My little boy

It happened this week that one morning, you suddenly didn't look like a baby anymore. You looked like a little boy, and you have ever since. You must have grown overnight. You're very fun, and learning so much. I think you understand a lot of what I say. And this week you learned to sign "more". You showed off this new skill at dinner tonight when asking for more of grandma's applesauce. Mmm, I understand completely. You've been napping like a champ lately - you took two three-hour naps today. Mom got a lot done! And when you were awake, you were so sweet. Thank you for the nice days we had today and yesterday! Xoxoxo, my little boy.

Your perspective

Baths: Standing is the best way to stay dirty
Boogers: Leave 'em in there!
Books: Meant to be read upside down and backwards
Bread: The whiter the better
Car seat: Great place to store extra Cheerios
Cat food: Nice and crunchy
Cats: Very funny
Cell phone: Open it up and say "Arlerr-Arlerr"
Cheese: Yes
Daddy: Perfect for climbing on
Dogs: Overly excited about everything in general
Goats: Giggle-worthy
Going for walks: Keep up the pace
High five: You bet
Junk mail: I get mail almost every day!
Kisses: Catch me if you can
Laptop: Just testing the keypad, Dad
Men with facial hair: Untrustworthy, except for Dad
Mom: You have two arms for a reason. Carry me.
Music: Play it again, Mom
Naps: Always sneaking up on me
Orange pig: Sounds scary
Other kids: Fascinating
Piano: I play with my feet
Pizza: Vital food group
Potato chips: Put them all in my mouth
Sandals: Bloody murder
Shoes: Bloodier murder
Shopping carts: Meant for goods, not babies
Sippy cup: Now I drink just like Mom and Dad
Snuggling: It's growing on me
Socks: They're coming off
Strawberries: Only if Mom is eating them
Teeth: Three is plenty
The baby in the mirror: My best friend, after Mom & Dad
The broom: Magnetic
Tissue paper: Love to shred
Trucks: Never enough
Tylenol: Cruel and unusual punishment
Veggies: Parents, do not provoke your children unto wrath
Walking: Not as important as you'd think

Walking is for babies

Noodle, you're getting your walking shoes on! You've been walking more in the past couple days. In fact, you were taking steps as I typed that. Five or six steps seems to be your max. After that, you want to grab something or drop to your bum. (Thankfully, your cloth diapers give you a pretty good cushion.)

What a BIG boy you are!

You've had trouble sleeping lately, which I blame on teething. You're also less willing to eat real food, which people say is also due to teething. I tell you, darling, teething is a hassle. It hurts you and it disturbs almost everything. You've spent a couple days being very, very fussy. At times it was hard to remember that everything is just a phase. But here you are, with gums bulging with almost-here teeth, happier. Right now you're carrying around your baseball, chattering and sputtering. You're going to be fine. You're just getting ready to eat steak!

Momma would like to thank you for the new phone she is about to get. Apparently, you knocked over your "no-spill" bottle of bubbles and the liquid soaked the back of my phone. My phone went into convulsions earlier today, while I was talking to your grandpa from up north, and it will never be the same. Daddy and I are going to the store in a few minutes to find me a new phone. I've been wanting one for a while, so thank you.

In other news, our plumbing work is done. The back yard has been reduced to a giant brown puke. Underneath it lies brand new plastic piping, surprisingly superior to the clay pipe laid nearly 50 years ago. Inside was a giant mass of roots that couldn't be loosed with an auger. In the process of getting new pipe, we lost one cedar tree. This means we can see a little more of the neighbor's house than we used to. It's a small price to pay in order to flush toilets with confidence - no more risk of sewage visiting us in the basement. One day soon you might even be allowed to walk around down there.

With all my love,
Mom

Your first blog post

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Precious! Your sneaky little hands typed on Daddy's laptop while I was trying to write this post. I'll consider it your first blog post. It looks brilliant to me.

Yesterday

We overdid it yesterday. I'm sorry, love. You went to two parks, saw lots of kids, spent hours outside, petted a cow, touched goats with your toes, missed both naps and cried all night. You even sprang a fever for a few hours. It was hard on all of us. Momma is sorry. I didn't know that it would be too much for you.

You played with another little friend Saturday night, and it was charming to watch the two of you together. It makes me want to get you together with more little friends more often. That's why I tried both activities with you yesterday. From now on, one thing per day. And maybe with nothing on the agenda the next day.

Every baby needs his own backhoe.

Thankfully, there is nothing on our agenda today. Except for having our back yard dug up to fix our plumbing issue. Our main drain is backed up majorly, and it brings nasty stuff up in our basement. Really nasty. Like maybe no one can ever have bare feet down there ever again. It's good to get it fixed, first, so that it's fixed. Second, since the basement is our tornado shelter, it is important that we not be cowering amongst turds in the event of a tornado. Revolting!

I love you darling. Want to help me make bread now?

Songs I sing to you

The first time I ever sang to you, I felt embarrassed and very self-conscious. Would you like my singing? Would you think I was "a little bit pitchy, dogg"? Would you laugh at me from behind those crying eyes?

I sang:
To know, know, know Sam
Is to love, love, love Sam
And I do
Yes I do
Yes I do

You liked it! You quieted a little, so I kept singing. I was still embarrassed. Grandma from up north was there, and she told me to keep singing. I sang you that song when you cried for a few days - you were not even a week old - before getting more courage and trying new songs.

Now, I sing you lots of songs. I sing them terribly most of the time and I am not embarrassed. It is wonderful how much the music helps you calm down when you're upset.

Here's one I wrote for you:

I could eat you for breakfast,
But you're too sweet.
I could eat you for lunch,
If I liked feet.
(But I don't!)
As a dinner appetizer,
I'd rather feast on fertilizer.
So I'll pass.
And I'll just kiss you, my sweet.

Who knows what you think of that one!

I also sing Soft Kitty to you, and we have a diaper-changing version:

Fresh dipey, clean dipey, getting a fresh dipey.
Thank you, Momma, that feels better, I love you.

To help you fall asleep, I sing Edelweiss, The Lord is My Shepherd, Soft Kitty, and these words, that I made up to the Naming Stars lullaby:

Go to sleep my little one
Go to sleep my little son
Momma loves you, Daddy too
Go to sleep, my little Boo.

Those are the songs you usually hear. I make up random stuff all the time, I sing about the doggie in the window and old MacDonald's farm sometimes, and I learn new songs, too. I'm excited for when you will sing with me, and for when you tell me which songs are your favorite. Until then, don't worry. I'll never eat you, no matter how sweet you look.

You're a little bit little

At the grocery store last week, the clerk asked how old you were. When I told her you're 13 months old, she said "He's small! My boy is 8 months old and he's bigger than that!"

Mind you, this woman is large in size, if you know what I mean, and she said her son's daddy is in excess of 6 feet tall. Her baby's gonna be big!

Your daddy and I are not overly tall, and you're probably going to be like us. But here are your measurements:

You currently weigh 21 pounds, and you are 30 inches tall. That puts you in the 20th percentile for weight and the 40th percentile for height. You are pretty little, my dear.

However! You certainly have something to say about that. You are sure you're a big deal. You think you are the axis of this cat-filled universe. You are certain that it's never nap time, veggies are a crime, and you have the right to pull Howie's tail, chew my cell phone, and order ghastly Pay-Per-View shows on TV (all things you have completed or attempted). Congratulations, darling.

We have news for you. You're napping right now. We've planted a garden full of veggies. You'll enjoy them later! And you're not allowed to touch the cats, gum my cell phone, or change the channel.

But you are a REALLY big deal to us!

xoxoxo

WE LOVE DOODLE!!

Sweet baby boy, you gave us a fantastic surprise last night!

You slept through the night! ALL the way through! For the first time, ever!

We are so proud of you! You did it on the evening of the day you turned 13 months old. We didn't dream this night was coming! Momma thought you might never sleep through the night, and that she might never again sleep through the night either. Oh, we are thrilled!

As a result, we would like to give you everything. What would you like? A pony? A litter of puppies? One of those motorized kiddie cars? I'll have Daddy pick them up today!

In other news, you are mostly better from your cold. Daddy and I both caught it, too, and we are mostly better as well. It wasn't a bad cold for any of us, but it did majorly interfere with the spring holy days. We are just thankful to all be feeling better.

Xoxoxo, my love!

Your fourth tooth

[Next day update: You ARE sick, and so is Mom.]

We are rethinking the idea that you are sick. It seems you are actually teething! Poor thing, this tooth has been really hard on you. It's on the top of your mouth, to the right of your other top tooth. It's funny that you're not getting your second front tooth, but you will get it in time. I'm sorry teething is such a pain. You sure felt awful yesterday. Today you are a little fussy, but you don't have a fever or a runny nose. Hooray!

Last night was one of your worst nights of sleep ever. You can thank us later, but you got Mom up four times and got Dad out of bed from 5 - 7 a.m. straight. You cried a lot. We gave you teething tablets and Children's Tylenol, but I'm not sure anything helped. Except being held...that made you feel a little better.

I love it when you're cuddly!

Our garden is largely coming up! We have potatoes, summer squash, cucumbers, okra, and corn up. We are waiting on a few sprouts in the green beans and basil rows...we can't tell if the ones there are weeds or plants. And there is no sign of life in our acorn squash yet. Here's hoping everything comes up in abundance!

We are having roasted chicken for dinner. Would you like some?

Xoxoxo,
Mom

A spring cold

Aww, Doodle, you caught a cold! Your fever is 100 degrees and you have a cough and runny nose. I am so sorry you're sick. You feel a little down, but mostly you just want to keep playing. When you get tired, though, you get cuddly. That's adorable. You know your Momma loves to cuddle with you!

This is not the first time you've been sick. You got sick at just two months old, a germ you probably picked up at your two-month check-up. It was terrifying. You could hardly breathe, and you could not eat because then you couldn't breathe. It was very scary for us, even though it was just a cold. You were tiny! Now you're just a few days away from being 13 months old and you are so strong. We hate that you are sick, but you look us in the eye with a big grin, as if to say, "Hey, it's not so bad. And can we go outside?" Thanks, dear.

You are getting so knowledgeable, too! You seem to understand much of what I say. Yesterday I sat you on my lap and told you it was time for me to trim your fingernails. I put one of your fingers on my knee and said we'd start with that finger. For the first time, you didn't move the finger at all. You sat still and watched. I trimmed all of your long nails and thanked you for sitting so still. (Until Howie walked by, you barely moved!) It's so much different from your old ways of squirming, fussing and flailing during a nail trimming. Momma likes this new way better.

Feel better quickly, my love. We have important things to do this week!

I love you so, so much.

What I think you're thinking

If I could hear what's going on inside your head, this is what I think it would sound like:


Hey, there's Elmo on the shelf. [giggle]  What a friendly guy! Wait. That's not where I left him. Mom must have moved him. I hate that. How would she feel if I moved her stuff? Wait. I do that. Anyway, I'm going to put him here. [tosses on floor]  Look! There's Clifford. What a big doggie. [tosses on Elmo]  Oh, yes, there's my giraffe. [throws on Clifford]  Wow, I haven't seen that owl in a while. [discards] Man, my books are out of order. Big books first. [pulls off shelf]  Ah, it says...hmm...boring. Next book. [pulls off shelf]  Trucks. Yes! Next book. Next book. These seven books are in my way. [scatters all on floor]  This shelf looks weird. Mom doesn't decorate well. All these books have to go. [empties shelf completely]  Wow. There are books all over my feet. I don't like that. [shoves books]  Now the books are touching my animal toys. Annoying. Let me just move that giraffe. Hey! There's Elmo!


Am I right?

Love,
Your Mom

Your nicknames, in order of frequency

Noodle
Doodle
McNoodle
Sweet pea
Sweet baby
Boo Boo
Boo Biddle
Mr. Fussing Fussingpants

We use the last one only when you are fussing. Usually you only fuss if you are hungry or tired...or if Momma doesn't pick you up as quickly as you hoped.

I spend a lot of the day carrying you around as a result. By the way, have you seen my biceps?

Kisses, sweet baby!