A Letter to my Son on his 13th Month Birthday!!

 

 

Dear Turner,

Happy 13th months!!  Officially we have begun counting the months into your second year.  As you not-so-slowly cross the threshold into toddlerhood I love watching you as you learn, as you laugh!  You belly-laugh in such a way that we all must belly-laugh with you, at being tickled and at every single silly thing Chase or Ryder do.  You belly-laugh at yourself and you are adorable when you do so!
You made a smoother than expected transition off of the bottle and onto the cup.  You showed a bit of refusal at first, and let us know with a shriek that you were less than thrilled with your new drinking apparatus, but have since mastered both the sippy cup and a straw!  You also insist on drinking out of a real cup.  Mine!  You will point and grunt at it until I let you sip whatever it is I am drinking.
Although you are a decent eater, breakfast is your best meal!  it's actually unbelievable how much you eat.  Logically, I think to make Chase and Ryder more pancakes than I make you, but realistically you out eat them every time.
You have started to form your own opinions expressed through squeals, grunts, finger points, and arm thrusts.  Although you have no words yet you have a way of letting us know exactly what you need.
You love books, and each morning you will sit yourself in front of your books and pull each one off the shelf.  You will surround yourself with words you do not use.
Although you are not walking you can stand on your own two feet.  You will hold on to something in front of you, but you do not really need to.  You can now go down the steps, and love to be on the couch, but can't always climb up yourself.  You love to climb onto tables and chairs, and when you can't climb up yourself you ask for help...with a grunt and a shriek.
You are a good sleeper and will go right down in your crib for both naps and for bedtime.  You will snuggle up to your soft blanket pucker your lips as if you are drinking from a bottle, maybe flip through a book, then you are out...silently and peacefully.
High Chairs and shopping carts are now things you climb out of, and luckily your crib has not been added to that list.  Diaper changes and getting you dressed are still challenges for us but you do love your bath time!
Your hair is still coming in light brown and curly, your eyes remain bluish gray, and your dimple is still more pronounced on the right side.
You are a wonderfully pleasant and happy boy.  You smile and laugh and coo a lot. You get excited over balls and music and books.   You love to dump toys and turn them over to see how they work.   You love to be a part of the action and yet you play so well alone.   You are easy going and wonderful and as you begin to enter toddlerhood i revel in all that you do and all that you are becoming.  You make me laugh and melt my heart simultaneously.  You are incredible, Turner and I love you so!