13 months and on-the-move!

Somehow, 13 months came quickly....and it's close to being past us! Collen seems to continue to follow his trend of slower physical development vs. faster mental development. I attribute that to his very large head, which he most definitely got from his genius-Daddy. ;)

He has always reached verbal/mental milestones very quickly and physical/motor skills milestons a bit slower than average. I'm think he'll have my coordination (meaning: lack-of). He said his first word at 7 months, yet he didn't start walking until 13 months. I guess I always thought the two types of milestones happened at the same times, but I'm learning that is not always the case. I, personally, have loved that he was a late roller, sitter, crawler, and walker. It gave me more time with him as a "baby"....so cuddly and needing mommy. Once he started walking, he didn't look like a baby anymore! It was immediate!! It seemed like overnight, he became a little boy....*sigh*....so sad for mommy. However, I am LOVING this age! He is so funny and interactive, and now that he can interact, we can ask him to "bring us a book" and he will! Or, we can say, "Eat your chicken"...and he knows which thing on the plate is chicken! He is a pro at the few signs we have taught him - "more", "all done" and "please." We're still working on "thank you."

Last week, he was wearing 12 month clothes comfortably. This week, we're moving into 18 month clothes! So crazy how fast they grow! Collen is definitely getting into his "chunking up" stage again. He'll get chunky, then gain some height and slim down, then he'll get chunky again. I love the chunky stage. :) So cute!

We are finally making some headway in the sleeping department. Out of nowhere, the other night, he "asked" to be put in his crib. Before that, I would either rock him to sleep or stand over his crib....waiting for him to fall asleep as I rubbed his back, hair and face (which can take a long time....). Then, the other night, I was rocking him, and he reached over and patted the side of the crib and grunted as if to say he wanted to get in there. Ever since then, he has gone to sleep (still with one of us having to stand by the crib) and has slept ALL night. Typically, he would wake up 2-3 times, eventually to end up in our bed out of sheer exhaustion our part. Now, he seems to be sleeping until 5ish, and then he sleeps the remaining 2 hours of his sleep schedule in our bed. 13 months.....whew.

We are having so much fun with Collen! We love watching him learn and being a part of his learning experience! He is such a sweet child with a very friendly disposition. Praying it stays that way as we get closer and closer to age 2!

Here are a few 13 month highlights....

Walking to Daddy after the football game. When Ayden was born, this was one thing Jeremy couldn't wait to experience. He has waited 2 and a half years for this moment. We both had tears in our eyes as we witnessed a dream coming true.

He LOVES to be outside...exploring and learning!


Beep! Beep!

We'll definitely be saving this one....