14 Months

Here’s what’s going on in the world of Finley at fourteen months:

Words.

Consistent words: Mama. Dada. Maggie.

Words she wishes she could say: Bebo. She says “baba” when she lifts her shirt and looks for her bellybutton. Gray-Gray for Grayson. Still sounds like “day-day” and only on occasion. She also really wants to say her animal sounds but we just get a cute grunt for dogs “woofing”.

Words we wish she could say: Please. Thank you. I need __________ please. We are smack in the middle of the stage of fussing and pointing and “AH AH AH-ing” to communicate what she wants or needs. Wow. I caught myself tonight mindlessly saying “Finley, please use your words” (because I have said this to Grayson for so long now). She stopped fussing and looked at me funny. Oh yes child, you don’t have any words yet. So sorry. Although we have tried and continue to try signing “please” and “more” and “thank you”, she apparently thinks baby sign language is overrated.

Crawling.

Everywhere and very, very fast. She ripped holes in the knees of three of her size 12 months pants (her cousin and sister did wear them first, but still).

Walking.

She will take a handful of steps on her own if we provide great encouragement and fanfare. Video proof will be uploaded soon. She’s either stubborn or just not sure of herself yet enough to keep it up permanently. Oh that toddle-walk. I can just eat it up it’s so cute. Also cute, instead of walking on her feet, she will often “walk” on her knees. When she wants to go faster, she knee walks sort of sideways, more of a knee shuffle. Grayson thinks it’s hysterical.

Climbing.

Literally on everything. I really try not to compare the kids (how do you not do this with your second when all you knew was your first?!) But, Grayson was not a climber. I had no idea. For Finley, tables are a current favorite. And she can climb up on top of one in two seconds flat. I finally gave up on the benches to the dining room table. She can climb them and stand on them as long as she does not climb on top of the actual table. I’m waiting for the trip to the emergency room when she topples off backwards onto the hardwood floor. It’s amazing actually how she does it. She lays that tummy on the bench, her little feet fly up in the air behind her and somehow she balances to her knees then her feet. I don’t have coordination like that. She must have gotten it from Justin.

Gestures.

She waves with her hand and not her whole arm.

When she wants to be held or wants a hug, she holds her arms out in front of her with her palms facing you, wrists up, fingers down. Hard to explain but it’s the cutest thing around.

When you turn on music and ask her to dance, she waves her arms back and forth.

She points at things she wants with one finger.

She gets really excited and points when she sees any animal in real life. She about jumped out of her car seat when we drove by some geese today.

Random facts.

She loves her woobie. I have taught her this and I recognize it will full admission. When you give it to her at bedtime, she turns her head to the side and snuggles it between her cheek and shoulder. A girl after my own heart. She also throws it out of her crib about half of the time when she sleeps. Minor details. We have plenty of time to work on that.

She still sucks her right thumb, but only on occasion in the car and then always when she goes to sleep. She sleeps in her sleepsack during the day, but without it at night. We are trying to avoid the sleepsack attachment issue this time around.

She eats almost anything. As Grayson said the other day very matter of factly, “she eats anything you put on her tray mama.” Except cheese. How the child does not like cheese in this family is beyond me. She has a love hate relationship with yogurt too, also surprising.

She is a really happy baby. She does not have stranger danger, goes right into nursery at church, and is usually content if you give her a spoon and a cup to play with. Right now is a bit of a different story. Let’s just say I hope these two teeth cut through soon and she learns a few words to help us understand what she wants.

When we sit down on the floor to play, Finley immediately will climb into our laps. She doesn’t stay for very long, but she comes back to visit often. It’s one of our favorite things.