Dear Daniel, (Fourteen Months)

Hi, love. This month I decided to write your update letter mostly in photographs. (It'll save me thousands of words, don't you know?) It's still so incredibly rewarding (while also being very challenging) to be your parent, and I'm soaking up every minute of it.

You communicate more and more every day, which is so much fun! You say "Eddie" very clearly now, and often meld it with "Momma" when you're being playful, so it becomes "Mommaeddie." You say, "Bop-bop-bop" when you want food. I now know that you think of breastmilk as food, because you use your sign for nurse while also saying "bop-bop" when you want milk. You made up a sign for diaper/potty/need-to-go-right-now! (it's like the ASL sign for milk, only using both hands simultaneously) which you use very accurately. You've started signing diaper when you need to go poop, which is making EC easier to practice.

You climb everything, all the time. I'm not phased at all by this kind of thing anymore:

You even stand here and rock yourself back and forth.
(I can't watch.)

Or this:

You often stand on the coffee table and play with
the light switch...while poking the TV with your fork.

You had your first (minor) head injury, when you tried climbing from the nursing chair in the bedroom to my desk. I caught you upside-down by the ankle before you met the floor.

It swelled and bruised, but you recovered very quickly.

In fact, you recovered so quickly that when I was texting Papa the above photo, you helped yourself to my face soap (though I believe I retrieved most of it from your mouth):

[This is not a twinkie.]

You've started banging on your bedroom door when you wake up from your nap (instead of crying), which I think its pretty hilarious. It's also extremely appropriate, given your personality. I dig your directness—you get that from me.

When you want a kiss, you purse your lips together and go "mmmmm" while leaning toward Papa or me. I love it! You really enjoy cuddling with and smooching your baby (and you always do it like this):

Your love is all-encompassing.

You have a new tooth, a molar on your top left. That brings the total to nine teeth!

You're starting to take more than one step at a time, which is fun. I guess the extra ball time is working to help you be more confident when standing upright! (This is from Thursday):



I'm looking forward to all the new adventures that your increasing mobility will surely bring!

That's all for now, Little One. Keep on being you.

Love,
Momma