13 months old!

What does Dio like at 13 months old?

Dio loves dogs, birds, nursing, drinking water, eating dirt and sand, playing dinosaur with Zari, bathtime, giving hugs, snuggling his sock monkey when he sleeps, trying to eat with utensils, and crawling around being silly with Zari.

This week, Dio decided that walking was more interesting than crawling. So now he toddles around everywhere, arm stretched out like a zombie in a bad sci fi movie. When they aren't pushing each other over, pulling hair, or taking each others' toys away, Zari and Dio are best buddies. She's taught him how to be a dinosaur, so now they walk around the house with their arms outstretched, saying "roar! roar!" If you say the word "dinosaur," Dio will say "roar!" back.

Dio is sleeping fairly well (waking once around 3 am to nurse), but he's started waking up earlier and earlier every morning. Back home, he used to wake up at 7 am on the dot. I could almost set a clock by it. Then, his waking time started creeping back. Within a few weeks, he was up at 5:30 am. Sometimes I could get him back to sleep, sometimes not. I hoped that jet lag and re-setting his internal clock would stop this. The first few days in France, both kids were on a 9-to-9 schedule. Then it happened again...wakeup time is now 6 or 6:30 am, which mean bedtime has to be earlier. I've been able to nurse him back to sleep the past few days, thankfully, because no one is happy if he's up at 6:30!

Teeth #5 & 6 are almost all the way down now. I just found a first molar peeking out last week. His top eye teeth also look ready to break through.

Today's adventure with Zari and Dio: attending a huge manifestation. By accident--we had plans to go to a botanical park/zoo/aquarium, but all tram and bus services were closed.

I understand it was nation-wide. It felt more like a street party or parade than a protest. I'm not exactly sure what the protest was for. Something involving retirees and the reduced income of public servants and the weak economy. The French communist party (PCF) had a huge banner saying: "Make the banks pay, not the people!"