14 Months

[edit] I have decided to add pictures at a later date to a separate post. The post will just be pictures with explanations. I don't have a usb for my phone handy and there are a lot of good pictures on my phone. So that will be coming sometime (hopefully) soon.

Jackson continues to learn and grow and it is quite amazing! He is such an intelligent little boy. His newest trick (the past couple days) has been figuring out how buckles work. He picks up the pieces of his car seat and high chair buckles and puts them together. He can't push them in so they lock yet, but he knows which direction they need to be in and he'll do this continually. He used this techniques to figure out that other things around the house do this too- like the extension cord we had out. It wasn't plugged in and he picked up either end and tried to put them together. What a smart little baby!

Jack is getting much braver about venturing out on his own. He is normally very good about holding either Daddy or Momma's hands while we're outside, but sometimes he tries to pull his hand away to wander on his own. He only does this when he's on sidewalks, but I want him to learn that he has to hold hands. He still doesn't like being dropped off at church nursery, but he stops crying and plays. I'm excited for when he learns to go into class on his own and gets excited (instead of beginning to cry again) when we pick him up.

Jack is getting MUCH better at sleeping. He sleeps in his own crib every night now and only wakes up about 2-3 times. I'm looking forward to when he sleeps through the night as the exhaustion is beginning to catch up to me (only took 14 months!) but I still cherish snuggling with him.

Jack likes anything and everything food wise. He does get picky sometimes when he wants something other than what I am serving him. I was a picky eater when I was a kid so I don't mind trying to figure out what he wants to eat and then serving him that. If he doesn't want strawberries, but would like grapes instead then that is fine! We give him a little bit of everything we're having and he's never said no yet. He drinks water, milk, and pediasure and is drinking more of that throughout the day. He nurses at nap and bedtime and throughout the night when he wakes. I'm trying to cut out all other day time feedings.

Jack can wear some 9 month clothes still and fits well into most 12 month, but I think he'll be able to wear some of those T-shirts for a long while yet. He wears shorts pretty much every day since it's so hot here. His feet have been growing and we'll need to go up a size in shoes soon! He is currently in 4 or 4.5.

Jack's favorite word seems to be "Byzub". He says it over and over. He babbles a lot but still hasn't begun saying his words again. I don't know if he forgot them or just chooses not to use them. He laughs at himself when he talks so maybe he's just being silly. He loves to play games and to wrestle with Momma and Daddy. He loves to look out our window at the cars driving by. He loves dogs and cats, but gets intimidated by dogs if Momma's not right there.

Jack loves buttons. He pushes any and all buttons he sees. He gets frustrated when I take things away that have buttons, like the TV remote controller. He has his own remote controller and does like playing with that, but he definitely knows that Momma and Dada have a different one that they keep from him. He knows when his toys are turned off and he will drag them over to me to turn on. He has figured out how to push in the buttons on pens so the tip comes out. Dada taught him that. We only let him have pens when we are holding them, but he likes to push the buttons!

Jack has no problem walking or running around now. He still stumbles sometimes when he runs, but he's getting so fast! He loves to squat while he plays, as opposed to sitting down. So adorable. He continues to have excellent fine motor skills. He is so specific when he picks things up. He uses only his thumb and pointer finger. Speaking of pointer finger, we can say "How old is Jackson?" and he'll put up his first fingers! Then he'll clap for himself. We'll ask him, "Can you do twisty fingers?" and he'll twist his middle fingers around his pointer fingers, then clap for himself. He has been twisting his fingers like that since he was a small baby.

Jack loves dogs but also gets intimidated by them. He's only been around big dogs though, so that's understandable when the dogs are taller than he is! He loves petting them and doesn't mind when they lick him. It makes me really want to get a dog when we move. I just don't know how moving in the future would be with a huge dog! We'll see what happens. He also loves cats. A cat would be much more manageable.

When I play with Jack's animal toys I hold up two of the same and he claps. I hold up two that are different animals and he just looks at me. I give him plenty of time to see if he'll begin to clap but he consistently only claps for two of the same animal. Smart baby!

Jack is such a joy and I am so thankful I get to spend my days with him!