Cohen is 14 Months Old

Dear Cohen,

Holy moly, kid! You're 14 months old today! I don't even know where all the time is going, and to be honest with you, I don't even know who you are sometimes. You are changing so very fast these days. You are learning and growing and becoming your own person. And I love it.

Your physical milestones have begun to taper off. I guess that's because you started them so early. You walk and run and climb and are pretty coordinated (well, except when you are sleepy, that's a different story). You've got a good grasp on your motor skills. Physically, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do. The changes I've noticed most this month are your cognitive abilities and your speech.

Oh my gosh, kid, you are a talker. You jabber jabber jabber all day long. You have your own baby language firmly established, complete with making your words get higher in pitch when you're asking a question and lowering your tone when you're giving a command. You talk in your crib, you talk in the bathtub, to talk in the car seat, you talk during meals. You join in conversations and even talk to the television. You have mastered a few words, too. You are quick to tell me when you want water ("duice?") or a graham cracker ("kuh-kkkk?"). Whenever you see a dog, you say "woof woof". Recently you have started looking in books, pointing at dogs, and saying "woof woof". You don't care about any other animal.

You blow kisses to me all the time, and you think it's just hilarious when I blow kisses back to you. You also love a good game of Peek-A-Boo. You use the backs of your hands to cover your little eyes, only you always leave enough room so that you can peek out at me.

You also love to investigate things. Everything has to be looked over and broken down. You are so curious about everything. This month, you have passed by your toys many times in order to investigate "real" things. You also have an understanding that things work in certain ways, and I can see you trying to follow those rules. You put puzzle pieces back on the puzzle. You put runaway balls back in your ball pit. Papers go in the trashcan. Stray items get placed in a drawer. When you get your hands on the remote, you automatically press the buttons and look up to the TV.

You are so very friendly, and you still love people, but I can see you starting to get a little shy around strangers. You warm up quickly, though. Last week, we were at the grocery store, and a man took our groceries out to our car with us. You just looked up at him the whole time, and I could tell you were a little uncomfortable with a stranger that close to you. By the time the man left, though, you were waving bye bye and blowing kisses. You love other children. I think bigger kids excite you more than babies. You love to watch big kids at the playground. You squeal in delight as you chase them around and try to do what they are doing. Sometimes those kids are really sweet and will play with you, and you love that. The last time we went to the park, you stood at the bottom of the slide and tickled the feet of the kids who came down. Everyone had a blast. Sometimes, though, the kids are mean and don't want you around. You don't understand, but it breaks my heart. How could anyone be mean to you?

 You are starting to become more toddler-y and less baby-ish. You get frustrated pretty easily and will express that frustration by screaming and sometimes crying. This weekend, you didn't want dada to hold your hand while we were shopping. So you pitched a baby sized fit (and you actually walked into a glass door, which sent dada and me into a fit of giggles as you stood there throwing your tantrum). These outbursts are short and relatively quiet, and I know they're going to get worse before they get better. For the most part, we just ignore your tantrums and remove you from the area. You are also starting to become more picky about what you eat. You will still eat pretty much everything, but some things take a little more coaching than they used to. Like last night's broccoli. You also love to feed me anything you're eating. You get such a kick out of putting food in my mouth.

You are wearing size 12 month and size 18 month clothing. The 18 month clothes are still a little too big for you, but the 12 month clothing is getting a little snug. You wear size 5 (and some size 6) shoes, and you are in size 4 diapers all the time now. When you got sick a few weeks ago, the doctor said you weighed 25 pounds. You are really tall, but I think most of your length is in your upper body because you've still got stubby little legs.

Your biggest love this month has been music. Any kind of music, you don't care. You love to beat on drums to create music. You love to clap to music. You love to dance to music (and this month, you added bouncing to your dancing arsenal). You love when I sing, and you love music on the radio. In the car, whenever a song ends, you clap your hands and say "yay!". Dada thinks that's just the funniest thing ever.

You are still very much a snuggly little boy, and there is no better way to unwind before a nap than to climb into my lap and cuddle for a little while. You love to have your head stroked during cuddles, and you will hold my hand. Those moments are the absolute best moments of my life.

You will never know what joy you bring into my life. I hope, throughout your life, you always know how much of a treasure you are to me and dada and the rest of your family. You are the sweetest little boy, and I love you to the moon and back, forever and ever.

Until next month,

Mama