Wednesday, November 4, 2009

10 months!


Dear Jack,

This week, you turned 10 months old! I cannot believe you are just 2 months away from being a year old, which means a toddler, not a baby anymore, and I feel like I am trying to hold back the tides with my pinkie toe trying to get you to stop growing.

You are almost constantly on the go now and it takes all the energy and brain-power I have to keep you out of trouble all day long. One way to keep you busy for 5 minutes is to fill up a kitchen bowl with an assortment of binkies, small toys and kitchen utensils and you will not rest until everything is out of that bowl and spread all over the floor. With luck you will find something in the assortment that is interesting enough to chew on for a few minutes and I have really bought myself some time. You like to play with these things more than any of your toys and I always take a few random objects with me when we go out too. I think it's funny when people take a second look at the kid sitting in his stroller chewing on a measuring cup.

We flew to NJ this month, just you and me kid, and you exceeded my hopes for your behavior on that plane. You spent a good portion of the first flight flirting with a flight attendant and she flirted right back. (how could she resist?) On the way home, you slept for the first hour and a half and then we walked around a little bit and then we were landing. Person after person told me what a sweet, happy amazing baby you are and what can I say? I feel like I won the lottery with you. Even when you are sick or just not in the best mood, you are still much happier than most people.

I know I seem to say this every month but you were sick again. This time it was the flu and though you were miserable and hardly slept in your own bed for nearly a week, you were still a great patient because the flu is miserable for even big people and you just wanted to be held and were happy as long as we were laying down together or you were in the sling. I hope this is the last time you are sick for a long long time because you have been through quite enough this first year on the planet.

You are starting the really "talk" a lot now and, your favorite word so far is Dada. You also say Daddy and just this morning you started saying Papa. I guess the 39 weeks I carried you inside my body have been forgotten, kid. You only say Mama when you are crying and really need some comfort.

I think we are finally putting some weight on you now. We have gotten into a groove with your eating and now you eat regular oatmeal and an english muffin or a bagel for breakfast, veggie cakes, turkey, chicken, beef, cheese, veggie burgers, eggplant, sweet potato fries, just about everything I eat, you will at least try. Your favorite snack is a graham cracker with cream cheese and anything with cinnamon on it.

You are still perfectly happy with crawling and cruising and I am grateful for that since you can crawl at lightening speed right now, I need a few more months to get used to the idea of you being so mobile. Chewy is also grateful because he is not nearly as enamored with you as you are with him and he also needs a couple of months to figure out new hiding places and means of escape. You really do love this dog and it is adorable to see you when we walk into the house, whether we were gone for 5 minutes or 5 days, you squeal with excitement and delight and squirm out of my arms to get to him.

You started clapping your hands and now you do it all the time.
I just ate some chicken! *clap clap clap*
I crawled across the room and mama looked at me! *clap clap clap*
Daddy is leaving for work and waved goodbye to me! *clap clap clap*

You have absolutely no fear of anything, strangers included. You, my boy, are an adherent to the idea that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. When we are out, your head swivels around to catch the eye of every person you then you flash your giant smile and if that person does not smile back, you start grunting and yelling and jumping up and down to get their attention.

Though you have gotten so independent and mobile these last few months, you still like to ride in your sling and to cuddle with me and your papa. My favorite thing in the world is when I lift you out of your crib in the morning and you grab me around the neck and hug me tight and it melts me heart every single time. No matter how tired I am and how much I wish you had slept another hour (or five), your big smile and that hug make everything OK.

Love,

Your Mama





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