13 months

Dear KC Cuddler,

I think you became extra cuddly this month.  Your gleeful hugs where you grab with your arms and your kicky legs at the same time are my favorite.  I could let go with my arms and you'd still be holding on giggling.  Mix those giggle hugs with a dose of your dog whistle scream (although just within human hearing range) and you can sum up this month of crazy fun with that noise.

We made sure to celebrate your birthday, and I'd like to think that you didn't end up with the second baby sham.  We went all out, just inviting less people to make it a little less hectic. You still had two parties just like your brother and I think that having him there to help you celebrate just enhances your fun.  Someone has to open your presents and play with them for you to be sure they are safe. right?  

Your dad helped me with your last monthly shirt sticker photo squirm, and ooh boy was it a squirmy one.  You gave me about one shot every time we flipped you over.  It seems like just yesterday that you just laid there and rolled your ankles and squiggled your toes. I now have a drawer full of toy distractions by the changing pad because you've decided to be such a squirmy worm.

Sometimes it seems like you grow in leaps and bounds, and I blink and you have suddenly grown out of the bouncer, the bumbo, and the bath seat all at once. You climb around in the tub and even stand up on your own against the edge to try to pop the bubbles.  You like us to use this play watering can to pretend to "water the baby" while you blink and your old man hair gets matted down.  

Sitting in the slippery tub on your own seems like a big step towards independence and the next big step will be safely getting on and off a chair or the couch. You are sorta understanding that it is safer to roll onto your tummy to get down.  You sure do enjoy sneaking onto your brother's chair or trying to climb up on the couch.  You even think that you can climb over me or your dad.

You've become King of Raspberries which I think make your teething pains feel better.  You play a mean game of peek a boo sometimes with yourself in the mirror.  You love hiding under your brothers tent and then picking up the whole tent to peek at us with a big grin and a squeal.  You patter as fast as you can on those chubby knees chasing the red ball. The speed crawling is something that we didn't really experience with Aiden, and I never knew that you could biff it while crawling... but sometimes you'll slip forward if you get going too fast. Poor bub. I think we all feel that way sometimes.  You're just crawling along when  all of a sudden wham, it just means it's time to slow down.  This has been a super busy month, but we've made sure to make time to slow down too.

You will occasionally hold up one pointer finger when we ask you how old you are... and even if you are just imitating us it's still cute and fun.  Another trick you learned which isn't nearly as fun is how to open the closet doors.  You got a new Snack Trap for your birthday and I was excited to give you a way to feed yourself without cheerios flying everywhere.  Well, you figured out a way to shake it with your fist inside which floods your car seat with cheerios rendering it nearly useless... Tricky trickster.

You loved your farm animals and the soft barn this month.  You are just starting to make the noises, although sometimes the pig says BaaBaa, the truck almost always says Vroom.  You love hiding things under and doing your oh face, then revealing it with a big smile!  You enjoy handing things back and forth and smiling when we say thank you as you hand it over. 

One of your favorite playtime activities is taking things out of nearly any container or shelf.  You will actually help your brother pick things up and put them in a box with a squeal when each piece plops inside.  Good clean up buddy. Sometimes you and your brother like to put yourself in the toy box, which means that Aiden has helped you empty everything onto the floor.  Plenty of clean up practice then...

You ended the month with one of those mysterious phantom fevers.  No other symptoms besides the occasional irritable screamy visit from your Archie personality. The advice nurse declared it a virus and told us just to keep you comfy.  You carried around your favorite toy thermometer from the doctor set just in case.  Good planning.  I made sure you nursed as much as possible and tried to get you to take as much fluid as possible.  Although you have this habit of dribbling water when you get good sips.  This habit has led us to sorta half heartedly try to get you to drink regular milk.  You don't seem too thrilled by the taste or the temperature of the milk so far, but I bet you'll like it eventually since you are a yogurt lover.  

Your dad dubbed you baby carnivore since you will eat any meat or fish offered to you.  You ate a whole bunch of pulled pork like there was some sort of champion eating contest going on.  You now know exactly what cake is and you go for it when you see it.  Your approach to the cake changed from the first to the second time we offered it, and the second time you decided to just face plant right into it.  Your enthusiasm for cheese is shown through your excited squeals for Cheeeezzzz with raspberry lips at the end.  You've been known to grab it and try to eat it through the packaging if I'm not quick enough.

I had to bundle you up for your brothers first blustery soccer practice in your cuddle suit which is shrinking by the minute.  You wanted to get in the game with your kicky legs moving nearly the whole time.  I took one of your walker toys outside to follow your brother around with the soccer ball and you pushed it over the bumpy grass as fast as you could.  You've taken to flipping over whatever you can find and using it as a walker toy (your brother's red chair and the round ottoman are favorites).

You like to find the on and off switches on your toys and try to flip them over and over again, although sometimes they are tricky and you get mad.  When you are mad you make sure it is known, no build up with whining or whimpering, you're a zero to sixty kinda angry... Your brother reminds you that "gingerbread archy boy is not invited in car" when you try to refuse to sit in your car seat.  The car rumble is still not your favorite and I think is particularly annoying to you when the out of sorts teething mode is on.

Your little bird feather hair hasn't filled in much yet, so you look like you have crazy old man hair most of the time.  It will occasionally lay with just the right curl up, but most of the time you look like what your uncle calls a baby Hogan mullet.  You have some wrestling moves that you can pair with your hairstyle, so we're just going with it for now.  

I will always remember you talking on the phone like a big boy taking birthday phone calls.  You assume the it is always daddy on the phone and your face lights up when you hear his voice.  The tough part is when it's time to say good bye you still want dada.  You had a case of the daddy clings this month.  It's so fun to see you get excited to see him when he comes home and you immediately want him to pick you up.  The best part of the day.  It's been a big month with many ups and downs... I am so happy you can help us concentrate on the ups.  

Love you, Mamaaa