13 months old

Rubin is 13 months old today...

Here is what he's been up to:

Our boy (as you have seen) is walking all over the place! He picked this up quickly, going from a couple of steps here and there to practically running overnight!  I love that he is walking now. He is so incredibly happy to (try to) keep up with his brothers in play.  He is determined to be elbow to elbow with them at everything they do... from swimming and water play to playing with trucks and balls and bikes.  He isn't afraid to stick his neck out and see where it gets him. He fits right in.

One of the things that we've been "struggling" with the most is eating. Rubin came to us accustomed to eating three main foods: rice cereal, applesauce, and mashed bananas.  When he came home he had 6 teeth, and really didn't know how to use any of them!! I had to spoon feed him everything, and he would gag on anything more solid than... yogurt!!  Rubin has 8 teeth now, and he's eating almost everything that we are. I am still mostly grinding up his meat and his veggies. But he's becoming quite good at eating his fruit whole. He LOVES melon and blueberries, and is getting better at chewing pasta and cheese. He's been completely off of formula since his first birthday, and loves his bottle of warm milk before his naps and at bedtime.

Rubin has been sleeping like a champion. We've settled into a wonderful night time routine. It's not an easy feat for me, as Dave is usually working and I have three boys to feed/bathe/put to sleep. But we've found a pretty good groove. Rubin is usually in bed and asleep with little effort between 7:30 and 8pm.  For weeks now, I've been able to lay him in bed after his bottle, most often times he is wide awake... and he soothes himself to sleep all on his own. No crying, usually just sing-songy talking.  He sleeps until 4 or 5am, wakes me up by yelling at me (again, usually no tears, just "Hey, Mama, I'm thirsty in here!!"), drinks some more milk, and sleeps again until 8 or 8:30am.  

Most days Rubin is still taking 2 naps (a short and long one), however I think we are getting closer and closer to paring him down to one.  One of my favorite things about him is how he always wakes up happy, talking to himself in his room (practicing his English, I like to say) until one of us makes it up to get him.  I love listening to him over the monitor for a few minutes, but his brothers are always quick to make it to his bedside. I can understand why, as he always greets them with the widest grin.

Rubin loves dogs.  Dave's parents' dog, our neighbors' dogs. Big and small.  I, myself, am not a huge canine fan. But I can't help feeling endeared when my baby boy's eyes light up and his body lurches forward with all it's might to get his hands on a dog.  

Just in the last couple of days, Rubin has begun saying, "Papa!" When he sees Dave after any period of absence, he points at him and repeats, "Papa, Papa, Papa!!" I love it, and I can't wait until it's my turn.