Dear Alex,

You have just passed the 14 month mark & we have so busy! Now that you’re very much on the move and so interactive, Dad and I don’t have as much time to get on the computer as we used to. So I apologize for the infrequency of my letters during this phase of your life! Nevertheless, that hasn’t stopped us from taking plenty of pictures & videos. It’s harder to get good ones lately because you just don’t stay still for very long. You are a really good walker now, and even starting to run on occasion. Unfortunately this has led to some unfortunate face-plants and your first (but not last, I’m sure) bloody nose. 😦

You are also pretty good at communicating and starting to show an interest in talking, but you still don’t say much yet. The only things you say with any consistency so far are “Mama,” “Dada,” and “dog” which really sounds more like “gog” when you say it. A few other rare times we’ve heard you say “yes,” “up,” “more” and “bye bye” but so far they seem to be flukes. Overall I suspect you will be a late talker, which is pretty common with little boys so I’m not worried about it.

Anyway, I thought this would be a good time to do another “favorite things” update… the weather has been cold and messy so we haven’t really gotten into many exciting adventures the lately. Hopefully spring will move onto the scene here pretty soon so that we can get out & do more fun things with you! In the meantime, here are some of the things you are really into these days, and the things we use to make life with a toddler a little easier:

1. FOOD. You are a little bottomless pit! I’m glad you’re such a great eater, and even more glad that you can just eat whatever we eat now rather than having to buy things like formula, baby food, those quick-dissolve “puffs,” etc. Your favorite on-the-go snack is Goldfish, and I love these little snack containers Grandma got you for Christmas:

They keep stuff from spilling out so that you can hold it yourself. You’ve gotten pretty good at getting things out of there!

As much as you love food, you also have really gotten into sharing your food lately. Often times you try to give us a bit of your food in between your own bites. You do this with everyone, everywhere. It’s so funny when we take you to restaurants and you try to offer bites of your food to everyone that walks by! 😉 Recently we had to start putting the dogs outside during all your meals, because a LOT of this was happening:

As for drinks, you have shown an affinity for straw cups rather than the “traditional” sippy cup, although we have a few of those around too. My favorites are the tall insulated ones, they hold a lot and keep your milk cold for a really long time!

At the same time, we’re working on teaching you to drink out of regular cups like a big boy. This training cup has been a huge help…. it works just like a regular cup but has a plastic disc in the top that controls the flow of the liquid, so it doesn’t all spill out as quickly. You’re actually really good at it, but don’t understand yet that you can’t just leave these sorts of cups laying on their side….

Speaking of food, here’s your first time tasting an ice cream cone. You got REALLY into it, LOL.

2. Books! Other than eating, flipping through books is your absolute favorite thing to do. I guess you got the bookworm gene from me! 🙂 And so we’ve acquired a pretty extensive collection of board books. I buy them at yard sales, etc. because you’re pretty rough on them (you also like chewing on them, and once you’ve found a particular page you like you try to rip it out :-\)

Not only do you like looking at the pictures, but you like hearing the stories as well. Whenever you’re not looking through the book yourself, you’re coming up to us to throw the book in our lap– your way of asking us to read it to you. 😉 Another cool thing I’ve noticed lately is that you seem to be able to tell when a book/page is upside down. You are so smart!

3.  Jake & the Neverland Pirates– You still love Bubble Guppies also, as well as a few other shows (I’ve recently gotten you into one of my childhood favorites, Fraggle Rock), but Jake is the only one besides Bubble Guppies where you recognize all the songs and get really excited when it comes on. Nana got you a Jake pirate ship for Christmas, and you love playing with it, although you haven’t figured out how to propel yourself around on it yet.

4. Fischer Price apps… Thank GOODNESS for these, they really save us sometimes when we’re out to dinner, stuck in line at the store, etc. They have all sorts of different “games” and such. We have about 5 or 6 on my phone and “your” phone (one of my old cell phones, which I keep in your room to entertain you while you’re getting your diaper changed).

5. Pop-up Rocket Ship. This was the best $20 I’ve spent in awhile. You LOVE crawling in & out of it:

And it folds up into a small, flat bag that is easy to take to playdates & such. This happens to be one of my favorite pictures of you currently:

6. Cozy Coupe Truck. This thing is a huge hit at every single play date. All the kids (yourself included) love it and flock right to it. Right now I have the floor board in it, but when you’re ready I’ll take that out and you can walk/”drive” yourself around in it. On nice days when we go out for walks, Dad & I usually push you around in your truck. Here you go taking one of your many girlfriends (Lord help me!) for a ride:

I could go on really… basically anything that keeps you entertained and helps you get out all your active energy is a WIN in this house. 😉 Your new favorite game lately is chasing us around the house, and vice versa. It’s a non-stop giggle-fest!

You’re also getting to be quite a climber. You are excellent at going up the stairs now (but we’re still working on getting back down), and any time you have a chance to climb into a box, basket, etc…. you’re all over it!

Another fun thing you & I have been doing lately is a mommy & me swim class, which will hopefully prepare you a bit for this summer! Here we are practicing “jumping’ into the pool on the first day of class.

Other than that, it’s been business as usual around here…. work, play, eat, sleep, repeat. We wouldn’t have it any other way! 🙂

I love your little personality. Although there are some tantrums, overall you’re just the sweetest, funniest little creature I’ve ever known. You are much more generous with the smiles & giggles these days. It’s the best! Dad & I are really enjoying the phase of your life. It’s almost time for you to wake up from your nap… until next time, my sweet boy! 🙂

 

All my love,
Mom