14 Months Old

So this week, the Tater Tot turned 14 months old. It has been quite a month. I’ll start with the exciting news…he is mobile! About three weeks ago, this happened one night (sorry for the not-so-great quality and for my quite annoying background voice).



He’s still doing just the army crawl, but he is really able to get around and is already so much faster. This has obviously changed things around the house. In fact, this weekend’s major projects include lots of baby proofing.

So remember all of the toys that invaded our home after his birthday and Christmas? Well now that he’s a man on the move, those aren’t very interesting. What is most interesting is crawling under the kitchen table chairs, getting into the cabinets, opening and closing drawers, and even pulling up to his knees on anything he can reach. The bumps and bruises have already begun.

But when he is playing with his toys, his new trick is to throw them. Everywhere. It was kind of cute and funny at first, but man oh man, this kid can throw. This has become one of a million parenting dilemmas I think about. How do you teach a 1-year-old what is OK to throw and what isn’t? I haven’t figured it out yet, so right now, just about everything gets thrown…food, toys, cups, you name it.

He has also continued to enjoy his tiger xylophone. Although we call it a piano because xylophone is not a word I see him learning any time soon. Anyway, this video is of his Jerry Lee Lewis impersonation.



Tate has had a lot of changes this month in his daily routine. I have to hand it to him, he has really handled it all wonderfully. He’s gone from two naps a day to one. That started off rough but quickly evened out to a good 3+ hour nap each day. Bless you child! He dropped his last bottle in the morning and before bed and is now completely on a sippy cup or cup with a straw. And he made the switch from formula to milk. I was expecting a major protest to these changes after hearing horror stories from some friends but have been very pleasantly surprised. It’s so strange to have so many of the baby phases end.

Another biggie this month was his newfound craziness for his Daddy. He’s always had a good ‘ol time with Wade, but that has really intensified this month. He has said “Da Da” a couple of times right to Wade and even while playing at the door outside of Wade’s office. (He only says “Ma Ma” when he’s upset and crying.) And I’m not surprised at all to realize that Wade can get the biggest giggles and squeals from Tate when they’re playing. I guess my prediction of Wade being the fun-loving Dad, and me being the strict Mom may be coming true. Yikes! Here’s a picture Wade took from some of their guy time. (He also had his SECOND haircut this month. The boy has got some hair.)

This has been a fun month with lots of changes, but has also been one of the more challenging months so far. With his new mobility has also come lots of frustration…for both of us. He has made so much improvement with his physical therapy, but he’s still somewhat limited to what he can really do and get into. This gets him VERY frustrated. This causes LOTS of whining. This gets me VERY frustrated. I know this is just the beginning of a whole new stage, but for some reason, I wasn’t expecting it until he turned 2!

Despite the whining, he continues to be a constant source of joy. He is already taking after his Daddy and seems to know no stranger. When we’re out and about, he will flash his big smile to just about anyone and talk to them in his “Tateish.” He still loves doing anything outside and would love to permanently move his room into the bathtub if we would let him.

After a big month like this past one, I’m excited to see what the next few months bring as I learn more and more about this little guy I love.

***Here’s an extra video just for fun. Too bad Tate couldn’t do this last Sunday for the Cowboys!***