconds. It's so funny because you throw your hands up, try to catch your balance and then immediately grab the couch again. We surpassed your PT goals last month, which you were supposed to meet by 15 months. So we are ahead of the game. I have a feeling we are still a ways out from walking, but you might surprise me. Either way, we're so proud of you!

**And Happy Birthday to my not-yet-30, handsome younger husband. I love you. Chunkin sure knows how to steal the limelight. **