THIRTEEN MONTHS!

Not going to do the weight/height thing, just did it! :P

Random assortment of "can-dos" now that he's more than officially a busy, active toddler! (And, I have realized you will KNOW when your child is no longer a baby and becomes a toddler. It's like labor, you KNOW when you go through it, lol!!!!!).

-Recognizes specific uses for objects (phones, talking; brushes, hair; soap, washing; etc).
-Independence and preferences for foods...won't eat it usually unless he does it HIMSELF!
-Climbs IN and OUT of large boxes and containers!
-Knows how to operate simple switches and levers.
-Will help you pick toys up and put them away (wants to take them right back out again though, haha!)
-Has learned to nod his head YES! (With an accompanying "yeah"). And uses the gestures appropriately!
-Responds to simple one (and sometimes two) step directions: go get daddy, put this in the basket, open the box, go get your ball, etc. with minimal or no prompting!
-Is learning to pet dogs/cats nicely! I know Sera and Kiki appreciate! :)
-Points (sometimes) to pictures in books we are labeling.
-Can enjoy a longer length simple story book...with mommy; with daddy, he still flips the pages randomly!
-Navigates church like a pro...knows where to go and when!
-Communicates with many words! Ball, more yum-yum, all done, dog (which unfortunately definitely sounds like "dawg"), daddy, up, book, please, water (also "noy" for whatever reason), nana, yeah, hello, hi, balloon -- all completely on his own in the right situations. He repeats many others at random times, not always regularly...but he definitely says MANY many words. Hard to get all of them down off the top of my head!
-Uses gestures to help "explain" himself - opening and closing his outstretched hand when he wants more snack, reaching up/pointing towards things he wants, nodding or shaking of head, waving hands back and forth in front of him to mean "no more",
-Tries to put on his own clothes! (By no means succeeding, lol...just pulling shirts and stretching them over his head, or tossing socks onto his feet and then kicking them off!!)
-Using something to hold onto, kicks his toys!
-Has mastered the art of the temper tantrum. Falling down, crying, etc. Terrible twos? Haha. How about onery ones? Ok, doesn't have the same ring to it.
-Laughs with others at jokes!

That's a good summary for now...every day is new things...and of course, growing like a weed! :)

One Year Checkup

So, the crazy Tricare system being what it is...we just had his 1 year checkup today. But, that's ok, we don't need doctors! :) (Because he's healthy is my point!)

He weighed in at 21 pounds and 30 inches. I forget his head circumference, but we were never tracking that anyway, so it doesn't matter! So, we have hit the time in Ian's life where growth will dramatically slooooow down...he hit that point a couple months ago I think. The doctor says it's because as he becomes more mobile his growth patterns change. So, for you worry-warts out there, he's still normal! :) He is now in the 25th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. Matt and I were both skinny little kids, so I'm not that surprised.

Anyhoo, that's about it...talked about a few other things...eczema (almost cleared up), milk protein allergy (even more common than lactose intolerance, and could go away), and developmental milestones (already waaay ahead of the game on all of them!). Vaccines were brought up briefly, but a non-issue with this doctor, because I told him we'd come back - and he didn't ask when...lol. Around talking-in-complete-sentences age for little man we'll reexamine the options. For now, research is still underway. (And lots and lots of prayers!).

So, clean bill of health, and away we go!

It's so hard to believe my little baby has grown up into such an active toddler! Loving it! :)

Gross/Funny/Smart

Ummm yeah...don't eat and read. :)

Ian has taken an interest into feeding mommy or daddy his little snack tidbits...and as long as his hands have been recently washed, and the food didn't come off the floor, we'll humor him...

Well, new twist. He ran out of food to give daddy, but had some in his mouth...soooo. You guessed it, he spit it out and tried to feed it to him.

NO! He didn't eat it!!

Ok, so yes, maybe it's a little gross...ok, ok, a LOT gross...BUT...

Just goes to show you his problem solving abilities are developing! :)