Fourteen and (Almost) Fifteen Months!

Two more months have passed and there are a few moments that I want to jot down so I can remember and few that I would love to forget. :-)

- I had to go to Barnes & Noble to pick up a gift and I decided to take MB to the kids section. I had in mind that we would read some books and enjoy looking around at all the fun toys. We passed by the Sesame Street section and she started going crazy! She was pointing to the Big Birds and wouldn't stop pointing and grunting until I gave her both of the Big Birds that were there. She hugged them so tightly and carried them around the rest of the time that we were in the store and kept saying Big Buh, Big Buh. It was getting time for us to go and I returned to the aisle so we could drop off the Big Birds and say good-bye to them. No such luck. I managed to pry one of them out of her tiny little hands and she was not happy about it at all. To avoid embarrassment, I came up with the plan to ditch the other one at the counter so I could make a run for it. I totally chickened out when I got up to the cashier and decided to buy the stupid bird. The cashier could hardly get the thing scanned because she had such a tight grip on it. I had no idea that I would be that parent that would buy something to keep their kids quite. I was caught totally off guard by the whole encounter and will try not to give in next time. :-) She has really enjoyed her Big Buh and he is a new favorite although I have no idea how she was so fascinated by it. She may have seen one or two episodes of Sesame Street but whatever they are doing must be working.

- MB has had really bad separation anxiety these past few weeks. She doesn't want to go to anyone that she doesn't know really well and she cries when we put her down around strangers. This is such a new stage for us because she normally goes to anyone around and isn't really picky. She even gets anxious when it is just the two of us at home and she doesn't want me to be in another room or very far away.

- The thirteenth and fourteenth months were really hard for MB. She had several weeks where she didn't eat hardly anything and survived on Gatorade and goldfish. We think it was a combo of a stomach bug, teething and maybe even the regular milk she was drinking. She stopped drinking milk for a week or so and we started giving her soy milk again. I am going to wait and try dairy again at some point but I am enjoying this healthy time.

- While we were at the beach, she sent her monkey for a swim in the toilet. Her timing was perfect as I had just flushed it. Fortunately, I was able to grab it by the tail before it went down too far. She was then horrified that I wouldn't let her play with it until it was washed. It was hilarious!

- When we pick MB up from the church nursery, we always watch her for a few seconds before we call her name. She always is happily playing and enjoying the new toys and other kids. That is, until she sees us. Once she lays eyes on us she loses it and wants us to believe that she has had such a miserable time and puts on quite the dramatic show. One of the last times we picked her up, the nursery worker told us that she was such a compassionate child. She said that every time another child would cry, MB would start crying too. I would like to believe that she is compassionate but have a feeling other kids crying make her think that she must have a good reason to cry too. The good part is no one has to cry alone when she is around.

- MB took her first ride on an airplane last week. The two of us flew from Jacksonville to Atlanta. I am so put out with myself that I didn't take a picture but that didn't seem important at the time. 100% of my focus was on keeping her happy and keeping her from grabbing the hair of the old lady in front of us. She was dying to get her hands on it! She did great on the flight and we were seated next to a lady that absolutely loves babies so she helped entertain her. The flight ended at the perfect time as we were getting close to a meltdown. I think she fell asleep before we left the parking deck. I was thrilled with our choice to fly instead of me driving seven hours by myself. That could have gotten ugly.

- While we were on vacation, MB ate desserts after every meal. You wouldn't believe the appetite that she has for sweets, it's seriously impressive. She would eat whole pieces of dessert without blinking an eye. I have since bought mini ice cream sandwiches and she has been eating one almost every night after her supper. We are hoping that will beef her up!

- We bought a new car seat since she was getting too long for the infant carrier. She is still facing backwards but we are hoping to be able to turn her around in the next month or two. The last time we went to the doctor she weighed 17 pounds and 10 ounces.

- MB will be the perfect contestant for the 92nd season of Survivor. Smells do not seem to bother her. She seems completely unaware when she has a dirty diaper yet I can smell her just by walking by her room. She also will eat anything and everything. She even likes to chew on my sweaty socks after I exercise. And yes, I do stop her when I see her doing this and make all kinds of gross sounds to discourage her.

- She is learning more words and seems to understand a lot of what we say. We are amazed with how much she is learning and how grown she seems now. Something about wearing shoes and asking for juice makes her seem like she's twelve.

- I don't know how this happened but I didn't take one picture during the month of August. I guess since we spent several of those weeks with a sick baby, pictures were far from my mind. We have done much better in September and hope to post those soon.

- We love you Mary Beth and are enjoying your adventurous spirit, determination, love for life, your amazing laugh and your funny sense of humor. You are a little lady who knows what she wants and doesn't want and it is nice that we do not have to guess how you feel. We pray that you channel all of your strength, honesty and determination to do amazing things in your life. We will be there cheering you on all the way!