13 Months

Hard to believe my little Noah is already over a year! This has been such an exciting month, too! Noah has really gotten the hang of the whole walking thing. Just in the last week he has started to ditch crawling for walking. He loves walking in circles while holding random objects. It's also very entertaining to chase after the dog, although I'm not sure Gilbert would agree with that. He has also quadrupled the number of teeth he has. Number four sprouted just yesterday at 13 months and 1 day. We've seen a real explosion in babbling sounds. It actually kind of sounds like he's talking these days except without any real intelligible words. Just tonight he was babbling away in the backseat, then giggling to himself as if he was telling a really funny story. So cute! He can imitate some sounds, like if I say "woof woof woof!" he will form his lips in an "o" and make low "ooh ooh ooh" sounds. I don't see a whole lot of receptive language yet either, but man oh man does he know the meaning of the word "no." If I have to tell him no, he pitches a total fit. He protests my authority by making a sharp grunt and waving his arm downward. I can see that this whole parenting thing is on the brink of getting a bit more challenging. However, as a school psychologist I have acquired a lot of patience when it comes to dealing with difficult behaviors, and I like to think I have a lot of tools in my toolbox. (Although I'm pretty sure it's a lot easier to see the error of one's ways when it's not yourself you're looking at.)

This month we've also seen Noah form some heartwarming attachments to toys. My mom bought a plastic farm animal set for his birthday. The horse is by far his favorite. Last week, Pokey (aptly named for his striking resemblance to Gumby's horsey friend) accompanied Noah to daycare 3 of the 5 days, and to dinner on 2 or 3 occasions. I just had to smile. It was so cute. He also got a little bus with 9 little plastic people and animals. For whatever reason, he loves to take the green woman with her hair in a bun and stick her in his mouth like a pacifier, then crawl around. It's the only figurine he consistently does that with. Such a goofy little quirk!

Two of Noah's favorite toys at 13 months

Now for the boring stats, just for me to be able to refer back to. Noah still takes 2 good naps a day (we're talking 2-3 hours each) and sleeps about 10 hours at night. He weighs around 20 pounds, and enjoys eating solids as long as he can feed himself. He will not tolerate spoon-feeding stage 3 foods, but will happily devour most stage 2 fruits and veggies. He is still wearing size 3 diapers, and comfortably fits into mostly 12 month shirts and onesies. When it comes to pants, 9 months still fit him best. We're working hard on the transition from bottle to sippy, but it's been tough. I can't think of a brand or style that I haven't tried at this point. Noah usually just ends up teething on the spout and protests when we try to get him to drink. I think once school is over in a week (WOOHOO!), I will really step up our efforts. Until then, I'll just keep plugging along with the bottle.

Speaking of summer vacation, it starts next Wednesday. I haven't blogged nearly as much as I've wanted to these last few months, and I'm hoping 10 weeks off will get me back into the swing of it all. I'm looking forward to lots and lots of uninterrupted Noah time! I can hardly wait!!!!!