14 Months on the 14th...

Let's take a moment and look at this sweet little face.

And notice that she doesn't look so much like a baby anymore.

Cause she is not.

She is all toddler.

Her face is skinnier. In fact, her little body is slimming down. And really, there's only one reason for that.

Running.

This girl is On. The. Move.

You can see Chris' arm in the photo. Our tag teaming of photo time has become a little more hands on. Or a lot hands on.

This month we wanted her to leave Aubie sitting there with her instead of her picking him up to snuggle. We literally got these two pictures before she went in for the snuggle!

And snuggle!

So what else has Pumpkin been doing this month? Pretty much everything. And walking while doing it. One morning this week, she took a walk around the block with Chris. Like she WALKED around the block. No stroller involved.

She loves to stack stuff. Her animals, her bath toys, the boxes out of the recycle bin. Pretty much if she can put something on top of something else, she will. She's very precise about it too. The items have to be stacked just right. And when she's done, she does this little "Huff" noise like it was a hardest task she's done all day long.

And if stacking is not "it" at the moment, then it's putting things into something else. Like a grocery bag (not a plastic one, a reusable one), or her old car seat (which we can't bare to put in the attic and miss her playing with it), or the drum Aunt Meredith gave her for her birthday. She's never once beat on the drum but she sure can fill it with stuffed animals.

We love lids. Putting them on. Taking them off. Putting them on. It's a cool game.

She snuggles everything. Animals, cordless phones, remote controls, wash cloths, dirty clothes out of the hamper. Everything. She picks it up, puts it up to her shoulder, gives it a good squeeze and then swings back and forth loving on it. Do all little girls do this?

Food wise, she's a little bit me and a little bit Chris. She gets bored eating pretty quickly which leads to tantrums when she wants down. Only to come back to the highchair 20 minutes later wanting to eat again.

Good times.

And just like her daddy.

She eats breakfast around 6:45 or 7:00 am (yes, thanks, I appreciate your sympathy), then a snack around 8:30 or 9:00 am. Lunch after her morning nap around noon. Afternoon snack about 2 or 3 depending on where we are for our afternoon outing. Dinner about 5:30 pm.

More than Stripes, Lambie or Daddy, Aubrey Kate loves CHEESE! Good gracious alive, that girl can eat some cheese. Really. I can't stress it enough. Cheese! That's what it's all about.

She also likes fruit. Which is where the little bit me comes in. Peaches, pineapple, oranges, bananas, blueberries, strawberries. Everything but pears. Well, at least the pears in fruit cups.

Can't blame her for that.

My favorite thing she's started doing this month (apart from saying Momma all day) is climbing into my lap. She loves to read books so she'll bring me a book and once I take it from her, she climbs on up. I flippin' LOVE IT. Holy moly. It is a fabulousness I never imagined. And of course, I must kiss her after every climb. Must.

For the most part, she's still wearing 9 - 12 months clothes. Although I noticed today her sleepers are getting a little shorter. I did buy her a pair of big girl pj's this month. You know, a top and pants. No snaps or zippers or feet. I got a little teary when she got up the next morning. She looked like such a big kid and not my baby anymore.

I absolutely cried when she moved classes at church. She left all her little friends behind and moved up with the big kids. I looked at all those big kids and pretty much lost it. Chris had to comfort me and I had to take a moment to get myself together.

So when "they" tell you to treasure each moment because they aren't babies for long..."they" are so not kidding.

But my sadness was even shorter. Because I adore her and every day is a new adventure. And another chance to see her play.