Thirteen months and counting

So a week before Ethan turned 13 months old, he achieved the momentous life milestone of becoming a big brother. Thus far, he's been a fantastic older brother, which I define as not maiming, breaking, or scarring his infant sister. He really seems to understand 'Soft' and 'Gentle', which is probably because we've spent so much of the past few months encouraging him to be gentle and soft with the 2 dogs. 

What to say about our wonderful 13-month-old?? He really is pretty awesome. I've decided that the best adjective for this kid is jolly. He loves to laugh, smile, run, dance (an absurd little squat-sway-clap that happens when we put any music on, from classical to commercial jingles to hip-hop). He delights in handing us whatever he is holding, in feeding us his snacks, in high-fiving over and over again. There are tears, of course, especially when his father goes to work or goes downstairs or leaves the room or puts him down. Rarely there are hysterics, when we are outside and a storm is coming and I pick him up to go back in the house or when dad won't let him eat the dog food. Generally, there are smiles and giggles. 

He is just smitten with his own reflection and can't pass a room with a mirrored surface without stopping to check himself out. Oh yeah, and he can't pass up a good light switch either - his favorite is the one in the bathroom that he can just reach if he stretches.

Many evenings, starting a couple of weeks ago, we take him and his sister out for a neighborhood stroll, once the temps drop below 90 degrees or so (around 7pm - gah!). Mister Independent likes to walk all by himself, stopping to investigate many phenomena along the way (such as pine cones, puddles, asphalt spills, street lights, teenagers on bikes). He refuses to hold hands, except when he is having trouble transitioning from the street to the grass and he needs moral support. 

He loves the swings at the neighborhood park and laughs the whole time he is swinging. What a delightful sound!

He loves to be in the pool or the hot tub and loves going to splash pads, but until very recently he's absolutely hated taking baths. We have spent the last few weeks gradually re-introducing him to the bathtub and yesterday he got a bath and a shampoo without tears (hooray!). Hopefully soon he'll enjoy bath time as much as any normal toddler.

He's gotten really good at mimicking - we have to be careful what we say around him these days! He still doesn't use a lot of words but he definitely says 'ball', 'mi[lk]', and 'hi'. Oh, and 'mmmmm' while he eats.

As you can see from the photos, he's just getting cuter every day. Happy 13 months, E!