Fourteen FANTASTIC Months

I'm a few days early with this post, but that's ok!  Can you believe it? FOURTEEN MONTHS OLD!!!! I can't believe my BABY is 14 months old!  Here are 14 things I want to remember about you, Bubby, at this age:

Can you tell you are our whole world??? :)

1.  You are signing!!! You have learned to sign "more," "all done," and "yes."  Next we are going to work on "eat," "please," and "goodnight." 

2.  You are currently cutting 8 teeth... all at once! Two molars on the top, two molars on the bottom, and all four I-teeth.  I feel for you Bubby! Some days are better than others. Of course teething often brings those other unwanted symptoms for you... the drool, runny nose, low fever, and messy diapers are definitely no fun!  Hang in there!

3.  You are a great sleeper!!! A few months ago, this was a different story! LOL  You generally go to bed at 7 and sleep until 6 or 7 the next morning.  You take 1 or 2 naps a day that are 1.5 hours each.  I think you are ready to drop your second nap for good, which is a sad Mommy moment because it means my baby is growing up!

4.  You love trying new foods! You are such a big boy now and always want to try anything Momma and Da-da eat.  You are very particular about what you like, though! :)  You LOVE any fruit and recently tried mac-and-cheese for the first time! You thought it was pretty awesome!

5.  Your favorite book right now is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Speaking of the Hungry Catepillar, I REALLY want to do THIS for your bathroom!!!

6. You love, and I mean LOVE to play outside!  You don't even need toys! You are perfectly content running around in the grass!  You are ALL boy!

7.  You are still not a fan of diaper/clothing changes! LOL  Hopefully that changes soon! :)  You have, however, started to try to help us dress and undress you! You help pull your shirts over your head and you step out of your pants!!! You're such a big boy!

8.  You are learning to share.  You are doing sooooo well, but we still have room to grow! :)  This year, you are super lucky to have one-on-one attention all day while Momma is a work, which means you have your toys all to yourself.  To help you learn to socialize, share, and be part of a group, we are going to play dates, Sunday School at church, and we make plenty of time to play with your cousins Tyler and Laci.  Sometimes you are so sweet and walk over to hand a friend a toy, but there are still the occasional toy snatches and "Indian giving."  You are also super interested in borrowing others' pacis or sippy cups!!!  We are going to keep making plenty of opportunities for you to play with other kiddos your age so you get better and better at sharing! :)

9.  You have become a PRO at walking! You are now trying to run, climb, and jump!

10.  You LOVE to dance! You are soooooooo funny because you stick up your pointer fingers and wave your arms to the music while squatting up and down!  NeNe must have taught you that while Momma was at work! You crack me up every time!  You know and respond to the word "dance" too! When Momma says "Dance, Bubby!"

11.  You love to sing songs with Momma, Da-da, or NeNe.  You like the ABC song, Patty Cake, and The Wheels on the Bus!  You LOVE the motions with Patty Cake and do them soooooo well!

12.  At 6:30 a.m. on the nose you go to Ryan's door and wait for me to open it so you can tell Ryan, "Get-Up!"  You walk around to each side of his bed saying "get up!"  Although it sounds more like "GA-UH!" LOL

13. While we get ready in the mornings, you like to open the dresser drawers and bring us one item of clothing at a time. LOL Then Momma and Da-da get to put them all back! LOL

14.  You still LOVE bath time!  This is bonding time for you and Da-da each night!  You get sooooooooooo excited when you hear him start the water that I can barely get your clothes off before you are running away to the bathroom!  You two are pretty funny in there!  I think Da-da likes the toys as much as you do!!!

Without a doubt you are one precious, energetic, sweet, rambunctious, and silly 14 month old and I wouldn't trade one moment of our crazy, wonderful, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants life!  I LOVE you sooooooooooooooooo much and am sooooooooo glad I get to be your Mommy!  I'm soooooooo looking forward to month 15!!!

Did I mention how silly you are??? LOL  You always get in your Cozy Coupe backwards! LOL

Marching Season has Begun!

What's the best thing about fall?? No, not football.  ITS MARCHING BAND SEASON!!!  From September to November we are CRAZY busy with marching competitions EVERY weekend.  Hubby James works for the Meade County High School Marching Band as a staff member. He works with the low brass players and also helps with marching and anything else where his expertise is needed.  He's pretty good with technology so he helps with the sound system as well.   (Fun Fact:  he and I are both alumni!)  Ryan is a senior in the band, so this is his FINAL season!!!

Two seasons ago, before Bubby, I chaperoned every trip and had a blast!!!  Now that little man is here, we go cheer on Ryan and Daddy from the stands! ( I can't leave my Bubby for that long! lol)  I might chaperone some of the closer competitions this year since its Ryan's SENIOR YEAR.  We'll see!  Here are some pics of our day!

Enjoying a snack in the stands :)

So each school has exactly 15 minutes to get on and off the field.  Not one second more.  In this pic, the band is getting ready for the march on while the pit crew (parent volunteers and staff) drive on and unload as quickly as possible!

Daddy!!! What are you doing over there??

See the rainbow that came out??

The pit performing.

Bubby thought the band was pretty awesome! Although, the highlight of the performance was seeing daddy on the other side of the fence.

Fall?? Yes, please!

Nothing says fall like 67 degrees and a little boy running around outside in jeans, an orange and brown football tee, and Chuck Taylors!  We LOVE fall at our house, and we'll take many more days just like this one!!!

Connor's First Trip to the Zoo!

A couple of weeks ago we took Bubby to the Zoo for the first time!!! Here are some highlights of the day:

Seeing animals up close for the first time!!! So exciting!

Our favorite animal in the Shacklett house! :)

What is that???

These guys were super smart, taking advantage of the shade! It was a lovely 94 degrees that day!

We were just in time to see elephant aerobics.  These gals have got the moves!

Connor was a little unsure of what to think of the animals in the petting zoo!

This guy was pretty interesting! LOL  Connor really liked him!

What are all these things?!?!

Getting a pretty neat view of the tiger with Daddy!

Bubby found a bear! Oh my!

The playground was a pretty big hit!!

Little man was worn out after about 2 hours!  We are looking forward to another trip to the zoo this fall when the weather is much cooler!!!

Ryan's a SENIOR!!!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but my nephew Ryan is OFFICIALLY A SENIOR in high school!!! Its really hard to believe since I still picture him in my mind as a cute little 1 year old! Connor reminds me soooo much of Ryan as a toddler! :)  In order to properly document this milestone I (finally) convinced Ryan to do senior pictures!!! :)  I can't resist sharing a few of my favorites:

Thank you Rhea Hickock Photography! They turned out great!

Bring on the college apps, ACTs, and scholarships!!!  We have a future engineer here!

13 Months

Connor James is 13 months old today!  Time sure flies when you are having fun, and that's exactly what we are doing with our little man! He is soooooooooo much fun at this age! :)

Here are 13 things I want to remember about you, Bubby, at this age! :)

1.  You love to turn the lights on and off.  Each time we enter or leave a room, I have to hold you up to the light switch to you can flip the switch.  You think its pretty awesome that you can control the lights!

2.  You are learning body parts!!  So far you can point to your eyes, nose, mouth, foot, hand, and belly! :)

3. Not only are you WALKING, but you are RUNNING!!!  When you get really excited about something, you take off! You also take off running when Mommy and Daddy are coming after you because you are getting into something you shouldn't! lol

Here's a video of your very FIRST steps earlier this month! :)

You walk with your hands up in the air. :)

4.  You have officially transitioned to whole milk... Horizon Organic Whole Milk with added DHA to be exact. :)  Gotta help boost that brain power!  (Next we are working on transitioning off the BA BA!)

5.  You LOVE, and I mean LOVE books! You are absolutely obsessed with reading books.  You bring Mommy, Daddy, and Ryan book after book to read to you.  When we aren't reading to you, you are sitting and looking at them yourself.  If you are upset because of a stumble or fall, or if you are sleepy, a book is always your favorite cure :)  Mommy LOVES it that you are my little book worm! I hope you always have this love for books!

6.  You have discovered pointing!  You point to things you want to know more about and I tell you the name.  You point to things you want, like your sippy cup.  You are noticing a lot more these days! :)  When we set the house alarm and it starts to beep, you run over to it and point! lol

7.  You are ALL BOY!  You take those stumbles and falls like a pro.  They don't phase you most of the time.  You get right back up like nothing happened!  You LOVE cars, trucks, tractors, and trains!!!  You have several toys that you play with ALL THE TIME, and you LOVE your trucks book!

8.  You have an obsession with opening and shutting doors! :)

9. You are an Indian giver! hehe!  You bring something to me and then you take it right back! lol  Sometimes you even act like you are going to put a toy in my hand and then you run away giggling!

10. You love to laugh and giggle.  Daddy is the best at making you giggle! He tickles and tickles you until you can't stop laughing.  Momma can't get enough of your sweet giggle!

11.  You went to the zoo for the first time this month and had a great time! You thought the animals were pretty peculiar! hehe!  Pictures from the zoo will have to wait for a separate post! ;)

12.  You have an obsession with cell phones, phones, and remotes! :)  If you see one you try to take it and run away before we can catch you! lol

13.  You are ready to drop your afternoon nap so that you only have one nap a day now!  You go down like a dream for your morning nap.  I lay you in bed and you go right to sleep.  Now, your afternoon nap is a different story.  You babble, talk, toss out your blankie and stuffed animal, and even throw out your paci! lol  I think you are protesting! :)  You are getting so big!!! I can't believe you are ready for only one nap a day!

Dear Bubby,
Happy 13 months! You are the most precious gift from God, and we thank Him everyday for you.  We can't wait to see what all you do next!

XOXO
Love,
Mommy and Daddy

I'll leave you, my blog following friends, with a few pictures of my terrific thirteen month old: