Our American Tale

Monthly Photos: Nine Months

My darling son.

You are somehow nine months old. Suddenly, you are beginning to look less and less like the tiny, helpless infant we brought home. Though you are still just a tiny pup, you are starting to become a little boy. Your busy limbs are lengthening as your proportions change. Your hair is finally starting to grow in. Your smile is full of teeth - eight to be exact! Your dimpled little hands are always busy opening and closing, opening and closing, and your chubby feet are itching to be walking already.

You are strong. And fast. You are all over the house these days, exploring every square inch and pulling yourself up on anything I deem sturdy enough with a soft landing below. You follow me around when I tidy up or get ready in the morning. As soon as you're walking, I can bet you'll be my little shadow. Nothing beats hearing your crawling gate get louder as you follow me into the a room or seeing your little face light up as you turn a corner and find me.

You have such a little personality. You have the best cheeser smile! I love when you scrunch your nose up and flash your teeth. If you're particularly tickled by something, sometimes you'll let out a little snort. It's such a fun journey to be on with you as you develop a sense of humor. I'm pretty confident in my ability to make you laugh, though some of my antics fall flat from time to time.

You are getting better at finger foods and meal time has gotten very messy as you work to get sticky little bites in your mouth. Frankie has quickly discovered that meal time with a baby is a doggy gold mine. She waits patiently for the inevitable banquet that falls at her feet. You are endlessly entertained by her and extend your sticky hands out to her from your high chair.

The bigger you get and the more you become your own little person, the further away your birth seems. In those first weeks, it appeared to be such a small gap from the belly to the babe in my arms. And now, with each little milestone and passing week, it becomes more and more impossible to me that we actually made you. How could it be that I have made someone so perfect, so unique, so amazing... so utterly you?

I love you, my sweet son, and just when i think I couldn't possibly love you any more, my heart bursts and expands. The universe seems somehow more complete with this little piece of heaven that only we are intimate to.

December 26, 2011

Monthly Photos: Six Months

My Darling Son,

Somehow I woke up this morning and you were six months old. Six months. Half a year. How is it even possible? It feels like just yesterday you were still warm and cozy in my belly.

I was up to hold you as your passed your birthday at 5:11 this morning. I snuggled you tight and sang happy birthday to you. I whispered in your ear as you slept on my shoulder how happy I was that I had you. You, my little sunshine boy, have changed everything for me. There is no way to describe or compare the love I have for you. I can only hope that you have children of your own one day so you'll know the full measure of my heart as your mama.

You are doing all kinds of new things now. You are much more sturdy and balanced as you sit up, though you like inspecting your toes and frequently wind up getting stuck folded in half as you fiddle with your feet. You enjoy, nay, LOVE blowing bubbles with your mouth and you crack me up daily with your wide range of noises as you explore all the fun things you can do with your mouth. You aren't crawling yet, but you're definitely mobile. You roll and pivot and stretch to inch your way to all kinds of places. You are just barely starting to work to get your knees up and I can tell that it won't be long before you'll be crawling all over the place.

Your interest in the dogs continues to grow and they now know to stand next to you to get a good, albeit sporadic, rub with tiny baby hands. You laugh and smile at them and reach to touch them. They often come to watch you bathe and you get big belly laughs at them as they peer into the tub at you. 

You love grabbing things and your hand is always busy opening and closing, opening and closing. You also pinch. Hard. I've had quite the alarm on more than one late night feeding as you pinched me and woke me up in the nursery rocking chair. Those little hands are always busy as you explore your world. I can't wait to see what those hands will do one day! You reach for things all the time now and my heart nearly exploded with excitement the first time you reached for me with purpose.

You absolutely love bath time. You splash and giggle and suck the water out of wash cloths. Your baby tub had been in the big sink in the laundry room until just a couple of weeks ago. After a particularly vigorous kicking and splashing session, which ended with the laundry room and cabinets being soaked with water from one end to the other, we decided it was time to move you to the guest bathroom. You're still in your little baby tub, but now your splashing is a little more contained!

You're back to sleeping through the night these days, though we still have a night here and there where you don't quite make it till morning. I cherish the sweet bed time routine we have. After your dinner we go to the tub to get all the sticky goodness of first foods off of you and let you play. Next, it's diapering and lotion and your vitamin drops, which you anticipate well. As soon as the lotion cap gets closed you open your mouth like a little bird, ready for your vitamins to be deposited. We get you in your jammies and then it's time for your good night books, a little nursing and singing as you start to get drowsy and rub your tired eyes.

You have such a pleasant demeanor, always smiling and babbling and giggling. Even when you're "fussy" you are pretty easy to soothe and your smiles are always so easy to find! I can't imagine my world without you, my child. We love you so much more than you could ever know.

Monthly Photos: Five Months

(A little late sharing this one!)

Sweet boy,

You had a slight hiccup in your fifth month. After being away on vacation for over two weeks, you returned home and your streak as the best baby sleeper ever came screeching to a halt. You were your normal cheerful self during the day, but for the first time since the first weeks we had you home, you were up every couple of hours each night. I was one tired mama, but walking in to see you and holding you against me as you drifted back into a sweet sleep always made the tired nights more bearable.

We tried one night to let you soothe yourself back to sleep. Only one night. I sat, crouched down next to your crib, and peeked at you from under the bumper as my heart broke with every cry. I'd touch you at very precisely timed increments to reassure you that you hadn't been abandoned, but after 40 minutes, I couldn't bare it any longer. So ended our brief attempt at sleep training. My rationale was that you weren't ready for it, but I think it was me that wasn't ready for it. I reasoned that you would be small and need me like this for just a blink and then you'd be grown up and off to college. We'd figure out another way to get you to sleep. Getting up with you the next few nights was like the sweetest reunion. I would smile to myself, guilty over how much I enjoyed being the only thing that could soothe you back to sleep.

You had your first cold in your fifth month. Luckily, it was pretty mild for both of us. I missed work for the first time to keep you home to prevent the spread of germs and though I hated to see you stuffy, I was glad to get to stay home with you that week.

As I see your little personality develop, I can't help but imagine what you will do and who you will be one day. My greatest pride is being your mama and no matter where you go in this world, you will always be my tiny child.

I love you so much more than you will ever know, my precious son.

August 26, 2011

Monthly Photos: Four Months

My sweet boy.

Your fourth month blew by in a blur! You had so many new adventures as you spent half of the month away from home for the first time.

You chatter away and offer big smiles with very little persuasion. You love to be talked to, tickled, kissed and hugged. You grin with your whole body and I can see the joy bursting out of your being. It makes me feel good to know that you are such a happy baby. All of my hopes and dreams for you can be boiled down to one statement: be happy. It seems you are on the right path as your little personality keeps developing into such a cheerful soul.

You spent most of your fourth month drooling and shoving whatever you could get your chubby mits on into your mouth. You sprouted teeth early, which seems to be a trend with you, developmentally. I keep begging you to slow down. What's the big rush to grow up? I ask There's plenty of time for things like teeth and being mobile. Take your time!

The truth is, I love seeing you change as you develop and discover the world around you. It's so exciting to see the world through your eyes as you study simple things and process them in your young mind. The day you figured out you could roll, there was no stopping you. With each challenge you conquer, you are learning so much!

We love you so much, our darling boy.

Monthly Photos: Three Months

My precious son.

You are three months old. A quarter of a year. Time keeps on zooming by as we watch you grow!

And grow and grow... you have passed up many of your 3 month clothes already and we are starting to tip toe into the 6 month section of your closet. You are growing big and strong! We do our exercises together each day - you are my jogging partner and I am your tummy time coach and standing supporter. Lately, standing is your favorite thing to do. I love to watch you work on standing. You stiffen up your chubby little legs and lock your knees, your body rigid, your eyes focused. Your arms teeter and flail as you attempt to keep yourself upright until you finally plop down. You celebrate each of your efforts with the kind of excitement that radiates through your whole tiny body.

You always have the best smiles, and love when we talk to you. You coo and squeal back, letting us know that our attention makes you happy. Your babble is starting to resemble the tone of a real conversation - you make your baby noises and pause for our reply. You are starting to mimic our inflection and facial expressions.You raise your eyebrows and open your eyes wide. You furrow your little brow. You make all kinds of shapes with your mouth as you talk and your hands are always going as if you're gesturing to make your point. You are turning out to be quite a social little critter!

You are discovering so much about the world around you. As part of our bedtime routine, we read books and sing songs. When we first started, I would take your dimpled little hand and guide it to touch the books in front of you. Before long, you started reaching out yourself. Your favorite book seems to be Little Hands Love with all the different textures for you to touch. You especially like the teddy bear page and you always seem to really take your time, working your fingers into the soft fur. You recently started to notice the dogs who share your home. You often stop and watch your puppies, curious about all that they do and the noises they make. One afternoon, we sat together on the back patio, enjoying a warm summer afternoon. Sammy, who is growing more fond of you every day, stood close, sniffing gently at you. You reached out and touched his face and kicked your legs in excitement. Whether or not you intended to make contact, you seemed to enjoy the experience.

You have a sense of humor! This past week, you have really discovered your little funny bone! You're still a bit unsure of the peek-a-boo concept, but you offer a tentative chuckle, probably out of sympathy and second-hand embarrassment for your crazy mother. You love the I'm gonna get you game, though. I run my fingers up your belly and tickle your chin and neck and you laugh big baby belly laughs and squeal with delight. I can't help but laugh with you and every time we play, my smile muscles hurt by the time we're done.

You are a master of tongue tricks. You have really been working on trying out all the cool things you can do with your mouth and tongue lately. You push your tongue out, you make all kinds of silly faces, you put whatever you get your hands on in your mouth... I laugh every time I see you get a hold of your poor monkey and then shove him ravenously into your little pie hole! Oh, and you drool. A lot.

You are such a joy in our lives! I am so very, very in love with you, my child. I watch you as you sleep and feel like my chest is throbbing so powerfully that it might shatter into a million pieces. I love watching your little personality develop and seeing how you grow and change. I love kissing you over and over again and holding your tiny little body close to mine. There is nothing in this world that I wouldn't sacrifice to keep you safe and happy. You are a perfect manifestation of true love.