W+J Family Blog ·

Miranda is 14 months!

Thursday, April 28th, 2011 by Amy

Our little love bug turned 14 months on April 9, and I’m been terribly remiss in recording all of her milestones and blogging about how much she is changing and growing. Poor second child, she is!

But really, I think the truth is that we are just enjoying her. Almost everyone who meets her, including strangers, remarks about how happy she is. And it’s true. While she has her moments of clinginess and occasional fussy periods, she returns a huge grin to anyone who smiles at her. One of our neighbors, a middle-aged man whom we don’t see very often, commented recently about how much Miranda must like him. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that she smiles at everyone.
Do you like my hat?
At the Prospect Park Boathouse
Where’s Miranda?
Peek-a-boo!
Cheese! Miranda showing off her 8 teeth, sort of. She is working on her one-year molars.

She has been walking since 11.5 months and is now very steady on her feet and fast! She is a climber. Recently I heard her calling from the bathroom and I went in to find her standing on the lid of the toilet seat. One of her favorite activities of late is to climb onto the chair in living room and look out the front window. She can be somewhat rough physically. When she wants to be picked up (for some reason she hates when I stand at the kitchen sink) she will wedge her body in between me and the counter and then push me with such strength that I am literally forced to back up and oblige her “request.”
Walking girl!

Lil’ walker
All ready for bed…. Miranda is such a confident walker that she walks in her sleep sack!

Luckily, Miranda is well balanced—she spends as much time cuddling as she does being active and pushing us around. Now when I pick her up, she hugs me tight and and pats my back. For her first birthday, Miranda received the book Dear Zoo from her pals Yoshi and Artie, and a series of Indestructibles books from Grandma. And just like that, Miranda found a love of being read to. Chris and I were thrilled as we take turns getting up with our early riser—reading to her while cuddling on the couch is a lovely morning ritual.

Unfortunately for Natalie, Miranda is the most rough with her big sister, whom she idolizes and is also jealous of. No one can make Miranda laugh quite like Natalie can. Yet if Natalie is sitting in my lap, Miranda often tries to push her off. Natalie’s hair often gets pulled, while I’m not sure mine ever has. I’m forever saying “gentle, gentle with your sister!” Before Miranda was born, I’d always assumed this was something I’d have to say to my older daughter, not my younger one. But honestly, aside from the pushing off my lap, I think she is showing her love for Natalie in a very physical way. I wasn’t sure about that until I observed how Miranda interacts with a new friend her age we met at the Y. Miranda is always so happy to see Emma, but I spend the whole time we are with them trying to prevent Miranda from tackling her.

I’m finding it difficult to come up with activities that both Natalie and Miranda enjoy. The things that Natalie is old enough for often involve choking hazards or other small parts that Miranda wants to touch and ultimately destroy. Miranda loves music and especially enjoys going to our weekly Jitterbugs class. She gets so excited and starts vocalizing whenever she hears the Jitterbugs CD playing, and I love that Jitterbugs is something that both girls enjoy together. Now that spring is here, being outside is another activity that we can all enjoy. Miranda looooooves the swings, especially when Natalie pushes her.
Jitterbug Miranda
Park fun!
Playing in a box A nice activity for both girls to enjoy

Miranda is a good eater, although sometimes it’s hard to find exactly what she wants to eat. If she is in the mood for something particular, she will throw reject everything we offer until we happen upon the food she’s craving. She likes variety, food with flavor, and trying new things. Favorites are cheese, (especially smoked gouda) black (and other) beans, bananas, yogurt, melon, rice, pasta, tofu, bread, peanut butter, and pizza. Notice there aren’t any veggies on that list? It’s problematic. She used to like carrots and peas, but has been rejecting them lately. I have gotten her to eat roasted kale and broccoli—when they are smothered in cheese, of course!

Yogurt mess!!
She’s abandoned the spoon in favor of using her fingers

We switched Miranda from formula to cow’s milk just after she turned one. She went through a period around 8-9 months when she was sleeping through the night most of the time, then she started getting her molars and was getting up a couple of times during the night, and drinking 7-8 ounces of milk. Two weeks ago she got a nasty stomach bug that lasted 4 days. Since she was primarily throwing up milk, we cut out the bottle and seized the opportunity to stop feeding her in the middle of the night. So far, it’s led to great results in the sleeping department, but she won’t drink milk from a sippy cup. It’s a little strange to me that at only 14 months, she’s already weaned from nursing and no longer takes a bottle. I appreciate how well she’s sleeping and that we no longer have to carry around (or wash!) bottles, but at the same time I miss that bit of babyhood.

Loving the sandbox!

This month Miranda seems to have turned a corner with her communication, which in turn has allowed her to be more independent and less clingy. She can say a few words: “Mama” = parent, “moe-moe” = more, “bay-bay” = baby, and “baba” = bottle (no longer used). Whenever she sees a dog, she points enthusiastically and says, “bah!” I think she is saying bye-bye, but has only done it a few times. She signs “all done,” “help me,” “hot” and points to her diaper when it needs to be changed. While her speaking has a ways to go, her receptive language is incredible. I am astounded almost daily by what she can understand. She will oblige requests to get her shoes, dadddy’s shoes, a certain toy, etc. When I say it’s time to get dressed, she will go into her room and try to open the dresser. Last week when Meema was here, she mentioned being cold and wanting her sweater. Hearing this, Miranda went to the coat rack and began grunting and pointing to Meema’s sweater. She recently started nodding or shaking her head to indicate “yes” and “no.” I’m sure her words will follow quickly—she is babbling up a storm and trying new sounds every day. Recently she started saying “Dah!” when she sees herself in the mirror. I wonder if she’s saying her name, as in MiranDA.

Drawing Miranda is learning not to eat markers, crayons, or colored pencils and that we only draw on paper. Crayola color wonder markers (invisibl ink that only shows up on special paper) has helped protect my table and Miranda’s clothes!

One last thing I’ll say about Miranda at this age—she is a very precise baby. She does not like it at all when people are separated from their belongings. She is forever handing me my phone to put in my pocket or giving Chris his shoes to put on. If she drops food onto the floor, she will point at it and whine insistently until someone picks it up. Sometimes it’s a practically invisible crumb, but Miranda will not be refocused until the offending piece of food is picked up. You wouldn’t guess this by looking at pictures of her eating yogurt, though, which she insists on doing herself, with her hands.

I think that’s all the updates on Miranda’s development! She truly is a joy—we are so lucky! We can’t wait to see what new things she will learn as she grows up.
Where’s your belly button?
Can you point to your eye?
Where’s Miranda’s nose?

“Wow!!”

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