Letter to Baby

Dear Mister,

You are 10 months old now.  This time last year, I was on bed rest and you were still in the womb.  That was a hard time, I'm kind of stubborn and had a difficult time staying in bed, or the couch, or recliner, or in the house for that matter.  And that stubborn streak I have, well, it looks like you've inherited it.

We've baby proofed almost everything we can think of.  The fireplace, the kitchen, the outlets...all baby proofed.  But who would've known you're favorite thing to play with would be the floor vent in the living room?  And the door stopper that also acts like an alarm?  Yep, you found that, too.  We put up the Christmas tree and put a gate around it.  That seems to deter your curiosity in it and you don't pay too much attention to it.

You can sit up from laying down now, like you've been doing it your entire 10 months of life.  You army crawl e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e.  Seriously, you're constantly on the go.  And Lord help Baxter if you sneak up behind him, you love grabbing his tail!!  You crawled down the hallway to our bedroom last Sunday after church when your dad and I were putting our church clothes up.  You were so cute stopping and starting again and laughing at us when you finally made it!  What a great accomplishment!  You are trying so hard to pull yourself up.  Once you get to your knees, you're not quite sure what to do next.  Also, you are mimicking us and it's fun to try to get you to make noises.  A lot of time you like to initiate it.  It's super cute!  You play so great in your room or in the living room.  It gives me just enough time to blow dry my hair in the mornings without having to wrangle you before you get bored and crawl away.  Peek-a-boo is also a favorite, and you've gotten to where you initiate it.  It's so awesome to see you develop!!

You are still so great when we're out and about, never really fussing, and when you do, it's nothing a little snack can't solve.  Everyone compliments us on how well behaved you are.  We really are blessed!  I took you shopping on Black Friday and you were terrific with all the people!  And you really are quite the flirt!

We have celebrated your first Thanksgiving, and you were thankful for sweet potatoes that M made for you and lots of people to play with you.  Jack (M and Pa's dog) even warmed up to you :)  You handle being passed around and kissed on like a seasoned pro!

We don't swaddle you to sleep anymore, we just cover you with a blanket and rock you.  Most of the time we do just fine, but then that stubborn streak rears its' ugly head and you pull my hair or pinch me.  Those nights are the hardest, but we do just fine anyway.  Also, you're back to sleeping through the night (although I'm sure that will change now that I've said it out loud), but you still wake up at random times in the morning.  4:15 a.m. is pretty early, but we've adjusted.  Thankfully, you're dad is pretty great at getting up with you on the weekends.

Bath time is your favorite time of day.  If you hear that water running, you start kicking your legs and we can't get you naked fast enough.  Once in the bath, all the toys must come in with you.  And now you've figured out how to lay on your tummy and kick your legs so that water goes everywhere (including on your mom and dad).  And you love how your voice sounds in the tub.  You get louder and louder each time you belt out a squeal.  Bath time is just too fun!

We just adore you and can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas, your first New Year, and *gasp* your first birthday!!

We love you with all our hearts, and we are oh so thankful for you.  You're pretty amazing.

Hugs and kisses, mister.  We adore you.
Mom and Dad

kissy face

Thankful

Most are posting every day what they are thankful for this month.  It is the most popular month to give thanks and count your many blessings, after all.  I'm breaking from the norm and will post at the end of the month.  (I'm a bit of a daredevil :) )

1.  Cooler temperatures!  And rain!
2.  The power of prayer.  And Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ.
3.  My job.  It's crazy sometimes, but it's totally awesome.
4.  My husband for stepping in and taking over when I need it and knowing when to do it.
5.  Working with my father.  And Peggy.  And Cheryl.
6.  Great friends who love to hug your neck as much as you love to hug theirs.
7.  Early bedtimes.
8.  Random strangers who comment on how freaking adorable Luke is.
9.  Thankful for my little boy.  He's pretty amazing.
10.  Bug spray.  And lots of it :)
11.  Watching Luke learn new tricks (he's sitting himself up from laying down without any assistance!)
12.  Chris' job.  And the insurance it provides.
13.  Saturday's
14.  The mother's lounge at church.  And church.
15.  My patients.  And my patience.
16.  Luke's curiosity
17.  Music.  It's amazing how the right song can help your mood.
18.  Our pediatrician.  And his staff.
19.  Family.  Brothers, SILs, parents, aunts, uncles, nephews...everyone.
20.  A Hog win!!  WPS!!!
21.  Cough medicine.
22.  Nasal bulb syringes and infant tylenol.
23.  The drive to and from work.
24.  Piles of toys in the living room.
25.  Family gatherings with lots of food!!

With all of these, we are truly blessed.  We have amazing family, friends who are always there at just the right times, jobs to provide for our son (and the dog),  and a solid roof over our head (and if there's any problem with that, we have the hook up from a great friend who can fix it).

We are definitely counting our blessings, and this was our attempt to name them one by one (at least just a few)...

9 months

18 pounds, 5 ounces

26.5 inches long

You've only grown 1 inch since your 6 month check and your head circumference hasn't changed a bit.  You have gained about 3 pounds, tho :O)

We already have your 1 year checkup scheduled.  I can't believe it!!

fyi

Luke can sit up all by himself.  As in, he'll be rolling around the room and voila, he's sitting up.  It's like he's been doing it his entire life.  And he's super proud of this achievement.

He can also army crawl, which has prompted a household baby proofing afternoon.  Consider it a success...for now.

My little brother is married.  Yes, you read that right.  Her name is Jackie...short for Jacquelyn (at least that's how I think you spell it).  I met her once for about 20 minutes and she seems nice.  I'm still trying to cope with this...

I have a 9 foot pre lit Christmas tree for sale.  Please buy it.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner.  Which means Christmas is right around the next corner.  And then my son will be 1 by the time I pack up the Christmas tree.  Help.

We have been crazy busy these last 5 weeks, I'm looking forward to being a homebody for a while.

Hope you all have a great week.  I'm going to try my darndest, but I have a feeling I'm going to have a come to Jesus talk with the printers and the furniture store.  Pray for them...

Letter to Baby

Baby Luke,

You are 9 months old today.  9 months and counting.  What do you think about that?  I bet you think it's pretty neat.  You've got so much to explore to learn, you might not even know that this a kind of a big deal!

You've got a 9 month appointment with the pediatrician in a couple weeks, so we'll see what you're official stats are then, but your dad stepped on the scale with you and we guesstimate you're roughly 17 pounds.  That means that your dad and I have to trade off quite a bit when we carry you in somewhere.  We haven't quite adjusted to your chunkiness...we still remember when you were little :)

You're fitting into 6-12 month tops and 3-6 month bottoms for the most part.  You can wear some 9 month Carter bottoms, but it really just depends on the brand.  I cleaned out your closet over the weekend and put away your summer clothes.  Yes, it's November 3rd and you've been wearing shorts and t-shirts up until this point.  We had a couple of cool days, but it looks like you're in long sleeves and pants to stay.  I did keep out just a couple of t-shirts...you know, just in case.

Upon cleaning out your closet, I filled an entire 71 qt tub.  Filled.  As in, shoved clothes in cracks and crevasses that might not have existed to the naked eye.  Holy moly, you had some serious amounts of clothes little one.  I might've been able to clothe all the 3-6 month boys in a small 3rd world country with what you had.

But onto more fun things - like how you cry when I set you down to play so I can get something done, but as soon as I'm out of sight you're fine.  And then, like magic, once I reappear, so do the tears.  You sure know how to tug at your momma's heart strings!

You've figured out that rolling is way of transportation.  You.roll.everywhere.  I helped your dad make dinner a few nights ago, and I left you sitting up on your play mat.  Just a few minutes passed before I checked on you from the kitchen, and you had rolled across the room and under the end table.  And then you cried because I picked you up and moved you back to your mat.  It made me laugh :)

It'll be any day now and you'll be crawling.  You can go from sitting, to all fours, and then flat on your tummy, but you only end up on your tummy because you haven't figured out how to move both your arm and leg all at the same time.  You can rock back and forth on all fours, but moving on all of them is still just out of reach.  Hence the rolling.

You've discovered your reflection in the mirror.  I don't know if you know it's you, but you sure think that baby in the mirror is awfully awesome!  You grin from ear to ear and stick out your tongue.  It's great stuff to see.  I just love watching you examine that baby in the mirror...too cute!

You've been to your very first Razorback football game (we beat Ole' Miss and that mean old Houston Nutt, too) and you did great!  We even got you to sleep in guest services for about 30 minutes.  Just enough to recharge your battery and go back to the game.  We didn't stay for the whole game because of the threat of rain (and boy did it rain after we left), but I think lots of Hog football games are in our future!  Go Hogs!!  You've also been to your very first War Eagle Craft Fair and celebrated your very first Halloween!  Lots of firsts this past month, baby!

You're a pretty fun little guy to be around and I don't think we could ask for a more amazing son.

We love your guts.
Mom and Dad

competition

Sometimes on Sunday, Chris and I babysit our 3 year old nephew Jude while my SIL and 5 yo nephew Grant go to violin lessons.  (Side note: Jude calls his brother 'my Grant'.  too cute!!)

Yesterday was one of those Sundays.  We have a little tricycle that was given to us and Jude loves to ride it.  He also prefers to wear Chris' big helmet, leaving Chris with my little helmet...with 'Princess Clare' written across the front :)  While they were riding, Jude started talking about 'my Grant plays the violin, I want a trumpet'.  I asked him what he wanted to ask Santa for Christmas, and of course, he said a trumpet.  Now, I play the saxophone, as well as Chris, so I thought I'd show him ours before he completely made up his mind.  You know, some healthy competition between the woodwind and brass families.

I mean, trumpets are nice and all, but saxophones are cool, too!

So I dug out my alto saxophone, Jude sat down next to me in the garage, watched me pull it out and piece it all together.  When it was all set up he looked at me with those deep brown eyes and super long eyelashes and said 'that's not a trumpet!'.

He was not impressed and made it very clear he wanted a trumpet.  What's a saxophone girl to do?  Admit defeat, that's what!

Brass: 1  Woodwind: 0

Maybe I can talk Luke into playing the sax...