Today Jacob is thirteen months old. This last month has been incredibly eventful, mostly because he began walking for real. But somehow that triggered a bunch of other, smaller developments as well. Just enough for a celebratory blog post!

Thirteen Things Jacob Learned to Do This Month/Why I Love Being Jacob’s Mom:

1. When I hold my finger out (like I’m waiting for a bird to perch on it), Jacob grabs hold and we walk around together, holding hands. Sometimes he sits down and starts to play but doesn’t let go, and just plays with one hand.
2. He eats whole pears and apples by himself, down to the core. One day this week, he ate two pears and one apple. Aren’t I supposed to start making comments about how much he eats when he’s thirteen years, not thirteen months?
3. He makes on “ooooh” sound, sometimes on command, and often ends it with an “ay” sound. Maybe he’s trying to say “boy” or “soy”? Either way, it’s adorable.
4. He whistles. Seriously.
5. He uses the sign for “all done” when he’s finished eating. Sometimes he keeps snacking when I start to clean up, which confuses me. Eventually he drops food on the ground and I know he’s done for real.
6. When I ask him to go to the bathroom for this bath, he often walks there by himself. He’ll also take my hand to go to his room for a nap. And he’ll even go to the high chair at mealtime. I think he wants to climb in, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. Or ever!
7. He’s less interested in outlets and some (but not all) of the other things that used to be trouble. I guess that means he used to get bored kind of easily. I also guess this isn’t something he’s learned, but it’s close enough.
8. He’s started to put toys inside one another—like food in the shopping basket and a banana in a bowl.
9. Sometimes he helps me clean up this way. Mommy score!
10. Before we go out, he helps put his sweatshirt on.
11. He played with a friend and not just next to a friend for the first time. The giggles were ridiculous.
12. He still loves peek-a-boo. This isn’t new, but I’m amazed he’s still so excited by it. See #11.
13. Walking means he can come over and hug me whenever he wants. Which is often. If there were any order to this list, this would be number one.

Happy thirteen-month birthday, Jacob!  Here’s to another month of development and discoveries.