13 Month Update

I know I'm a week late with Rowan's monthly update. Since I've started back to work full-time it has been hard to find time to blog. So, without further delay, here's what's what with Rowan.

• I don't have the usual height and weight measurements yet. I'll try to get those posted soon.
• Likes: He's still loving cheese. He has a shirt that has a list of favorite things: hugs, kisses, mommy. I said I should probably cross off one of those and write in "cheese". He also likes doing things for himself, like feeding himself, holding his own bottle or cup (especially the cup with the straw), trying to unbuckle his seatbelts, and helping putting on and taking off his clothes. We've been going on wagon rides in the afternoons since the weather has been nice. He really likes that. Books are more interesting to him, too. His favorites right now are two picture books about animals, a Bob the Builder book, and Go Dog, Go!, of course. He can look at those over and over and over (and over...) again. He also loves to look at dogs, either in person or on TV. He points them out to us.
• Dislikes: He really dislikes having to be still for a diaper change. There is typically copious amounts of protests at every changing. He hasn't been a fan of rice lately. I'm not sure why, maybe the texture is weird to him? On occasion he will squawk about taking a bath or getting out of the bath, but nothing consistent.
• Communication: Rowan is getting really good at imitating us. Even if he can't get the exact words, he'll match our cadence perfectly. It's hilarious! His list of vocabulary words gets longer each week. Here are the words he knows and uses often: Hi, Hi Dad, Dada, Mama, This (dis), That (dat); Uh-oh; Puppy; Bottle (bot); Button (butt); Book (booht); Baby; Tickle (tiku, tiku); and Duck. He used to say kitty (kee) and bear (bee-uh) a lot, but those words have dropped off in the last couple of weeks. He can also shake his head "no" and "yes". Both of these moves have been very handy.
• Skills: He's getting braver about walking. He will take as many as 5 or 6 steps before he sits down or grabs on to something. He can climb onto the couch with assistance, but he gets down (the proper, safe way) all by himself. We all clap and say "Yay!" when he does. He can drink from a straw now. The funniest thing he does is use Jeremy's owl call. You're supposed to blow into like a whistle to make the "hoo" sounds, but he puts it in his mouth and makes the "hoo" sounds himself. He has added some more dance moves to his repertoire. He can do the baby bounce, the twist (while seated), the floor spin (he sits on the floor and turns around in a circle using his feet), and he picks up his feet every now and then. Finally, I have someone to dance with! We've shown Rowan the Sesame Street website a couple of times and he got a big charge out of it. It's got a lot of cool things to look at and changes every day. I figure it's only a matter of time before he is showing us how to use electronics. Another fun (and sweet) thing that he does is love on one of his stuffed animals or rag. If you hug his little bear (Blueberry) and say "Awww", he'll do the same thing. Or, you can lightly rub his rag on his cheek and say "Awww", he'll do it, too. Then he'll try to do your cheek. Such a sweet boy!