It’s been a while since we talked specifically about what Curly is up to (besides having started a new daycare and continually fighting off evil germies). Mooching off an idea from somewhere else in internet-land, here’s what Curly is up to in his 13th month:
Mobility- Not walking, but it may be on the horizon soon. He prefers cruising above all, or crawling. He loves climbing on things. Just yesterday, he was playing with a large door-shaped toy, and I spotted him taking at least two unassisted steps around it. Usually he leans on it. When he’s cruising, every so often he’ll let go and stand for a bit. Our daycare providers have also told us they’ve seen him standing here and there. No rush on the walking thing, as we’ve heard it only makes things harder, but we’re banking on him doing it by 15 months if not earlier. He used to hate us taking his hands and leading him around while walking, but all of a sudden he loves it.
Eating- There was a week not long ago when we thought we had entered picky-eater toddler world. Thankfully(?), it turned out to be a stomach bug, and once it passed, he was back to eating like a champ again. There isn’t much he will outright reject except green vegetables. This means we have to resort to tricks like pureeing them in an omelet or mixing them into a sauce or burger. He is all about fruit of any type and has gotten a lot better at eating hard things, like graham crackers and whole apples if we get them started for him with a first bite. He is adept at drinking from his straw cups, and (surprise) prefers juice over milk or water, but we usually water it down. He got a 100% juice box for the first time this weekend and gulped it down almost all at once.
Teeth- He’s got 10 teeth including 2 top molars, and is currently teething again hardcore, so we expect another molar may be surfacing.
Sleep- He continues to be ‘the child who sleeps more than any other child on Earth.’ He sleeps 11-12 hours straight at night, and if he gets his way, 3-4 hours of daytime naps. When we tell people this, they act like we won the jackpot, and while I admit that we did win the jackpot on nighttime sleep, it is very difficult dealing with his constant tiredness during the day. We have to plan our activities around his naps, and since he doesn’t sleep outside, in a stroller or while being worn, this severely limits our time out with him. He gets extremely cranky and upset about wanting sleep. We didn’t think we’d still be dealing with this past 1 year, but here we are.
Play- He is very much into independent play and can usually keep himself occupied for decent periods of time. He still enjoys putting objects inside one another and through holes or spaces. He’s not great about playing with toys that require fine motor skills. He will roll a toy vehicle across the floor and loves to roll balls away from himself and ‘fetch’ them. He’s all about pressing buttons, flipping switches, opening and closing doors, trying to reach doorknobs, and he loves books. He will happily sit and turn the pages of a board book, which is a great activity during a car ride especially.
Communication- He babbles a lot and seems to ‘talk’ with some intention but it’s mostly gibberish to us. Every now and then he’ll say something that makes sense, but it is very inconsistent. I was holding him once, close to another baby, and twice he looked at the other baby and said “bay-ba.” Another time I waved at him and said hi, and he waved back with both hands and said ‘ha!’ back. But these moments are just here and there. He’s finally learned to sign ‘more’ back to us during dinner, but again, it’s not consistent, and he will get frustrated quickly and resort to banging or whining when he doesn’t get what he wants or has to wait for it.
Appearance- His strawberry blonde hair is growing in and we are delighted. It’s very curly in the back and oh so adorable. His eyes are a dark brown-green hazel. He continues to be very long and lean. People often comment on his height.
Other- Separation anxiety continues, with him in tears during every daycare drop-off. He has also started protesting baths in the evening to our dismay. On the plus side, his giggles are contagious and he likes to make us laugh as much as we like to make him laugh. He will play peek-a-boo with us, and acts very happy and proud whenever we mimic whatever he’s doing. He loves when you make funny faces at him or tickle him. We think he’s smart, but very stubborn/willful like a typical Taurus 😉
1 In Vermillion 
