Thirteen month old Teddy

It is once again that time of month – Teddy just keeps getting older! We are still “home” in Colorado enjoying our HOT, American summer (the heat certainly has not disappointed this summer!). I can’t believe a month has passed since our Grand Lake trip. In the time since, we have, sadly, lost one of my grandmothers to old age. She was certainly one of Teddy’s biggest fans …as evidenced by the smile he always put on her face. Ninety one is an incredible run and I firmly believe she is in a much better place : ) Also, as a result of her passing, we had the opportunity to see nearly ALL of our extended family once again. A blessing in disguise, certainly, since it would have been a very long while before we got a chance to see all of them – so, I guess a thanks is in order to grandma for such a lovely parting gift.

Thirteen month old Teddy? He is working on tooth number SEVEN! On the day of his birthday I believe the count was 4.5… apparently this past month has been a good month for teeth! I have nothing but praise and admiration for the inventors of teething gel. Seriously. This miracle substance offer’s glorious, instantaneous relief for him (and for me, heh). I have found myself wondering lately how humans ever made it through existence without it?!

“Mom, why would you make me sit IN the pool of water?!”

About a week after his birthday he gave up bottles. Not by choice, but by necessity… we ran out of formula and I made the conscientious decision not to buy anymore. Partly because it’s so dang expensive and partly because he was doing excellent with real food. I’m happy to report we haven’t looked back since. Although it took about fifteen attempts and two different sippy cup purchases to convince him to drink whole milk, he has since become a milk fiend. He drinks it with no hesitation and he drinks a LOT of it! Unfortunately I can’t say the same for his food preferences. He was such a good eater in the months leading up to his birthday! He has now become Mr.Picky… sigh. He won’t eat any meat (how strange is that??) unless I hide it slathered in cheese is some form of grilled cheese or quesadilla. He also has a VERY (read: annoyingly) limited list of vegetables he’ll eat. They consist of: sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, raw cucumber and raw carrots. Breakfast is by far his best meal of the day. The kid loves all fruit and all dairy (but really, who doesn’t?). He usually has some combination of the following: quinoa oatmeal, whole wheat toast with mashed banana and peanut butter (no sugar/salt added), or homemade muffins (avocado raspberry or banana blueberry), then plain, whole-fat greek yogurt and lots and lots of fruit (raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, kiwis, pears, pineapple, watermelon, bananas, blackberries, grapes, cherries, etc. Finally something he isn’t picky about ; )). He also loves smoothies (thankfully!) and usually consumes all sorts of “hidden” vegetables that way. His favorite lunch is baked sweet potato “fries” and carrots with hummus to dip. At least he’s open to protein in lots of different sources. Dinner is usually our hardest meal. He’s most picky with traditional dinner foods to begin with, plus the fact that he is pretty tired by that time of day… so it’s usually a strange mix of whatever he’ll eat plus a smoothie. The struggle is real, lemme tell ya.

“This is what I’m talking about. Everyone knows sitting outside the pool is way more fun!” P.S. – isn’t his British bathing suit the most ridiculous /cutest thing ever?

He is so very close to walking. He took his first unaided steps (that’s right, two whole steps!!) towards his darling, little five year old cousin, Arabella, at the luncheon in honor of my grandma. I’m convinced he only did it for Arabella ’cause she’s so dang cute. At home there’s no one as cute to make it worth his while! But, he certainly is noticeably steadier and more confident on his feet. I think it’s only a matter of a couple weeks and he will be happily toddling around, shrieking with joy (his favorite form of communication), getting into to far more things than is humanly imaginable with his new found independence on his own two feet!

Also, cutest thing ever: he kisses on demand now. And by kiss, I mean big, sloppy, drool-y, mouth-wide-open kisses. And it is just heart melting. He will even “kiss” Buddy (the dog) and Buddy him back, heh. Pretty sure that is the meaning of life summed up in one silly moment… it’s all about love.