A letter to my sons on their 13th month birthday!

My precious boys,

Yesterday you turned 13 months old!! Counting the months as an age after the first year is something your daddy has never been into. To him you are One year, one month. I do not disagree with this, but you are still at an age where so much changes month to month that I feel writing you these letters continues to be important. I know we won't and can't count months forever, but there is a lot to report.

Now that you are over a year you are considered a toddler, despite the fact that you do not yet toddle. You are both trying, however. Ryder you have been cruising for quite some time now. In fact, we thought you would have been walking on your own by now, but it seems you are happy in the cruising stage. You will walk, quite quickly, when holding our hands, one hand even and have attempted at a few steps. You have taken up to 7 steps on your own and then fallen but always with a large grin. You get quite a kick out of walking and within weeks, perhaps, you will be doing so on your own. Chase, although you are now cruising just as well, you are not as daring at taking your own steps. You have tried, and today you took 4 before falling. You seem to be most interested in taking these steps after you see Ryder try. We continue to encourage you both to walk, well aware of how difficult life will become for mommy:)

Chase, you are trying to talk. You attempt at a lot of words and have seemed to master a few (bubble, pooh.) You will often mimic what we say, using correct tone but not necessarily the right word. Ryder, your babbling continues and your attempt at words or sounding out words is worthy of recognition. Today, for instance, you said banana three times. You said it clearly, while eating a banana, but when asked later you would not say it again. You do that with many "tricks." You show us you can, but then never go back and do it again. Eventually you will, I am sure.

Chase, you have begun doing peek-a-boo. Your little hands cover your face and then you pull them away. It is adorable. You can also blow kisses! Your personality is friendly and outgoing and you will likely be the extrovert of your father.
Ryder, you are a bit more chill. You seem to like to hang with the guys while your brother flirts with the ladies. You like to high five and laugh when it is funny and be cool when it is not.

We have spent a lot of time this summer on the beach and you are both quite the beach bums. You love the sand (to eat it and to play with it), you love the water and will sit at waters edge and let the wave roll over you. You both can be on the beach for hours and it has been wonderful. You have also learned to nap on the beach, which has worked out well for daddy and I.

Ryder, you have another tooth coming in the bottom and Chase you still only have two, which I find surprising. Despite your lack of teeth you have no problems biting or chewing and it has not stopped you from eating everything you love.

You had your first hair cuts. You both cried for the duration (2 minutes) but made it through successfully. We took you to Personal Touch, where Jack, who cuts daddy and Poppy's hair, cut the third generation of Tovsky boys. Your hair was pretty long, just as I like it, so it is a bit shorter now but you look so cute. You look older now, like little boys. We saved your hair in envelopes, hopefully we still have it when you are reading this so you can see. Ryder your hair seems much lighter now that it was cut and Chase your curls are still there. It will be some time before we cut it again.

Your favorite toys seem to be musical instruments; drums, xylophone's, maraca's. I am trying to teach you to use the kazoo, but as expected you both just love to chew on it. You also enjoy ride on toys and toy cars. I am trying to work on ball throwing with you, but neither of you have quite grasped it.

You can both go down the steps correctly now (backwards), in addition to get off the couch, or the bed or anything that is raised. It is quite impressive, actually, to watch you turn around and send yourself down off the bed, etc.

We have not turned you around in the car yet, as we have been waiting on Ryder's 11 ounce gain. I suppose we probably could by now. I am sure you will both enjoy it much more when you are facing forward.

Chase we do continue to go to therapy with you, once a month. Karen says you are doing great and though the muscle is tight you have full range and full use. This is good news.
Ryder, your exczema continues to flare up, but it does not bother you.

You continue to be happy, good, outgoing boys. I look at you and feel doubly blessed every day. You smile and laugh often and cry and whine little. You give kisses and hugs but do not cuddle for very long. You love to climb and to crawl into the smallest spot you can fit into. You are very much mommy and daddy's pride and joy and you are loved so much more every day.

All of my love,
Mommy