13 Months

It's official - our little man is on his way from infant to toddler. He's 13 months old now, and has been cruising around the living room nonstop behind anything with wheels for about a month now. And he got several cool big toys with wheels (a big train, a buggy, a walker) for his birthday, so there is usually a veritable stable of potential cruising vehicles strewn around the living room. He'll push them around, walking behind them, and move around the room with one hand on a toy or furniture at all times. Then in the last week he's increasing started letting go while he's standing still.
Then a few days ago, he took a couple little steps without any support! Granted it was just a couple little steps getting from Mom to Dad, but it's a pretty exciting development nonetheless. So flat-out walking seems to (finally) be in our near future. Which I imagine will mean more work, but also more fun.

Happily, Leo seems to be coping well with Byron's extended travel schedule this summer for his internship. He's usually gone Thursday thru Sunday, which is much better than being gone all summer like we originally expected. Leo seems to be young enough to not really know that Dad's gone until he comes back home and gets all excited to see his Dada again. On the downside, naptime has become much more chaotic and unpleasant now that I am weaning him entirely off breastfeeding. I had cut down to just nursing at naptime, which was an easy transition, but as I am now ready to regain sole proprietorship of my body, he has to fall asleep for naps on his own. It's an uphill battle, but a necessary one. He's still sleeping really well at night, so if naps are terrible for a few weeks then I suppose we'll all live.
And while Byron works this summer, Leo and I have a growing list of summer travel plans - Chicago, Missouri, Dallas, Miami.... Looking forward to it!
Check out more pics at http://www.flickr.com/photos/clickclickchic/sets/72157624173884249/