13 Months Old

Isaac celebrates National High Five Day

Our toddler is 13 months old and while we're out of monthly ties (hence no exhausting photo shoot), we still have a monthly update on his progress. 

Talking:

• While we don't have a clue what he's saying about 87% of the time, Isaac chatters away like crazy.  We can definitely make out Mama and Dadda, although lately he has just been doing a more grown-up, "Mom".  He also very often says what sounds like, "but, Mom..." It is very cute and very funny and Mommy and Daddy imitate it often for a good laugh. He also seems to say "heh" as a greeting or a form of hey/hello. He definitely understands the word "no", and even shakes his head back at us when he hears it. Other than that, he's full of very expressive ramblings that we can't make a lick of sense of. 

Moving:

• At one point we thought Isaac would be an early walker from how strong his legs are and how he always insisted on standing early on. But now that he has mastered crawling he seems to have absolutely no interest in walking.  Most of the times when we try to walk him around the room, his knees give out and he insists on getting down on all fours.  He is an incredibly fast crawler so we kind of can't blame him for wanting to travel in the most efficient way possible. This guy has a lot of trouble to get in exploring to do and can't be slowed down by trying to walk! We know he'll walk when he's ready and we're in no hurry, because...

...speaking of trouble:

• Mommy and Daddy are a bit nervous about the daredevil Isaac seems to be becoming. He is fearless and determined.  On a regular basis we exchange "can you believe he just tried that?/did that?/can do that?" glances. He is now starting to move his toys so he can stand on them and try to climb out of his play pen. He has also mastered climbing into his book nook as you can see in this VIDEO. 
• Isaac loves swinging and the higher he goes the more he laughs. His latest curiosity and fearlessness have resulted in a few tumbles and spills, but most of the time Isaac just picks himself up and gets back in the action without even flinching (but there are definitely a few times that have resulted in tears). He wants to see how things work and what they do, so he turns, opens, spins, climbs, pulls, etc. so he can learn...and sometimes "get in trouble" in the process. 

Isaac's first toilet paper un-rolling

#SweetSirIsaac:

• Even with the constant adventure and exploration, Isaac also lives up to his hashtag and is very sweet and loving.  He loves getting and giving kisses, and has been full of hugs and snuggles too.  Often when Mommy is down playing with him he will randomly stop what he's doing to climb into her arms for a quick hug break.  He also gives some very wet, slobbery, open-mouthed kisses...and usually not just one at a time! Sweet, funny boy. 

Eating:

• Even though Isaac could probably eat his weight in fruit every day we've been trying to cut back on fruit a bit more and incorporate more vegetables (because as Dr. Beams pointed out at our 12-month well visit, fruit is still sugar).  We've still been pretty lucky with Isaac being a good eater but he definitely has his preferences, with fruit and cheese being his first picks. Mommy got some new straw cups that arrived this week and Isaac tried his first smoothie: spinach, beets, and pineapple. Yum! Isaac sucked it down until he became interested in playing with the straw, and thus splattered green smoothie droplets all over his face. This week he also tried and loved eggplant in a variety of ways. Isaac is still breastfed throughout the day but is definitely getting more and more of his calories from solid food.

Sleeping:

• Isaac has settled back into a consistent 2-nap schedule (he was fighting his morning nap for a while, but he's back on track now) and goes to sleep around 7/7:30 after a bath and bedtime stories.  After his bath he's been having some fun playing peekaboo with his towel before we get him dressed.  He thinks it is absolutely hilarious to pull his towel over his face until we say, "where's Isaac?" and he giggles and pulls the towel down.   He still wakes 0-3 times at night.  Some nights after Mommy nurses him back to sleep and holds him for a bit, Isaac laughs in his sleep. It's very cute and we wonder what funny dreams he is having. 
• When we go in to get him in the morning or after a nap he is always standing happily in his crib with his nose all scrunched up into a super happy smile, and he goes back and forth from looking at us, to his dachshund mobile.  When we pick him up he spends some time laughing hysterically at the floating dachshunds and tries to catch them. We don't know why he loves it SO much, but it seems to be one of his absolute favorite things right now.

Entertainment:

• Isaac LOVES being outside and we've been taking advantage of this great weather to get outside as much as possible.  On Saturday morning before naptime, Mommy took Isaac and the dogs on a long hour-walk through the neighborhood, checking out yard sales.  We didn't buy anything exciting (just a dinosaur plate for Isaac), but Mommy passed along dachshund adoption info to a very interested family, and was told she looked like she was out with her little brother by a neighbor who was out on a run (odd).  Later in the day after a fun family outing to House of Tropicals to get a new pond pump (not fun) and to check out all the cool fish (almost as good as going to the Aquarium!), we also stopped at the Crestwood park for some swinging before nap time. 
• Isaac's favorite toys lately seem to be non-toys... water bottles, toilet paper rolls, measuring cups, dog bowls, AC vents, etc. Although he is generally getting better at more independent play and will play with whatever toys are nearby. He also loves his shaker eggs from the Easter bunny.  Isaac is getting better at "so big" and is starting to grab his head and toes when asked. He still loves dancing and "singing".  

reading with Mom-Mom-Mom during his weekly visit

On Sunday morning Daddy & Isaac went out for a morning walk and Mommy was able to drink her coffee and read her book with the dogs snuggled in her lap before having to head to church. It was a nice treat!