Thirteen months

Theo crosses his ankles while riding in the stroller or carseat. At this moment in time, he also wants to be with Daddy Lovebo more than Mama. Last night as I was trying to nurse them both and then put them down for bed he refused to nurse and just wailed for Jeff to come back. He also definitely has ideas about what he wants and when he wants it. He has a more adventurous palate, at least for the moment, and has been eating a lot of fruits and pretty much whatever I put on his plate. Theo usually gets up earlier than Beckett from naps and nighttime sleeping, and he is more insistent than Beckett about having someone come in to fetch him. Whereas Beck will often sit up in his crib and play and chat for a while before becoming unhappy, Theo will immediately stand up and yell, then cry, for someone to come get him. When I get him in the mornings, before Beckett is up, I sometimes bring him back into bed with me to cuddle. He likes to look up at the fan above our bed, look at me, point, and say "DAH!" I then say, "FAN". We go back and forth like this for several minutes. The first time he ever said Mama to me was yesterday when I got home from work. He's been saying Dada for a few weeks at least. Theo's still more physical than Beckett, and he rarely falls while walking. He can crouch down, get back up, reach, and stay vertical all the while.

Beckett takes most small and large setbacks like a champ. This morning I noticed that he has one tooth poking through about halfway back on top, and then on the other side his gum is hugely swollen with a big tooth about to come through. His tongue is all red and swollen, apparently from where he bit it recently. We call him a bull in a china shop because he leads with his head and bumps it many times a day into things--door frames, the floor, the edges of furniture. Theo takes things out of his hands many times a day and he usually just looks after him for a minute, like, "did that really happen?", and then toddles on to the next event. Two nights ago we went for a walk through the park and Beckett started screaming his head off about 5 minutes in. Jeff was thoughtful enough to examine all parts of Beckett, and noticed that his right arm (the one closest to Theo) was all marked up with a bite. In general, Beckett won't try new foods as often or as willingly as Theo does. Usually he wants to see someone else eat the food first before he will try it. So if new food is put in front of both babies, Beckett watches Theo to see if Theo will eat whatever strange thing it is. If Theo eats it, Beckett cautiously advances the food toward his mouth and tries it out. Beck's vocabulary is more advanced than Theo's--he knows more words, or at least indicates that he understands, and he speaks more words. Beck has been saying Mama and Dada for a long time, and he says VROOOM when he sees a car or truck, in a book or as a toy or in person. He says CAT loudly whenever there is a cat or a picture of a cat around. He can say NUMNUMS (which means nursing, and sounds more like NA-NA). I think Beckett pronates when he walks, so he's less stable than Theo.

Both babies are pulling toys behind them and crawling down stairs with help. They still sometimes look puzzled when looking down a step, but with some help can turn around and back down it. They LOVE reading (reading pictures to come soon), and will sit for a long time examining the pages, pointing to various things in the book, and turning the pages. Then usually starting over from the beginning.