13 months

At 13 months, Piper is:

• loud.
• playing in her crib up to 30 minutes before finally settling down for naps. This always involves throwing out everything in her crib meant to soothe her (blanket, dolls, lovey, pillow) and sticking her little arms out to open and close the clothes hamper for what sounds like 100 times.
• growing teeth like crazy (see picture). The current count is seven. I can feel her first year molars under her gums, and she must feel them, too, because she's started putting her fingers in her mouth again after not doing this since her first two teeth bothered her.
• pushing anything and everything around so she can walk. This includes her push toys, chairs, Daddy, her plastic house, hampers. You name it--she tries to push it around. Oftentimes she's pushing with one hand and holding something precious (lovey, ball) with the other. I consider that progress.
• taking a single unassisted step here and there but adamantly refusing our attempts to get her to take a step or two on demand.
• standing on her own a tiny bit more each day. Today I tricked her into clapping while she was pushing her stroller around upstairs. She clapped for a good 10 seconds before realizing that she wasn't holding on. Then she cried and fell down. Silly girl.
• laughing at other people's laugh. I've mentioned before that she loves to mimic, but it's really funny when she hears others laughing--they could be several feet away and not paying any attention to her--and she laughs "with" them. Josh and I love this.
• eating us out of house and home. She pretty much eats everything I put in front of her unless it's cold. She's doing great at drinking her milk, but I have to warm it in the microwave before she'll drink it, no matter how thirsty she is.
• nursing once a day (in the morning). I know I said in my last monthly post that I would be cutting this out soon, but she's been fighting a cold for the last three weeks and growing all those teeth, so I've kept it for now. I plan to cut it out next week, though. Enough's enough!
• stubborn. I'm afraid she got this quality from her mom and dad.
• loving the outdoors now that the weather is cooperating.
  

Look at all those teeth! She has cut one on the bottom right that you can't see in this picture, and her bottom right molar is dangerously close to coming through, too.