14 Months

Dear Noah,

You turned 14 months old today. This month has been one of extremes for you — one moment you can be charming, affectionate, kissing one of us — and the next, sprawled on the floor, screaming like you’re being poked with a pin.

You’ve also become much more skilled at mimicry. If a word sounds interesting to you, you attempt to repeat it: Vegetables? Ba-be-boo, but in exactly my tone of voice. The ABC song? Eee-ee-dee-ee…in the right rhythm and tone, followed by an expectant look that breaks into a grin if I start to sing along.

Many more words are totally clear to you — and anyone who might be listening to you say them: No, Mommy, Babboo, Ball, Car, Door, Dog, Woof-Woof, Duck, School, Bye-Bye, Shoe, Juice, Uh-oh, Bath, Baby, Ne-ne (night-night), and Book. (Well, dog and duck are context dependent. If we say “duck” and are looking at something other than a bathtub rubber duckie, you usually say “Woo-woo” and smile. But if you spot a rubber duckie in a book, you point and announce “duck!”)

The teachers claim that you say “Alex” at school, but we haven’t heard you. Their theory is that Kaylee, your best friend, has a brother named Alex, so she can say it. Plus, that’s the name of your and Kaylee’s “third musketeer.” He’s the next biggest and most mobile child in the infant room, after you and Kaylee.

Other words may be clear to you, but not so much to your listeners. You’ve started saying what sounds like “daddy” quite often. Sometimes we joke, “Nobody here by that name.” But mostly we wonder what you mean, and how you learned to say it. Today I’m leaning towards “that is?”

You continue to love dancing, almost more than anything else. You will bounce and stamp your feet to anything that sounds remotely musical, unless I’ve just told someone that and they start singing. Then you are stock-still.

Along with dancing, you love vegetables. Peas are your favorite, followed by carrots and corn. Today you insisted on having some of your snack peas for breakfast, because you saw them being unpacked.

You got a “Go Diego Go” push-or-ride toy this weekend, and I’ve never seen a toy make you so happy. You run it around all over our house, outside, up and down hills, pushing buttons and making us dizzy. You’ve already killed one set of batteries.

And you are over diaper changing. Having clothes put on or removed is almost, but not quite, as bad. I think you are beginning to want to do these things for yourself. We’ll see what we can do to start working on that.

Most of the time, when it isn’t 3 am and we haven’t just thwarted your will, you have a charming and sweet disposition. You have the best smile — still just the two teeth — and you light up when you see Mommy or something excites you.

It makes me want to do nothing but find new ways to delight you.

love,

Mama