14 Months Old

About to go strolling in the cold and rain... I covered her in waterproof stuff; she loved it.
Doing her chores...ha!

She loves copying me as she saw me cleaning under her high chair recently. She is getting up here, but she was actually on her knees "scrubbing."

Alex watching the squirrels while coloring.

Alex is such a big girl. I love watching her learn, discover, talk, do sign language, laugh, run, dance, play, etc... She is so much fun. Her favorite activities are anything outside: swinging, sliding, climbing, collecting leaves and acorns, playing with balls, rocks, etc... Alex still loves to read books. She brings me books all day long to read plus we have reading time a couple times a day also. We've started going to storytime at the library once a week which she loves as a lady reads, sings songs and dances with the kids, and has a craft for them at the end. As much as Alex loves to explore, she still loves to hug, kiss, be held and "ride the hip." She's going through a bit of separation anxiety and does not like to be out of mommy's presence. Alex's favorite (and only) tv show is Signing Times which I have about 10 episodes recorded. She watches about 30 min/day. She amazes me how much she absorbs (from us and the show) as she will randomly sign correct things to me or say words in the right context. The show has been great to supplement in helping enhance her vocabulary and understanding about life. So cool!

Alex is very active for a little girl. Her energized spirit has caused a few tantrums because of not getting what she wants (this has gotten better). She even started biting me recently. I think her routine being off last weekend contributed to that. However, it has shown us that we are entering a new phase of parenting for sure. Praying for wisdom!!!

Biting devo... Alex bit me 6 times on Saturday for no apparent reason except maybe wanting attention. Each time she bit me, I was doing something for her: preparing our meal, giving her food, or holding her to love on her. She hurt my feelings because I was trying to love her in the midst of her bites. Some of her bites were through laughs while others were clearly because she was upset. As I pondered these incidents, I started thinking of how many times God has loved me and taken care of me and I responded by "biting" Him. My disobedience to Him must sting the same way. He knows what is best for me even if I can't see it immediately. He knows why I have to wait for things or never get them. He takes care of me, provides, protects, loves and gives me everything I need. My heart was saddened to think how much I hurt my Father when he loves me so much. I was reminded of His grace and love again and was brought to repentance and more awareness of my "bites."

At 14 mos, Alex is still breastfeeding first thing in the morning. I've tried weaning with no success as I'm not ready to go cold turkey and let her just scream as I withhold breastmilk. However, I've decided I may have to do that if she has not weaned by about half way through this pregnancy. I'm praying she weans herself. This is ironic as I forced her to continue breastfeeding at about 9 months old when she seemed disinterested. Now, she is hooked. If anyone has any weaning tips besides going cold turkey and me leaving her for the weekend, I welcome them. I have tried distracting her, offering a sippy cup (which was thrown while tugging on my shirt and screaming), changing rooms, letting Chris get her out of bed, etc. All of this has been met with screeching resistance.