14 Month Old Monkey

Cora is 14 months old today. She is really developing into such an amazing little girl. It baffles me to no end to believe that she is already 14 months old. On top of everything she is learning, she is growing like a weed. It doesn't look like she is packing on the weight anymore. In fact, she appears to be thinning out just a wee bit. She is sprouting upwards. I don't notice her getting taller on a day to day basis. It is when I see her with other kids or the way her clothes are fitting that I really start to notice. If I want to put her into a onesie of some sort, the size has to be at least 18 months merely due to her length. If I had to guess, she is going to be a long and lean kiddo. It's a good thing I have a sewing machine. I see a lot of pants needing adjustments in her future. :)

Let's start with a few pictures, and then we'll get to the nitty gritty about what she has been up to.

Happy Cora isn't always happy. She really did not want her pictures taken. She finally gave up fighting me and put on a smile for a while. Of course, there was some bribery.

First, I had to let her walk towards the camera. She's getting pretty good at walking. She prefers to do it when you aren't paying close attention. I think she gets embarrassed when she falls down.

Then we had to stop to watch some 2010 Olympics. We have a future alpine skier. I can just feel it. ;)

Oh yeah. Then she demanded to climb the couch. Her favorite hobby is to climb up the back of the couch to turn off all the light switches. She doesn't turn them on, only off. Check out the Phaneuf gams. I told you she is getting long.

She thinks this is hysterical. She only will quit when you leave the lights off.

She's going for the long reach. Both feet are off the couch. She is such a daredevil.

Since the lights are off (making the color in the pictures much better...go figure), we have to pretend to call people.

Here she is caught mid-word. "Hello?" At this point, she finally gave in to my orders to sit pretty and smile.

Well, there you have it. So, what is Cora doing at 14 months old? Let's see.

• She officially can walk, although she still chooses to crawl. She has realized that she can hold her stuffed animals and walk around which has really helped to prompt her to move in an upright locomotion. I catch her walking around her room quite often. Yes, I let her play by herself in her room.
• She can climb up onto a few chairs and the toilet. She stands on the toilet while we get ready in the morning. She brushes her teeth and combs her hair. I love having a little mini-me around.
  
• Lee swears the other day she was saying "careful". I wasn't home, but it doesn't surprise me. Lee is so much more cautious with her than I am. She hears him say careful all the time. I only remind her to "pay attention" when she is on the stairs. Lee is also waaaaay more strict than I am. He keeps her extra safe. I have to put the extra in there because I don't want any readers to think I allow unsafe situations. ;) Needless to say, all of her bumps and bruises have been a result of when I am watching her. Go figure. Oh well. She'll have to do some pretty crazy (read: stupid) things in her childhood to match the kinds of things my sister and I did. For example: playing tag on a 3 story, slanted roof. In the rain. When my parents weren't home. Smart, wouldn't you say? Or, jumping off a roof (1 story), onto a trampoline, into a pool. That one was all Michelle. Or, tying a 90 lb dog to your waist while rollerblading. On a gravel road. With your little sister on a bike out front to make the dog go reeeeeal fast. That resulted in some blood. Hahaha. I am sure Lee and Anne have a few stories to match. So, quite frankly, her daredevil ways are no surprise to me. I love watching her try new things. It's exciting for both of us.

I was just on my way home thinking about what I wrote above. Then it dawned on me. Lee takes the cake for being a daredevil. Lee and Anthony decided it would be fun to go shark fishing. In the open ocean. Aboard a dinghy. If you don't know what a dinghy is, google it. :)

• Alright, back to Cora. She has figured out her crib mattress is bouncy. Her bed is now an official trampoline. I thought I'd really show her fun and we spent an evening before bedtime jumping on my bed. Now that was fun!
• Her hugs have always been great. Now, they're even better. She wraps her legs as tight as she can around your waist. With her arms tight around your neck, it is the best hug you'll ever receive.
• She dances. She especially likes rock and roll. We listen to the rock station every morning. She'll be bouncing around in her car seat jamming to the radio. Yesterday was classic though. She and I were over visiting Claire, Sophie, and Jen. Cora found Claire's piano/xylophone toy and was banging away. Claire, who is about 9 months older, was dancing to Cora's musical creations. Those two crack me up.
  
• She plays ball. She is getting quite good at throwing it back. We have started bouncing the ball, rather than rolling it, so she can catch it.
• She is sleeping through the nights!! At least most nights.
• She has 8 teeth. It is practically impossible to get a picture, though. She won't hold still for nothing. I'll have to get Lee to help hold her down. That should make her happy.

With that, I'll finish up this post. Here are a couple pictures after I finally got her to cooperate. Of course, even though I wanted her to sit still, I love the pictures I got of her "being Cora".

She is thinking about looking at me and smiling.

There it is. Cora's sweet smile.

We're off to enjoy the gorgeous weather. It has been in the upper 30's the last couple of days. We're planning to go snowshoeing with the Belle on Sunday. Expect pictures early next week. :)

Posted with springtime hugs by your favorite Canadian Bug.