14 months

Work and chasing after a very active toddler has left little time for blog posts… 

At 14 months, Delaney is:

-          Saying a lot of words.  She has about 20 words in her active vocabulary. 

-          In terms of her passive vocabulary, it is hard to tell how many words she knows, but it seems like she is understanding everything that we say, and even responds to most commands.   

-          Best friends with Jasper.  Delaney does not have nearly as much exposure to other kids as she would if she were in daycare, we still try to expose her to other kids at least once a day.  Living in such a family neighborhood, this is not very difficult.  Most of her interaction with other kids in parallel play, however her play with Jasper is very interactive.  They play together with 1 toy.  They love each other and get along really well.  It is so special to see. 

-          Starting the transition from 2 naps to 1.  This is complicated since we are never sure if she will need 1 nap or 2, or what time they will happen.  If she sleeps past 7, she can stay awake until about 11 or 11:30.  If she sleeps for more than 2 hours at that time, she probably won’t need another nap.  However, if she goes to bed before 11 and sleeps for an hour or less, she will definitely need another nap.  Again, we are just rolling with this day by day and not making any concrete plans in the middle of the day since it’s so unpredictable. Even if she doesn’t go to sleep for a 2^nd nap, we are putting her down in her crib with a couple books so that she has some quiet time (for us too!). 

-          Getting used to the water.  We took her to several swim classes and have been taking her to the pool at my parents house and at Aunt Jody’s.  Unfortunately she is fearless and would walk right in if we let go.  She seems to really enjoy the water, and with the hot valley summer upon us, this will be a great activity. 

-          Going through some bouts of severe separation anxiety from me.  At times when it is most extreme, she will FREAK OUT if I need to leave to go to work, go to the bathroom, or even get a drink of water.  This comes and goes in waves.  Fortunately, she can usually be distracted and will be fine once I’m gone.  It is really hard for all of us to go through this.  For her, I am sure it is extremely stressful and upsetting.  For me, it is heartbreaking to hear her crying and screaming when I am leaving.  And for the person that is with her, it is trying to distract her and get her calmed down.  From the beginning, even if I need to leave for a couple minutes, I always tell her I’m leaving and that I will be back soon.  Sometimes she waves and says bye and is completely content. 

-          Is a Baby for Obama.  President Obama attended a fundraiser at George Clooney’s house, who happens to live up the street (WAY up the street) from us.  It was a very exciting day with helicopters flying over all day and streets in our neighborhood having limited access after 4pm.  We did not want to miss this unique occasion so loaded our Baby for Barack in her wagon and watched the motorcade go by on Laurel Canyon.  It was very exciting!  Delaney waved and offered her Cheerios, but I guess Obama was saving his appetite for the Wolfgang Puck food at Clooneys!  We taught her how to say Obama (she says "Bama" when we ask her, "Who's the President?") 

-          Loves the beach!  We visited Brooks and Bonnie in Santa Barbara and took Delaney to the beach for the first time since Hawaii.  She giggled and squealed as the water got close and kept trying to run in.   Between the beach, the park above the beach, the cute restaurants, 2 dogs to play with, new toys and most importantly, doting grandparents and great grandmothers, Delaney loves Santa Barbara!   We are going back later this month. 

-          Has all 4 of her molars, which all came in in the last month.  Aside from a few fussy nights, she’s been such a trooper about it.  Her main side effect is she has been drooling BUCKETS.  She now has 4 teeth on top, 2 on bottom and the 4 molars. 

-          Broke out in a horrific rash which lasted for almost 10 days.   Her body was covered head to toe in a very hot, red, swollen rash.  Her face very swollen and we spoke to the doctor on call about 5 times and took her in twice.  Fortunately she was not too bothered by it, other than needing to stay indoors and keeping her away from other kids.  We never found out what caused it, although the doctors believed that it was viral and tested her for strep since it looked like a scarletina rash.  Her skin is still peeling in places (she pretty much got a whole new layer of skin) but she is fine and her skin is softer than ever! 

-          Loves reading, playing with her sand and water table, burying toys in the sand, twirling, kicking a ball, her “Ilma doll,” playing with Legos (a new phenomenon), BLUEBERRIES and zucchini, holding the phone to her ear, singing songs and learning the hand gestures, going for walks, looking at ants, snails, birds, squirrels and other creatures around the neighborhood, watching garbage trucks, waiters and gardeners.