James is Fourteen Months Old

As this last month seemed to fly by, I found myself making mental lists of all of the things that James had started doing.  He seems to be growing by leaps and bounds (his 18-month sleeper pajamas are getting a tad snug these days) but I'm not completely sure of his stats since we are not going back to the doctor for a scheduled well-child check-up until July. 

James cut another tooth this last month -- his bottom, right side one.  For the longest time, he has only had his two bottom front teeth with four on the top and three molars.  Eating has become so much better these days now that the molars are through (there is still one left that needs to cut until the two-year molars start).  He is not as picky and we often joke that we need to "back him away from the food trough."  He cries because he *thinks* that he needs more food, but he is stuffed to the gills.

His biggest accomplishments this month include:

* learning how to throw (some things are more appropriate to throw than others, and we are working on that)

* climbing stairs (he knows how to go UP stairs now, but we need to work on safely coming back down)

* attempting to walk by only holding onto one of your hands (not both); he is still a little wobbly, but he is getting the hang of it and becoming more and more confident

* sleeping more consistently at night (the last two months were filled with various wake-ups that I now believe were attributed to not feeling well and cutting teeth)

James is still taking two naps a day.  His morning nap runs from about 9:30 am to 11:30 am (sometimes shorter if we are running errands and he naps in the van), and his afternoon nap takes place consistently from about 1:00 pm to 3:30 - 4:00 pm or so.  He is often standing up in bed when I go to get him and if he is still sleeping, he is almost always laying on his belly.  I did have to remove the swinging animals on his mobile last week because he pulled them down.  I still wind it up for the music though and he uses that to drift off to sleep.

James is a "good napper" and this is because he is constantly on the go.  He tries to keep up with his older siblings and rarely stays still long enough these days to catch his breath.  Photo shoots are becoming increasingly difficult because most of the photos look like this:

Standing up, leaning over, sliding out ... generally an overall wrestling match.

This weekend, the sun came out for a bit and we took advantage of the Spring weather by having the kids outside as much as possible.  I reminded Steve that James needs sunscreen because his precious, pale skin and lack of hair do not yield much protection from the sun.  It looks like we will be getting him used to hats and sunglasses very soon.

 

Overall, Jimmy tends to be a happy little man that gives big smiles to most everyone.  Sometimes he will lay his head on your shoulder in a bashful way when talking to a stranger (it is the cutest thing ever!), but he will let just about anyone pick him up.  Amberlee, his cousin, had the best time with him a few weekends ago.

This summer is going to be a lot of fun with him.  He will be walking by them and will surely enjoy our trips to the beach, the park and going for picnics.  Lots of lazy days ahead ...