nella: 14 months

(written December 11th… and apparently, the accessory of the month is her hairbrush, since it made it into almost all these pictures…)Clothing size: All 18-month things!
Eye color: Blue!
Hair: Blonde, and that little ponytail is getting thicker! I think we almost have enough for teeny pigtails soon.

Teeth: Still six, and that one I could see under her gum line last month is still HIDING! With how much she’s been acting like she’s teething, I’m honestly shocked it hasn’t popped through yet. Come on, tooth!

Eating: She eats almost anything, although, unlike her sisters, I think she is getting tired of peanut butter sandwiches. She now recognizes if you are eating something different than she is, and she has started throwing tantrums about it, screaming and crying with the hopes that we will give her whatever it is she wants. She does this especially with my homemade pumpkin bread, mostly because I don’t usually give her any (the end result looks like the bread exploded into one million minuscule crumbs all over the floor). She really loves cucumbers, pickles, olives, apples, beans, and cheese.

She’s still nursing about 5 times a day, which seems like kind of a lot to me. I might get her some whole milk to try here soon.

We also gave her her first donut this month, and clearly, she loved it.

Sleep: Sleep… oh, sleep. It is not going so well, considering she is 14 months old. She is waking up multiple times each night to nurse. We are trying to encourage her to go back to sleep without milk, which means that Michael is the one who has to go in and rub her back to try to get her to calm down. I usually end up feeding her between 4 and 5 am, anyway. I was blaming teething for this inconsistent schedule, but now I think maybe she just got out of her routine and is struggling to get back sleep without help. She usually wakes up around 7-7:30 am, but after being up several times at night, she will sometimes sleep until 8:30.

Naps are still generally really good, usually happening for around 3 hours after lunchtime.

Words: Mama, Dada, and then sometimes, it’ll sound like she’ll say “hi” or “yeah”, but I’m not really sure if she knows those yet. She is really amazing at imitating sounds now though! I even had her imitating a horse a few days ago.

Favorite things: Her favorite game is peekaboo, and she’ll initiate it on her own if she has a blanket to cover up with. She’s obsessed with stealing her sisters’ baby dolls (guess what she’s getting from Grandma for Christmas?), and her favorite animal is the dog (real and plush). She is infatuated with her “Beagle”, and tries to take him with her anytime I get her out of her crib. She even likes to hold him while nursing now. I love that she loves that Beagle, because it was actually mine when I was younger.

She loves trying to drink the bathtub water (ew), laughing at her sisters, and crawling to the door as soon as she hears Daddy’s voice when he comes home from work.

Dislikes: Getting her face wiped, seeing us eat something she doesn’t have on her tray, wearing a bib (she takes it off constantly), and being buckled into the car seat.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie, Nella Sunshine.

Milestones, etc.: -She’s cruising along furniture while standing now! It’s only a matter of time until she lets go and just starts walking! I tried propping her up with the toy shopping cart, which helped baby Kaelyn take some of her first steps, but she had no idea what I was trying to do and just sat down.

-She is interested in coloring, whether on paper or the easel! Her sisters were actually helping her erase the whiteboard one day, over and over. She’s so content to just stand there and grab all the markers.-Her sisters love to play “fetch” with her… yes, like a puppy. They toss a toy, and she will crawl to retrieve it. Whatever keeps them all happy, and hey, she’s getting some exercise in the process.

-She imitates everything, and loves to try and brush her teeth or hair.-I kind of can’t believe this, but my little sunshine girl has started throwing some pretty epic tantrums. When she doesn’t get what she wants, she will screech and kick and cry. She’s already had a couple of (very short) timeouts, which she hated. I kind of miss when she didn’t have an opinion about everything!

-She’s not really into watching shows or anything on screen yet, which is truly a good thing, since we try to use media very sparingly with our kids anyway. I’ve actually just been surprised by how disinterested she’s been when I let the older girls watch something. There was one day that Kaya and I were sick, so we just wanted to rest and watch some movies, but Nella would hardly sit still. That’s really the only time I wished she’d want to watch!

-Seriously, she is all over the place. She won’t lay on the changing pad for a new diaper for more than a few seconds, so I’ve had to start buckling her down. All these shenanigans!Dear Nella,

These days, you seem so big and so little all at the same time. You love to play with your sisters, be held by Daddy while he runs around the house to help you “find” me, and snuggle and nurse. You are so energetic and wild these days, and I know that soon, you will be running after your sisters.You light up every day for us. I can always count on a big smile when I go to get you out of your crib after bed or nap time. It’s been so much fun to watch you experience this holiday season, with all the food and festivities that you now get to participate in. I love your wonder and joy.Love, Mommy