Emma: 14 Months

I seriously cannot believe my baby is 14 months old!!

Skills: the vocabulary just keeps increasing.  In addition to what I wrote about last month, this month she is also saying “iiiiiii” for ice, bye bye, hi, and ha ha ha “hot hot hot”.  She used to only say ha ha ha when we opened the oven door, but now she says it when we get something out of the microwave or if we give her food that is temperature hot or spicy hot.  She also knows how to say no and is saying it correctly- this I am not so excited about.  The other night when she was sitting in my lap, I asked if mommy could have kisses.  She promptly put her hand over my mouth and said no.  Of course I couldn’t help but cracking up, so now Emma thinks that is hilarious.  Wes will go to get her out of her car seat and she will tell him no as well, pushing his hands away and kicking her legs.  She also knows what noise an elephant makes and to raise her arm like an elephant trunk when we ask her.  She can growl like a tiger/lion (we use these two animals interchangeably).  The other day, Wes taught her the hand motions for patty cake- it is hilarious.  She won’t perform every time, but when she does it’s a hoot.  We are working on blowing kisses- but it has only happened about three times. 

Likes: Emma still prefers to be outside- lately, she has been loving to play in dirt.  Most of the time likes her mommy more than her daddy J.  Emma likes to get into everything.  She will open up every cabinet door and pull everything out.  To say she is a mess-maker is an understatement.  Emma still have an obsession with dog food- which we just try to ignore hoping that it will go away.  Food wise- Emma ‘s favorite fruits are strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Her favorite thing to eat is avocado and probably eggs with sausage scrambled in it. 

Struggles: we have actually improved in this area.  Emma had two successful outings where she was in her stroller for most of the day and did fabulous.  She is also getting much better at restaurants and when we say down she knows to sit down.  I have also been trying to reward her; if she is good the whole meal, I will get her out of her highchair at the end of dinner so she can sit in my lap.  When we tell Emma no, she can’t have something- she still generally bursts out into tears.  We are working on how to respond to the word “no” by trying to explain to her why she can’t have something or why she can’t stand up in her cart at the grocery store.  Changing Emma's diaper at night is a struggle.  As soon as she knows it's going to happen, she starts to run around the table thinking it is a game which drives this mama crazy!  

Superficial: She has five teeth now- we got one new one this month and it was horrid.  Emma was cranky and grumpy for days.  She is wearing mostly 12 – 18 month clothing.  Emma is still holding steady in her size 3 diapers.  Her blonde hair is thin and starting to curl a little in the back.  Her blue eyes are still her most complimented feature (I have a feeling they are going to get us in trouble one of these days).  We have been told three times this month that she looks like a baby doll- I don’t really know how I feel about this compliment (although, I guess it is better than strangers saying she looks like a Barbie doll).  She has the cutest, roundest tummy.  

We love you baby girl :)