Oh, sweet baby, the time is flying by. And you are getting so big so quickly. You haven’t increased in size much this month, but wow, have you ever made strides in terms of your abilities. Every day there seems to be something new that you can do.
The biggest change is that you’re crawling! Oh yes, you figured it out! Around the end of November, you found first gear and it didn’t take very long for you to become totally mobile. And just this past week or so, you’ve started pulling yourself up onto your knees, sitting back on your haunches. You’re working very hard to pull up to standing, and you enjoy “walking” with our help.
You’re not too interested in your exersaucer anymore, except to use it to pull yourself up. But you do still enjoy spending some time in your playpen, which is nice for me, because it gives me a chance to get a few things done in the kitchen or the living room.
For the most part, we keep the TV off during the day, except for 4:00 pm, when Ellen comes on. You love Ellen. It’s crazy. You’ll sit quite happily in your playpen, or snuggle with me on the couch, and you can’t take your eyes off her. I can understand why you like the show - it’s upbeat, there’s music, we dance, there’s a lot of laughter and clapping. It’s nice that we can have something to watch together!
You’re making all kinds of new sounds, too. I’m pretty darn sure you say “Dadada” and “Mamama” (and mean it) and for a little while you were making this awesome sound like “neg-neg-neg”. I’d like you to start spending a bit less time with your soother in - I love to hear you chat.
You wave hello and goodbye, you greet people with a smile, and you’re still very much the smiley and happy baby we love so much. You have some great ticklish spots, you’re learning how to do an eskimo kiss, and you love dancing and being tossed around. Nothing is better than the sound of your laugh.
You have not gotten used to the vaccum. I thought if I kept using it, you’d eventually get used to the noise. Now you cry before I even turn it on. But I’ll keep persevering.
Teething is back with a vengeance right now. You drool like a St Bernard, and I can tell your gums are really bothering you when you chew on Chomp or Sophie only to toss them aside in frustration. But you still have no teeth to show for all that effort and discomfort.
Your sleep patterns have changed again - you generally do longer stretches at night waking up only once (except when teething is bad), and you’re taking two naps a day instead of three. Sometimes we struggle a bit after the first night-time wake up, but it’s getting better.
Your skin has gotten so much better since we took you off of poultry and eggs. You enjoy eating cheese, you love a good Baby Num Num cracker, and we give you either pork or beef every day. We’re working on getting more fish in there, too. You’ve started drinking cows milk now - you like it out of a sippy cup, not a bottle. But if we give you formula, you prefer that out of a bottle. You love your wheat biscuit cereal, and your fruit (apples, blueberries, strawberries, mixed fruit). You can chew whole peas and pieces of carrot and potato in your stew, and you enjoy the occasional serving of soggy cheerios. You still haven’t mastered picking up the cheerios up to feed yourself, but they can be slippy little buggers, so I understand. I tried giving you melon, and while you enjoyed it, you also sucked all the juice out and spit out the pieces.
I take you out for sleigh ride every day, if possible. You like to lean slightly to one side and let your hand trail along beside the sleigh. We’ve lost a mitten this way, but recovered it on the way home. It also means I have to be pretty careful where I pull the sled - I don’t want you running your mitt through anything gross! The other day we went to the park and you got back on your swing - you were pretty happy to see that you could still swing in the winter. You look so cute in your snowsuit with your hat and scarf - a little blue bird with brown and red trimming.
We took you to one of our favourite holiday events this year - the annual Mochitsuki. You did beautifully in such a crowded place. You watched the rice pounding with mild interest, but it was the Taiko drumming that got you really excited. You kicked your legs and laughed and swung your arms. It was wonderful. We’ve been waiting a long, long time to bring you there. And the Japanese Ambassador took notice of you and gave you a little tickle under the chin as he passed by.
And our Christmas tree is up! At first, you weren’t keen to touch it at all (I can’t say we were sorry), but now you reach out with cautious interest. Occasionally, the low branches poke you in the bum as you scoot around, and you often protest with great indignation. It takes up a lot of room in the living room, so I’m glad you don’t totally hate it. We put up your two Christmas ornaments - the Baby’s First Christmas Mickey Mouse ornament your Grandpa brought you from Walt Disney World just after you were born, and the Winnie the Pooh Baby’s First Christmas ornament I bought you. I think we’ll wait until Christmas Eve to put any gifts under the tree, though!
Little boy, you love your Daddy so much. You have so much fun with him - especially just before and after your bath. You laugh, you dance, you squeal in delight. You wave goodnight to him every night - even when he’s not there! And it’s wonderful to hear you say “Dadadada.” (Almost as awesome as when you say “Mamamama.”)
We had a holiday gathering here just before my birthday. There were more than 30 people in the house, between 5pm and 8pm. You did beautifully. You remained in great spirits, you didn’t mind the crowds, you played with everyone so well, and were generally a delight. It was magical. You never cease to amaze us, Moe.
We’re going to your very first birthday party this afternoon! Your little friend Emily is turning one - I’m sure it will be an exciting time for you and all your friends. :)
You love playing with your train, as well as with your plastic vegetables. I bought you a ball recently, and you enjoy rolling it back and forth. I can’t wait for you to see what Santa is going to bring you...
Thank you so much for making 2010 the best year of my life, little man. You are so much fun to play with, to cuddle, to sing to, to dance with. We are so lucky to have you in our life. I love you.
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