Simon is 13 Months Old!

Dear Simon,

You are 13 months old today! You are getting to be such a big boy and truthbetold, you already think you ARE a big boy.

This month, we have discovered (drumroll)... your TEMPER! Wowza. You are Mr. Chill until someone takes something you wanted or if you are stopped from doing something you really wanted to do or continue doing. Lordy day, kid. You've even learned how to do the arms-up/dead weight trick to protest when I pick you up. I think I am going to have quite a challenge on my hands learning how to manage this and I'm thinking I better get it under control quickly because you are already almost too strong for me in some cases. I can't imagine how this will go when you are two.

You are at a very cute age, otherwise. Lately, you have been imitating everything, You will try to brush your teeth and your hair (or lack thereof). And you'll do whatever we do with a toy. My favorite is when you make your kanagaroo "pah pah pah" (hop hop hop) or make your cars go "vm vm!"

One of your favorite things these days is our neighbor's little red tricycle with the push handle, which you will ride on for -- well actually, I don't know how long you'd REALLY ride it because we almost always have to eventually remove you to go inside. But at any rate, you stay on there a long time. And you must be getting taller, because your feet can almost touch the pedals!

You gave up your bottle without a fuss at the beginning of the month, which was a pleasant surprise. You also started eating peanut butter a week or two ago. I gave up trying to keep it from you because you kept getting it from Ben anyway. Thankfully, it went well, and now pb&j is one of your favorite lunches. :)

You haven't gotten any more teeth, but you have learned to use the ones you have for biting. You especially love to crawl under the kitchen table and bite any unsuspecting toes that might be dangling under there. When you are loose on the floor, Ben eats with his feet tucked under him to protect himself! Ummm yeah, you can stop the biting anytime. Not just because it hurts, but because one of my worst nightmares is having the playground biter.

You sleep all night, with very few exceptions, and for that we are grateful. We may even consider having another child someday now.

In addition to anything involving playing outside, you also love cars, digging and bubbles. One of your other favorite things is waking up Ben in the morning. I usually hold you off for awhile, but eventually, I just let you go and you bang on his door yelling "Beh!!! Beh!!!" And he always wakes up happy to see you. Your big brother loves you SO much. (except when you bite him)

I am hopeful that you will discover the joy of walking sometime this summer. In the last week, you have decided you will allow us, your humble servants, to hold your hands while you walk to something you want. (but ONLY if we are walking toward something you want) Usually it's a ball and you will stoop down, grab it, throw it, and want to walk toward it again. I keep thinking maybe I can work this "training wheels style" and just let go one day when you aren't paying attention. ;) Otherwise though, you'll do pretty much anything to avoid walking, which people don't really believe until they see it for themselves. I think my favorite walking avoidance technique is the fingertips and toes crawl on the sidewalk. (to avoid scraping his highness' knees, you know) ;)

So that's you at 13 months, Short Round. ( Daddy has been calling you "Short Round" lately, which I think is the best nickname ever for you. ;) ) Off to enjoy the next month with you!

Love,
Mommy


Here's this month's side-by-side. As you can see, in addition to the fact that I'm learning a little about how to use the white balance setting on my camera, my children look pretty much nothing alike. Yet, for some reason, people (random strangers mostly) go on and on about how they look so much alike. I don't get it. But oh well!