Look Who's 14.5 Months Old!

Hi, Lydie!

As usual, I am a little behind on marking your milestones. If you ever have more than one child (particularly if they're close together in age), you'll totally understand. Rest assured, it has absolutely nothing to do with my fondness of you!

You turned 14 months old on July 20th. It amazes me how quickly time seems to fly. In the last few months, you've really grown up quickly, and I am convinced it has had a lot to do with the physical and speech therapies you've been receiving. You've come such a long way in such a short amount of time!

Over the last week or so I've been collecting information on you, so here's a list of what you're up to right now:

* You last weighed 21.5 pounds and measured 30.5 inches long.

* You wear a size 4 diaper, a size 3 1/2 shoe (which I can never find), and 18 month clothes.

* You have 4 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth. We keep waiting for more, but you seem to be in a holding pattern with those six.

* You gave up bottles completely once we moved to Florida (hallelujah!) and are now the master of straw cups.

* You still won't drink whole milk. Not even if it's chocolate. Therefore, we give you lots of yogurt.

* In some freak occurrence, you decided around 12 1/2 months to take a pacifier. Now, you use your paci at nap time and bed time to fall asleep, but you hardly ever have it in your mouth while you're actually sleeping.

* In addition to your paci, you can't fall asleep without holding your monkey that Noni and Poppy gave you or listening to your Violet dog--that Nana gave you--play music.

* You love Clifford the Big Red Dog.

* You follow Tyler wherever he goes, and you even climb in his bed as often as you can.

* You are a water baby if I've ever seen one! You LOVE taking baths and swimming in the pool. After we bathe you at night, Daddy and I are completely soaked from all your splashing. Even Ty has taken to yelling, "No, Wydie! No spwashing me!"

* You have been put in time-out on three separate occasions, but you could care less. You have no desire to follow any rules and the word "no" doesn't seem to apply to you, no matter how forcefully or loudly it is delivered. You always respond with a grin and a chuckle.

* You still don't crawl in the traditional sense, but you remain a master booty-scooter. Everywhere we go, people who see you scooting think you are the cutest little thing and can't believe how quickly you can get yourself around on your bottom.

* Other than scooting, you prefer to walk by holding our fingers. You have the balance and the coordination to stand on your own and walk, but you seem to be a little bit fearful yet. Once you get some confidence about you, I think you'll just start running!

* Your favorite activities include looking at your books and flash cards and digging in all of my cabinets.

* When you come across a pair of shoes, you say "shoes" and then try to put them on your feet. It is precious.

* You can now use a snack trap with total efficiency, and you love when it's filled with Frosted Cheerios. I will be picking up Cheerios off the floor and out of the car for years to come, but they make you happy.

* In addition to Cheerios, your other favorite snack is Pringles Pizza Flavored Snack Stix. I'm not sure how much money I've put out for those things. They seem to fly off our pantry shelf.

* You can swallow your Cheerios and Pringles Stix and anything with a yogurt consistency or thinner, but you don't swallow any other foods even though you mash them to an obliterated state. We are hoping to have a swallow study done soon to see if there is anything going on or if you just don't prefer to put food in your belly. It's an odd characteristic, kiddo, but, as your book says, "God made you special and He loves you very much." So do we.

* You have tee-teed on the potty three times to date. We sit you up there right before your bath, just like we do with Ty, and you have caught on to its purpose like a pro!

* You really like brushing your teeth with your Abby Cadabby toothbrush and toothpaste. We've even had to let you sleep with it a time or two because you just wouldn't let it go.

* You are growing a few little ringlet curls in the back of your hair and I just can't bring myself to take you for a haircut lest they snip off the curls. They are adorable. I predict you'll have some kind of curly/straight combination hair like I do when you grow up which you'll learn to love and hate simultaneously. Trust me, I'll be here for you through all your best and worst cuts. You're going to need a support system, sweetie. Some days it's tough to have combo hair.

* You give the sweetest open-mouth kisses to us and to your most beloved toys. You've even started closing your lips and making the "kiss sound" a little more often in recent days. Oh, I could just eat you up!

* On command, you can give high fives and touch your head. But, that's if you feel like it. Most of the time, you just do what you want to do, which means you don't ever perform these tricks when we want you to (i.e. in front of people or therapists). Ahhhh, we're learning all about strong wills from you...and we have no idea where on earth that strong will could have come from.

* Your favorite juice is Hansen's Mixed Fruit which we can no longer buy now that we're in Florida, but you've taken to the Juicy Juice Tropical blend. Basically, if it has a pineapple-ish taste, you like it. You get that from your Daddy because I'd rather dehydrate to death that eat or drink anything with a tropical taste. Yuck!

* Your favorite yogurt smoothie is Danimal's Strawberry Kiwi.

* You have an infectious laugh and a beautiful smile. Lord have mercy, you are a beauty, girl. Several folks have mentioned your potential for modeling and/or acting, but I refuse to get you involved in any of that nonsense. I think the most beautiful people in the world are the ones who radiate humility and a love for Jesus and others. Please always keep your heart as beautiful as your face and you'll be blessed abundantly.

* Finally, you are developing a little bit of a vocabulary, although you never say anything on command (par for the course). Your words include: Ty-Ty, Daddy, bubble, ball, pop, kitty, eye, juice, moo, woof, shoes, bow, chip, bye-bye, choo-choo, and cheese.

Lydie, you are an angel if I've ever seen one. I love you more than you know, and I pray that I'll always be the kind of mother you deserve. Your strong will combined with your developmental challenges make you a tough little cookie to raise, but I know that God made you for a specific purpose and He gave you to us for a specific reason. He has blessed us already and we trust that He has even more blessings in store!

You are such a delight around here. You add a unique dynamic to our family and we wouldn't be the same without you. We are so thankful for you and are enjoying watching you grow day by day.

Kisses and Hugs,

Mommy

Saying, "CHEESE!" and showing all six of your teeth!