Fourteen Months

Dear Samantha,
You are now 14 months old! Time goes so fast now. It is amazing to see how much you are learning, and so quickly. Your vocabulary grows every day, and you try to repeat as many words as you can. Here are just a few of the words you say:
Dad - Da or Dad
Mom - Mom or Ma or Momomom
Cat - ta or tat (sounds kind of like "tsat")
Strawberry - ba-berry(r's not really pronounced)
Ball - baw
Dog - do
Woof - oof
Lunch - ch
Breakfast - st
Cheese - chz
Book - boo
Pizza - tsa
Kisses - tiss or tisses
Rabbit - wabbih

Right around 13 months you started sleeping through the night pretty much every night. Last week we had your Great Aunt Darla stay with us for a week, and you were so excited to have someone to play with, you didn't want to go to bed or stay in bed, so you relapsed a little into waking once or twice a night, but slowly you are getting back to your usual schedule. Bedtime is a little later now, around 7:30 or 8, although these past couple of weeks you've have several 9-9:30 nights. Summer is just so exciting!

Mommy just started a new job, so we don't get out to play with your friends as much as we used to. It's always a special treat for you though, and you get SO excited to see other kids your age! You love to play with other little kids (and their cool toys). Your friend Sean came over the other night, and you were practically beside yourself with delight. We're going to have to make sure to let you have at least one playdate each week!

You LOVE music now. You have improved your dancing skills, and instead of squatting up and down, you now run in circles, wobble your head, and wave your arms around. You have some pretty impressive moves. You like to dance to music that is upbeat. You also love to sing along to softer, pretty music, especially music with female vocals. You are quite good at playing Daddy's guitar, too. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up being a great musician! You seem to have natural talent.

Another big development this month was that you are no longer nursing. Your last day of breastfeeding was 6/10/11, just a few days after your 13-month birthday. It took us a few weeks to get to this point, but once we started working on it, you adapted quickly. Now you love to drink your milk out of your sippy cup with a straw!

You have started to develop quite an attitude lately. You "talk" back sometimes, and you definitely let us know when you don't like something. You like to splash in the toilets now, so we have to keep them locked up, and we have to keep the cat food up since you continually get into it (and try to eat it) even after we tell you to stop. You definitely have a strong will, and sometimes you can get pretty annoying with all your whining, especially in the evenings. Most of the day though you are very happy and a joy to be around.

This month was an eventful one. Besides Aunt Dar's visit, the fair was also in town, and then we had the 4th of July celebration. We went to the fair 5 times, and you loved it every time. Going to the fair at night was very exciting for you! You loved all the lights, and we went on a couple of kiddie rides and the big Ferris Wheel. You loved the rides in the Kidzone. You rode with Mommy on a bumblebee ride that went up and down and around and around. You loved riding on the carousel with Mommy and Daddy! Aunt Dar also won you several stuffed animals, which was something really cool that Mommy and Daddy aren't so good at. One of your favorite things at the fair was seeing the animals. You knew about rabbits, since your Alice in Wonderland-themed bedroom is full of white rabbits. But you didn't quite get what they actually were until you saw the rabbit exhibit at the fair. You got to see dozens and dozens of real bunny rabbits, and you even got to touch one. You were SO excited when you finally realized what a real live rabbit is! You also enjoyed petting the goats and looking at the chickens. The cows and some of the uglier sheep were a bit intimidating for you.

The 4th of July weekend was incredibly fun. On Saturday we went to the beach and then had friends over in the evening. You got SO dirty at the beach, I couldn't even see your body through all the sand! On Sunday we went to a pool party BBQ at our friends' house. You still love the pool, and you floated and kicked and splashed and jumped for hours. On Monday the 4th, we spent the day at the fair and then went to the fireworks here in town. You ran all over the park grass, watching other people and enjoying all their glowing necklaces and wands. We bought you some glow necklaces of your own, and you blew your own mind with a great light show. As soon as the fireworks started, you plopped down in Daddy's lap, eyes as big as saucers as you watched the show. You were so amazed as you pointed the fireworks out to me, talking about them throughout the show. After the finale you clapped and clapped with everyone else. You had a huge grin on your face as we walked back to the car, where you quickly fell asleep for the ride home. It was such a fun weekend for us all!

I can't wait for this next month as you continue to build your vocabulary and motor skills. You are running and climbing and even starting to jump now, and you are quite a handful. You bring so much joy to my life every single day. I love you so much!

Love,
Mommy