RUS 14 months

Dear RUS,

You are 14 months old! We are having a ton of fun with you--watching as you clearly understand what we are saying and respond to everything!

You have started officially toddling. I've finally come to terms with the fact that you're not an infant anymore--today, just a few days after taking your very, very, VERY first independent steps, you demonstrated just how bold you're getting, and you walked three big steps all the way from me to a chair in our living room. We also saw you stand up from the floor without holding on to anything, and try to walk over to the art table. Before long, you're going to be exclusively walking, and I'm already mourning the end of an era in this house.
You're very impish, and you love to climb on things and look through things. The climbing is borderline scary, though, because you are so bold about getting on top of anything you can possibly reach. You open all the cabinets (except, of course, for the ones we've locked, and we've had to lock a few new ones to keep you out of them!) and you regularly crawl down to R's room and bang on the door for us to let you in there, since you know that is where all the toys are!
You've also got some very decided opinions about things, and you know what you want and how to communicate when you're not getting what you want. It's fantastic--and your picky eating, while still a little pickier than R was at the same age, is not nearly as picky as it used to be. You are eating a good variety of foods and you're still really good at feeding yourself.

Love,
Mama