13 Months Old

Dear Will,

It was a big month for you. HUGE even. And for once, I know just where to begin...

After being a late roller, late sitter, late crawler and late stander, you shocked us all by taking your first steps just a few weeks after your first birthday. From those first few tentative steps you gained confidence quickly, and you are now practically running everywhere. You have one speed: fast. Which means you have quite a few bumps and bruises to show for your newfound mobility.

You still crawl 40-50 percent of the time, but you crawl with authority now. You crawl super fast, smacking your hands and knees into the floor, letting out a loud "Tarzan" yell as you go. You'll be toddling around and then all of sudden I'll hear a bunch of banging and "ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh" echoing through the house.

You started pointing to objects this month, but it's still more of a whole hand reach than a point. You remain obsessed with airplanes, trucks and anything with wheels. You "oooh" and "ahhh" whenever you see something you like, reaching your hand to the object of your affection and looking back at me like "Mama, did you see that?!?"

We ended formula in the past month, which means you are now exclusively on organic whole milk. We also tried ditching bottles at the same time, but you just weren't having it. We try and give you a sippy cup at every meal, but you almost always insist on a bottle instead.

You still don't have any real words, but you babble and make sounds at us all the time. If I ask what the cow says, you say "ma". And although practically everything is "ba" these days, sometimes I'm convinced you're actually saying "ball", "bath" or "book". You also mimic words and sounds, repeating the ones you especially like. We love to get you to say "hush" over and over. It sounds so cute!

We continue to read a million books a day and work on baby sign language. Your favorite books this month are "Farm Peekaboo", "Count" and "Peek-A-Who?". Though you aren't using any signs yet, you do know what many of them mean, including milk, book, more and all done.

You continue to be a fairly picky eater, though you're finally eating more in each sitting. Your tastes change daily (heck, even hourly), so I never know what you're going to want from one meal to the next. You continue to love cheese, bread and yogurt. We monopolize on this by mixing pureed vegetables in with your yogurt so at least you're getting something green every day. Your favorite fruits this month were strawberries, blueberries and grapes. You're still not crazy about meats, though I've found if they have a sauce or seasoning on them, you're more likely to have a few bites. My little foodie baby doesn't care for anything bland!

You're now showing the early signs of tantrums. When something doesn't go your way, you flop yourself on the floor and start to cry, or (our favorite) you go limp in our arms so it's nearly impossible to hold onto you. Luckily these tantrums are still short lived when your attention is diverted to a favorite toy or something interesting outside, but we can see the emotional turmoil of toddlerhood on the horizon.

We started swimming lessons, which was an epic failure at first, but is getting better. You went through a period where you hated baths a few weeks ago, but swimming seems to have fixed that. You love to be in the tub now, playing with your toys and kicking your feet. Before you get in the tub, Daddy does a "1-2-3" countdown with you, during which you bounce up and down because you're so excited.

You started giving hugs on command this month, which is just too sweet for words. I'll ask, "Can Mama have a hug?" and you'll reach your arms around my neck and put your head on my shoulder. Swoon. We're working on giving kisses now too, but they usually end up being open-mouth slobbers then anything else. Regardless, I love it.

You have this hysterical fake-sounding laugh that you use when you get excited or want to get our attention. It's literally a breathy, over-emphasized "ha ha!" I think you use it often just to ham it up. It's so fun to watch your little personality shine through.

Another month of pure joy watching you grow. You are such a beautiful, curious, sweet little boy. You are our whole world. Daddy and I love you so much.

Love,

Mama