Dear E,
Someday I'm going to have to stop calling you babybutt. You're getting big so fast! Or maybe you'll just let me call you that as a joke when no one else is around. hehe. Speaking of jokes, you make and see lots of funnies right now. Sneezes and farts (Will we be calling them "toots?" I have no idea.) are worth at least a smile if not a chuckle. Some of these body noises are so funny in fact that you fake them. You not only cough now, but you've heard Daddy sneeze so often that you've started pretending to sneeze. You've been doing it for quite a while, but I didn't make the connection until Daddy mentioned it, and I saw you copy him immediately following a real one of his own. It's flippin' adorable if I do say so myself.
Burping isn't so funny for you because you still tend to spit up a little when it happens. Something you've added to it though is a shiver. I call them burp shivers. It's cute to see the shiver wind its way from your head to your toes.
We've discovered that you seem to be not so much a physical baby as a vocal and fine motor skills one. You're not too interested in walking and crawling, though you are making "strides" (yes, Mommy's funny) in that direction. It amuses me greatly to see either your head or diapered butt pop up above the crib bumper and bobble all around before disappearing again. But your talking? Oh man is that taking off. You practice lots of different consonant sounds and appear to know what "Mama" means. A babysitter swears you said "hello." You've been shaking your head back and forth in what seems to be a "no," or "I don't want this" gesture. Books continue tol fascinate, and you manipulate them with ease now.
One of my favorite new things though is how you deliberately remove your socks. You've always been able to kick them off the minute we put them on you, but now you'll sit there jabbering away until you notice them on your feet. "Oh!! What is this??" your eyes say. Then you reach down, grab the toe, whip the sock off and hold it aloft with a wide, proud grin. I remember your surprised look the first time you managed it.
We often find your socks after a sleep placed just so.
Now if you could only realize that footed pjs can't be removed in the same fashion, much frustration could be avoided.
You really aren't often frustrated though. You are an easygoing, good natured baby. Well, you are that way with Mommy and Daddy at least. You still take a while to warm up to new people and new situations, but still exude love and sweetness like always. You are a sweet, lovey cuddle bug. Mornings are still our favorite cuddle time. You snuggle, kiss, coo and stroke. You spend more time gently running your fingers through my hair rather than pulling it. We can't believe what a lovey boy we have. And you still never seem to "lie" to us. You're very easy that way. If you're ready for sleep, you usually let us know and won't fight it if we put you in the crib. You very rarely want to be rocked anymore. You just fall asleep on your own! It's really amazing. You only cry when you really need us. Sometimes you complain a little, but there's a big difference between when we need to pick you up, and when you're just talking. It's really nice to have that! If you're comfortable, you sleep the whole night through. Even when you wake up hungry in the morning, you try to put yourself back to sleep for a while before Mommy realizes and feeds you. After eating, it's sleepy land pretty quickly again for baby.
And how do we feel about you right now? Well, we feel like time is speeding along. You're growing so quickly. But watching you develop is one of the most amazing things we've ever experienced. Every day there's something new in those big chocolate/golden eyes. And parenting you continues to be the most rewarding and important thing we've ever done or will do.
Love,
Mama
