Fourteen things about Peter at 14 months.
1. Peter has started climbing up into chairs. It takes some effort but he is able to get up onto our couch and likes to run back and forth on it. When we go into mommy and daddy’s bedroom he will climb up on the bed and hit the blankets and pillows. The most crazy thing though is that he has figured out how to climb up into the rocking chair in his room AND has figured out how to rock back and forth like a maniac. So much for that being the super “child-proof” room!
2. Peter can walk out to the car all by himself. We put his shoes on and he goes straight for the door. When we open the door he starts up the sidewalk headed for the parking lot. A lot of times he gets distracted by the basketball court and wants to go in there to play, but with a little encouragement he continues on up the sidewalk and we keep walking until we touch the car bumper. Then I throw him up in the air and yell “Yay!!!” I make sure we leave the house 5 minutes earlier so we have enough time for this journey.
3. Peter is learning words!!! He doesn’t say much: “mama”, “dada”, “doh” (dog), “cah” (cat). But he can understand a lot more. He understands: ball, shoes, banana, water, milk, toy, box, drink, Chewy, balloon, no, out, car, throw… It’s so fun to watch his little brain work as he makes connections between words, actions, and things. So exciting!
4. Peter LOVES to swim! He gets a big, huge grin on his face when he is moving through the water. Unfortunately the last few times we have gone swimming he’s gotten a really bad rash from all the chemicals. It’s so sad. Tonight he was looking at our apartment pool and shaking the gate and crying, trying to get in. Poor kid! We ended up taking a big plastic tub from our closet and filling it with fresh water from the tap. He was so happy! He splashed around in there for probably half an hour.
5. Favorite foods are: Bananas, Kix, Fruity Cheerios, grapes, blueberries, mango, graham crackers, applesauce, animal cookies, tuna salad, avocado, toast, eggs, chicken, roast, spaghetti, peanut butter
6. Peter has a bad reaction to milk products AND soy products. Our pediatrician told us he needs to drink the hypoallergenic formula until he is 2 years old. It tastes pretty terrible but we have figured out that if we add a little Grape-Cranberry juice the bitterness is subdued. We are having to read more labels to see what has milk products. Sometimes we are surprised, like when our flavored rice cakes had a reaction.
7. Peter likes boxes. Boxes are the best toys ever!! All his other toys he will play with for 5 minutes and then abandon them on the floor. But give him a box and he is happy for half an hour. He even knows the word “box”. This week we found him a toy tool box at a garage sale and I like to change what toys are in there every night. In the morning I ask him what is in “Peter’s box” and he will spend a long time taking things in and out of it.
8. Peter likes to push things around. Chairs, boxes, big balls, shopping carts. He can do about 5 rows at Costco pushing the shopping cart with mom.
9. He is working at going down stairs. Sometimes its just on his butt or a backwards crawl. But lately he has wanted to WALK down the stairs. Oh, man! This scares me to death! He is starting to learn that he needs to either hold on to the railing or hold somebody’s hand. If he doesn’t he ends up scaring himself (and mom) when he loses control and starts tripping down the step.
10. Peter has long term memory. He goes to the phone when it rings. He knows which one is our apartment. At our favorite parks he knows where to find the playground no matter where we park. He knows where I keep the bananas and the cookies. Last time we pulled into the Chick-Fil-A parking lot he let out a big squeal of joy because its one of his favorite restaurants. He’s so dang smart!
11. Peter goes to sleep really well. Usually he is in bed sometime between 7 and 7:30pm. We go in his room to read a story while he drinks some milk. His favorite bedtime books are “The Going To Bed Book” and “Guess How Much I Love You”. Then we turn on his lullaby CD and I rock him and talk about our day and all the fun things we did together. Usually by the time the first song is over he is relaxed and I can set him down in his crib for the night. He then usually sleeps 12 hours. There are of course exceptions, some nights he just doesn’t want to sleep and makes sure I know it. I’ve tried bringing him into our bed when he is like this or when he is sick but that actually gets him excited. In his mind our bed is the place to play and rough-house. He ends up climbing all over us and giggling. He definitely relaxes more in his own bed. I am very thankful that he hasn’t figured out how to climb out of his crib…yet. *cross fingers*
12. Temper tantrums have begun. These aren’t too often, but they are starting. Most often it is when we are leaving a play area before he is ready to go. Sometimes its when mommy is eating something that isn’t baby friendly so he doesn’t get to share it. Once it was when he wanted to lift a big rock, but it was too heavy. He lets you know that he doesn’t like what is going on by scrunching up his face, letting the tears flow, stiffening his entire body, and stomping his feet. He gets MAD!
13. Peter likes to share his food. Whatever Peter is eating he likes to make sure that other people get a taste. He offers his food to mom and dad at every meal. When we are out playing with friends he will give them a grape or a piece of cereal. He gets a big grin whenever someone takes and eats his food. His favorite sharing partner though is our dog, Gizmo. He likes to bend over the side of his high chair and have the dog lick food off his fingers. It gets the biggest giggles ever!
14. Peter is loved. He gets giggley when Dad comes home from work and is ready to play. He goes to Mom whenever he needs a hug. He runs up to us for a quick hug then goes back to what he is doing. The animals put up with all kinds of patting, fur grabbing and endless chasing while still wanting to be close to him and rub up against his leg. He has family around the world who make faces at him over Skype. He is a lucky boy!
