OK, so...remember when I said at the "One Year Update" post that I wasn't going to write any more entries on every month's "birthday"...well, forget that....I broke the promise last month and I am doing it again...deal with it! :-)

So many new and fun things are happening all the time over here, so why not document them. When Hayden is 21 and has moved out of the house and on to college, I won't remember these little things that I delight in now while he's small. I don't want to lose my memories of this stuff as I already find myself forgetting things that happened when he was an infant. Like the endearing way that he moaned himself to sleep in the car (oh, how I long for those peaceful, sleep-inducing car ride days) or how he had no control over the movement of his limbs letting them flail here and there erradicly (now he waves them quite deliberately to tell me "no" or "come here NOW" or "stop that mama"). Each phase has its own good and bad things...and I want to remember them forever.

So...with that said...here is what Hayden is up to at 14 months. I am going to throw you a curveball and change the format to mix things up. I know...brace yourself!

One of the most notable changes in the past month is the death of the pacifier. It's gone...completely. I went cold turkey as you have probably read in a past post. Hayden seems to have come out of the experience without any noticeable long-term damage. It is very liberating to not need to know the whereabouts of that addictive piece of plastic for fear that all hell could break loose and you won't have a way to silence the fury...now, you just bravely go forth (wireless) and know that if a little ruckus is raised that this too shall pass.

Hayden is also sleeping with a blanket for the first time in his life (besides the swaddling one that we used for the longest time). It is a nice soft and cuddly one that stays on for probably all of two seconds after we leave the room. He moves around quite a bit, but at least it is there and just in case his night aerobics happen to bring him near it again, it may actually serve its purpose and keep him warm. I figured it was time to introduce one since winter is coming and also because at some point the crib will go and he will need covers in his big boy bed.

On the food front, his appetite has definitely slowed down. Ironically enough, he doesn't eat nearly as much as he did a few months ago when the doctor said that he was a lightweight for his age. You may recall that he went on the weight-gainers diet at around 12 months. Maybe we scared him or something, but after all those dairy products, alfredo sauce and whole milk, he is sometimes signing "all done" after the first bite. Of course we encourage a few more bites and he usually finds whatever we are eating much more appealing anyway, so he still gets enough food to get by just fine. In fact, he is a little chunky in the cheeks now.

Speaking of signing...Hayden is doing pretty well with that. He can sign "all done", "please", "eat", "come here", "dog", and his own version of "elephant"...which leads me to his repetoire of animal sounds...and what a repetoire it is! He has added sheep, goat, snake, elephant, horse/pony, lion, bear, bee, and chicken to his old hat dog, pig, cow, fish, turkey, and monkey noises. He can rattle them off pretty fast when dad is quizing him. Some pretty standard animal sounds such as the cat, bird, frog, and duck have continued to eluded him. We still have to work on those. Perhaps we should move on to more important things like parts of the body or something, but we are having fun with these noises right now.

Along with the animal sounds, Hayden also says other actual words! He can say mama and dada (and usually to the right person - although a random man has been called dada a few times and Cameron is often mama and so is the scary lady in the "Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See" book). He can say ball, baby, book, dog, duck, banana, bird (hmm, I see a "b" and "d" trend here)...ok well, he can also say more, no, uh oh, hi, tickle tickle, night night, vroom vroom, and up. Of course, no one in their right mind would recognize when these things were being said unless the context of the situation slapped them in the face with it, but we know and that's all that matters...at this point anyway. If he continues to grow and enters high school saying "ba" for ball or "du" for duck, then we'll be worried. But, for now, we are pretty damn proud. Did I tell you he's a genius?!?

I always used to cringe when mothers would brag and talk up their kids to me or within eavesdropping ear shot. Now, I find myself so proud of every little new thing he does that I would shout it from the rooftops too if I didn't realize that no one else cares as much as we do. Plus, that's what Grandparents and best friends are for...they will listen (or otherwise quietly occupy themselves) while you gloat and not love you any less because of your bragging ways. Sometimes they have even been known to encourage such behavior.

Some other things that happened this month were Hayden's first pony ride, another trip to Cannon Beach, and the purchase of his Halloween costume (you'll have to stay tuned to find out what he is going to be this year).

Hayden loves to be outside whenever he gets the chance. He stands at the glass sliding door asking to "please" go outside in this pathetic, but irresistable, way. So...we do and he loves it. Chasing his ball, finding leaves, and acknowledging EVERY bird and airplane that passes overhead. I hope that I can still accomodate his love of the outdoors as winter swiftly approaches. You might find us both in our snowsuits making snow angels in the backyard!

I just love the time that I get to spend with Hayden. I see and hear all of the new things that he says and does. Really, I don't miss anything (except for the time that he "walked" to Cameron and I was behind the refrigerator door, but that's another story and "I don't want to talk about it!").

That paragraph may leave you wondering if he is walking yet...No, he isn't. He learned how to crawl though, finally, which should make all of you who felt that his scooting was weird feel a little better. We found out from Cameron's baby book that he didn't walk until he was 15 months old, so maybe that is Hayden's destiny too. It will happen when it is meant to and in the meantime we will continue to enjoy the fact that we can still out-run him!

As always, Hayden keeps us laughing. He is such a light in our lives. His screaming and impatientness, although typical, is trying at times, but nothing we can't handle. Plus, this too shall pass and pretty soon those screams will be a distant memory. OK, maybe there are SOME things that I won't mind forgetting about. However, we are enjoying every minute as he grows and learns new things in front of our eyes. -- mam