Growing and learning

Our boy is growing and learning more every day. He's now 13 months old. He's cutting two new top teeth. He's nearly running. He plays peek-a-boo with us, and loves to be chased. A simple "I'm gonna get you," sends him into a giggling fit and he rushes out of the room. Then he peeks around the corner to make sure you're following.

He insists on going outside all.the.time. He goes to the door, grabs the handle and says "ot, ot, ot."(out).
We have to keep the deadbolts locked because he can open the door by himself now. And when we do take him out in the front yard he, of course, makes a beeline for the middle of the road. He's getting really fast.

He loves going outside on Friday mornings to see the trash and recycling trucks pick up the bins. They have a big mechanical arms that lift the cans and dump the trash/recycling into the back. He watches the trucks all the way down the street, and sometimes the drivers honk the horn when they see us watching from the end of the driveway. His word for truck is "utck," which he repeats excitedly.

Scott takes him to the park just about every afternoon. They swing and slide and explore the woods or the river depending on the park. Bryson picks up sticks twice his size to carry around and chases the pigeons by the river. His hair is getting more and more blonde from being out in the sun.

At home he often brings us books (or throws them at us) so we can read to him. His favorites are Dear Zoo, Where is Baby's Bellybutton?, The Hungry Caterpillar, The Going to Bed Book, Are You A Cow? and Little Blue Truck and Tickle Time.

Though he still wakes once or twice a night, I love it when he falls back to sleep in my arms. He's so relaxed and content. All is right with the world in those quiet moments. And even though I'm so tired, I'm overcome with love for the little guy. He'll only be little once, and I'm trying to appreciate every minute that he wants me and needs me.

As for his eating habits, he still loves meat, avocado and fruit. Especially strawberries. Broccoli - not so much. And he really likes putting his feet on the table.

We eat eggs for breakfast most mornings, and when I give him sausage, he devours it. I've started giving him a little yogurt some mornings, and I have to spoon-feed that to him because if he gets the spoon, the yogurt goes flying everywhere.

We can't seem to stop him from throwing his food on the floor. And he loves to put his avocado-covered hands in my hair when I bend down to pick up the food on the floor. He thinks it's really funny.

 He's mastered the sippy cups and the straw cups and can drink pretty well from my cup if I hold it for him. We've started giving him whole milk some, but he doesn't like it nearly as much as my milk. He also really likes to drink water and the occasional sips of juice from my glass at breakfast. For lunch and dinner, he gets some variation of what we're eating when it's appropriate.

I can't say enough about Baby Led Weaning. He's been feeding himself since we started giving him food at six months. Though it can get messy, we just put small pieces of food down, and he eats all he wants. I love that we can mostly just let him do his thing at mealtime, and we can eat right beside of him without having to spoon feed him. (except for the yogurt. haha) And I think his fine motor skills are better for it.

playing with the coin-operated cars at the mall

 A couple of weeks ago, we took him to Lakes Park for the first time to play at the kiddie water parks. He was apprehensive at first, but quickly figured it out after observing the other kids for a bit.

After all he's done in the last couple of months, we still can help but wonder when he will clap and dance. He just refuses to do either one. Maybe he's just not that impressed….. He does love listening to his Veggie Tales CD though.