Chronicles of a Carolina Mama: 14 months, road trips, and Halloween

Macey Jean,

Happy 14 months to you! You took a road trip with Mommy and Nan last weekend and you did such a great job. Our first stop was Richmond, VA so that you could meet your great-grandmother. You charmed her and your great-uncle while we were there (they both said you look like a little china doll). We ate lunch at Great Grandma's kitchen table and you turned to her seated next to you and said, "Hiiii." Then we ran around outside in her big back yard and watched you collect countless leaves. We had a nice time and you went with the flow in your typical carefree manner.

We continued our girls' road trip by heading up to Northern VA-- Mommy's hometown. You found the hotel luggage cart to be particularly exciting and enjoyed running back and forth between our connecting hotel rooms. Mommy had to attend her childhood best friend's baby shower later that day and Nan brought you at the end of the shower so you could meet everyone. Once again, you handled walking into a room full of unfamiliar faces with ease. Everyone loved meeting you and couldn't believe how petite you are at 14 months old.

Unfortunately, our road trip happened to coincide with the time change, so after a not-so-great night of hotel sleep, our day began at 5:30am on Sunday morning. I'll admit that was my least favorite part of the trip, but overall? You get an A+ for being a great and easygoing travel companion. Thankfully, Daddy and Camden met us at Nan and Pop's boat house on Sunday afternoon and you took a 3 hour nap while Mommy crashed on the couch. We both felt much better afterwards and you mercifully decided that 5:30am is not an ideal wake time for either of us.

Now, a few quick 14 month stats:

According to my home scale, you are weighing in at 17 lbs, 12 oz.
You now have 6 teeth-- 4 on the top, 2 lone teeth on the bottom.
You have transitioned to one nap a day at 12:45pm. This nap usually lasts around 2 hours.
Bed time is now 7:45pm. You normally wake between 7-8am.
You're a bit more adventurous with food now, but I still have a hard time getting any fruits and veggies in you. I primarily get veggies in you by mixing them with mac & cheese. Whatever works, right?
You play much more interactively with Camden now. Often while I'm making dinner in the evenings, you two are riding little push cars around the house, chasing after each other and squealing.
You talk a lot. I had a running list of words you can say, but I lost count over the last few weeks. If I had to guess, I'd say you have between 30-40 words right now.
You are starting to combine two words here and there! You say, "Hi Daddy", "Bye Daddy" and "good girl". You amaze me with your verbal abilities.

And finally, we can't forget Halloween. You were only a couple months old for Halloween last year, so you really got to experience trick-or-treating for the first time this year. You weren't very interested in going up to people's doors to get candy (your awesome brother, cousins, and neighbors collected extra candy for you), but you were very interested in running up and down the street in your Minnie costume while holding your pumpkin bucket. And yes-- your Minnie ears miraculously stayed in place.

With my Ninja Turtle & Minnie Mouse.