My little pickle will be 13 months old tomorrow! This is one of those silly, mindless posts that lets me tell you all about how wonderfully smart and advanced my little man is; not because you care, but the mom in me likes to think that you actually do care about how awesome MY child is!

Anyway, our little guy started walking one week after his 9 month birthday. Not just taking a few steps at a time, but really walking! Like from one side of the room to another. After he started crawling at 5 months and pulling up to stand at 6 months, I knew walking would be an early milestone, but I was both amazed and quite saddened when it actually happened.

When he was 10 months, I was chasing him around the soccer fields while Nadia had practice, and he was kicking the ball around with me. He loves soccer. He loves to steal other kid’s soccer balls; he even tried to take a ball away from a man taller than me! Right about the time he turned 10 months, he also started climbing the playground equipment at the park. This is terrifying for a mama!

Nadia didn’t walk until about 13 1/2 months, but she was quite the talker at a very young age. Nicholas doesn’t talk nearly as much as Nadia did (as in, real words–he babbles and gives some pretty intense speeches, but we don’t really know what he is saying). But I do think, especially for a boy, that Nicholas has learned to say quite a lot. Here is a list of his words, trying to list them in the order in which he learned them:
sissy, ball, dada, brush, pretty, hair, mama.

Yes, sadly, mama is at the end of the list. 😦

At 11 months he started learning animals and the sounds they make. He loves cows, and when he sees one he says “booo” (can’t say m’s very well). He also loves dogs and his whole body moves when he tries to bark. Kitties say “maaaaa” in a sweet little voice. Trucks, cars and motorcycles say “broom broom”. He can point at objects or go get them and bring them to you if you ask him to. If I ask him, “where’s the kitty?” he will say “maaaa?” and go get his kitty and give her hugs.

He still loves nursing and sometimes just nurses so he can sit in my lap. He’s not hungry, he’s not thirsty, just needs some mama cuddles. And I am happy to provide. He has started eating more real foods. He loves raisins, apples, yogurt, crackers, beans and celery. A few days ago, he tried hummus and was a huge fan of it!

He still hates baths, so we try giving him a shower instead. And he still hates sleeping. We let him sleep with us, but occasionally even that doesn’t work either. Oh, how I wish that boy would sleep!

His daddy says he needs a hair cut, but that’s one little milestone I can control, so I’m holding off until his hair is unbearably long…hopefully I can wait until 18 months; but it’s looking like it may only be a few weeks at best.

Happy 13 months to my little guy. He makes my days and nights longer, but definitely makes life a lot more interesting.