14 Months!

For his 14-month birthday pictures, I dressed him in Hild LAndscaping attire because he looks so much more like a little boy, which is how I see him now. Each picture illustrates part of his development, explained by the captions. Happy 14th-month, Beckett! XO

He has officially passed walking and is now into running. You can't really tell in this shot, but at one point, both feet were off the ground simultaneously. He also loves opening and closing doors, which he can name without the 'r' sound. That includes cabinet doors, shower doors, closet doors, bathroom doors, vanity doors, garage doors (he especially likes pushing the garage door openers), and any other type of door you can think of.

He can walk up and down inclines easily and loves stepping over objects. He would prefer to step over the one item on the floor instead of taking the much easier trip around, and will intentionally make his path intercede with whatever he can climb over. He can also go up and down steps by himself, although that still makes me very nervous. These pictures were the first time he wore the "work boots" so he would look more like Dad.

Climbing has begun. He climbs on chairs, the couch, stools, tables, and (as evidenced) piles of dirt. He also has a great attention span and can focus on small objects or animals for (what seems like) extended periods.

Sharing: Beckett loves to share things. He shares his snacks with Lexi or Mommy, he gives people his food at the dinner table, and he will offer whatever is in his hand to me, including dirt clods. It is so sweet, the juxtaposition of all boy in the dirt and loving generous boy to his mom.

I love this picture because it's the beginning of his favorite game: CHASE! He gets this ornery look on his face, glances back over his shoulder like "come and get me" and then starts to run, looking back about every 2 seconds. In this picture, he is also saying "tweet," one of his favorite animal sounds.

Fine motor: Beckett has always been good at manipulating small objects. He picks up crumbs, threads, and tiny leaves. He inspects things closely, and then typically offers them as gifts. Here, he has a small piece of wheat. This picture also shows his hair really well. He is very blond, and the back is usually pretty messy, which I love!

Sharing his wheat.

Okay, this catches his personality really well - he is laughing hysterically (probably the best sound I have ever heard) and running during a game of CHASE. Sometimes when he gets laughing really hard, he snorts.

Good tooth shot: There are 11 and 1/2...The top left molar is in and out.

Beckett loves to play with gadgets, too. Here, he is reaching for Mommy's camera. He also loves our cell phones, and can unlock Shonn's iPhone and iPad. He loves anything with buttons and is really into the phase where he likes it when he gets a response from an object. Like, I can make this do something!

"VROOM, VROOM!" One of Shonn's favorite things right now is seeeing B with trucks and tractors because he scoots them back and forth repeatedly and makes a "vrrrrrooooom" sound. He says, "CCCK" and "CRRRR" for truck and tractor. He says it when he hears them go by, sees them from his car seat, or when Shonn pulls up from work.

In this picture, he is holding a cap to a bottle of water. Beckett loves taking lids on and off of things. He says "AAH" and "FFF". The travel food pouches, like Ella's or Plum Organics, have some of his favorite lids, but he doesn't discriminate. Tupperware, bottled drinks, fast food cups - if it has a lid, he loves it. Speaking of fast food cups, he is also very interested in straws right now and will take them in and out of the lid until either the lid tears or he drops the straw.

Beckett loves the outdoors. I am converting the sunroom into a playroom and we spend almost all of our day between that room and the yard. He loves animals, nature, and is fascinated by all the things around us. We made a one-hour game out of finding pinecones, which he loved. (He said, "CONE" while holding up his treasure everytime we found one. We ended up with a bucketful and it never got old.)

It has been an amazing 14-months, and even though it doesn't seem possible, each day we love him more and more!