The Dotsons: Aubrey is 14 Months Old!

Aubrey is 14 months old! Although physically (b/c of her mobility delay) she still seems like a baby to me, we are definitely seeing some glimpses of toddler behavior. She is starting to exert her will more.....bye bye perfect angel baby and hello sassy pants, LOL! I was in denial that this day would come with her.....but it has!

* She weighed 18 lbs 8 oz at the doctor's office on Friday, 9/28. We were there for a check up b/c she was sick. She got a steroid shot b/c she was starting to sound croup-y and azithromycin for rattling in her chest.

* Still in 12 months clothes and some 18 month tops. Still in size 3 diapers but went to size 4 for nighttime.

* Routine/schedule still the same....7:30/8am: 4 oz bottle and breakfast; 9:30-11am: nap; 11:15/11:30am: lunch; 1:30pm-3:30/4pm: 4 oz bottle and nap; 5:30pm: dinner; 7:30/8pm: 4 oz bottle and bedtime. (play time in between). As soon as we finish this last container of formula, we're stopping bottles.

* On Tues/Thurs when Caleb goes to school, our day is a little different. We drop him off around 9:15pm, then go straight home and she goes down for a nap. I let her sleep until she wakes up and then we do lunch. Right after we pick Caleb up at 2:15pm, we come home and she goes down for a later than normal nap. If I need to run an errand, we'll go right after we eat lunch and before we pick Caleb up. This way, she can still get two naps.

* On 9/15, she said "quack, quack, quack" (sounds like "kak, kak, kak") in response to me saying it. She had a rubber ducky from the bath tub and I said "quack, quack" - she immediately repeated it! Rhett was drying her off so we both heard it and were very surprised. Now she will say it back if you make the sound too. Does that count as a first word? LOL.

* New foods we've tried:
- chicken fries: loved at first, but now she doesn't seem overly crazy about them. I don't get that!
- avocado: loves
- meatballs: frozen ones (ok with) and some Swedish meatballs I made (she gobbled them up)
- raspberries: loves
- rolls w/cinnamon butter from Texas Roadhouse: gobbled them up
- cheese pizza: first time she wolfed it...second time she ate two bites then threw the rest on the floor (??)
- sweet potato fries/tots: loves
- cinnamon toast: seems to like it
- apple cinnamon bread (a breakfast bread from Pepperidge Farm): likes it
- Goldfish crackers: loves
- cheese quesedillas: likes

* Foods she doesn't like: black beans, noodles, apple cinnamon Cheerios, peaches and pears (from fruit cups)

* Finally doing pretty well drinking from a sippy cup (as far as execution goes), but she still doesn't drink much volume-wise. When she's done, she immediately throws it on the floor. (sassy pants!) I remember this stage with Caleb....very frustrating!

* She also deliberately throws food that she doesn't want onto the floor. She also does this when she's had enough. It's funny how kids know things like this that they are obviously not taught. She's also tried to feed her food to the dogs with a mischievous grin on her face. (sassy pants!)

* When she gets really mad and you're holding her....you'd better hold on tight because she will flail her entire body backwards and wail! (sassy pants!)

* Figured out how to open and close cabinet doors. She also likes to try to close bedroom doors and this has resulted in a smashed finger (yes, Caleb was involved in that!)

* Laughs hysterically when she and Caleb play peek-a-boo in the back door curtains. I have never heard her laugh that hard!

* She will try to take things away from Caleb, but when it comes to interacting with other babies, she is very timid and cries if another baby gets near her and her toys.

* She hugs her baby dolls and says "aww" - it is the cutest thing! She also likes to hug a little stuffed Elmo of Caleb's.

* She loves to play the toy xylophone and she's actually pretty good at it! Not good as in she plays actual songs (that would be amazing), but she actually tries to strike the keys and she's very accurate at doing so. I don't remember Caleb actually trying to play it at this age. Maybe she will want to play an instrument some day! She smiles so big while she's playing.

* It is getting nearly impossible to changer her clothes and diapers because she kicks and squirms so much! Seriously, she bucks like a bucking bronco on the changing table!

* She has discovered "lift the flap" books. I just showed her once and she caught on and started lifting all the flaps herself.

* She loves to play in Caleb's room and will just up and go in there without anyone else going. She'll zoom really fast into his room and start playing with whatever she can find. She'll actually stay in there for a while by herself.

* I just recently discovered that she likes to play with clothes. I had a pile of the kids' dirty clothes sitting in the hallway one morning while I was straightening their rooms and she just started throwing them all over the place and having a good ole' time. This entertained her for at least 10 minutes. Good to know....now I know if we're getting bored, I can just throw some clothes on the floor and let her play in them - ha!

In brother's room where all the good stuff is!

She's started doing this recently....just reaching out towards you. She does it every morning when I go in her room to get her and after nap times too. I don't think she's wanting to be picked up....she's just reaching! I usually just grab her hand and she thinks that is funny.

First Aggie game of the season in her cute little dress (which, oddly enough is a 3-6 month size! We bought it at Academy and the larger sizes were just huge. I have never seen sizing THAT far off.)

The weather was amazing this day, so we hung out outside for a good while
and had a picnic lunch (yes, in the garage)

She got her first real "boo boo" on her head that day (the little dark spot on her temple is a bruise). She has started flailing herself down onto the ground from a sitting position. She is not very graceful or controlled when she does it and this particular time, she face planted into the activity table top (laying on the ground w/o the legs on it) Since this incident, she's slowly getting a little better at it.

She will not stay on a blanket any more! And yes, she scooted across the dirty garage floor, but what are you gonna do?! I like to let her explore her surroundings.

Caleb has just recently started wanting to actually play with Aubrey and it is so cute. He gets down on her level (on tummy, of course) and plays with her. He likes to follow her around or have her follow him....all while Army crawling! I think it is sweet that he is moving around the way that she does.

This is what she does if he goes into his room and shuts the door. She even puts her hands under the door and he'll do the same. It's pretty cute. She hates for him to go in there without her! (and this is when he slammed her fingers in the door shortly after this)