The Awkwardness of Being 14 Months Old

The boys are at a very interesting time in their development right now and its creating some unique parenting circumstances.

The entire world is (literally) new to them. They have the energy and a new found mobility to explore it. They are testing & investigating everything. Its really fun to watch them with a new toy or encounter a new situation for the first time. They are learning at a faster rate now than they will probably ever learn in the future.

And yet... Its seems like such an awkward age, although its probably a lot more awkward for us than it is for them. They lack language, emotional skills, and fine motor skills. They can't tell us what they want quite yet (although they are all getting pretty adept at signing), but they are developing likes and dislikes. They can't quite keep themselves entertained during a meal out and yet they don't sleep in the carriers any more. But they thoroughly enjoy Olive Garden bread sticks. They haven't learned some of the finer motor skills like "touch nice." (They tend to slap, crush, and headbutt.) Which means they want to touch everything, but unless its made for kids, it gets beaten up. (My parents golden retriever is dumbfounded by them.) They aren't interested in specific toys (any box will do fine), but they like to play. Their attention span is longer than it was, but still not terribly long. And they are very mobile, but not quite mobile enough for us to, say, let them run free at a park while we watch.

In essence, we want to take them everywhere, but most of the time we don't feel like we can. They are just on the cusp of "getting it" but not quite there. For Tiff & I as parents, its both neat and a mildly frustrating.

Which isn't to say we are shut ins and never take the boys out. It's just hard finding experiences and places that match this age. Any suggestions???