13 Months

James is 13 months old today! A few days ago, some one asked Mom how old James was and automatically Mom replied, "12.5 months" and then thought - Oh my gosh, James is going to be 13 months on Friday. It sounds so trite, but honestly, we have no idea where this last month went. Also, this is our 100th post - can you believe that? The blog lasted this long - who knew?

So, today Dad also had a half day and to make sure we have a nice and relaxing weekend, we took the day to run errands in the burbs. While we were up there, we got to visit with our good friends the Heitmanns who were in town from Colorado! We ended the day with James having pizza for the first time! We got Dad's favorite pizza - Jake's Pizza. You think he likes it?

Over this past month, James has really started growing into a little boy. James is 'talking' to us all the time. Mom, Mama, Dad, Dada are still the main words but he is trying to say other things. We just haven't decoded them yet :) James also has the sign 'more' down pat! He used to grab our hands and move them together instead of his own! Just this morning, Doug picked him up out of his crib and gave him a hug and kiss and then James signed more - adorable? Quite.

James also has a very good sense of humor and has begun to laugh at himself when he does something funny. Also, after dinner, James gets a cookie (or two) and now when we walk over to the cabinet to get them, he squeals, smiles, laughs and claps his hands in anticipation.

For Christmas, Mom and Dad bought Wee Widgets for James - they are not your typical building blocks but operate on the same principles. Usually Dad is building tremendous creations and James 'helps' and then knocks them down. But, as of late, James has been the builder! It's awesome to see him think through the process of stacking and how these pieces fit together. We can almost hear the synapses sparking!

Physical therapy is going well so far. It's very challenging for Mom and James and usually results in two very tired, very teary eyed people. The most important thing is that it's the best thing for James and it is helping him. James is now starting to pull himself up, get from belly to sitting, go from sitting to kneeling, and sitting to standing. It's wonderful. The only scary thing was that one night after we had put James to sleep, James started crying and Dad went in to see if everything was ok and then Mom saw Dad come out with James and said, "He fell out." OH MY GOSH! Mom and Dad were very thankful that James was totally 100% fine and just scared. Now, the crib is all the way down.

In other James news, James has 7 teeth! The 4 top ones are almost all the way out and the new guy on the bottom just is now showing its white top. We are suspecting that #8 is getting ready to surface sooner than later. Here's a photo of the new guy on the bottom.

Milk! James is a fantastic sippy cup drinker and loves his little cups that Mom found at Dominick's. James also loves the straw. He likes taking it out and stretching it to make that bendy straw sound. James sometimes will sign for milk too.

James loves to play peek-a-boo. James loves to play with blankets, hands and yes, even his high chair tray.

James also has been riding in his stroller like with both legs propped up. Lately, in addition to this, he's been taking Mom's sunglasses and trying to put them on his face. After Mom does it, James just lights up and thinks he's hilarious - he smiles so big and then starts waving to everybody. Nothing but trouble. Adorable trouble :)

Here are a few of our favorite photos from the last month!