14 Months

In keeping with the randomness of my updates one Claire, here is one for her very important 14th month.

Stats:
Claire is 28.7 inches tall and weights about 21 pounds. She still only has three teeth all of which are on the

bottom but her fourth is working at coming in now.

Speech:
Claire has a real word! Jeff and I differ on what her first word was, but this is my blog so I'm claiming it as kitty. Whenever she sees Blanket and gets excited she sounds just like Boo from Monster's Inc. That is the only word she regularly uses in its proper context right now, but she understands a decent number of basic instructions. Of these the most important is that she reliably understands and responds to being told no.

Sleep:
I think we are now officially sleeping through the night folks. Hallelujah thank you Jesus. Whew. I mean, you really do just get used to being tired, and that truth isn't as depressing as I thought it was before I had a kid. I do seem to have amnesia about Claire's first summer though and keep getting excited thinking that this coming summer will be her first. Then of course I remember that we already had a summer with her in which we did all the fun water and outdoorsy things that I'm looking forward to doing again. My only explanation for this amnesia is that I was even more tired than I realized!

Personality:
Claire can be a little bit of a stinker these days and can throw a tantrum when she gets frustrated,  but as long as I'm not asking her to wait for food she is a pretty happy girl. She enjoys having people over to the house and showing off her new skills as she walks from one person to the next. Of course she still is pretty attached to Jeff and I but as long as we're near by she likes to visit with new folks too.

Movin' & a Groovin':

Claire doesn't appreciate people who don't share.

Claire is getting more and more confident in her walking abilities these days. She's still most comfortable crawling, but she is now choosing to walk to get somewhere close instead of crawling. Her limit of unassisted walking is somewhere around 10-12 steps but she gets a little farther every day, and she's picking up speed. She still likes to use her walkers to go long distances, and if she can't find a real walker she'll make one out of anything that's handy. So far boxes, desk chairs, TV trays and high chairs have all been turned into improvised walkers.

Favorite Things:

Claire is still madly in love with her puppy dog. Her new favorite thing to do is to sit on top of him while he's laying down. Prince is pretty understanding with her but one of these days he's going to decide to get up while she's on top of him. That is going to be remembered as either the day she learned how to ride a dog or the day she got a giant goose egg on her head. It will most likely be the latter.

The new thing Claire seems most fond of doing is hanging out in the front yard. Since we put in the new sod the weather has been really nice, so I've been taking her out with me when I go to water the yard. She plays in the puddle created by a leak in the hose while I get my chores done. We've stained a few pants this way, but she couldn't be happier so it's a sacrifice I can live with. I'm really looking forward to more water related activities this summer and getting one of those water splash tables for her to play with.

Claire has expanded her TV palate and now also gets excited to watch Sesame Street. I am very happy with this new development since I can probably recite most of the first two seasons of Yo Gabba Gabba by heart. Also, Sesame Street is sooooo much quieter to have on. This mama is pleased. In preparation for our Disneyland trip in September we've started showing her some Disney movies as well. She's enjoyed Lilo and Stitch, Tarzan, Pocahontas and WALL-E so far.