Thirteen things

Avtalyon is 13 months old today. In his honor:

1. We have a First Years handsfree gate in the entrance to our kitchen. The pedal that opens the gate requires 40 lb of pressure to open, so babies and toddlers can't open it, but an adult (or a smart preschooler who jumps on it really hard) can. Today I noticed Avtalyon holding on to the gate with both hands, putting one of his pajama'd feet on the pedal, and pushing--trying to open it himself.

2. Avtalyon loves light switches. Every time I walk past one holding him, he wants to flick it on, then off, then on, then off. Sometimes he does it without my even slowing down for him. This can come in very handy on Shabbos, but you have to be careful that he doesn't get his own ideas about which lights should and should not be on.

3. He splits his nighttime sleep between the big crib in the boys' room and the pack and play in my office. He sleeps fine in either one now, but if Iyyar wakes up in the night (as happens often these days) he wakes up too, and has a hard time settling back down.

4. He is in size 4 diapers now. And they're not too big at all, even the Pampers.

5. He likes his little soft blue leather shoes with the turtles. When you're putting them on him, he is interested enough to let you hold him still.

6. He really, really, really wants to get his hands on the cordless phone.

7. He likes drinking water from a sippy cup. I tried giving him whole milk the other day, though, and he was unimpressed. Cheerios in whole milk, fed to him with a spoon, are acceptable.

8. He likes to go to sleep with a pacifier in his mouth and his blankie tag in his hands. He must suck on the tag in the night, though, because it's getting all ratty there.

9. He's got three teeth on top and two on the bottom. I think a fourth one is coming in on top--he's been fussy lately.

10. He's not totally bald anymore--just starting with the peach fuzz.

11. Yesterday, when Ada left, he walked after her, waved, and said "ba ba!" as in, bye bye! And when he heard Barak come in the door, he said Barak's name, absolutely clearly.

12. It's impossible to nurse him if anything else interesting is going on in the room. He's too distracted and keeps flipping around sideways to look, without troubling to break his latch first. Ouch.

13. He's just started to display signs of baby temper. Last week, he threw a full-blown baby tantrum, as in, he flung himself down on his stomach, beat his hands and feet on the floor, and howled. I laughed, and I think he was slightly insulted. Then he forgave me.