Claire at Fourteen Months

Claire turned 14 months old on June 8th. The biggest milestone she hit during the month is learning to walk! She took her first unassisted steps on Mothers' Day (thanks Sweetie!) walking a couple of steps from the couch to the chair. Since then she's worked her way up to being able to walk several yards without help. Her confidence grows every day, and she likes to practice when she doesn't think anyone is watching.

She still only says a couple of words consistently, but she's added the sign for "water" which she also uses to mean "drink" and the sign for "eat" to her regular usage of "more." She likes to use "more" anytime she wants something, so we hear that word and see that sign many times a day.

Claire is beginning to be more adventurous with her eating, and she will eat just about anything we're eating, unless it's too spicy or hard to chew. Her favorite foods, though, are still yogurt, applesauce, bananas, Puffs, crackers, and cereal bars. She usually gets at least one of those at every meal. Claire has also given up all her bottles except for her one before bed and loves drinking from her sippy cups - our our cups.

She enjoys playing with lots of toys, but her books have become favorites. She loves to sit in our laps and listen to the stories and help turn the pages.

Along with her increased mobility comes an increased willfulness as her explorations lead to hearing the word "no" more often and redirection. She moves past her frustration, though, and is still our happy-go-lucky girl who is quick to smile - and bring smiles to our faces.

We are so blessed to have such a good natured baby who is always a joy to be around!