Janie is 14 months old today and she has really become a full-fledged toddler this past month. Here are the highlights:

• Janie has gotten more skillful with walking and has started walking VERY quickly to the point of almost running. It’s getting hard to keep up with those little feet!
• As you can see in the photo above, she has 16 teeth now! Some are just peeking out of the gums but she’s got some chompers that need brushing every night. She’s getting better but still doesn’t like having the top teeth brushed for some reason. Those teeth have also helped her chew her food better.
• She’s showing more receptive language. 1) When I ask if she wants “nai-nai” (milk), she’ll repeat it and walk over to the counter to look for it. 2) When I tell her it’s time to brush her teeth, she puts her index finger in her mouth in a brushing motion. 3) When Ta and Yai call, she will greet them with the traditional Thai greeting by putting her hands together. 4) Whenever I ask her “Where’s Koa?”, she’ll tilt her head to the side and make a sweet and high-pitched “mmm” sound.
• Her expressive language is still a bunch of babbling but she’s putting together a string of consonant sounds with intonation as if I’m supposed to understand what she’s saying. It’s pretty cute. Today she did it to Mirian and repeated the same string of sounds over and over.
• She can put all the stars on the ring stacker, pulls detachable toys apart, likes to hand things to me one at a time, shreds toilet paper into really tiny pieces, and has started doing more scribbling on her mini MagnaDoodle and with crayons on paper.
• She just started drinking (and finishing) her milk from a straw cup. However, she still gets the bottle twice per day. She’s also down to 16 ounces of cow’s milk per day.
• Janie’s testing our patience during dinner nowadays and showing some dislikes (I guess it’s about time). Unfortunately, this involves spitting out the food into her hand and then tossing aside onto the floor.
• She’s gotten much better at eating from her snack cup and she tried peanuts for the first time this month and we are happy to announce that she is NOT allergic to peanuts. Yippee! Favorite foods right now: blueberries, tortilla chips, cherries, and cucumbers. Dislikes right now: bell peppers and whole beans.
• We bought her a potty seat that goes over the toilet and she’s pooped in the toilet at least 5 times since we got it 2 weeks ago. This girl has some MASSIVE poops! I’ll spare you all the photo. Yes, I took a photo of yesterday’s monster dump.
• Speaking of poop…Janie has moved up to Size 4 diapers and her Size 4 shoes also fit now.

Our baby has grown into toddlerhood and it’s so much fun watching her grow and learn everyday. She always seems to surprise us with her personality, which ranges from headstrong to affectionate to very silly.

Happy 14 months, Big Girl!