Claire - 14 months

Late as usual.

Hair:
Getting longer. Still pretty straight. Not as red.

Teeth:
No more.

Eating:
She spent most of her 13th month sick so the eating was pretty dismal. We thought we’d reached a new low when she’d only drink milk and eat bread. Then she got the flu and went off absolutely everything for a few days. She definitely lost weight - just not in her cheeks!

Sleeping:
She had a hard time sleeping with her cold and then she had a hard time sleeping through the dry heaving. It was a rough month on the sleep front but it settled down near the end. She started going longer at night and we had the first of one bottle nights.

She is going to bed after 7 and sleeping in her crib (in our room) until we go into bed. She is a ridiculously light sleeper and she wakes up most nights when we come to bed. When she was taking 2 bottles she would take one at around 11 and then another around 4. She then settled in to going back to sleep without milk and getting her bottle at around 1am. We had a couple more up for 2 hours in the middle of the night stupidity which makes us both very hesitant to even attempt to try and get her to sleep without milk. It is encouraging that she is making progress.

She gets up around 7am. Usually she wakes up (with the rest of us) when her sisters hop out of bed and come looking for someone to get them breakfast and turn on the tv.

Napping is still inconsistent. She usually only naps for about 1 hour a day. She was not so good at napping in the car.

Getting around:
This month she started walking. She hardly ever crawls anymore and she is getting quicker by the day. She also loves climbing - especially the stools we have for the girls in the bathroom. Her favourite is getting up at the counter, finding a toothbrush and brushing her teeth (yes, it is no mystery to me how the flu spread like wildfire around our house).

I am finding her walking the hardest adjustment we’ve had yet. The girls were 17 and 18 months before they walked and they knew how to listen. Claire does not listen and she could care less if you walk off without her. Combine that with her stubborn nature and we’ve had a few screeches of anger when she’s been picked up. Picking up the girls from school is much more challenging now wich Claire in tow.

Fun things she’s doing:
-running away giggling when you come after her
-waving her finger and saying no no no no
-sticking her tongue in and out over and over again and giggling
-finding stuff we ask her to get
-pointing to things she remembers in her book
-playing more with Emma and Leah as an actual participant
-refusing to drink out of a straw cup/nuby cup/sippy cup
-kissing and hugging us
-colouring and drawing when I let her. She can get the lids off the crayola markers no problem.
-throwing a ball
-getting everyone’s shoes from the front door and putting them on
-helping me get her dressed by giving me her arms etc. Trying to put clothes on herself (socks/shirts).
-she’s added a couple new dance moves now that she can walk
-riding the ride on toys/fillnig up the shopping cart (we have another hoarder…)

Personality:
She continues to be very easy going. She adapts well to new situations and new people. She is happiest when there are other kids around.

She is still very stubborn and we have seen her temper when we take stuff away. She can do the going limp and screaming thing and I just gently put her on the floor and walk away. She is also very persistent and will do things over and over again even though you tell her to knock it off.

She’s still very sweet and a big Mom suck which is nice for me. She has perfected MOMMY as well as the whiny tone. I can start to see what it’s goign to be like once she really gets in on the action with her sisters. We will be busy!