Fourteen months

and I almost missed it...Sept. 11, 2009. (Consider the date, and perhaps you won't blame me). Our girl is:

--standing up, but only briefly. It's as if she wants to feel totally and completely confident before she tries to take a step by herself. She is very comfortable walking holding mommy's and daddy's hands.

--babbling in a way that tells us words are near. We thought we heard her say, "Rachel" on her birthday. She says "dada" regularly and "mamamam" semi-regularly. It really does sound as if she's trying to talk, but the words are getting lost in the Babel Fish (those of you who are fans of "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" know what I'm talking about).

--showing an interest in puzzles, at least ones that are musical when you put the pieces together. She also loves putting things in bags and taking them out.

--a real comedian. The other day at the park, she put the empty toy bag on top of her head and I cracked up, she looked so funny!

--not throwing food to the floor as much as she used to. She will give something she doesn't want to eat to me or to Drew. And recently she figured out that we really, really like it when she puts her sippy cup in the cup holder on her high chair.

--having occasional meltdowns, which is frustrating because we can't always tell what's bothering her.

--growing teeth by the minute, it seems -- she has 12, including molars and incisors. Wow!

--still very interested in books, especially when mommy provides sound effects. She knows the page where mommy makes the most fun sound effects, and turns right to it to skip past the boring parts. We are very impressed.

--interested in everything that goes on in the kitchen, where she has a front seat from her high chair. The other night she couldn't take her eyes off me as I made a tomato tart. And when our friend Molly's daughter, 5-year-old Camilla, helped me make strawberry bread, Rachel was totally absorbed. She didn't fuss to get down at all!

--very cuddly. She has taken to leaning her body against mine when I read to her or when she's finishing up her last bottle of the night. I can't wait to read really long books to her when she's older and we can cuddle up on the living-room couch together next to a roaring fire...

--a daddy's girl when Drew is around. At those times, she shows very little interest in me unless she feels she needs a hug. Then it's back to daddy's chest. She stretches out his shirt to climb up.

--dancing. She rocks out to the music that her toys play. And sometimes she bounces when she's sitting on the floor. It's so cute!

--developing the oddest adult expressions. She's really beginning to look more like a girl and less like a baby. She still resembles Drew more than me, but her wavy brown hair is mine.

--waving goodbye. It's kind of a loose, hippy, see-ya-later-man kind of wave. Yes, she's an Oregonian.