Austin Scott: 13-14 Months

14 months has been good to us. Seriously, how can you resist this handsome little face? I just can't do it - so he gets pretty much everything he wants. End of story. 

Stats: Solidly in 12 month clothes (except pants, 12 month pants are still a bit big). His size 3 shoes are starting to get a little small but still fit. Size 3 diapers. Three teeth but a fourth will be popping in real soon. His eye color is changing! I don't remember if I've mentioned this, but I think that he will end up with hazel eyes like mine. I kind of love that. Almost no hair in the front, but he's starting to get a fuzzy little mullet in the back. I think a haircut will be happening in the next few weeks. 

Some other things to remember: 

--If you ask him a question, he'll respond "Ya". It's so funny. It's kind of a grunty ya. I almost always spell ya, "yeah" when I'm typing, but that doesn't really capture the way that he says it. It's like "Hey Austin, are you hungry" and he's says "Ya" in his sweet but grunty voice. So funny. He doesn't do it to all questions, just the ones that actually need the response "Ya." If the answer is no, he shakes his head and runs away. Such a smart little boy.

--He eats all the time. It's hard to keep myself from just feeding him snack food all day because it seems like he's always hungry. I'll feed him a nice big lunch (where he'll eat a lot) then we'll go somewhere and he'll start begging for food and acting like he hasn't eaten all day. He's not alone, Lydia is a big eater too - but I'm running out of ideas for good things for them to eat that are easy and nutritious. Some of my main go-to's are: raisins, pretzels, sliced apples, frozen vegetables (especially peas) just slightly defrosted by running some warm water over them, refried beans, pasta, string cheese, etc... They fly through olives, pineapple, and clementines (like, those things don't even make a dent in their hunger). 

--This month has been filled with much crying, whining, and needing to be held. I know he's working on cutting some teeth (the top left one has been coming in, and the top right one is almost ready to break the surface. I don't know if that's all the reason though. He's always been a mama's boy - but he just won't handle being held by someone else if I'm around, especially his dad. He loves David, he smiles and laughs and runs to him at the door - but when he wants to be held (especially during the night) it better be me or we are all in for it. 

-Along with his grumpiness this month, he's had a harder time taking naps. I still put him down twice, once around 9:30 and once around 2, but he has a harder time falling asleep. 

--It's gotten really cold at night, and I think that's made it hard for him to sleep well. Waking up 5-6 times a night wasn't going to cut it so we started cranking the heat at night until the space heater we bought online arrived. Now we keep his room warmer at night and he's back to waking up about twice a night. It's really a problem but I don't know what to do about it. 

--More bedtime info: he wears his footie-jammies, a wearable blanket/cover, and socks on his hands. It's so cute at night when I'm cozying him up in his getup he'll see the socks, grin and hold out his hands for me to put them on. He's such a doll. 

--When I'm laying him in his bed (whether for naps or for nighttime) I nurse him then lay him in his bed, give him a ball to hold, put in his pacifier, and tuck his blue blanket under his chin. If he lets me do all of this without crying, he's probably going to go to sleep well. If he cries at any point before I walk out of the room I either have to start the process back with nursing him in the chair or I just have to let him cry. My action depends on the intensity of the cry, because sometimes he'll cry forever and won't fall asleep unless I start the process over - but sometimes he'll cry for 30 seconds and then fall right to sleep.  

--He's turned into quite the little runner. Not just walking fast, but really running around. His Aunt Amy and Uncle Kevin play the best game with him, where they hold his hands above his head and lift him barely-barely off the ground and then run around the house with him. His little legs pump back and forth skimming the ground and his face is a so happy you'd think his smile was going to be permanently etched there. As soon as they stop running he wiggles his body and says -"gaan" (again). He loves it. He's found a substitute for when they aren't around. Lydia will back up to him and let him hold onto the back of her shirt and then she'll start running, dragging him along with her. He'll hold on as long as he can running as fast as his little legs will go before he's forced to let go and fall over. He laughs and then requests "gaan" (again). Over and over. 

--Due to his sprint training above, he's gotten really good at running on his own. He'll hold the string of his little red train and run around pulling it behind him. He can only makes it 8-10 steps really running then he'll slow down and look behind him. He always looks so proud.  

--Throws things away in the garbage can all day every day. If I leave a package of wipes open, he'll pull out the top wipe, walk all the way to the garbage can, open the lid, throw the wipe away, then walk back to the package of wipes to start the process over. It's so funny and sometimes I let him do it and just watch how happy it makes him. Other times I just find a giant pile of wipes in the garbage. Sometimes I just can't let him do it even though I want to because... all those wipes! (We put the pulled out wipes in our kitchen drawer and I use them to wash the dishes because I hate dish rags, so it works out, but still...) His garbage throwing isn't limited to wipes: balls, shoes, toys, silverware, cups, etc... you name it - it's probably been in our garbage can. 

--When he's eating a meal, he prefers to eat with a spoon or fork. No more picking things up with his fingers (even things like quesadillas) he wants to be able to use the utensils to get it. If he can't get it on the spoon/fork, he'll use his fingers to pick it up, place it on the utensil, then put it in his mouth. If I forget to give him a fork he'll "yell" at me until I remember. 

--One of his favorite breakfast foods is cheerios and yogurt. It works great because it's easy for him to use his spoon with, but really- he's gotten really good at eating with the utensils anyway. He's so big! 

--He's a great eater and he eats a lot. But he will go from shoveling his food in his mouth to dropping it over the edge in just seconds. Him dropping his food off the edge means "I'm done eating, thank you." 

--Apparently I have a ton of high chair pictures this month. I don't know why. But he's cute so I can't cut any of them out. Annnnd... he likes popcorn. (Boy gets it honestly.) When he wants more food, he'll either grunt/yell and point his finger or he'll sign more while he says "moh". It's so darling and I love that he really understands what more means now and he really wants to communicate. It's also so sad when he's trying to get my attention and he starts signing more because he's hungry (even if I've just recently fed him) and he wants more food. He will even sometimes sign "please" and often signs "all done". 

-Some of his favorite words are "gaan" (again), "yaya" (Lydia), "iiinn" (raisin), "dat" (that), "baaah" (ball), "mamah" (Mama), "moh" (more, he says this while signing it).

--Halloween was good to this boy. He looked so cute as a little bat. I loved it. I love love loved it. Plus, he loved getting all of the candy and was well aware of what each and every piece meant and he wanted to eat it. (No pretending the candy wasn't actually to eat for this one.) He also got really, really good at knocking on doors and he'll walk around the house knocking. I often think that someone is at the front door. If other people are over, they absolutely think someone is knocking on the front door. His knock sounds like an adult knock. 

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--He loves to be outside. It's starting to get cold, so we don't go out often, but as soon as the door is open, he makes a break for it. 

--He's been really grumpy and clingy, but he still has a laugh and grin that would melt the toughest heart. (Which is sometimes exactly what I need.) 

--Lydia loves him and seems to love him more and more every day. I think that she loves that he's getting bigger and bigger and more able to play with her. 

--If I'm doing the dishes or talking to someone and he's trying to get my attention he'll hit my leg to try to get my attention. And yell Mama. 

--He likes to knock things over. Especially dominos. But block towers and stacked books. It's a brilliantly fun game for him. He likes to stack blocks, push them over, and then stack them again.

His whole life I've just felt like he was so small. I don't know why, I mean - he's definitely on the smaller end of the spectrum as far as percentile goes - but I think just comparing him to Lydia he seems so little. But lately when I pick him up I'm like "Umph! He's heavy!" Plus he just seems to be getting older and older and understanding more and more and I'm just so in love with him and his developing personality. He seems so big. 

Austin, I love you. You make my mommy heart feel so loved and so full of love. You are getting so big and I can't wait to see your sweet personality continue to develop. You are so loved. 

(Also, today is my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! You teach me how to be a better mother through your advice and incredble example. I am more and more grateful for you every single day that passes in this crazy adventure called motherhood.)