John's 13 Months Old! 8-31-13

At 13 months, John is:
saying mama, dada, quack quack, and woof woof,
feeding himself finger food,
eating all sorts of things like: broccoli, asparagus, carrots, potatoes, canned peas and green beans (loves those!), muffins - any type of bread really - whole grain, all sorts of fruits - especially peaches and blueberries, green smoothies galore (with kale, chard, spinach or romaine, and a number of other wonderful fruit and veggies),  any kind of bean, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, (if it's too hard, we just steam it or blend it)

pointing at anything he's interested in and at pictures in books,

cruising along the furniture,

letting go and standing for one second,
getting better at sitting down very smoothly,
climbing on anything he can get his knee onto,
imitating sounds that you make and actions that you do,

playing the piano every day with glee,
reading and reading and reading - he could look at books all day! -well, for a long time at least, and he does.

pulling himself up in one motion and standing really tall to reach for things,
playing "give me five!"/"dame cinco!"
standing up in his crib all the time,
clapping,

drinking well from a sippy cup and straw,

good at playing by himself, especially reading board books,

picking up tiny tiny things,
pushing toys around - very rapidly,

signing leche-milk, potty (more like waving though), and mas-more, and terminado-all done, and waving

occasionally throwing back arching, kicking and crying tantrums (that I truly hoped my children just wouldn't do --- I guess it's inevitable) when he's tired or can't have a toy (or non-toy) that he wants,
and enjoying cuddling when he's tired or sick.

Some funny things that John does is to occassionally bend his head down in the middle of crawling and lick the floor....We've swept well and mopped since he's started doing this, but it's impossible to keep the floor clean enough to eat off of...and John seems to think that's a good idea.

It is a hoot to watch John make decisions. He's very posessive about toys. He gets emotionally attached to them, and he tries to cram as many as possible into his two little hands, (such as 10 puzzle pieces, 2 toy cars, not just one for each hand) and continues to move about the house, not leaving any of his treasures behind. He's very loyal. You can see his brain working as he assesses the value of each toy in front of him and in his hands, which toys are worth the most? Often he is at a loss and decides there is only one option. So as I watch him tightly grasp his hard earned booty in his hands he lowers his head to the ground and picks up the last desired object...with his mouth. It is the cutest thing, I need to get a picture. Then, with his hands and mouth full, he crawls around on his wrists searching for yet more items.

He also gets very distressed if any of his desirable items are taken away. My mom says that he has learned "object permanence." He certainly has. He knows that cell phone charger cord still exists, and that I've only hidden it out of his reach. He is not as easily distracted because he has a very good memory, and mourns the loss of the coveted non-toy.

Highlights for the month of August, were John's first birthday party,

apple picking

going to the zoo,

a visit from Grandpa John and Grandma Terri,

9-2-13 John just learned how to say "Quack Quack" today! and he also said "Woof Woof" when I was going through the animal sounds with him. It was so adorable! And it was fun that he said it for Grandma Terri and Grandpa John while they were visiting. I am sure I sound very silly, but John loves when I make animal noises for him, so I do all the time!

9-3-13 There were a number of times today when John just wanted to cuddle with me. He curls up and nestles his head on my chest under my chin, with Burt and Ernie (his favorite fingers) in his mouth. I could just sit with him like that for a very long time, so cozy. Every time he does this, I count my blessings and feel like the luckiest mom in the world. John is such a sweet heart, and we love him dearly!