The Things You Do

You're always on the move these days, crawling here, there, and everywhere. You love to throw balls around and chase them. You're often thoroughly occupied by flipping the pages of your books.

You're a rough little dude! You seem to find it necessary to swipe things off of tabletops, rip hats off of heads (yours and others), and knock over anything neatly stacked or piled. You're constantly throwing Daddy's DVDs off the shelf and trying to pull his glasses of his face. If we're sitting or lying on the floor with you, you love to climb over us just to get to the other side.

There are tender moments too. Sometimes when you first wake up in the morning, you just want to be held for a while, and I'm happy to oblige. I love rocking you in my arms at bedtime. Sometimes, in your rare snuggly moments, you stroke my arm or my hair or gently touch my face, and my heart swells with love for my darling baby.

You make this funny coughing sound when you're excited that is also more often than not your laugh, although you also have an awesome belly laugh that totally makes my day. Lately the best way to hear that laugh is to pretend to nibble and blow raspberries on your belly. Your latest tricks are clapping and shaking your head "no," and you can do them both when I ask you to, which is so cool. I love seeing that you understand what I'm saying. We're trying to get you to wave bye-bye and give high fives, but you're not there just yet. Sometimes you get very vocal, entertaining everyone with your babbling and funny noises.

You are such a Mommy's boy these days. When I'm around, nobody else will do. If I leave the room you come crawling after me as fast as you can and cling to my legs until I pick you up. Talk about separation anxiety! Part of me enjoys all the Mommy love, but it's also a bit overwhelming. And I think it hurts Daddy's feelings sometimes!

Feeding you is always a bit of a challenge. I can count on you to finish your cereal most days, but other meals are hit and miss. Right now you love crackers, Cheerios, peas, and blueberries. We're working on getting you to use a sippy cup, but no luck yet.

You hate lying in Mommy and Daddy's bed and being rocked in the nice glider we bought just for you. Changing your diaper and getting you dressed can be extremely difficult. You get very upset when we're using the computer and won't let you bang on the keys! You hate your new stroller.

You seem to like swimming class and hanging out in the bathtub. You love bouncing games and being upside down. You smile whenever you look in the mirror or see a picture of yourself.

You're so much fun. I love watching you grow into an amazing, independent person. I can't wait to get to know the little boy you'll soon become.