14 Months Old!!

Ethan and Mia turned 14 months old today! It's hard for me to believe! They continue to do new things almost every day. They make us laugh on a daily basis. We've cut out their afternoon bottles. They still aren't impressed with milk in their sippee cup but are warming up to it. They haven't cried for their bottles, so it's actually been quite easy. We now are able to lie them down for their naps without having to rock and bounce them. I have a limit of a couple of minutes as far as letting them cry. Ethan does really well and usually falls asleep without crying. Mia still tends to put up a fight, but she's getting better about falling asleep on her own. Both kids are sleeping through the night for the most part. Mia has been teething and will occasionally wake up. Ethan will also occasionally wake up but it's becoming less common. It's so nice to get a full night's sleep.

The big thing with Ethan is that he started walking a couple of weeks ago. He has gotten so good at it! He now walks all over the house. He hardly ever crawls. It's still so weird seeing him walk. He's still so little but is all over the place. His new thing is climbing on EVERYTHING. If he can get up on it, he will. The funny thing about that is he doesn't know how to get down. When he's stuck up on something, he now says, "mom, mom, mom" over and over until I come and get him down. I really have no idea where he learned that. He'll also say that if I'm in a different room of the house as if he's looking for me. It's pretty cute. He continues to be very adventurous. He isn't afraid of anything which is both good and bad. I thought we were going to have to take him to the ER a couple of nights ago. He grabbed my razor when they were in the tub. In a split second, he cut open his lip and his thumb. We couldn't get the bleeding to stop on his lip. He wouldn't let us hold pressure. It was nerve-wracking but it did eventually stop. He didn't cry at all. He's one tough little boy! He's said a couple new words in the last month. He can say, "tickle, tickle, tickle" and "hello" (when he's holding a cell phone to his ear.)

Mia crawls all over the place. She hasn't quite taken her first steps yet. We've been working with her on walking and she gets better every day. She'll do it when she's ready! She does cruise the furniture so that gives her even more practice. She is our little chicken. Their great-grandma gave them a rocking horse. If we try to sit Mia on it, she cries and holds her arms out to pick her up. It's a cute little horse and I'm not sure why she's so scared of it. She still continues to be very affectionate. I get at least a dozen kisses and hugs each day. It's nice being so loved! Mia loves to sit on your lap and would stay there the majority of the day if she could. She never is very far away from me. Mia absolutely loves the dog. I wish the dog loved her back! She is constantly trying to hug and kiss her and Elsa isn't impressed. I've caught Elsa growling at Mia quite a few times and Elsa has nipped Mia a couple of times. I keep telling the kids to "be nice" to Elsa. Sometimes they are and sometimes they aren't. I don't know why Elsa doesn't go somewhere where the kids can't get at her! Mia also has learned some new words. She can say, "ball" and "ouch." I also think she tries to say, "hi, Elsa" but I can't quite make it out.

Playing with Grandpa's tools. Ethan has to empty everything out of a container so that's why they're all over the floor!

The kids are OBSESSED with the dishwasher. We have to be sneaky when we load and unload it. They seem to hear it open from a mile away though! They love throwing all the dishes onto the floor.

Sitting on Grandpa Schmidt's lap.

In my dishwasher again! Both kids like to sit on the door. I really want a new dishwasher and secretly hope they break the door off! :)

Mia after Mommy cut her bangs. Yeah, they're a little crooked but she didn't exactly hold still!

This was my "holy sh@t" moment of the day. Ethan was playing in his room. I didn't think there was anything he could possibly get into. I heard him walking in the hallway and looked up. We made eye contact and he flashed me a huge black toothy smile. He had gotten into an ink pad. He had it all over his mouth and hands. I was absolutely dreading going into their room to see what he had wiped his hands on.

My carpet after the ink pad incident. The stains came out pretty easily, thank God!

Ethan got stuck in his chair. It actually took me a little while to get him out. He was wedged in there pretty good!

Ethan likes to climb on the fireplace hearth except that he can't get down. It's nice to know where he's at until he starts saying, "mom, mom, mom" non-stop!!

Standing on the chair. He's not afraid of anything!

I happened to glance over at him and saw him sitting on their table.