Dear Monkey,
You are one and one quarter today, and busily dancing around me and singling “la-la-la-la-la” as I write this. That is your new thing…singing along with anyone or anything that even slightly resembles singing. And dancing around in circles until your equilibrium is broken just enough to cause you to tumble to the ground. At which point, you laugh.
I can already tell this letter is going to be the most difficult I have ever written. Not only because you are growing and learning and changing in so many ways, but also, because you keep Mommy so darn busy, I have not been able to sit down and write you one of these letters in quite some time. Mommy has a lot of catching up to do.
You turned one! About three months ago, in fact. A very, very bittersweet day, in Mommy’s eyes. It was so rewarding to watch you on your first birthday and to think back to the day you were born. It was amazing to think of how much you have grown and developed and learned, and also how much you have taught Mommy and how much you have changed our lives. Daddy and I are so very proud of you and feel so lucky to have you in our lives. It was also very heartbreaking to think of how quickly that first year went by. It truly seems like only days ago that Daddy and I first brought you home from the hospital. It is terrifying to think that the next twelve months may go by as quickly as the last did.
Mommy and Daddy threw a party for you at the bath house at the park. Everybody was there, including Grammy, Grampy, Nana, Papa, Mima, Grandpa, Aunt Nikke, Aunt Crystal, cousin Audrey, Aunt Betty, and Uncle Tom. Even Uncle Casey came home from Ohio to be here for the big day! Aunt Pam, Uncle Gary, and cousins Audrey and Bethany came, too. And of course, your friends Emma, Audri, Brynton, and Kelyn were there! You had a wonderful time at your party! You pigged out on cupcakes and tried to stay focused while we opened all of your presents. You really couldn’t wait to get your hands on your new four-wheeler and ride around in your new wagon with your friends!
You have a new bedroom! And a new house, for that matter. We made the big move only a few weeks after your first birthday. Mommy and Daddy decided that a little brother or sister is in your future a little sooner than we had originally planned when we bought our first house. We needed a third bedroom! So we moved across town to a nice and quiet neighborhood where you’re sure to have lots of friends! You’ve already made a few, in fact. Your good friend Tyler lives a couple of houses down and your friend Mariah lives just a block away. I can only imagine the trouble the three of you will get yourselves into in a couple of years! You love the new house! It is much bigger than the last house and has plenty of room for you to play and run and dance!
You had your first trick-or-treating experience! You were a little Indian for Halloween. The cutest little Indian I’ve ever seen, in fact! We dressed you up and took you downtown where everyone oohed and ahhed over you! It was very cold and windy, though, so we didn’t stay long. Then we took you to Mima and Grandpa’s house, where they showered you with lots of candy! Then we took you to Nana’s house where you got even more candy! I’d say your first real Halloween was a success! (Mommy is still munching on your candy!)
Mommy took you to the doctor yesterday for your 15 month checkup. You weighed in at 23 ½ lbs and measured 33 inches long. You are at 50% for your weight and 97% for your height. You had to get three shots and of course you cried and had that pitiful look of deceit and betrayal on your face. It breaks Mommy’s heart every time!
You have actually been to the doctor quite a few times in the past month or so. You seem to have a pesky little ear infection that will not go away. You just started your third round of antibiotics, with no luck so far. Mommy has to take you to an ear, nose, and throat doctor on December 11th. I know that getting ear tubes is a possibility, and as much as I want your ear infections to stop, Mommy hopes you won’t have to get tubes. Your ear infections are very hard to diagnose, though, which does worry Mommy. You rarely run a fever with your ear infections, and rarely act as though you don’t feel well. The majority of your ear infections have been diagnosed during regular checkups. Hopefully, this round of antibiotics will get rid of this one and maybe it will be your last for a while!
You already have twelve teeth! You cut all four of your molars at the same time and before your first birthday! It was surprisingly painless (for Mommy anyway) and you were a real champ through the entire endeavor! I had heard horror stories of sleepless nights and temper tantrums, but we managed to get through it without either! I really do know how lucky I am, honestly!
You are walking like a champ now, even running at times! You love to open doors and drawers and lids and bags. You went through a phase where no door was allowed to be left open. You were right behind Daddy and me all the time, closing the door every time we left one open. You love to take clothes out of laundry baskets, and only after every piece of clothing is out, you begin the task of putting each item back in. You nearly jump into the refrigerator every time the door is opened. You like to crawl up on the dishwasher every time it’s door is open.
You love, love, love books! Any kind of book! You love to be read to, and just recently you discovered your love for reading to Mommy and Daddy. You have an amazing sense of humor! Every time you read us a story, it appears to be a comedy. You love to talk on the phone and you always seem to be engaged in a humorous conversation. You like to tell Mommy and Daddy stories and they always seem to have a happy ending. It continues to amaze me how happy you are. You wake up from your naps smiling and waving. You play alone with your toys and laugh as though you are being tickled. You are so funny and so happy!
Daddy teaches you a lot of movements. He has taught you how to “put ‘em up” and you put your fists up as though you are ready to fight. He has taught you to kick and you love to show off your kicking skills. He has taught you how to “smack your booty” although I’m still not completely sure how that came about. But, it is funny to see you smack your booty with that proud little smile on your face.
You have begun identifying lots of things. You have many picture books and your favorite thing to do is to point out all of the animals when you ask you to. You have gotten very good at it and can even distinguish the lion from the tiger, the panda from the koala, and the parrot from the owl. You like to point out facial features. You love to point at your eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, hair, and of course, your belly button. When you’re in a room full of people, you love to point everybody out. You point at Mommy and Daddy and Nana, etc. and of course, “Baby”.
The last three months have been a whirlwind. We have all been so busy with work and the move and now the holidays approaching. Thank you for reminding us to slow down! Thank you for crying when you are alone in the living room when Mommy is busy doing laundry and Daddy is taking out the trash. Thank you for reminding us that you want our attention. Thank you for following me around and laughing when I see the heaps of laundry and feel like crying. Thank you for seeing the humor in Mommy dropping a newly opened gallon of milk. Thank you for helping Mommy unload the dishwasher. And most importantly, thank you for enjoying every second of every day!
Love Always,
Mommy
You are one and one quarter today, and busily dancing around me and singling “la-la-la-la-la” as I write this. That is your new thing…singing along with anyone or anything that even slightly resembles singing. And dancing around in circles until your equilibrium is broken just enough to cause you to tumble to the ground. At which point, you laugh.
I can already tell this letter is going to be the most difficult I have ever written. Not only because you are growing and learning and changing in so many ways, but also, because you keep Mommy so darn busy, I have not been able to sit down and write you one of these letters in quite some time. Mommy has a lot of catching up to do.
You turned one! About three months ago, in fact. A very, very bittersweet day, in Mommy’s eyes. It was so rewarding to watch you on your first birthday and to think back to the day you were born. It was amazing to think of how much you have grown and developed and learned, and also how much you have taught Mommy and how much you have changed our lives. Daddy and I are so very proud of you and feel so lucky to have you in our lives. It was also very heartbreaking to think of how quickly that first year went by. It truly seems like only days ago that Daddy and I first brought you home from the hospital. It is terrifying to think that the next twelve months may go by as quickly as the last did.
Mommy and Daddy threw a party for you at the bath house at the park. Everybody was there, including Grammy, Grampy, Nana, Papa, Mima, Grandpa, Aunt Nikke, Aunt Crystal, cousin Audrey, Aunt Betty, and Uncle Tom. Even Uncle Casey came home from Ohio to be here for the big day! Aunt Pam, Uncle Gary, and cousins Audrey and Bethany came, too. And of course, your friends Emma, Audri, Brynton, and Kelyn were there! You had a wonderful time at your party! You pigged out on cupcakes and tried to stay focused while we opened all of your presents. You really couldn’t wait to get your hands on your new four-wheeler and ride around in your new wagon with your friends!
You have a new bedroom! And a new house, for that matter. We made the big move only a few weeks after your first birthday. Mommy and Daddy decided that a little brother or sister is in your future a little sooner than we had originally planned when we bought our first house. We needed a third bedroom! So we moved across town to a nice and quiet neighborhood where you’re sure to have lots of friends! You’ve already made a few, in fact. Your good friend Tyler lives a couple of houses down and your friend Mariah lives just a block away. I can only imagine the trouble the three of you will get yourselves into in a couple of years! You love the new house! It is much bigger than the last house and has plenty of room for you to play and run and dance!
You had your first trick-or-treating experience! You were a little Indian for Halloween. The cutest little Indian I’ve ever seen, in fact! We dressed you up and took you downtown where everyone oohed and ahhed over you! It was very cold and windy, though, so we didn’t stay long. Then we took you to Mima and Grandpa’s house, where they showered you with lots of candy! Then we took you to Nana’s house where you got even more candy! I’d say your first real Halloween was a success! (Mommy is still munching on your candy!)
Mommy took you to the doctor yesterday for your 15 month checkup. You weighed in at 23 ½ lbs and measured 33 inches long. You are at 50% for your weight and 97% for your height. You had to get three shots and of course you cried and had that pitiful look of deceit and betrayal on your face. It breaks Mommy’s heart every time!
You have actually been to the doctor quite a few times in the past month or so. You seem to have a pesky little ear infection that will not go away. You just started your third round of antibiotics, with no luck so far. Mommy has to take you to an ear, nose, and throat doctor on December 11th. I know that getting ear tubes is a possibility, and as much as I want your ear infections to stop, Mommy hopes you won’t have to get tubes. Your ear infections are very hard to diagnose, though, which does worry Mommy. You rarely run a fever with your ear infections, and rarely act as though you don’t feel well. The majority of your ear infections have been diagnosed during regular checkups. Hopefully, this round of antibiotics will get rid of this one and maybe it will be your last for a while!
You already have twelve teeth! You cut all four of your molars at the same time and before your first birthday! It was surprisingly painless (for Mommy anyway) and you were a real champ through the entire endeavor! I had heard horror stories of sleepless nights and temper tantrums, but we managed to get through it without either! I really do know how lucky I am, honestly!
You are walking like a champ now, even running at times! You love to open doors and drawers and lids and bags. You went through a phase where no door was allowed to be left open. You were right behind Daddy and me all the time, closing the door every time we left one open. You love to take clothes out of laundry baskets, and only after every piece of clothing is out, you begin the task of putting each item back in. You nearly jump into the refrigerator every time the door is opened. You like to crawl up on the dishwasher every time it’s door is open.
You love, love, love books! Any kind of book! You love to be read to, and just recently you discovered your love for reading to Mommy and Daddy. You have an amazing sense of humor! Every time you read us a story, it appears to be a comedy. You love to talk on the phone and you always seem to be engaged in a humorous conversation. You like to tell Mommy and Daddy stories and they always seem to have a happy ending. It continues to amaze me how happy you are. You wake up from your naps smiling and waving. You play alone with your toys and laugh as though you are being tickled. You are so funny and so happy!
Daddy teaches you a lot of movements. He has taught you how to “put ‘em up” and you put your fists up as though you are ready to fight. He has taught you to kick and you love to show off your kicking skills. He has taught you how to “smack your booty” although I’m still not completely sure how that came about. But, it is funny to see you smack your booty with that proud little smile on your face.
You have begun identifying lots of things. You have many picture books and your favorite thing to do is to point out all of the animals when you ask you to. You have gotten very good at it and can even distinguish the lion from the tiger, the panda from the koala, and the parrot from the owl. You like to point out facial features. You love to point at your eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, ears, hair, and of course, your belly button. When you’re in a room full of people, you love to point everybody out. You point at Mommy and Daddy and Nana, etc. and of course, “Baby”.
The last three months have been a whirlwind. We have all been so busy with work and the move and now the holidays approaching. Thank you for reminding us to slow down! Thank you for crying when you are alone in the living room when Mommy is busy doing laundry and Daddy is taking out the trash. Thank you for reminding us that you want our attention. Thank you for following me around and laughing when I see the heaps of laundry and feel like crying. Thank you for seeing the humor in Mommy dropping a newly opened gallon of milk. Thank you for helping Mommy unload the dishwasher. And most importantly, thank you for enjoying every second of every day!
Love Always,
Mommy
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