14 Months!

Here we are again - at the end of the month and time for another monthly Annie update.  The changes are fast and furious as our little girl grows.  So these are just kind of the highlights, as a really comprehensive post would be a long time in the writing and would probably lose your attention anyway.  But here are the big ones (or at least the most entertaining and sweetest ones)...

Oh this girl.  She's almost too ;precious  for this mama to handle.

She learned the fine art of "taking it easy" from her daddy.

Vocabulary - Not only has Annie added a couple of words to her vocabulary this month, but she has demonstrated how much she understands of what we say to her.  We can ask her to take something into her bedroom and put it back where it belongs and she will do it (I will refrain from making a joke here about how she learned this from her mommy and not her daddy...sorry David!).  If you ask her to pick out a book and bring it to you, she will.  And if you ask her where Mommy or Daddy or Jackson (the dog) are, she will point to the right person (or animal, as the case may be).  She knows Grandma and shouts "Papa!" at the phone when we talk to David's parents.  She has added the word "Up!" to her repetoire and, in a display of profound cuteness, has named her little monkey/blanket combo that she sleeps with.  He is "Bobo."  She named him herself with no help from us - and she calls him by name when she wants to hold him.  Sweetest.  Thing.  Ever.

Kisses - Annie has been blowing kisses for a while now and has, on occassion, attempted to give us kisses.  But now she is much more regular with the kiss giving.  And they are funny, open-mouthed, come at you with a funny look on her face, kind of kisses.  The best kind out there, if you ask me.

Riding a bicycle with Daddy at West Sixth

Running - Annie's walking skills have grown and improved to the point where she is practically running through the house.  And she rarely tolerates being carried when we are in public - especially when I drop her off at school in the mornings.  She now wants to run down the hallway to her classroom and then, in the afternoons, run back down it (and down another hallway, and up some stairs, and basically in any direction other than the exit) before going home.  I am sometimes in the basement at home doing laundry or retrieving something and I hear her upstairs running around, little feet doing that age-old pitter patter while her daddy chases after her.

Wearing a dress that was her mama's.  Vintage, indeed.

Play - I know I've mentioned several times that Annie is a very active child.  She is not, and has not ever been, a sit in your lap contentedly while looking around kind of kid.  And the older she gets, the more playful she gets...and the more adventurous.  Last weekend, Annie discovered the joys of the slide.  And she simply could not get enough of it.  If you aren't on Facebook or somehow missed this video, I'm including it now for your viewing pleasure.  Her gleeful squeal at the top and unhesitant request to go down it again clearly indicate we have a thrill seeker on our hands.