A letter to my little boy on his first birthday

My big man,

I'm sitting here watching you sleep on the video monitor, contemplating everything that has happened in the last year.  I'm not sure if I can adequately express how much happiness you've brought me in the last year.

I'll admit now that I was scared of having a little boy.  After over two years of experience with a little girl, I didn't know if I could handle having a little boy--what was I going to do with a BOY??!!  I'm here to tell you that it's been a fantastic year.  You ARE all boy and get into trouble far more than your sister ever did, but you are also very independent and incredibly happy.  You give a smile to everyone you meet, even when you're nuzzling into Mommy and being shy.

Besides being fearful of you being a boy, I was also fearful that you would sleep as poorly as your sister did. Honey, you fulfilled that fear and then some!  No matter what we've done, up until a week ago, you were still waking at least 3 times per night.  We went through months and months where you were waking 6-8 times per night.  To tell you the truth, your daddy and I have been like zombies for the past year.  Then suddenly about a week ago, you started waking only once or twice per night.  It was wonderful.  You've been waking a bit more the last few nights, but I think that can be attributed to late bedtimes, less napping, and being completely off your schedule because of celebrations and things.  We'll get back into a routine tomorrow and hopefully you'll start sleeping better then.  And you know what?  Even if you don't, I'll still love you like crazy.

I wish I had the words necessary to explain to you how much joy you've brought me over the last twelve months.  I've written and re-written these sentences many times and words just aren't enough.  I really think the best way to explain it is to know that I LOVE sleep and still every time I saw you in the middle of the night, I smiled.  Even though it was causing me a lot of back and hip pain, my favorite place for you to be each night is beside me, nestled with my arm on the top of your head.  You don't sleep in our bed all the time, but those nights that I accidentally fall asleep nursing you and then wake up to your beautiful face are times that I'll cherish always.

I thank God every single night that He chose me to be your mommy.  I apologize for the anxiety that I felt over becoming a mommy again and tell Him thank you for giving me what I really needed--you.

I love you, son.  Happy birthday, my sweet, sweet boy.

Love,
Mommy

11 Months (a little late, as usual)

I just can't keep up with life.  I'm off living it, so I guess that's good, but I still feel like I'm missing SO much.

Baby Boy turned 11 months old last Saturday (ahem...now TWO Saturdays ago...).  I did get his monthly pictures taken, so that's one thing I didn't forget to do!

This eleventh month has been a rough one for the little man.  Before he turned 10 months, he was diagnosed with an ear infection and it has lingered through the entire 11th month.  His sleep has been pretty awful, but we still don't know how much it is impacted by the ear infections and how much is just...him.  But we've been through four rounds of antibiotics now and the infection seems to be gone for now.

The biggest development in the eleventh month is that Baby Boy started walking!  The weekend of March 23rd we took him to my in-laws' house, where he continued taking just a couple of steps at a time.  He'd step, step, fall all day long.  Then Monday evening back at our house I noticed that he'd traveled between two things that he normally would've dropped to his knees to go between.  Yeah, second child syndrome.  No video camera and we weren't even really paying attention.  So then on Tuesday when we picked the kids up from daycare, he walked to us like he'd been doing it all of his life, even traversing the edge of the carpet. And he has been on the go since then!

Baby Boy also sprouted his eighth tooth, so we're finally all even again.  Now we're on the look-out for molars.  Baby Girl got her teeth so late that I have no idea when his will come in.

Baby Boy has a big personality.  He's incredibly sweet to everyone he meets.  He has started being shy and holding his head to the side when he meets someone new.  He wants to be held when meeting new people, but will still give them a big smile from the comfort of Mommy or Daddy's arms.  He's also got a bit of a temper.  If he doesn't get what he wants when he wants it, he lets out a horrific yell.  This isn't fun any time of day.  We probably hear it most while he's in his high chair.  We've found that we can't put him into his high char until we have the food completely ready to eat or he'll start yelling.

Right around 11 months, Baby Boy started doing something really cute.  When he's feeling shy or just flirting (he's done it to me when The Hubby is holding him), he'll tip his head sideways and give this really sweet smile.  If someone is holding him, he'll lay his head on their shoulder.

He's using G, B, M, and D consonants consistently.

He still loves avocado and green beans and all kinds of meat.  He's a really good eater, but a tiny bit pickier than his sister was.  I'm excited to be able to introduce more foods that we've been holding out on because of allergy concerns when he turns a year old!