Ten Months Old

Dear Larkin,

Yesterday, you turned ten months old. It’s so hard to believe that we’re working on planning your first birthday party. I’m constantly wondering how on Earth you’ve grown up so fast. You are a dervish, a whirlwind, a tiny, handsome tornado, leaving fun and exhaustion and destruction in your wake.

And really, you are so handsome. You just keep getting cuter and cuter all the time. Your hair has grown so long in the back and on the sides (although you’re still rocking the receding hairline up top!) and looks so grown up when I can tame it down. Your eyes change colors all the time, just like mine, although they mostly go just from blue to grey. You’re tall and lean and you have the most amazing smile I’ve ever seen. I know you would say that I’m biased, but it’s true. Total strangers stop me all the time to remark on what a gorgeous baby you are. You love to hear these compliments, and never fail to greet one with a big grin. 

Not that you’re ALWAYS happy, of course. In fact, you’ve turned into quite the little drama king. You have started defaulting to your “it’s the end of the world” cry for everything. So basically, I never know if you are crying because your diaper is wet or if a wild boar has snuck in and is chewing your leg off.

As you can tell from the above clip, you’ve started saying “mama”. It typically only comes out while you’re crying or whining, but you’ve said it while happy once or twice. I love it. I love it I love it I love it. I eat it up! And it’s about time too, since you’ve been saying “dada” quite expertly for awhile now. In fact, you’ve been making some great verbal leaps. Besides starting to talk, you also have started understanding us very well. If I ask you where daddy is, you look around in his usual places. When we were going home today from an afternoon out, I told you we were going to see Gaunie and Nana. Your eyes lit up and you asked, “Dada?” “Yes,” I said. “Dada will be there too.” You started clapping happily.

This new understanding has led us to your new favorite game:

You could do this for hours!

You’ve also started finger foods this month. Once you allowed me to give you table food, it’s like a light bulb went off – “Oh THIS is what you guys have been trying to convince me is so awesome!” Suddenly, you love food! Just last night, you gobbled up a meal of rice and spinach, some Greek yogurt with mango, two Mum Mum crackers with apple butter, and a fourth of my chicken breast. Then you immediately nursed for a long time! I was super impressed. You love meat, especially chicken and fish, and I still haven’t found much of anything you won’t eat.

You learned to wave this month, and you do so by putting your thumb and forefinger together, then waving from the wrist. It’s adorable, especially when you do it all through the grocery store from your perch in the cart – you look like a beauty queen on a parade float! You also do it in restaurants, waving frantically to everyone who passes, just waiting on a response.

You got to meet your other great grandmother a few weeks ago (Grandpa’s mom). You are such a lucky boy to have THREE great grandmothers who adore you.

This month, I got my first lesson today in the school of "If it's too quiet, they're probably doing something they shouldn't" when I went to throw a load of laundry in, and came back to find you had opened the jar of coconut oil (that I had closed tightly so you could play with it) and was finger painting the wood floor with it. You really are just into EVERYTHING! You’re also very mischievous. I’ve been working hard to lose weight. One day, I went to weigh myself on Gaunie’s large doctor's office-type scale. I set you down on the floor while I climbed on. I pushed the numbers to the area I expected them to stop - but they kept going. Eight, nine pounds past what I weighed last week, and they still did not balance. I started to tear up, and then looked down to check on you – only to find you sitting on the back of the scale. Not cool, little man!

We’ve had an amazing month together. It’s been full of summer time joys, like swimming and hiding out in the cool library. We keep our days full of fun – play dates and story times and visiting with friends. You’ve enjoyed splashing in the pool with your aunt and uncle and cousins, and love that we converted G&G’s game room into a giant play room for you to crawl around and spread your toys around.

This is how you get around with your toys - like a cute little puppy dog!

 

We call this "getting the spirit". You do it frequently.

Apparently, Marvin the Martian is DELICIOUS

This is pretty much the extent of the cuddles I get. Just a quick love, before you pop back up, ready to play more.

I love you so very much, little one. Its late now, and you’re cuddled up in bed, just waiting for me to join you. I think I will right now. 

Mischief managed!

I love you so very much, sweet boy. You are my shining star.

To the moon… and back,

Mommy

PS - Just a few more photos, because you're so cute!

Nine Months Old

Dear Puddle,

I once read an interesting scientific theory proposed byDr. Ashley Montagu, a scientist and anthropologist. He theorized that humans actually have a gestational period of eighteen months – nine months in the womb and nine months outside. He compared human newborns to animals, and proposed that our babies are born “half-done” based on a physiological need before they have grown too large to vacate the mother’s body.  He states that while a newborn animal is born with some measure of self-sufficiency, humans obviously need complete tending and nurturing for this period of “exterogestation” and beyond.

It’s an interesting and very logical premise, and one by which, you are now officially a newborn! Congratulations on completing gestation, little man! You have truly reached an element of independence this month that blows this mama’s mind.

Photo courtesy of Max Dunlop

You are a crawling fool. You can dart across a room without a second’s hesitation. You frequently make it across the playroom in no time flat, even with a toy in one hand and another in your mouth. You have been keeping me running this month, young man. You love electronics, and the more off limits something is, the faster (it seems) you can crawl to it.

You especially love playing with your Gaunie's IPhone

 

A few days ago, you were playing in your crib while I stood beside you putting away laundry. You made a determined face, wrapped your fingers around the edge of the crib, and stood right up. We clapped, took photos, and I pulled you out so Daddy could lower the crib setting right away. You are pulling up on everything you can reach, and have even figured out how to walk your way around your crib.

Awhile back, you said “Hi!” three times in one day, all in perfect context. I got all excited about your first word and trumpeted it on Facebook – and you promptly refused to say it again. You are adding new sounds to your repertoire every day, though they don’t seem to be connected to anything yet – you just enjoy saying them. For instance, one of your favorite noises is to repeat “dadadadadadada”, but you haven’t seem to connect it to Daddy yet. You mostly enjoy laughing and saying it as loud as you can when I try to correct it to “mama”!

You’ve learned so much this month. You learned how to clap, give real kisses and give high fives. You’re starting to accept real foods some – you made me share my cup of chicken salad and my carrot salad from Chick Fil A today (my willingness to do so, by the way, should show you just how deep my love for you is).  You’re also eating more of everything. We’ve moved to solids twice a day and you’re still nursing like a champ.

Photo courtesy of Max Dunlop

Yes, you even rode a unicorn this month!

I can not believe how much I love you. My love grows as your personality grows. I am fascinated by this little person that you are becoming. It’s so strange that you were born to me, and created from mine and daddy’s DNA – but yet you are wholly your own person. And the coolest thing is, as you grow, so am I. I’m changing and growing into a mother… YOUR mother. Custom designed to do and be exactly what you need. Some people would shirk that concept, but I embrace it completely. I love how we are developing together.

I’ve truly enjoyed this time of exterogestation. You and I have been nearly inseparable. We play together, run errands together. You sleep curled up at my side and hang out in a wrap against my chest when we are out and about. It’s sometime exhausting to be so attached, but I’m thrilled with the beautiful bond we’ve developed. Plus, I know it won’t be long before I’ll be begging you to spend a second close by my side!

You amaze me to no end, little one. You are the coolest baby ever, and I love our time together. I am so very glad God gave me you.

 

Photo courtesy of Max Dunlop

To the moon… and back,

Mommy

PS - I apologize that all of your photos this month were either taken by other people or by fuzzy camera phones. I'm sure we have a photo shoot in your near future!

PSS - We just got back from your new pediatrician's office. You now weigh 19 lbs and 7 oz and are almost 29 inches long. Big boy!

Eight Months Old

Dear Monkey,

Eight months old. EIGHT. Somehow, in the last eight months, you’ve gone from a tiny glow worm who I was afraid to unswaddle (because I knew I’d never get you swaddled back as well as the hospital nurses) to a barreling ball of kinetic energy. You race through the days with a grin and a giggle and greet every moment with joy. Sometimes I wonder if you’re not teaching me more about how to live life than I’m teaching you!

It’s been a crazy month (which might explain why this letter is 3 days late!). For the first time, I will not be saying that this month flew by. It’s been a hectic and tough month, and it feels like it’s been a year since Easter! It’s been a month full of a few bouts with illness (for both of us!), a lot of teething, and not a lot of sleep. But it’s also been full of crazy developmental leaps and a LOT of fun.

I don’t even know where to start! First of all, you are cutting FIVE teeth right now. All at once! This brings you to a total of six teeth overall, and all cut in a month. You are mommy’s little trooper! You have two on the bottom, and four on the top. When you cut that first one, you spent two days doing nothing buy tonguing that tooth. Now, you sit around and grind your top teeth against the bottom, trying to figure out what all that is going on in your mouth. Daddy thinks it’s funny, but the noise puts a chill up my spine.

You are also now mobile. You’re finally conquering your hatred of being on your belly, and have worked out the cutest little scoot. You put your forehead to the floor, stick your butt up in the air, and push your face across the floor. You have permanent carpet burns on your forehead! You’re getting pretty fast, too. You can really hustle if you see Mommy or one of the kitties across the room! You’re working on a regular crawl, but just haven’t quite got the knees/hands movement down yet. I don’t have many pictures in this update, because you don’t like sitting still and posing much anymore.

You have developed such sensitive spirit. You definitely have your Mommy’s empathetic soul. You get sad when I’m sad and tense when you hear arguing (even if it’s just on TV). Strangers have started to make you nervous and loud noises upset you sometimes. But even with all that, you are still super social. You love to greet the world with a big smile – as long as you can see them all from the safety and comfort of your mama’s arms.

You are also getting a very independent spirit. You are 19 pounds of pure firecracker. When I’m holding your hands to help you stand, you tried to shove me away, the look on your face saying “MOM, I’VE GOT THIS”. Diaper changes have become quite a production. I have started changing you on our bed most of the time since you’re so wiggly. The second the old diaper is off, you flip over and start to crawl away as fast as you can, a maniacal grin from ear to ear. When I catch you and flip you over to put the new diaper on, you go bonkers and throw a fit. When I’m done, I feel like standing back and throwing my hands in the air, à la a rodeo cowboy. 

For someone who can’t talk yet, you’re pretty good at letting everyone know what’s on your mind. You have this loud goose honk that you make when you notice I’m not around, a shrill and ear piercing shriek that you get when you’re tired, a grunt when you’re hungry, and a million other vocalizations that make perfect sense to my mom’s ear.

I am SO glad that I’ve been able to stay home with you. I love getting to spend every day playing with you, and never having to miss a minute of your energy. It makes it so easy to make financial sacrifice to know that the effort is going towards keeping us side by side all day. I feel so blessed that I’ve gotten to witness nearly every single smile.

I wish I could give you words that would tell you how thoroughly I love you. I wish I could say something, write something, compose something that would whisper to you always the depth of my love. All I have are the simple words the God has given me, and I hope they serve their intention. You are my heart, little one. I revel in every second we share.

You are the brightest joy in an often dim world. If I could, I would make the world a better place – cleaner and safer and softer. I would protect you from every hurtful thing that lurks. But as you grow, I know I’ll be able to protect you less and less. Just as your sweet head has lost the powdery newborn scent, I will lose my ability to keep you safe and sound in my arms. But I promise you to always keep our home a haven, and to always provide a safe place when you need somewhere to rest.

My emotions are too great, and my words too jumbled. So I will just tell you this, little boy: your mommy loves you. She loves you as wide and as deep and as far as the imagination can stretch. And she loves seeing your personality emerge as you shed off the “vanilla-ness” of babyhood and develop a presence all your own. I can’t wait to see who you’re going to be.

To the moon… and back,

Mommy

Mama's Boy

Today, exactly one year ago, the perinatologist pressed the transducer against my rounding belly. He confirmed that the baby’s spine was developing beautifully. Then he asked, in heavily accented English, “Do you weesh to know zee geeender?”

“Yes!” I shouted out, surprised. We had planned to find out at our next regular check up, but the level two ultrasound apparently had already made things clear. Jonathan rolled his eyes a little. He preferred to keep the sex a surprise, but I had prevailed.

“A boy,” the doctor said, matter of factly, continuing the ultrasound. “You are having a boy.”

My eyes twitched. A boy? ME?!? What was I going to do with a boy? I looked at Jonathan, taking in his huge smile and surprised eyes. Everyone had assumed I was having a girl.

I looked at the monitor, watching that kicking, floating ball of energy. I took in the fluttering heartbeat, the area the doctor had indicated, the tiny hand pushing back at the transducer.

A boy.

I was having a son.


I began to cry; warm tears of joy fell down my cheeks.

It was another step in God’s master plan to convince me that He had planned things out perfectly, despite refusing to consult my preconceived notions.

I had always imagined life with a daughter. A little bit of curls and lace, ribbons and bows. But the second the doctor said he was a boy, I knew I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Notice the banged up head? Already all boy!

 Dear Larkin,

You are all boy. You are feisty and fiery. You are always covered in scrapes and bumps, and you somehow manage to get dirt under your fingernails all the time (seriously - how do you do that?!?). You are sweet and tenderhearted and you adore your mama. I’m so very glad that God gave us you, just as you are. You are amazing.

And just remember that being a mama’s boy isn’t really as bad a thing as they say it is.

To the moon… and back,

Mommy

Seven Months Old

Cheeky Little Monkey,

SEVEN MONTHS OLD. My goodness, how time flies. You are closer to a year old than you are to a newborn. That takes my breath away. It seems like overnight that you have transformed from a tiny, helpless little bit into the boisterous, adventurous boy that you are now. You've become so active that I can hardly keep up, and all that activity has slimmed your little cheeks down so much that you're starting to look more like a toddler than an infant. STOP THAT! You're breaking your mama's heart!

The biggest news this month is that last Sunday, you cut your first tooth. It hasn't come easy, but it hasn't been overly traumatic either. You mostly want to make sure mommy is close by at all times, and that seems to ease the pain. But you look like such a big boy with that little piece of white flashing in your big ol' smile. It's just too cute!

You're still working hard to become mobile. You've figured out how to get on your hands and knees from a sitting position, and even do a bit of rocking. If I put a toy at of reach, you just belly flop from there and grab it, then flip over as fast as possible. You still hate being on your belly! Your biggest trick has been scooting. You've figured out how to use your feet to push yourself all around the bed, which means we have to keep an extra careful eye on you because you are quick as lightning!

You are doing wonderful with solid food. You have a very adventurous palate, which makes me so happy. So far, you've tried beets, spinach, applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, green beans, mangoes, peas, zucchini, squash, pears, peaches, and the newest addition - pumpkin. You're so/so on green beans (I have to add some rice cereal to get you to eat it, then you do okay) and completely nixed peaches, but you gobble up everything else I throw at you.Your table manners, however, have deteriorated greatly and dinnertime has become quite messy.

I decided early on that I wanted to make your baby food, a decision that was reinforced when your pediatrician recommended we keep you gluten free like mommy until you're old enough to be tested for an intolerance. This last weekend while we were traveling, I found some gluten free pre-made baby food and brought it along. I was afraid you would prefer the smoother texture of the store stuff, but you wouldn't hardly touch it. That made me happy. You eat solids twice a day, at mid-morning (you are a baby who brunches!) and early evening. You mostly still consider it to be an interesting diversion though, and still prefer to nurse most of the time.

We have settled into somewhat of a schedule - not a strict one, and one that wouldn't work for many families, but works perfectly for us. You teased me earlier this month by going to bed early every night for awhile, but lately bedtime has been fluctuating again. You have started sleeping with the little stuffed monkey you got in your Easter basket, and you two look awful cute together.

You are still the happiest baby I've ever seen. You love people, and I frequently catch you chattering and grinning at the people behind us when we stand in line at the grocery store. Total strangers tell me that your smile has brightened their day, which swells my heart with joy. You are a beam of sunshine and you splash rainbows on everyone you meet. Even when you are feeling crummy from cutting a tooth, you still have grins to share. If I could have custom ordered a baby, I couldn't have created a better one myself.


You, little boy, are my sunshine.

To the moon... and back,

Mommy

Sweet Dreams

Sweet boy,

When you were just a little bit, your favorite place to sleep was as close to Mommy as possible. Nap time, bed time, any time… we would snuggle up in bed or on the recliner and sleep soundly together. Recently though, you decided you didn’t want to sleep with Mommy. Any attempts (be they middle of the day or middle of the night) would be met with your insistence that if you were this close to Mommy, it had to be either snack time or play time.

Your first night home from the hospital!

 

You took to sleeping in your swing mostly, with some nights in your crib for a change of scenery. I missed our snuggles, and the ease and sweet sleepiness of half asleep nursing. I also missed the built in excuse for a midday nap! 

The past few weeks, though, you’ve started being willing to lie down beside me and drift off to sleep. We don’t sleep quite as snuggled as we used to, but it’s still so sweet – plus, it gives me the ability to sneak off during nap time if I need to get things done. Of course, you wake up pretty irate when you figure out I’ve wandered off, but you usually manage to forgive me pretty quick.

You’re starting to outsmart me, though. When we lie down and start to nurse, you’ve figured out I can’t sneak off as easily if you tangle yourself in me. So as soon as I lay next to you, you wrap one hand around the strap of my tank top. The other hand holds on to your food source so it can’t get away from you. Your top leg gets thrown over my waist, and your bottom foot curls its toes into my shirt. You’re like Velcro! I feel like Houdini when I manage to extract myself.

My favorite though, is when I have the time to just lay beside you. I love drifting off to sleep with you in arms reach, the smell of your sweet head in my nose. I adore the feel of your cool, dry hand holding mine. and the softness of your warm cheek as I kiss you (holding my breath lest an exhale wake you). And my heart swells when you reach out in your sleep, seeking to touch my arm, just to know I’m close. And the best part? Waking up to you, patting my face and grinning at me.

I sure do love you, little boy.

To the moon... and back,

Mommy

Six Months Old - HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, BABY!

Hey Monster,

SIX MONTHS. I know I say this every month, but seriously – where has the time GONE? You are already half a year old. That blows my mind. You’ve been growing and changing so much these last few weeks that I feel like I’ll surely be packing you off to college tomorrow! Two weeks ago, in the span of five days, you learned to sit all by yourself, started eating solid foods, and went swimming in G & G’s hot tub. It was quite an exciting week for you!

The weather has been warm and beautiful here, so we heated up the hot tub, slapped on the sunscreen, and went for a short dip. You tolerated the float boat, but preferred for Mommy or Daddy to hold you while you kicked at the water. We had to cut our dip a little short when a cool wind picked up, but you bundled up in your towel and snuggled with Gaunie in the sunshine.

 

 

As far as solids, your hands down favorite is sweet potatoes. Whenever I serve them, you gobble them down and even make a dent in seconds. You rated bananas as acceptable, and took a pass on peas. That’s okay; we’ll try them again later. You have marvelous table manners – except when sweet potatoes are on the menu. When that yummy goodness is in front of you, all bets are off. You grab for the spoon, lunge for the next bite, and grunt and shriek if it takes “too long” for Mommy to scoop up the next spoonful. 

More please!

 Another milestone is that we officially left behind the pacifier. You were never really crazy about it, although it would help chill you out occasionally. Now, you act like we are attempting to poison you if we get the pacifier anywhere near you. You’ve been exploring the wonders of thumb and finger sucking, but haven’t really figured out how to use them for pacifying. Mommy would really appreciate it if you’d get that worked out soon, because until then, you’re pretty much using me as a human pacifier. So let’s work on that!

While working out the finger finding mission, we have also abandoned swaddling. We tossed out the Woombie, stocked up on footie pajamas, and got to sleeping like a big boy. You still wake yourself up sometimes without that snug swaddle you loved so much, but I finally realized I couldn’t hold on to swaddling anymore since you were rolling so well.

We have officially abandoned the bottle effort. You were never a bottle baby anyway (as the poor ladies in the church nursery learned when you screamed bloody murder when they tried to feed you), so we bought you a sippy cup. You mostly like it as a teether right now, but will drink out of it occasionally.  

Tomorrow is your six month checkup. I can’t wait to find out how much you weigh and how long you’ve gotten. None of us are looking forward to your next round of shots, but since your four month shots went easier than your two month, I’m hoping this round will be even easier (although I’m pretty sure they’re harder on Mommy and Daddy than on you). **Update - You are now 17.5 lbs and 26.5 inches long. Big boy! You also took your shots very bravely, and were mostly just mad at Mommy and Daddy for holding you down.**

It’s so funny. When you were born, I swore I could never love you more. But as you grow, so apparently does my heart. Every day you change a little, grow a lot, and I just love you more and more. You get cuter and more charming (which I also didn’t think was possible). You give the sweetest smiles and kisses. You demand everyone’s undivided attention (and have even learned how to fake cough to get it!).  You are master of all of our hearts.

Making a grab for the camera

I love the way you dissipate all my stress with a smile. I love the way you wake up from every nap completely discombobulated and annoyed, but happy and cheerful when you wake up in the morning. I love the way you try so hard to talk. 

Seriously, this is your 'trying to talk' face. SO CUTE!

I love the way you perk up while Daddy watches Wheel of Fortune, because you think the audience is clapping for you. I love when you smile so big that your eyes turn into upside down crescent moons like a cartoon character. 

I love when you cry and tiny, earnest tears streak down your sweet chubby cheeks. I love when you see your reflection and get so excited to “kiss the baby”. I love how you do everything full tilt - Including falling asleep mid-play!

                                                      

I love how you light up as soon as I walk into your line of sight. I love the so funny expressions you make.

 

I love everything about you, little boy. I love you wider than the world, and I love you -

- to the moon… and back,

Mommy