Lucky Number 13

Tiger: Today Robert is 13 months old. His baby days are far behind him & he is adjusting rather well to the toddler stage. Right now my brother is acquiring large amounts of big boy skills. He will walk across the living room without any help before he drops down to crawl. He is also starting to change direction when he is walking. He can stand still for over 1 minute when he isn't walking or holding on to something. Robert also thinks he is a monkey & tries to climb everything. It wouldn't surprise my parents if he starts trying to swing from things as his upper body strength increases. Sparky & I are very excited about how interactive Robert has become with us. He will roll a ball to us or throw a toy to play fetch. Sometimes he even plays tug with us. Don't worry folks we play very gently with our brother.

Robert has started to build a big vocabulary. He now says: I did it, I love you, mommy, mama, mom, daddy, dad, cookie, head, Tiger, baby, & a few others. I am sure he will learn more words with each passing day because he is trying so hard to mimic mommy & daddy. He will attempt to repeat things & sometimes he is successful like when he said sh*t the other day right after daddy did. Now mommy & daddy have started to pay more attention to what they are saying around our little parrot. Mommy is getting a lot of enjoyment from taking Robert for car rides now because he sings along to the radio as well as talks to her from the back seat. Mommy says it is too cute & makes her smile every time she hears his little melodies. He is also starting to sing when music is on at other places as well like in the store or on the TV. My brother's latest trick is to make a noise & move his hand back & forth from his mouth to make the sound change. Kinda like the Indian noises in the old movies. Robert giggles every time he does this & appears to be very proud of his accomplishment.

In the ever changing world that is all things toddler Robert has also become more aware of his reflection in a mirror. He will sit in front of one for a good while making faces & chattering away at his reflection. I know what your thinking & yes he has always done this to a certain extent. Now he is a little more advanced with it though. He will try to hand his reflection toys to share & gets so much more joy from the mirror. Robert also loves to play peek a boo. He will use everything from his hands to a blanket to hide behind. My brother has also learned to give kisses when my parents ask for them. He is still a little shy about doing this in front of people he doesn't see every day but we are sure that will change as he grows up. All in all we want to say congratulations all of your accomplishments little man. You seem to impress us every day with something new :-)