14 Months Old

I feel like in the past couple of months Avery has changed A LOT. A few random updates about her, since that is the main point so far of this blog. :)

Her favorite thing to do is to go outside and walk up and down the street looking for puppies, cars, and school buses. She knows where "outside" is now, so when she has my hand, she will try to walk me to the front or back door, jabbering away about how excited she is. If I try to pick her up and take her somewhere else, I get the back arch. Yes, the back arch!! I never thought my sweet baby would arch her back and scream. It's basically a mini-tantrum, but I'm too afraid to admit it!!

She's liking daddy time a TON lately. She never used to refuse me when he had her, but now she will!  I think she knows that daddy does fun things with her--takes her outside, reads her books, tickles her, and plays "I'm gonna get-choo!"

She doesn't have a ton of words, but she does say "arr arr" for the puppy sound, mommy, and she has one main word for everything that starts with "b"--balloon, ball, etc.

She's almost walking. She will hold on to just a finger (or if you are Brady, a carrot so he can easily let go and try to get her to walk on her own). :) She hates it when you hold on to her waist or shoulders or something where she is not in control; so if you do that, she knows you are going to let go to get her to balance so she bends her knees and puts her hands on the ground!! It is a sight. Matt's mom said that when he was little, he was very cautious and wanted to know he could do something before he tried it. Hmm, sounds familiar.

Did I mention she loves the swing? Yesterday Matt was walking with her in the front yard and she started leading him down our neighbor's driveway, toward the back of our house. So, he just followed along and turns out she was headed straight for the swing.  She was in it for 30 minutes until he finally had to bring her in. 

Avery doesn't want me to leave her side all day long.  She is doing better lately and I can sneak away for a minute or two without disaster striking, but sometimes when I leave the room, instant break down. If I am in the same room but too far away, meltdown. If I am holding her and try to put her down on the floor, she won't sit up--her whole body will go rigid!  If I try to get her to hold on to a chair, she will push back against me.  I try to remind myself, "The days are long but the years are short," or "When she's 16 she won't want to be in the same room as me," etc, but in the moment, I just need to go to the bathroom or get a drink without the world coming to and end!! :)
She points at everything now, from the very second I get her out of her crib.... she will point at the pictures above her crib and I'll talk about them: "That's mommy, and daddy, and baby Avery. Yep, that's the baby." etc etc. We get to the living room and have to talk about the balloons (leftover from Wesley's graduation). "What's that? Yep, you see the balloons. There are yellow ones and red ones. Can you touch the yellow one?" etc etc. Then it's the kitchen and she has to point out the clock, the light, the coffee. You get the picture--welcome to my life. :)  When we go outside, she can point to the trees, flowers, grass, cars, birds, and puppies.  One of the best days of her life, I'm convinced, is when we were at Menards.  It's like Light Heaven.

Avery is really starting to like books--especially ones with flaps and cool textures to touch. She will now even sit and look through one by herself.

She likes to play her own form of peek-a-boo--she hides or turns her head and then flips around with a big grin on her face and I say "Boo." Then she does it again. And again. And again. :)

She's still a finger sucker, mainly when she goes to bed or is in her carseat or stroller.  I love it when she's in the stroller, sucking her finger, and crossing her legs.  It's her comfy, relaxed position.

She copies some things I do now. When I get ready I stick her on the counter, and whenever I put lotion or whatever in my hand, she will rub her hands together like me. She's also starting to wipe things with a paper towel or whatever.

She's transitioning from one nap to two, which I was originally dreading, but so far so good.  We are free to do more in the morning without being rushed, PLUS, this week at least she is starting to sleep in.  Like till 7:45 or 8.  This is the girl who used to get up at 5:30, 6, or 6:20 on a good day. :)  I'm taking this as a gift straight from the hand of God, I kid you not!  :)  We shall see if it continues!

She still loves bananas. Today I opened the pantry while I was holding her and she caught sight of the bananas and it was instant "more more more" signing coupled with "I really want it" whining. That girl knows what she wants, let me tell you.  She's a "good eater" and will be enthusiastic about almost anything we put in front of her.  Some meals, she out eats MATT, I kid you not.  She's just starting to eat with a fork and spoon--it's just about the cutest thing to watch. 

One of her favorite things to do is put lids on and off of things.  She seems to prefer non-toys (such as empty containers, water bottles, necklaces, you name it) over her "toys."  Sometimes when I ask her if she wants to play with her toys, she does her head/body shake no and whines!  Is this normal?  I'm definitely finding that if I hide something for awhile and get it back out after a couple of weeks, she likes it again. 

Well, that's all I can think of.  Random, I know.  I know all parents think their kid is the best, but I really, truly have the sweetest, funniest, smartest, cutest little girl and we are so in love with her.