13 months

Well kiddo, you've managed to survive your first month of being a one year old and it sure didn't come easily. Three ear infections, two colds, three molars, 2 tumbles down the stairs, and a bloody lip later, you made it. This past week has been a tough one for the both of us (both ears infected and three teeth), but we luckily and gratefully made it through. As you slept peacefully in the back seat of the car while I just drove around aimlessly, the lack of look in your face said it all. The two of us were just plum tuckered out.

As with every other month of your life, it's been full of achievements and amazing feats of soon to be "toddler-ness".

• You tried learning to go down the stairs, but you were completely unsuccessful. No bother though, throwing everything in the house down the stairs is just as fun and a little bit safer than hurdling yourself down the stairs. Besides, throwing yourself off the bed doesn't hurt as much - you haven't as far to fall.
  
• You are starting to talk a little bit more and are learning some animal sounds. You can do a fish, a puppy, a sheep and an elephant. Yes, your elephant is silent, but you sure do a mean trunk impression.
• You can take your shoes and socks off, turn the bathtub water on, flush the toilet and unwind an entire role of toilet paper.

You have taken a keen interest in feeding yourself with utensils in the last little bit. Sometimes you are pretty successful and sometimes you just paint the kitchen with yogurt. Either way, it's more proof that you are my kid because you can't stand to be dirty and want your hands washed immediately.




We are starting to have fun together, you and I. You laugh when I tickle you in just the right spot, you have conversations with me even though I don't know what you are saying and just this week, when you give me hugs, you've started patting me on the back. Oh, it just melts my heart every time.

You like to drink coke from a straw and I've finally broken down and put Hershey's syrup on your ice cream when we have special afternoon treats. Oh how you love chocolate and sweets. You are a junk food kid...it must be genetic.



Lucky for me though, you share and are so good at sharing your food with me. Even if it was in your mouth first.

I can't wait for you to walk, because carrying you and the key to the mailbox every day and everywhere else is getting a bit tiresome. Come on kid - use those legs! You, my son, are getting braver by the day and one day you'll walk, and I will probably cry because I will be so happy and sad at the same time. Happy to see you moving on and knowing that I don't have to lug your almost 27 pounds around and sad for the same reason.

Yes my son, you are growing up and growing up fast. Next thing I know I'll turn around and rather than seeing you peering from the kitchen stool, I'll be looking up towards the heaven's just to see your eyes at the top of your 7 foot frame.