13 Months

Little man,

We have made it to 13 months! Now that you are 1 time has definitely slowed back down a little bit, which your momma is very thankful for. You were getting far too big, far too quickly for this heart to handle. This month hasn't been too much different then your last one. You're still a wild child & love to get into EVERYTHING! If it opens, you'll open it. If it has buttons, you'll push them. If it moves in ANY way, you will figure out how to make it work. You are still loving to climb things & this scares both your momma & daddy at times because although you can safely make it down from the bed or couch we can't say the same for everything else you attempt to climb on. You still aren't walking yet (Which does worry your momma a little bit. =( I have to try to remember that this is normal for some babies including you.), but you are very much in toddler mode these days. You love to walk around everywhere (with help--at least one finger to hold onto) & your personality has burst forth even more then before. You are both like me & your daddy in some ways. You definitely have your Momma's cautious side & stubbornness, but you are friendly & generally easy-going just like your Daddy. You have a great sense of humor & find a lot of thing pretty humorous lately. You love giving high-fives, waving & saying "Hi" to everyone you come into contact with. You will still feign shyness occasionally with unfamiliar people, but you are never stingy with your smiles. Everyone still asks us if you are this happy all of the time & for the most part, you are. You have your melt-down moments, but they aren't nearly as bad as some I've seen. You truly are a "good" baby even at your worst. Daddy & I will have to try to remember this when you are frustrating us to the max.

    Your gross motor skills may be at a stand-still (although you have been getting closer to standing on your own in the last week...maybe soon?), but your fine motor skills & language skills are still exploding! You amaze me by how quickly you learn new words. You are definitely a mimic there is no doubt about that, but you remember the words & will use them later in context! It's crazy! I swear that people probably think I exaggerate about how much you say, but then they hear you talk & they can't believe it either! You now say mama, dada, doggie, kitty cat, bath tub, all done, hot, outside, auntie, teddy, hi, yes, yeah, yay, kiss, sit, hey, cookie & awesome consistently. We are working on "baby" & thank you consistently. You ALMOST have baby down. You are getting really good with your spoon & fork & love to eat off of a plate like a big boy. You get mad now if we don't put your food on a  plate like momma & daddy get to have. You love figuring out how things work including the dishwasher, VCR, DVD player, TV, Computer & even daddy's cell phone. You've figured out how to do so many different things that it scares us. You almost know how to turn on the water in the tub (not good) & you definitely know how to stop the water from going down the drain. lol Unfortunately for us, you've almost figured out how to open the doors in our house (fortunately not the front or back) & it's scary that you are tall enough to do so. Maybe we should be thankful you aren't walking or standing without support because you are going to become even more unstoppable.

You've experienced more separation anxiety this month, both from your Mimi & from your Momma. I guess it's good that you're including me now, but it makes Daddy feel pretty awful when he takes you upstairs to play while Momma cooks dinner & you scream for me & stand behind the gate at the top of the stairs the whole time. Give your poor old daddy a break occasionally, would ya? I know you're a Momma's boy above all else, but let your daddy play with you kid. He loves you too! I have to suck up all this Mommy & me time while I can though because daddy will be a lot more fun to you here in the near future, I'm sure.

Water is still the best thing EVER according to you & I doubt that will change anytime soon. You love giving high-fives, pointing & waving. Your favorite game is peek-a-boo right now & you love hiding & having people hide from you. Spinning toys are your favorite still, but you are also starting to become interested in car or trucks as well as your My Pal Scout. You love to dance to any & all music, but your favorites are the birthday song on the Sprout channel & Jake & the Neverland Pirates. You love to pretend to talk on the phone (anything including your hand can be a phone) & get really excited when you hear a real one ringing. Your favorite beverage this month (besides milk) is still water & your favorite foods of the moment consist of fruit pouches, puffs, graham crackers (cookies), bread, corn & olives (yep, you're a weirdo alright!). You really enjoy loud noises (again strange) & get REALLY excited when you hear one including cars revving, lawn mowers, power tools, construction, ect. Excited to the point of clapping & saying "yay!!!" lol

I can't believe how fast you are growing & how much you are learning. I must remind myself to slow down & enjoy you while you're still little. You may not be a baby anymore, but you'll occasionally still let me rock you to sleep. There will come a day when you don't want your Momma as much anymore & that day will come way too soon. Please stay little for just a bit longer, will ya mister?

Love you forever & always,

Your Momma