fourteen

Months, not years...*heart attack averted*

***please be forewarned:  this is a Dear Baby post...just my attempt to preserve the present***


Baby J, you are no longer.

Toddler J, you are fourteen months today!  You started jibber-jabbering all day long today - an attempt to mimic our conversation?  Or your way of expressing what's on your mind? Either way, I love it.

This is what you can do at 14 months:

• Walk (& almost run) all over the house!
• Crawl up and down stairs
• Climb up onto our laps or the couch by stepping on objects
• Climb onto my back for a piggy back ride
• Identify and point to familiar people when prompted
• Identify and point to familiar toys/stuffed animals when promptedM
• Bend over & pick up an object while standing
• Throw a ball overhand (your absolute favorite game)
• Pound on a drum & piano; strum a guitar (your 3 absolute favorite instruments)
• Follow 2 step directions
• Point to your eyes when prompted
• Look wherever I point
• Turn pages in a book
• Wave goodbye/hello, blow kisses, "talk" on the phone
• Laugh when you hear loud laughter, clap when you hear applause
• Put your head on the floor/bed when told "good night!"
• Dance and bop your head to music
• Eat with a fork, drink from a straw
• Scribble with a crayon
• Give hugs and kisses
• Brush your teeth  (although help is needed for thorough brushing)
• Bow/nod when prompted to say thank you (in English) or hello (in Korean)
• Push Mommy & Daddy's heads together to make us kiss;  push others' hands together to make them clap
• Fold your hands together and bow your head slightly before eating or when we say, "Let's pray!"

Signs you know:

• More
• Please
• All done
• Milk
• Please give it to me (in Korean)
• Thank you (sort of)
• Help (work in progress)
• Outside (a sign you made up yourself to consistently mean "go outside")

Words you say:

• Appa (Daddy)
• Umma (switched to Korean for Mama, ha!)
• Mool (Korean for "water")
• Ball (probably about 352,983 times a day)  :)
• Mum-mum (baby cracker brand.  But you use it to mean any type of snack food)
• More (just started saying this recently)
• Uh oh!
• Duck
• Dog
• Bear

Words you made up to consistently mean something else:

• Ba - this can mean bird, butterfly, ball, brush
• Nana - banana
• Da - downstairs
• Mo  (Gomo = Korean for paternal aunt)
• Brrrr - balloon
• Doop - soup

No matter what you do (or don't do), always remember that I'm proud of you and that I love you!  Thank you for making each day so joyful, and my heart so full :)

what? 2 posts in one week?? miracle!

I just love her voice.

And this video is the cutest, sweetest thing.

abc's

Saw this survey on Crystal's blog and it totally brought me back to my high school days, when we'd email all our friends these type of surveys.  And yes, I filled out and forwarded every single one. :-P  Here we go...

A. Age: 29  (haha. never mind that my birthday is 2 weeks away...)

B. Bed size: King.  And it's the most comfortable bed you will ever encounter.  (no wonder J never wants to sleep in his crib...)

C. Chore that you hate: The absolute worst - cleaning the kitchen floors.  Never feels clean and makes me sad :(

D. Dogs:  Love them...especially golden retrievers and dachshunds.

E. Essential start to your day: coffee & a bagel. hugs from my boys. 

F. Favorite color: fuchsia :)

G. Gold or Silver:  I used to always and only wear silver, but in the past couple of years, I've discovered I like dainty gold too.  So...both.  How's that for indecisive?

H. Height: 5' 4"

I. Instruments you play:  Piano (bad), Clarinet (worse), & Violin (abysmal).  Would LOVE to eventually learn the guitar one day...

J. Job title: Kindergarten teacher & Stay -at-home mom (part-time for each)

K. Kids: one almost-14 month old boy that steals my heart daily.  23 little five year olds that wear me out but make me smile.

L. Live:  by faith...relying on grace...

M. Mother’s name: Deborah

N. Nicknames:  I love nicknames - especially giving them to people!!  Unfortunately, my name is not too conducive to nicknames (although some call me sarrilly or sayre).

O. Overnight hospital stays: Being born, 3rd degree burn, foot surgery in China, giving birth

P. Pet peeves: Grammar/spelling mistakes (esp. from teachers), redundancy with acronyms (PIN number, ATM machine, SAT test).  

Q. Quote from a movie: "It's tradition!"

R. Right or left handed: Righty! 

S. Siblings: Older brother Dan, sis-in-law Kat, younger sister Es, & bro-in-law Fred, bro-in-law Joe and sis-in-law Sarah

T. Time it takes you to get ready: I always think I only need 5 minutes, but my husband knows to allot extra time because I can be pokey.  He actually sometimes tells me we need to aim to be ready an hour earlier than we do, just so we can be out of the house on time.  I think this is an undeniable part of why our marriage works :)

U. Ultimate Vacation: Our honeymoon to Alaska was actually #1 on my list.  Next up would probably be the Caribbean!  Or the Maldives. I'm dreaming of crystal clear water, colorful fish, and white sand...

V. Vegetable you hate: Beets.  Although I must say they're not that bad when juiced and mixed in with lots of sweeter fruits/veggies that mask the taste...

W. What makes you run late: My forgetfulness. I think I lose my phone at least 4 times a day - no joke.  Thankfully, I discovered this week that J (who is obsessed with phones) understands the word "phone," remembers where I put it, and points at mine when I've lost track of its whereabouts. 

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Teeth & head (softball-to-the-eye scare!)

Y. Yummy food that you make:   Mr. A would say it's my stuffed crust pizza.  But then again, he's not picky and very generous with compliments... :)

Z. Zoo animal:  Penguins.  OK, they can be smelly, but they're so cute!  Love the waddling and diving into the water...