Carter: 13 & 14 Month Update

Sum..sum...summer time. Time has been flying this summer, and C has been very busy keeping us all on our toes. His curiosity is insurmountable, and there is always something just around the corner that he needs to investigate. He has a fascination for door stops, power cords, DVDs, video game controllers, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, air vents, entertainment stands, and houseplants.  I picked up these cabinet locks to prevent him pulling out ceramic serving pieces, appliances, and bathroom cleaning supplies, but he always seems to find the one thing I didn't think of. Pretty much any object that wasn't meant as a toy is fair game. He's not yet pulling himself up on furniture, or cruising around, so he's somewhat limited to what he can army crawl to, or sit up and reach, but the addition of a walker just after his first birthday has made many nooks and crannies more available to him than ever before, and he is loving every minute of mischief.



The official 13 Month photo!

13 & 14 MONTH FAVORITES

Face Crinkles

Sitting Up

Army Crawling

Power Cords

Walker
Peek-A-Boo

Bike Rides

Table food

Playing in the water

Swinging

Tasting the wind
Escaping diaper changes

Morning snuggles with Mom







I laugh in the face of a diaper change! #escapeartist

13 & 14 MONTH LEAST FAVORITES

Being scolded



C has been busy working himself onto the naughty list this last couple of months, and immediately goes for the power cords the minute I turn around. So far, he hasn't pulled the lamp off the table, but he did manage to pull the monitor off. He knew right away he was in trouble too. After the initial shock of something falling off a table when he pulled on a cord, he quietly reached for the monitor and silently stared at it in his hands, all the while his back to me while I was getting ready in the bathroom. He would turn his head to look at the bed, then back to the monitor, and back to the bed, then back to the monitor before slowly peeking over his shoulder to see if I saw what he did. We had a little sit down talk after this incident, and I explained that we don't play with cords because they are attached to things that can hurt babies. He looked at me and listened, then his bottom lip started to quiver, there was some whimpering, and a few tears even dropped before he went in for the snuggle to make sure everything was still good with the world. We've had a couple of other incidents where he has been overly excited at scratched my face - I may have looked like I'd been in a cat fight all last week - after which we repeated this little chat of ours ensuing in the lip quiver, whimper, and tears routine before making up with a snuggle. I'd like to think he's learned his lesson, and I do think he at least has an understanding that he shouldn't be doing these things, but he's a very curious little boy, and always on the lookout, unknowingly or not, for the next spot of trouble he can find himself in. One lesson at a time! #snuggleandmakeup

MEMORIES & MILESTONES

C has been on the move this month. After a handful of times sitting up sneakily without anyone seeing it, C has been proudly pushing into a sit all by himself since turning 13 months. We've been working on this for a while now in physical therapy, so we are so proud of him for reaching this goal. He started army crawling at about a year, and he has become very efficient getting from Point A to Point B. He is starting to use his knees more, but hasn't yet figured out that he would be able to move much faster if he just would push off the floor with his arms. Also new, the addition of a walker. C has been LOVING the new mobility, and took only about 30 seconds to figure out how to push forward. He started out doing a two leg hop to get around, but after a few days, he started putting one foot in front of the other, and now he pretty much is at a dead sprint once he gets in. He loves pull up and practice walking using our hands, and once he gets his balance figured out, I'm sure he'll be off and running! He hasn't quite figured out how to pull himself up from sitting using furniture yet, and he isn't furniture cruising, but T & I think he's likely just days away from getting into all kinds of things he shouldn't be! For his safety, and our sanity, I got this baby gate for the top of our stairs, and these cupboard locks, and so far they have done the trick keeping him out of too much trouble.

New Teeth! Finally, as we draw to an end of this month, after waiting nearly five months, C's two upper front teeth have popped through. We are all convinced he has a whole mouthful coming as we can see a couple more just under his gums, but so far, he's been handling it like a champ, and only been up during the night once to be consoled.

With summer in full swing, we've been enjoying the occasional boat ride when the weather isn't too hot and the lake isn't too busy. C loves to be on the boat, and was particularly fond of the new addition of Grandpa T's fishing boat to his mix of maritime adventures. Who knew watching a motor churn the water would be so much fun?!

Summertime is for trips, be they just down the road to visit Grandma S and Grandpa T, a bike trip to the Nutty Bar Stand, across the lake for a change of scenery, across NW Iowa to visit family in Humboldt, or across timezones to visit Florida or Colorado. We've kept busy this summer, and have been on the go all over the place. C has had the opportunity to see both oceans and mountains (in the same week!) loooong before T & I ever did when we were kids. I don't know how much air travel we will take after C reaches that golden age of 2 years old when he'll need his own ticket to fly, so we've really been trying to take advantage while he's just a little guy. We don't have any big travel plans for upcoming months, but maybe we'll try to sneak in a trip to Sioux Falls, or Iowa City before the summer is gone.

First time trying nuts! Almond fudge ice cream at The Nutty Bar Stand in Arnolds Park. As you can tell, C was all about it. Nothing is better on a hot summer day than a scoop of ice cream!

This was just after C doused himself in water from a water bottle while we were out on a walk. As you can tell, he thought it was pretty funny. Maybe now he won't squeeze the bottles that are full of water!

Playing our favorite game...Peek-A-Boo!

Splish splash! Hot summer days = playtime with water. 

Eeeeeeee! No post would be complete without a few good crinkle face pics! C has been loving riding his tricycle around the driveway and checking on all of the flowers. Just when we think it's time to go inside, he dives for his trike, and we have to take a couple of laps and practice learning to ring the bell before going inside to cool off.

We had to lower the mattress in C's crib this month. He hasn't yet pulled himself up, but he's been sitting up every time we go in to get him, so before it's too late, we made the adjustment. He pretty much loves it, and immediately started jumping on the mattress when we put him in to test it out. #thenaughtylistcontinues

Learning about accessorizing in mom's closet...aka source of fascination and where C can be found when mom isn't looking.

Official 14 month photo!