Andy, 14 months

How in the world is my baby 14 months old?  I feel like he just turned one.  I seriously tear up just thinking about it.  I am loving this stage so much.  Andy is a complete joy.  At dinner tonight my friend Kasee said to me, "Wow, is he this good all the time now?"  Yes!  He is.  He is an absolute joy 99% of the time.  Of course there are the normal challenges associated with a toddler who can't sit still and wants to run around and explore all the time, but even those things make this stage even more fun.

He's taken steps for a month or two, but finally got around to walking (preferring to walk rather than crawl) on August 11.  He's so excited that he knows how to walk, it's all he wants to do.  (On our flight home from Utah he walked all the way from one terminal to the next.)  He falls about a million times a day so he has red marks all over his sweet little face.  Most of the time he gets right back up.  Sometimes he needs some loves (for about 8 seconds then he wants to explore again), and I savor those special times I can offer him some comfort.  He has a funny walk--he always walks with his left food leading.  Like a gallop.  I'm assuming he'll grow out of that soon and develop a more "straight" walk.  One cute thing he does is he stops to take breaks.  He runs around like a crazy person and then randomly drops to the ground and lays down for a few seconds.  Then runs around again.

I'm amazed at how much he understands.  I'll tell him to do things, and he does them.  His words are mama, dada, doggy (sounds like daddy), and uh oh.  He also has his favorite babbling noises: ee-oh (he says it alllllll day long) and myta. He is extremely talkative!  Since he's my first, I didn't realize how talkative he is, but lots of people comment on it lately.  He is so excited all of the time.  My friend Kristin pointed out the other day how excited he is to see every single person.  He gives people the biggest smile and waves.  He is super friendly.  (He even waves to pictures of himself on my computer screen.  How adorable is that.)

He's finally getting to the age when he really plays with other little kids.  It's pretty adorable.  I was watching him play with his friend Amelia the other day, and it was just so cool to see him really interact with her.  They were having so much fun together, laughing and chasing each other around.  He also gave his little friend Maya kisses today.  He just walked up to her and gave her a few kisses.  Melts my heart.  (He gives me kisses all the time and I love it.)  He will also randomly walk up to one of us, lay his head on our shoulder, and give us a hug.  So cute.

Andy loves his dad!  It's one of my favorite things to watch his reaction when dad gets home or when we pick him up from work.  I can tell the instant Andy spots him.  He starts beaming, saying dada over and over, and just giggles.  It is super cute.

He's turned into a fantastic eater.  I'm amazed by how much he eats.  About a month ago, he weighed in in the 75th percentile and is in the 95th for height.  I love his little pot belly and elbow dimples.  He's really thinned out quite a bit though.  Definitely turning into more of a little boy and less baby.

I sure love being a mom to this sweet little guy.  

Love those crossed ankles. 

Aug. 11, the day he started walking.

Left foot always forward

Pictures at this age can be tricky because as soon as he sees the Camera he wants it sooooo bad.  

Andy has loved our moving boxes everywhere.