Macario is 14 Months Old!

Oh, my beautiful boy! I will never get used to you growing up so fast. I wish there was some way that I could slow the hands of time. You do something new at least every other time I blink, so I have to work very hard to savor each moment and ingrain the memories in my mind.

A lot has happened over the last month, so here is my attempt at keeping the memories strong in my mind (and in my heart).

Right off the bat I'll say that sleep has been a real problem area over the last month. As I said in your previous update, I don't think we can expect you to keep a solid sleep pattern in these first couple of years as you will continue to go through so many changes, however, there are periods of time when you sleep like an angel and I really yearn for those days to fall upon us again. We got lucky that you slept really well the first several months as you didn't start cutting teeth until you were close to a year old. Now I'm getting a dose of what it's like to work on fumes of sleep.

Sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

This time I think there are two reasons for the sleep disturbance 1) we now sleep in the same room, so when you awaken at night, you don't just go back to sleep because you can see Daddy and I and then want to be with us 2) you are waking more often than usual because you have SEVERAL of your top teeth coming in all at once. None are cutting just yet, but I'm hoping that once they finally break through we'll all get some relief (especially you).

Speaking of teeth! You had  your first dental appointment yesterday. Everyone there thought you were so cute, and complimented us on how well you handled the visit. The only time you fussed was when the doctor was putting the flouride on your teeth. I wouldn't even call it fussing because really all it was was that you sort of whimpered and then let the dentist do what he needed to do. I wouldn't have blamed you if you threw a full on fit over that, though, because the flouride I remember tasting as a kid was not tasty at all!

Daddy and I really loved the dental office we took you to. They even took your picture and printed it for us to keep as a memento from your first visit to the dentist. It was awesome. They sent you home with a bag of goodies and TWO balloons (the sure knew the way to your heart)!  

First time at the dentist!

I wasn't feeling well that day, but I could not stop smiling because I was so proud of you for doing such a good job and being such a big boy. I'm actually excited to take you back in 6 months to see how well you'll do then!

In addition to taking you to the dentist, we also felt it was time to start toilet training you. We're not necessarily trying to get you out of diapers by a certain age, but we felt it was necessary to start allowing you to get familiar with the toilet and with the sensations of going in a toilet and not just eliminating freely in a diaper. You've taken fairly well to the potty and I'm hoping that we will continue on a good pattern of toilet use. I've had a hard time not taking the word potty from our conversations to my adult conversations, which is hilarious to me and such a mommy thing to do. I've referred to the toilet as a potty in more than one adult conversation I've had so far.

Speaking of words and conversations, the number of words you can say has increased from approximately 13 to approximately 22! I say approximately because I'm sure I probably missed some words as you don't say them all regularly, but you definitely can say them.

Your first few words were (not in order of occurrence): dada, mama, apple, more, balloon, ball, bottle, bird, tree, milk, yay, grandpa, itsy (for itsy bitsy spider) and possibly more.

This month you've added: baby, Bella, bus (and the hand motion for "Wheels on the Bus"), no, grandma, thank you, dog, auntie, bye (with a wave) you also now make the sound for dog which you say as "oof oof"

It was so funny the first time I heard you say no. You were standing at the kitchen playing with a knob on the china hutch which I always re-direct you away from saying "No, no baby, we don't play with that." So that particular day you were touching the knob and all of a sudden I heard you say "Neh, neh, neh" I looked up to see you shaking your head as you reached out to touch it and I laughed so hard. You were telling yourself "No" but your little hand was reaching out anyway. *chuckle*

Daddy and I love to let you play freely because you do the funniest things when left to your own devices. You even have full length conversations which I have yet to capture on video, but I can't wait to get it because it's such a fun thing to watch.

Your personality is starting to come out even more now too. I love that you are such a sweet little boy. You give hugs and kisses all the time and make the cutest little sound when you do. You get this look on your face and you say "aww" and give hugs and kisses.

You are also very funny. You do silly things and then smile or laugh afterward because you know it's going to earn you a laugh.

The wheels are always turning in your little head and it's so fun to watch you figure things out in the world around you.

Lastly, for purpose of my future reference, I'll add that you got a cut on your finger and ended up getting an infection this month.  I tried to keep it clean and covered in antibiotic ointment, but being that the cute was on your finger it was hard to keep it from getting infected as you always have your hands on everything!

It was obvious it was infected and so I emailed Dr. C the picture above and he immediately ordered you prescription for Bactrim (an antibiotic). Fortunately, it did not cause diarrhea like the Amoxicillin did.

It's such an honor to be your mommy and getting to experience all of these new things with you all the time. I'm still sad thinking of how quickly you are growing up and how it will be too soon that you'll be ready to leave the nest, but I am so happy to be one of the two people helping you through every new stage!

I love you son, and am excited to see what this new month brings!

Happy 14 months, baby boy.

Love,
Mommy