14 Months Old

   It's been a long time since you've heard from me.  I blame that on the fact that Carter NEVER stops moving.  I've never witnessed anything like it.  From the moment I take him out of his crib in the morning, he is non-stop until his nap.  I seriously can't keep up.  His latest skill is climbing; he can climb on the couch and then on the back of the couch.  As though he wasn't dangerous enough already, now you can't turn your back on him.  Fortunately he still takes 2 naps and sleeps 11-12 hours a night.  He's getting much faster and steadier at walking.  Now he puts his hands by his side, rather than holding them up in safety mode.
  The most exciting thing Carter has started doing is talking.  He has 20 words now!  I wasn't sure when a word counts, so I count a word when he uses it on his own in context.  The other day I handed him his toothbrush and he said "Thank you" without any prompting.  I can't tell you how cool that is.  So I've ditched the baby sign language and put all my effort into labeling everything we see.  He's like a parrot, he'll repeat single words with pretty good accuracy.  His favorite words are ball, dog, cracker, and of course DADA!  He rarely says mama and shows a strong preference for Daddy.  Did you hear my heart breaking just now?  Could it be because I try to wrestle him into hugging me, when all he wants to do is walk?  He hates snuggling.
   Carter still loves eating.  He eats what we eat, for the most part.  He drinks 2 cups of milk a day and then lots of water.  I'm going to hold out on juice as long as possible.
  We come home in 10 days and I can't wait for Carter to get to know his baby cousin, Harper!