14 Months.

Ben,

You are 14 months old today and you're changing so quickly! You have three primary loves in this life:

1) Driving- We meet daddy out in the driveway every evening when he gets home from work. You love to sit in his lap and "drive" the car. You turn the wheel, press all the buttons, turn on the windshield wipers (which always make you wince and blink), and dance to the radio. Maybe you'll be a race car driver someday?



2) The Garden Hose- Of course, you love when we turn the hose on and you can shoot water all over the place, but you'll play with the hose even when it's turned off. Maybe you'll be a gardener or a pool boy someday? You'll sit out back and swing that thing around for hours. It delights you.







3) The Vacuum- This is not just a love, this is sheer obsession. Every morning when I pull you out of your crib, the first thing you want to do is go look at the vacuum. You just stand and stare at it. Sometimes you jiggle the attachments. Usually you whine for me to turn it on. My floors have never been cleaner. We'll be in the middle of reading a book or playing with your toys and you'll stop and point towards the laundry room and go "Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!" until I pull the vacuum out and we start it up. If the door to the laundry room is closed, you stand and knock on the door until I open it and give you access to that big, loud machine. When family and friends come over, you want them to vacuum with you. I've never seen anything like it. Maybe you'll be a custodian someday?








Today you spoke your very first word. Of course, you're babbling constantly (including ma-ma and da-da and ba-ba), but we haven't been able to say with confidence that you've actually attached meaning to those words. Until today. We were packing up to leave the house and I said, "Ben, let's go see Gramma!" You looked at me and said, "Yama!" You repeated it over and over and over again, even as we were walking up to her house and you were pointing at the door. Predictably, once Gramma opened the door and I gave her the good news, you refused to perform. My feelings aren't hurt. Really. You love your "Yama."





In the last month, you've gone from crawling to running! Nana came up to visit from Houston and decided she wanted to buy you your first pair of Stride Rite shoes. We ended up with these adorable little Ernie shoes:



Ernie's hair is your favorite part. The whole experience was fun, and you got to leave the mall with the new shoes on. Thanks, Nana!







Up until recently, I've been willing time to slow down. I look at old pictures and videos and can barely believe how fast these months have flown by. Now that you have a baby brother or sister on the way, I'm a little less sentimental about how quickly you're growing. After all, I can't have two babies, so I guess it's a good thing you're becoming such a smart, independent little boy.