Mr. Opinionated

So this past month (14 months) has been an interesting one.  I wrote an email to a dear old friend of mine stating that this seemed to be a tough stage for ME.  Drew is fine, but his new found independence and his increasingly slopping eating left me speechless and clueless.  I was happy to hear back from her and find out that her kids also did similar things and it was just a natural part of learning and figuring things out.  Thank heavens.  I was beginning to think I had a devil-child on my hands.  Trust me, Drew is one of a kind and incredibly good.  We are SO SO lucky to have such a cool kid on our hands.  BUT, he does throw fits, knows what he wants and will stomp his feet and contort his face into looks that really do almost kill you.  Pitiful.  Thankfully, I am typically light-hearted about it and giggle at his antics.  He'll soon figure out that it won't get him too far in my world.  Ignoring his petty wants (why won't I let him go outside in the rain?!?) usually works and he quickly moves on to the next path of destruction. Speaking of destruction.....I've decided that unless I'm having Queen Elizabeth over for dinner, I'm not picking up the house all day long.  I'll usually get things back in their respective places by the time I go to work....or to bed....or sometimes before nap time the following day.  Not that it matters because as soon as Drew gets up he jumps right back on the wagon of tearing the house apart.  Pots, pans, ziploc bags, measuring cups, books, stuffed animals, balls, cars, remote controls, tub of oatmeal, flashlights, his toothbrush....you name it....it's his favorite.

 Recently, he has shown an extreme preference over being outdoors.  If the dogs go out, he thinks he should go out.  When the dogs come in, he thinks he should go out.  We have gated both the front and back porch now so that we can spend quite a bit of time out there without worrying about him finding the stairs.  He crawls all over the decks, tries to water the flowers, climbs in the chairs and out of the chairs.  He enjoys his pick up truck and his wagon a lot but would be just as content going up and down our stairs if we let him.

 Drew's antics on the changing table are ridiculous and apparently he only performs them for me.  David has seen it and can't believe it because he doesn't do it with him.  Today, I asked another friend that has kept him and she said he doesn't do it with her either.  WHAT??  With me, he immediately flips over and sits his naked butt up on his knees.  From there he turns around and shoves/throws/kicks all the stuff off the table into his dirty laundry....then he stands up and grabs a hand full of diapers before laying himself back down and proceeds to get changed.  The worst is when he is actually a little patient and I get him wiped down or desitin on his hiney and THEN he flips over and gets it everywhere.  I always try to go in equipped with a toy or book or a song to get through it but it usually turns into a wrestling match.

As for food, this little guy is hilarious.  Good eater. Will eat just about anything you put on his plate if he is in the mood.  And if he's not....forget it.  He is really independent and if you have a spoon, he needs his own spoon.  I'm all about letting him learn and yes, we do get very messy, but its good for him and I've seen improvements already.  His sign language is still confusing but I'm trying to learn his verbal cues......he can say several words.....but I think he KNOWS a ton of words.  So I'm trying to match his verbal cues with what I think he wants.....when he wants milk he says "baaayul" (bottle) although it has always been in an sippy cup and not in a bottle.  Sometimes that can also sound like "byeeee" which obviously can get confusing.  "Dada", "Mama", "Hiiii" are all still popular.  He understands far more than I realize and can do simple commands that I give him.  The funniest part of his vocal development these days are his laugh and giggle.  It is so funny!  I'll try to post a couple videos in the next post.

Drew is also good at playing by himself for a period of time which is nice if I have to get small chores done.  He certainly can't be left alone at all, but he can play in his playroom quietly for a good amount of time. The most recent development came while playing one day......I put him down and went to grab a toy in front of him and he walked!  Just took three steps and dropped down.  He has done it quite a few times over the last week but it usually isn't his first choice in transportation. Yet.  And today at lunch, he was getting tired (we dropped the am nap this week so we are in transition and eating lunch a little early so we can get to bed before all hell breaks loose) and he randomly stuck his finger up his nose.....one nostril.  Then the other.  All while in a daze.  SO I get up to pay and Janice/Edyie/Cindy are sitting there and laughter erupts from the table.  I go back and Janice says, "Get your boogies" and he smiles and sticks his finger up his nose.  Awesome.  Funny.  Gross.  and Funny.

We went to church this past Sunday (and I realized then that it would be at least 4 weeks until I was home again on a Sunday) and Drew did awesome in the nursery.....we walked out and some old ladies stopped at the window looking into the nursery and were just laughing and going on about "that baby".....yep, that was our baby.  Dancing and squealing and giggling at the old ladies in the window.  Very nice people at the church and maybe David and Drew can go in my absence.

Obviously, we are having fun and learning and doing a lot of laughing.  I think my hair is falling out (or it has never fully grown back in from when it fell out while breastfeeding) from the increased stress of having a mobile and very opinionated child but it really is so fun (and exhausting). I'm going to try my hardest to update more often with everyday funnies....because he really is so dang funny.

14 Month Summary:
Weight - no clue
Height - no clue
Noggin - no clue
Teeth - 10 with two more REALLYYY close to breaking the gums
Clothes - 12-18 months
Shoe Size - 4,5
Sleeps - 6:30pm-6:30am (sometimes a few minutes later on both sides) and Naps 12:30/1:00-3:00pm
Loves - Mickey Mouse, cars, balls, outside, dogs, the gym, his mama and dada, food, milk, Mickey Mouse, opening and closing the dryer and all other doors, laughing at people in the cars next to us while he is craning his neck around his car seat and Mickey Mouse.  Oh and did I mention he likes Mickey Mouse?