14 Months!

As any parent will tell you, toddlerhood does have some downsides (read: screaming, teething, throwing food over the side of the high chair, totally stubborn and irrational behavior, the unpredictable love/hate relationship with bath time, and the moving/misplacement of anything in the home that is not nailed down), but let me tell you, it sure is a BLAST! I have not had such a good time in a long time...watching this tiny baby turn into a real little person is the most exciting journey of my life! The best thing about toddlerhood has got to be that we are finally able to communicate back and forth with each other to some extent. James understands quite a number of words and will respond to what you say by going certain places in the house ("Ready to go to bed?" - He goes to his crib and points), bringing you certain items("Ring, ring! Is it for me?" - He brings his toy phone) or laughing if he thinks it is funny (his response to just about anything). Lately, playing with James has become much more interactive. He also loves horseplay and loves being chased and tickled. James is really into his toys, especially cars. He enjoys "reading" his books and pointing out different characters in the books as we look at them. This is one of the only times that James will slow down enough to sit in my lap these days. We have to do a toy and book rotation every few weeks to keep things interesting. Right now James' favorite things are his singing alligator and his pushing ball popper. He also dances to pretty much any music and I am going to try to get some video of that soon. We have been able to go on a lot of walks in the nice weather lately and make more trips to local parks and the library. We are hoping Spring is here to stay because we are ready for a visit to the zoo!