Dexter is 13 months old today.
This is a good, good age. He’s starting to appreciate our connections through interactions, and will do things specifically to make Matt and me laugh. Dexter is willing to try new foods, and if it seems like during dinner he can make you laugh at that time by rubbing his hands through his hair, well darn it, he’s not going to let two food-covered hands stop him. We can successfully teach him some rudimentary skills, like pushing the different-shaped blocks into the holes of his sorter toy. He imitates noises and gestures and silly faces. Dex received some musical instruments for his birthday, and he likes playing his xylophone, banging his drum and chewing the end of his drumstick. He’s generally a happy kid who is in a good mood, and so much fun to be around.
Let me tell you about our mornings. I’m almost always up first (babies CHANGE THINGS) and get his bottle into hot water. Usually, I then get back into bed and Matt gets him out of the crib when the bottle is ready, lets Dexter push the button to turn off the noise machine, deposits him with me, leaves the socks he’s going to wear that day on the end of the bed (we’ll come back to this), then heads into the shower. Every now and then we go get him up together which he seems to find confusing. While Matt showers, we finish the bottle – I always expect to doze off but never do – then Dexter immediately gets up and crawls around the bed until he finds the socks. We play dumb games with them that usually involve me putting them on my head or his head and then him pulling them off, and then Dex crawls around on the bed, patting the headboard and giving me 2-second hugs, until Matt returns. Dex likes to play with Matt’s belt buckle while he’s getting dressed, and then while Matt sits on the bed to put on his shoes, Dexter gives his Daddy reassuring pats on the back. Like this:
Then I get Dex changed and dressed while Matt finishes up and gathers the stuff he needs to take for daycare. I kiss them both goodbye – Dexter thinks it’s hilarious when Matt and I hug. I lock the door behind them and then run around like a crazy person trying to get myself ready for the day.
Those moments while we wait for Matt, when Dexter is calm and a little sleepy and full of bottle and extra affectionate, are the gold stars of my day. Sometimes I’ll get like, 5 or 6 two-second hugs. It’s amazing.
Dexter stepped up as the bookie when we had some friends over to watch the Kentucky Derby. Neither Matt nor I won any money, so you know he was fair and impartial. It was also the first time we brought his high chair into the living room, so he could eat dinner with the gang, and he loved it.
Remember last month when I said he’d be walking any minute? If there is a recurring theme to these monthly updates, it’s “Dexter proved his Mom wrong AGAIN,” and well? Dexter proved his Mom wrong. AGAIN. He cruises like a pro and has taken a step or two but those attempts always end with him diving into my lap. We’re pretty sure he could walk, if he wanted to, but he’s just decided he’s not ready. And that’s okay with us.
He loves to toss a ball back and forth, push every button he sees and lay his favorite stuffed animals on the ground, then rest his head upon them in a show of snuggley love. Sometimes he also does this with a balloon or his football. Dex just has a lot of love to give, okay? And he likes to do it by using his cherished things as a pillow.
Dexter also frequently uses me as a pillow, so I am okay with this.