to my almost ten month old...

(written Saturday morning, posted Saturday night;)

Hi Sweetie,
Your dad and I decided to take a trip this weekend, leaving you with your Aunt Jordy for the night...I know you are having a blast with her, because you didn't even reach for me when I said goodbye...you just smiled.

As I sit in this hotel room, all stretched out on the king size bed, savoring the quiet...I miss you terribly. I have come to realize that being a mom means your attention will never be undivided, for the rest of your life, whether your little person is there with you or not. And that's ok, because honestly, I cannot think of a better place to let my mind wander than to your sweet face.

The last few months have been filled with crazy changes for you...so many milestones, experiences, and challenges. You have transformed into an "almost-little boy" before our eyes. I know I should have kept better track of these things, but I was too busy chasing you and Sadie around (you guys are quite the duo these days;).

Here's what I do remember: right before you reached eight months, you caught the crawling bug and you were off like a little rocket, traipsing your way around the house, exploring like it was the first time you had seen everything. When you crawl, you smack your hands of the floor with so much vigor, you act like a little godzilla...which is humorous considering your tiny size. Yes, you are still a mini boy, tipping the scales at just shy of 16 lbs. and hanging out in your beloved 3rd percentile. hehe.

You also began to pull yourself up on things pretty much immediately after the crawling began, no doubt motivated by your desire to see what was on top of that table you just bumped into. You stand next to things now, holding on loosely with one hand...and sometimes do a little dancing jig. With all this new found freedom comes lots of bumps, bruises, scratches, and head bangs, leaving you briefly in tears at least once each day. I am anticipating a whole lot more of that in the coming years as we raise such a curious little boy.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner? you love them all. You eat like a champ and have very few things you dislike...favorites include: bananas, cheerios, waffles, veggie stir-fry, chicken, cheese sticks, applesauce, chick-peas, and bread and butter;) You still nurse in the morning and evening, but have started taking a bottle with organic cows milk sometimes as well. You have 4 big teeth and two that just broke through, making for an adorable toothy grin which you love to sport.

Like I mentioned earlier, you and Sadie are wonderful buddies these days...you actually spend a lot of time playing with each other throughout the day. You pass toys back and forth between you, follow each other around the house, and try (sometimes successfully) to share your snacks with one another. This past week, two puzzle pieces became casualties of your time spent together...you "fed" them to her and she promptly chomped them into tiny bits!

You are a very vocal little boy, always singing and babbling. My hope is that you will have a sincere love for music and that you will never be afraid to belt it out the way you do now. You say "Dada" all the time, and are working on making "mama" a more regular part of your vocab;) you know how too say it, but feel that most of the time "Dada" is the appropriate word for just about everything!

We love you more than ever, and talk about your sweet cheeks, chubby legs, and little fingers long into the night, usually ending with the phrase, "I just love him sooo much."
And really that is all there is to it...we do just love you sooo much, more than you will ever know. Thanks for being our special little guy...for blessing our hearts and hugging our necks. You have us wrapped in the best possible way.

love,
momma