Claire at 14 months

Claire had a developmenal EXPLOSION this month! So I had to write a mid-month update, which you can check out here.

At 14 months, Claire:

• does sign language all of a sudden! This is somewhat of a mystery. She does "more" and "eat" and for the most part, uses them in the proper context! We attempted sign language with her when she was much younger (like 6-9 months) but hadn't done much since. Then one day she all of a sudden starts signing! I am so proud. :)
• gives kisses
• still has tiny little feet that somehow support her while walking. She still wears size 2! I bet within a month or so she'll expand to a size 3.
• wears 12 month clothing for the most part
• still sleeps like a champ. She goes to bed between 6:45-7:15 and wakes up between 6:30-7:30AM. She typically takes 3 naps per day, but occassionally takes 2. I wonder when she'll transition to one long nap? At her 12 month appt, her Pedi was surprised she still took 3 naps and now she's 2 months older and still doing it. Her naps range from about 45 minutes to 1.5 (sometimes 2) hours long.
• just walks around all day long! She is always going, going, going. She walks from one toy to the next, never stopping! It's exhausting just to watch! Claire would be content just walking around outside all day long. She LOVES to be outside. She shows us her disappointment when we bring her in! She enjoys her water table and long (or short) walks in the wagon.
• Has a cell phone. I knew they were starting young but I thought she'd at least be preschooler! It's a real, functional Nokia flip phone, given to her from Grandma Annie, of course. I refuse to have another charger in our house and charge it nightly, so once the battery died, so did her ability to take pictures with it. I think she'll survive. She likes to carry it everywhere with her.
• Eats pretty well. She doesn't like meat though. I shared my concern that she's not getting enough protein with a Nutrionist last week at a Red Hot Mama meeting at Target and she reassured me that she's getting enough protein in her cheese, milk, and yogurt. She isn't at the point yet that she's eating what we eat. Mostly because she doesn't like meat or salad, and often is in bed before we actually get to sit down and eat. But I'm looking forward to the time that I don't need to fix her a separate meal! She eats like a horse and I'm not sure where she puts it! Some of her favorite foods are oatmeal, nutrigrain waffles, yogurt, cheese sticks, macaroni and cheese (with whole grain noodles), whole grain bread, bananas, pears, nectarines, blueberries, strawberries, watermelon, sweet potatoes, milk, nutrigrain bars, cheerios, and peas. I'm so happy she's a good, healthy eater. I just can't imagine putting junk into her body. She's so dependent on us, and it's our job to feed her nutritious foods!
• has lots of facial expressions. I think she's like me and doesn't even know she's doing them.
• is still shy and sensitive

She's at a super duper fun age! I can't wait until she's 18 months old on my maternity leave! She's my precious little girl who is the love of my life!