13 Months

Oh, my little funny man. You keep me so busy. The days of plopping you down on my bed and snapping a few cute pictures are long gone. You are always in motion, a blur, swiping at any piece of technology in site.

I hope you don't miss your bottle too much, because we have yet to find it since you hid it from your father and I a few days ago. However, I did eventually locate the package of wipes you concealed after pulling out half the pack and discarding them in the corner of the living room. 

You're starting to understand function of objects, which explains why you like to take the toothbrush you've designated as a chew toy/all-purpose cleaning tool and pretend to brush my teeth. Mmm...delicious. 

You love dogs, dirt, being outside (you cry when I bring you inside), cars, your soft monkey and fuzzy blanket from Great-Grandma C, being chased and tickled, wagon rides, pulling the laundry out of the hamper and putting it back in, reading books in your car seat, standing on tippy-toes to dig around in drawers you're too short to peek into, stacking anything you can find (blocks, cans of Diet Dr. Pepper, bark-dust chips, etc), your best friend Henry, taking things apart and putting them back together, birds, watching the airplanes land and take-off, your truck book, "helping" me while I'm in the kitchen by removing every piece of tupperware from the cabinet drawers and shoving the lids under the oven, and walking/crawling up all three flights of stairs to our apartment by yourself. See? You really are a busy bee, and I love it.

Your favorite foods include homemade brownies with icing, raspberries and greek yogurt, anything with green chiles, raisins, chocolate milk and Ovaltine, green beans with garlic salt and cheese, chicken, green smoothies, eggs and toast, cheese-sticks, and applesauce. When you really like something, you say "Mmmm!" and I laugh, because I have obviously birthed the funniest 13 month old in existence.

Your latest words include Mama and Dada, yeah, done, cool, wee (when going down the slide or on a wagon ride), and dog (which sounds the same as your word for "done").

You have a liking for mischief and small acts of naughtiness that I never had. You know exactly what "no" means, and you completely understand when you're doing something you're not supposed to do...so you wait until I'm looking, give me the sauciest expression, and do it anyways! I'm not exactly sure how to handle such defiance, but I'm doing my best to be consistent and establish boundaries (whatever that means with a 13 month old). I know it's important to teach you respect, to listen and obey, but I also don't want to stomp this spunkiness out of you; it can be exasperating, but I love your nerve. 

Yesterday, you wore your very first hole in the knee of a pair of jeans while playing outside, and your dad and I giggled and gloated over it after we tucked you into bed. Sometimes we miss our baby, but we love watching you become a little boy.

You're at such a fun age. We sure love you, munchkie. Thanks for making us laugh.

P.S. Please stop biting me.