Comprehension - 14 months

I've got to start being more mindful that Quint understands nearly everything I say. There's this Veggie Tales silly song with the line "I ain't got no belly button". It's really a very funny song and a spoof on hip-hop love songs. Click here to go watch it.

Last night at some point when Quint's belly button was visible and he was playing with it, (in the tub or during a clothes change) I started singing this song. "I got to tell you something. I ain't got no belly button." He looked up at me, and his eyes said he was clearly shocked! "You don't have a belly button?!" was clearly what his face said. I quickly said, "it's just a silly song, son. Of course I have a belly button," and showed him mine. He looked relieved and played with my belly button for a minute.

Because he will soon start to understand what I'm saying, I've already told him that he is going to be a big brother. I've even explained what that means and will do so many more times before #2 gets here. Right now, he obviously doesn't get it.

Also this weekend, one afternoon when I knew he needed a nap, I just asked him. "Do you need a nap?" And he actually said, "I do" with one quick nod. He still shrieked as if tortured when I first put him down, but that only lasted for like 3 minutes then he was OUT! We're working on the phrase, "come here" while trying to not associate it with "or I'll get you" which makes running and chasing happen. He also requested to go outside to play. Outside he walked all over the place and went up the deck stairs several times. Once back inside, he chased Hubby around our kitchen/living room race track. Then after a few minutes, they switched and Hubby chased Quint, all while Quint quacked like a duck. He is so darn cute!

We also worked on going DOWN the stairs. He's great at going up the stairs, but horrible at going down the stairs. We moved the baby gate at the very bottom of the stairs to three steps from the bottom. That way he could climb them and learn how to go back down by himself. I'm not that worried about him falling down three carpeted stairs. He did manage to get back down several times by himself.

At the park, he learned to both climb up the slide steps and then go down the slide. He hasn't mastered the "sit on the edge and put your feet in front of you before you go down" part. A friend took some video on her phone. That I can't get to install here on this page. I'll try again later.


My camera is busted, AGAIN, so my most current photos of Quint are trapped on my phone where I don't know how to get them off. I've been taking still pictures with my video camera and I need to post some of those.

Quint is 14 months old today! He will feed himself solid foods for Priscilla, but not so much for us. He will eat broccoli for her, but refuses for us. He's starting to feed himself more and more though. He only occasionally will only eat spoon fed goo. The other day, he actually stacked one block on top of another and looked astonished that it stayed. He is completely weaned!

The very last time he nursed was funny. In the middle of the night he was incredibly upset about something and we couldn't figure out what. Maybe it was a nightmare. At wit's end, I plugged him in to nurse, knowing I didn't have any milk. Hubby asked about that and I said it still works as a pacifier. After a few calming minutes, he let go and sat up. He turned at looked at it, touched it with his finger, and his little shoulders fell a bit. He reached for my shirt and pulled it down to cover me. Hubby and I exchanged a look. A minute later, as we walked by a sippy cup of water, he lunged at it. I handed him the water and he drank about 4 ounces in a minute. Oh! He was actually thirsty! And had learned that Mama is not the source of drink any more. He hasn't tried to nurse again since.

He says several partial words like ugry for hungry, ank oo for thank you, el-cm for welcome. Mostly, he's still pointing at things he wants to eat. And he's starting to get object permanence. It no longer always works to hide the Vanilla Wafers under a blanket.

Lately, with the daylight savings change, his sleep schedule got out of whack. There for several days, he would go down for a "nap" at 6:30 and not get up again. Until 5am. When he awoke with a very dirty diaper and a determination to be UP for the day. FIVE AM!! He doesn't need to get up until 7 am on weekdays. And on Saturday morning, the best way to make parents hate life is to joyfully wake them at 5am, and then scream, SCREAM, for a full minute before finally falling back to sleep for another 90 minutes. So for several days there, we distracted an extremely sleepy toddler until at least 7:30 pm before we would put him to bed. Finally, this morning, he didn't wake up until 6:30 am. Much better.

He's a very sweet, loving boy, who will sometimes plant a hug on you as he passes through the room. If I'm laying on the floor, he will come and crash his head on my body for a hug. (This is great if you're prepared for it!) The other day, he layed down with me for about 2 minutes and repeatedly kissed the arm I had around him. Very, very sweet!

So that's what our little guy is up to at 14 months old!