13 months

The little Pork Chop is getting more and more delightful every day. He now "talks" to us constantly. As far as I know, there's not a single real word mixed in there, but I think he really believes we're having full-blown conversations.

He's still not walking -- getting close, but not quite there yet. The funny thing is that he'll take several steps forward if he thinks I'm holding onto him, then when he realizes I'm not, he panics and gets wobbly. One of these days it will dawn on him that he can just start walking, and he'll take off. Then we'll be in real trouble.

He loves books. Being read to doesn't hold his attention for too long, although I am persisting in reading to him. He loves thumbing through the pages, though, and he's surprisingly gentle with books -- no real destruction yet, although we still closely supervise him.

We took him for his one-year checkup recently, where it was confirmed that he has a very big head, is pretty tall for his age, and is still a sturdy little fellow. The pediatrician said his growth has been on a steady healthy-looking curve, though, so as long as he's eating a variety of fruits and vegetables (is he ever -- anything that will stand still!) not to worry about his weight. I guess he was just destined for bigness -- at least for now. He weathered his four shots with only a minute or so of real trauma, and didn't seem to suffer any ill effects afterward, which was a relief.

I can't wait until the weather warms up around here so he can begin to experience the joys of the outdoors. Here's hoping he can get around under his own power by then.