Landon – 14 Months Old

L.J. is 14 months old! This month marked a huge change in L.J.’s life – we moved to a new house! Given that things are still slightly chaotic, I felt that lint-covered britches and a stud finder in his mouth made for an appropriate monthly picture. (And we all know L.J.’s quite the handsome little stud!)

Moving to a new home was harder on L.J. than we anticipated. He really enjoys having more space to roam around, but it took over a week for him to go down for a nap or the night without screaming. We’ve also butted heads more than a few times when L.J.’s idea of appropriate clashes with mommy and daddy’s. See: climbing stairs, pulling nightlights out of the wall and playing in the fireplace.

L.J. is rapidly making the transition to toddlerhood and we have seen significant physical and cognitive growth this month. He’s right on the cusp of meeting several new milestones, chief among them being walking.

At 14 months L.J. can:

• Climb! Into, over and through – if it can be scaled, L.J. is up to the challenge. He climbed up the staircase in our new house on his very first try.
• Use a spoon and fork with help. If we load it up, he can make the delivery.
• Protest! With growing independence comes a growing attitude. He makes it quite clear when he doesn’t want to do something.
• Initiate a game of peek-a-boo. He loves to play peek-a-boo and will put his bib over his face at mealtime or hide behind his shirt on the changing table.
• Cruise all over the place and pull up on almost anything. He is very mobile despite not yet being able to walk.
• Almost stack things such as blocks. He absolutely understands the concept but is still working on fine-tuning his motor skills.
• Wave bye-bye and blow kisses.
• Insert items into his toys, such as putting shapes into his talking hippo’s mouth.
• Point in the general direction of what he wants.
• Be defiant! He knows he is not allowed to toss food on the floor, but he will look right at you and then throw a big handful down.

L.J. is a smart cookie! He likes exploring cause and effect and is already a good problem solver. We’ve had a few more rough days this month as he tries out his budding independence, but he is still L.J. – laid back, happy and a friend to everyone he meets.

He babbles constantly but only has two discernible words – “Mama” (which refers to both me and Mike) and “Bah-Bah” (which means “Bye Bye”). Mike is bound and determined to teach him to say “Dada”.

We’re just starting to see toddlerhood emerging in his eating habits. While it was originally almost a game to find something he wouldn’t eat, he is starting to become more selective in his choices. One day he likes beans, the next he throws them on the floor, the third he eats them again. He loves cheese, blueberry waffles, Craisins and mandarin oranges and recognizes any of those items if they are out. Apparently all the Gatorade I consumed while pregnant created a lasting memory because he loves to share mommy’s Gatorade! Not exactly up there on the recommended foods for toddlers list, but at least it’s the low-sugar variety and I water it down for him. If he sees a Gatorade bottle he will bob up and down and make happy little shrieks – followed quickly by protesting shrieks if I don’t share!

And we are finally starting to see some separation anxiety. If one of us leaves the house without him he dissolves into tears – giant, crocodile guilt-trip tears. Fortunately we don’t experience that when we drop him off at school. He still loves school!