14

Luc Gabriel,

My precious Littlebat, you are FOURteen months old today. And it's Thanksgiving too. Again this year, (you knew this was coming, right?) I'm just sooooo incredibly thankful to have you in our lives!

It's hard to believe how grown up you're becoming. You've changed so much this month... I'm absolutely in awe. You blow me away on a daily basis.

You are off and running now, teaching yourself how to jump (which is hilarious), and beginning to climb stuff (like the kangaroo climber we have in the play room). Mama is very happy that you haven't tried to climb out of your crib or play yard yet. You are quite the dare devil though, so I'm sure it won't be long. In fact, as I'm typing this letter, you are standing on the seat of your corn-popper (are you like your Papa, or what?!). You are constantly testing your balance, standing on things, jumping and leaning, scooting and sliding. And on occasion, you walk on your knees! Not crawling, but upright knee-walking (and this pleases you a great deal). You've also mastered sliding this month- you can go down a sliding board all by yourself, and you love it!

You are also talking a whole lot more! You say wahoo (waffle), ha (hat), uh (up), baba (bye bye), toh (toes), oh nooooooo, aahdun (all done), pootee (Puka, and now other dogs too), and you are constantly trying other words, repeating us when we say things- too many to even remember or write down. You only say a few things spontaneously, like uh oh when something warranting an uh oh (or not) happens, which is just so cute. And, this month you also figured out how to move your tongue back and forth to make the ledaledaledaleda sound.

In addition to talking some, you use signs to communicate now! You are finally, consistently making the sign for milk. You do it with both hands (and a huge smile on your face) whenever you want to nurse. I am thrilled about that one, especially since it means you've stopped pulling at my shirt! You reach to be picked up and point to things you want... and you never hesitate to tell us exactly what you want, complete with various grunting sounds to indicate the urgency of your request. And you always sign your version of please (which is universally known as more)... how very polite! You even smile and acknowledge when I prompt you to say and/or sign thankyou. And often you mumble something like tidoo -completely unprompted- after I give you something, which sounds an awful lot like thankyou, but I don't know... is that just the delusion of a uber-proud mama? Perhaps.

You are working on other signs too, like potty, all done, water, and eat. You haven't quite figured those out yet, but sometimes you'll sign-babble, moving your hands and arms around in every direction, while looking at me very intently so that I'll understand what you are trying to say.

You play independently very well, so well it's scary sometimes... You'll go off on your own and never even look back to see if we're there. Like today at Great Grandma's, twice we found you playing by yourself in the bedrooms! You are definitely not afraid to be by yourself. In fact, one of your favorite places to be is in the corner behind the couch. Sometimes you'll go back there and just hang out. And I think you do it because you know that I'll come looking for you! When you're running around playing and it suddenly gets too quiet (usually when I'm on the computer working), I know that you're touching/ tasting/ climbing on/ disassembling something you shouldn't be. So I follow your path of destruction... and it usually ends right there, behind the couch. You also like to climb into the corner cabinet where we keep the pots and pans. Sometimes you'll even go in and shut the door. It's dark in there, but that doesn't bother you. You just wait for me to open the door, then you laugh! You just love to play hide-and-go-seek. It's great fun.

You love to put your own shoes and socks on (or try at least). And we bought you some new shoes this month- the very first pair that are all your own! They are brown leather boots with velcro from Stride Rite, in a size 6W. You look so grown up wearing them.

You love to read, and often will bring us a book, grunt and reach (signaling your intentions), and climb up into our laps. You like to help flip the pages too, which sometimes results in skipping around a bit, but you don't seem to mind.

Your favorite things to play with right now are the pots and pans, the big stick that goes in the sliding door frame, my cell phone (which I do let you play with now that I've figured out how to lock the keypad), Kelly, your fire truck, your kangaroo climber, and balloons. You got a balloon at Trader Joe's one day and ever since, you never fail to point out any balloon you see. And by point out, I mean point your finger at and make ooh, ooh noises and sign please and look at me with such innocent anticipation, it about kills me. And by any balloon, I mean I never in my life realized just how many balloons are out there- in stores to advertise sales, for sale at check out counters, attached to road signs, etc. You were thrilled to bring a four foot tall Elmo balloon home from Niko's birthday party, and you carried it around for days and days. Right now you are playing with an It's a Girl balloon from Kalena's baby shower.

Your love of balloons is surpassed only by your love of all things furry and four-legged (which is really saying a lot, because you love you some doggies). And if it's even possible, it seems that your love for Furrybat has grown exponentially this month. You love to squeeze her and pat her and scratch her and cuddle her- I'll say awwww, loooooove Kelly, and you'll lay your head down on her and coo. You are able to romp and play with her a little more now too. You'll chase her, then stand still and squeal (!) as she woofs and runs circles around you. Unforunately sometimes she knocks into you and sends you flying across the room... but you are finally getting wise to when that's about to happen, and you'll squint and brace yourself. You also like to throw toys for her, feed her treats (or your leftovers). You two get along so well, it's really amazing. We just always make sure to watch carefully while you're playing. Sometimes though, we have to put her in the laundry room so she can get a break from you!

You can fetch things by name now- a book, a shoe, a bottle of water, etc. You also know how to put my sunglasses on (except you think they go around your neck), and talk on the phone (you hold it to your shoulder). And you had a blast playing Nan's piano this month! We've encouraged you to bang the keys a few times before, but this was the first time you've really enjoyed it. You actually cried when we told you it was time to leave!

You started coloring and drawing with crayons this month too, and while you seem to enjoy it, you have a very short attention span for any activity that requires you to sit still (and not put colorful, cylindrical, waxy things in your mouth). I give you the opportunity to draw as often as possible, and I really hope you end up enjoying art as much as I do.

We celebrated your second Halloween, and you may have been the youngest trick-or-treater out there who participated. You actually walked up to the houses all by yourself! I was amazed! We also went to a Halloween storytime event at the library, which was a lot of fun. You wandered around checking out the other kids' costumes, curiously peering into strollers where babies were sleeping, fiddling with things other than toys (video equipment, etc). And every time you noticed a book or a toy (or another baby's blanket) on the floor, you'd pick it up and hand it to the nearest adult. You are so helpful!

You are usually very calm in new situations and around new people. We still haven't really experienced the famed "stranger danger". You start out pretty shy, quietly observing and absorbing your new surroundings, and then you venture out and begin to touch things lightly, like you're testing them. Then eventually you warm up and begin running around, banging on stuff. You are quite a thoughtful little boy.

I've taught you to sit (yes, all without using dog treats). It may sound strange, but really it's very useful. Sometimes I need you to sit, that's all. Like when putting shoes on, or when you want to munch on a cracker. Crackers, by the way, are your absolute favorite food now.

You've had many, many new foods this month. Too many to list. You've been exposed to/ offered almost everything now, but you still have your favorites: bread, crackers, and cereal, cheese and cream cheese, apples and carrots, pears and other fruit. I continue to serve green vegetables and plenty of other nutritious foods, and for the most part, you continue to spit them out, throw them on the floor, try to get Kelly to eat them, and stuff them in the cracks and crevices of your high chair.

And perhaps I shouldn't have (at the time it didn't seem like such a bad idea), but this month I opened the door to sweets. We let you have some orange sherbert at a restaurant one night, and you liked it of course. But that's not the problem... Ever since finding out that I allowed you to have sugar, everyone wants to feed it to you! You've had vanilla ice cream, apple pie, ginger snaps, chocolate cookies, zucchini bread, and chocolate pumpkin cake. Even I am guilty (I gave you the bite of cake). But I guess it could be worse... It's still a very rare treat.

You can drink out of a regular cup all by yourself now. It's not usually without error, but you are working on it! You're slowly learning the physics of the whole operation- how far and how fast you can and should tilt the glass depends on how much water is in it- and whether or not you want to drench yourself, on purpose at least. You are also working on learning how to feed yourself with a spoon and/or a baby fork, and have had some very successful ventures with macaroni and cheese and applesauce.

You notice details now, like the pictures on your water glasses. You were holding one, noticed that there was something on the opposite side, turned it carefully around, and were elated to find a picture of a dog!

Sometimes I sit back and look at you, I mean really, really look at you, and I have to catch my breath. I simply can't believe that I am your mama. You're such a joy to be around, so loving, so smart, so happy and curious and funny, and so adorable. How did I get so lucky?


I love you sweetheart,

Mama