14 months old!
Clara turns 14 months old today!
Jason decided it was time to go cold turkey--no more bottles for
Clara! (so far 10 hours without one bottle, but whose counting?) It
all started when we decided to check out the Sunday school for kids
her age. Jason stayed with her because she was a little nervous about
just being dropped off and left with strangers. Apparently, at snack
time everyone else was drinking their milk or water out of a sippy cup except Clara.
We've been trying to transition without any luck (she always wants her milk in a bottle but will drink water out of any container!). Right after church we went to Target and let her pick out a cup (she chose a Dora the Explorer insulated
cup with a straw :) It definitely took her longer to nap without
having a bottle to pacify herself with, but we did let her use a cup
filled with water to go to bed with. Overall, we realize now she's
been chugging her milk in part because she was using it to pacify
herself, when she no longer had that, she drank a lot less milk so we
have to figure out a way to get her to drink more milk throughout the
day. We'll see how she sleeps tonight...
Her sleep has been very good this past month. Most days sleeping 12
hours straight, a few nights of 13 hours in a row! Still napping just
once a day, 1 to 3 hours long. She is still not officially walking,
she has taken a couple of steps on her own, but she sits down after
just a couple of steps if she realizes she is walking without holding
onto something. We hope this month will be the month she finally
walks! (Otherwise I heard she may need to go to physical therapy if
she's not walking by 15 months).
Clara's words so far:
"what's that?"
"What is that?"
"who's that?"
"Allí está" (Spanish for "there is"--used whenever she finds
something we've hidden, like her blanket)
"dada"
(and very rarely, "mama")
She seems particularly fascinated by shoes, fans, lights and babies
(very little ones). She likes to clap when she's praised (we praise
profusely when she brushes her teeth!). She likes to try to dress
herself (and can successfully get her shoes and shirt on, a takes
quite a few tries but she is persistent). She loves to laugh (and
copies us whenever we start to laugh about something) and makes a loud
"Ahhhh" to get adults attention. She likes to climb the stairs with
her hands held (instead of just crawling up). She has learned how to
get down off the bed and couch but still not down the stairs (I'm
nervous about her trying this too much). She still loves "reading" on
her own and likes to help us around the house (tries to use our little
broom and dustpan). She also understands when I say "let's clean up"
and will help put things away (but if this takes too long she gets
tired of cleaning and goes back to taking it all back out again!).
She's learned how to open and close her hands into a fist (as part of
a song she learned at Story Hour).
Best of all, she has the most fantastic smile when I get home from
work and waves hello as I walk towards the house. Jason and I feel so
blessed to have her in our lives!
