16 months

Dear Shepherd,

Last week you turned 16 months old. The further along we go, the closer these months seem to come together. This past month has been filled with fun. You constantly want to go outside and run around or play in the pool. Your energy has just shot through the roof, and you run at breakneck speeds across the yard, through the house, or wherever else your little feet will carry you. It's hard for mommy to keep up with you, especially with the growing baby in mommy's tummy.


You have learned a lot of new words this month, and you're even better at communicating with us than ever before. When asked what mommy has in her belly, you make the sign for baby. We're not sure you completely understand the concept of a baby in mommy's belly, but you often will pat my belly and smile at me. This week wee pulled out a lot of old baby toys such as the swing and the bouncy chair, and you've had a blast playing with them. You'll often grab a book and sit in your swing reading the book. So many changes are ahead of you as your little sister plans to make her grand entrance, and sometimes I worry about how you'll adjust. I know you'll love her, as you're so good with other kids and other babies. I guess I'm most worried about how you'll handle the change in attention you get. As much as I'm looking forward to your sister getting here, I'm also trying every moment to hold you close, and give you extra love, as I know the days of you being an only child are numbered.


This month you've really enjoyed the water. We're very excited about this as it seemed for a while you were terrified of the water in your bathtub. With the introduction of your pool, the sprinkler, and the ocean, you have completely overcome your fear and now are totally enthralled with any type of water. You would spend hours in the pool if I let you, climbing in and out, and then back in again. You run through the sprinkler giggling and squeeling, hands up in the air trying to catch the water. The ocean, however, has proved to be your favorite. You absolutely love the sand and the waves, and you run through the water stomping your feet and splashing everyone around.


Shepherd, you continue to amaze me. Being with you every day is such a joy, it's hard to imagine my life without you.


Your smile is so contagious, and your laugh, whoa boy, your laugh makes my heart just explode within my chest. You are constantly amazing us, and constantly changing. I love you so very much,



Happy 16 months, Doodlebug,

Love,
Mommy

Stuck in my head

Great... I've got the corniest, cheesiest dumb song stuck in my head. At the mall this morning, while checking e-mail and watching Shepherd run crazy around the play area (seriously folks, I'm in love with this play area) they played Hungry Eyes, and now I cannot get the song unstuck. Between that and this weekend's movie rental, Children of Men, everything seems to get stuck in the quagmire of my mind. (That movie, by the way, one of the best I've seen in a long, LONG time)

My brain is just a bog right now, and forming intelligent thought requires so much mental energy (that I don't have), I'm often reduced to sounding just like Gomer Pyle. In fact, I believe this post is the most intelligent thing I've said in the past 48 hours. As a result, I've been particularly down lately. With my brain fried and with Shepherd showing strong preference for other people when they're around (he refuses to be held by me if daddy is home), I feel a tad useless around here. I know this will all change come September, and I'll be needed around the clock by a tiny little newborn.

At least I have managed to do something productive. Last night, I sewed my own sling. I found the design online (Jan Andrea's Sling Ring), ordered the proper safety rings, picked out some fabric at a local store, and made my own sling! I was quite proud of myself, especially when I was able to use it with Shepherd this morning. :) Makes me that much more excited about the baby coming. I may actually attempt to sew a few more slings, for extras or for friends, as it was nice to actually use my mind at something for a change.

Well, I need to get Shepherd home for a nap... hope you all are having a wonderful day!! (Hey, if you could, make sure your blogger profile allows e-mails, and if not, and you comment, let me know your e-mail addy so that I can respond to your comments).

Open Letter to the Psycho in the Pacifica

Dear Crazy Lady,

You do realize that there are such things are rear view mirrors, right? And you realize that if those malfunction, you can glance over your shoulders to check behind you, right? I ask this, because it would seem you have no earthly idea how to drive. I was carrying my 16 month old toddler into Target (and 7 month belly), when you decided to grand prix out of your parking spot while I walked directly behind your car. I don't know how you missed seeing me, as I'm the size of a cow right now, on top of the fact that I was hauling my toddler. But nonetheless, you continued to back out, despite my screaming, "HEY! HEY!" to you. I nearly fell backwards trying to get out of the way. I finally got out of your way, as you continued to back up, unaware that you'd almost killed me, my son, and my unborn child. I looked, and you were busy chatting on your cell phone, completely oblivious to your rearview mirrors and all. Then, you pulled back into your spot.

Crazy lady... you weren't even LEAVING! You were just straightening up your car, which honestly, didn't need to be straightened anyway. I looked around as I clutched my toddler in a death grip, and saw 10 witnesses, with mouths agape, so I know it wasn't my fault. Maybe next time, slow down if you're backing up and for the love of God, please use those rearview mirrors!!!

Sincerely,
The Big, Ol' Pregnant lady you almost hit

Wash Away

Somewhere in the corners of my heart and mind are tucked away memories of years gone by... Memories which have lay hidden for years, covered in dust and draped in cobwebs, untouched. Some memories are hidden in dark boxes, shut tight with padlocks and chains, hoping never to be opened again. Others, simply set aside, and forgotten. Nothing important happens to us which we can truly forget... it's just stored away, and possibly brought out from time to time to be remembered. And other times, we're jolted back to those memories, only to have to let them go, to wash them off, cherish them, and say goodbye to the other people we shared those memories with. Last night, I found out that my first boyfriend, someone I truly loved, was killed last month by a drunk driver. He was walking his dog when the driver hit them. He passed away 7 days later, leaving behind a wife, his parents, and sister. He was only 27 years old. And so, yesterday, I spent the evening holding my husband close, and rocking my son to sleep as breathed in the sweet smell of his soft hair.... and I was reminded how fragile this life is. And as I move forward with my present life, I'm also dealing with the memories... and mourning the loss of the one who shared those with me.

Requiem for Sleep

The past several nights have been tough. It seems as though our little girl really likes to boogy at night, and not only so, but prefers to lie sideways. Each night, I've tossed and turned as I tried to get comfortable, switching places with Forrest several times. He's been more than understanding, and has done his best to help. I know I'm entering the third trimester, I just didn't think I'd be this uncomfortable this soon. Now, I know that this is my body's way of getting me ready for midnight and early morning feedings, but honestly, it's not the sleep that I miss so much... it's the comfort of being able to lie down, stretch out, and feel good. Oh well, soon enough, soon enough. Only 12 more weeks left.

Friday I had my Glucose Tolerence Test. I sat next to a woman who was taking the 3 hour test. She was huge... and by huge I mean pregnant huge. (I always hate it when people point this out, so pardon my hypocrisy). I asked her how far along she was, and she said she was 32 weeks. Only 4 weeks ahead of me. And suddenly it struck me. I'm not even at the height of my girth, yet I feel enormous. With the two hottest months of the summer left, I may find myself bathing in tubs of ice and eating gallons of ice cream in single sittings. But somehow, I know I'll manage. If I could just get some goood sleep....

Bringing in the Big Guns

I totally lost my mind last night. I was cleaning out a drawer in the kitchen that holds our cooking utensils, since it was overstuffed with one too many spatulas. How we've accrued so many spatulas in our short 3 years of marriage is beyond me (actually, I blame it on Target, who failed to update our registry whenever someone bought us an OXO spatula, and refusing to accept a return without a gift receipt). Anyways... So there I was, cleaning out the drawer, when what to my horror do I discover, but tiny little black "things" littered throughout. Bending closer to inspect, I quickly realized that my entire word was being flipped on its head. The mice... had crossed a line.

Our previous attempts to eliminate the mice have resulted in mass failure, aside from the one tiny baby one we caught. After we caught and disposed of the mouse, the others seemed to get the message and high tail it out of here. We hadn't seen droppings in weeks, and now, as if they'd gone out recruiting an army, they were back.

My nightmare was only beginning with the cooking utensil drawer. I inspected our silverwear drawer, only to find droppings in there. I cautiously opened the tupperwear cabinet, only to find droppings in there as well. With each door opened, my stomached lurched further and further up my throat, until I could take it no longer. I sat in a puddle of tears in our kitchen as I thought of all the dishwashing I'd have to do to sanitize everything. Through my tears I grapsed at my stomach as I thought of the previous few days and the numerous times we'd used our silverwear and cooking utensils.

I picked up the phone and called my landlord. I begged them to please come over and look at the number of droppings themself, to assure them we weren't just dealing with one mouse. To their horror, I was right, and thankfully (God bless them) they called the pest control people to come out and deal with the problem. As I finish this post up, the exterminator just pulled up in the driveway. Pardon me while I go let him in, and possibly kiss him, as I am so happy he's here.

Oh yeah, and does anyone want to come help me do dishes? Or should I just throw them all away and start over again?

3 Year and Still Going Strong

Yesterday, we received a beautiful card in the mail wishing us a happy anniversary. My first reaction to the card was to laugh and mutter something about our anniversary not being for another few...

oh crap...

"It's tomorrow isn't it?" I thought to myself. Quickly I called Forrest to weasel out of him if he'd remembered or not. I quickly asked him what tomorrow was, and he paused, thought long and hard, and then laughed. "It's our anniversary isn't it?" he said. "So you forgot too?" "Yes... I'm so sorry!" he said. We both had a good laugh over forgetting, and made last minute arrangements to go out tonight, while my parents babysit. Living close to family ROCKS!!!

So anyways, this brought us to question. Is this something that happens to everyone with children or is it just us? Last year was easy to remember. Shepherd was just a litle baby and we were on vacation with family who insisted we go out for the evening. This year, I remembered our anniversary was coming up way back in April, and meant to make plans for it and all, but just forgot. Somewhere between chasing Shepherd off the dining room chairs (he now climbs them all the time) and begging my second little angle to pu-lease settle down a tad, because no one likes a dancing fetus in your RIBCAGE...I kind of forgot about the whole shebang.

I guess in the end, it's not that big of a deal, since we actually remembered before our anniversary, even if only a day before. All that said, I am so incredibly fortunate to have such a wonderful partner and husband in Forrest. I cannot even imagine living my life without him. With him, I feel safe, loved, accepted, and at home. I am truly blessed to have him, and my love for him grows daily. Thank you for 3 wonderful years, honey. I love you! Happy Anniversary!!!

The Trouble with Thumbkin

I am totally not going to make it through my kids learning to talk without getting the giggles and teaching them bad words. Today, a friend came over with her son. As we sat there, eating a snack, her son yelled out, "Where is F**kin'?!"

Eyes bugging out of her head, his mother, horrified, quietly asked him what he just said. He repeated, "Where is f**kin'!?" louder and clearer.

My friends eyes met mine, and together, we totally lost it laughing. I walked away from the table laughing, as my friend tried to figure out what on earth he was really trying to say, when it finally dawned on her. He'd learned the song, Where is Thumbkin earlier in the day, and was having trouble (no kidding!) with the word Thumbkin. After several moments of pleading with her son to stop, and with his escalating screams of profanity followed by exhilirated giggles, we finally were able to convince him to stop cursing, if only by convincing him that Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star was WAY funnier than Where is Thumbkin.

27 weeks

I still can't believe how fast time is flying by. I realized today that I'm in my 27th week of this pregnancy. In just a few short days, I'll be in my 28th week. Crazy. The baby is kicking up a storm. Last night, I watched as she did summersaults in my belly, making everything move. Forrest watched in amazement too, as she shifted from side to side. She's quite an active little booger, very much like her big brother was during my pregnancy with him. And much like her brother, she hates being balled up, and stretches out as much as possible, leaving my ribs already bruised only 27 weeks into this pregnancy. Despite the similarities, there are a few differences. I'm carrying lower this time, and my belly is alot more "pointy". With Shepherd, I had a very round and even belly, but with our little girl, I'm noticing odd angles, and bulges at random areas. Either you truly do carry different with girls than boys, or I weigh less this time, and can see more of the baby than last time. It's hard to believe that I only have a few months left before she's born. It seems like only yesterday I found out I was pregnant, and her I am, starting to waddle and moan about back pain. Before you know it, she'll be here!!

Wicked Witch of the West

This mouse thing has totally turned me into the Wicked Witch. With several nights of no dead mice in our traps, Forrest and I rigged several traps up with cheese jammed into the trigger. Forrest rigged a few traps to be hair sensitive, and as we left the kitchen, I caught myself rubbing my hands together, murmerring, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little buddy too!". The next morning, we awoke, and voila! DEAD MOUSE!! Of course, my stomach totally flip flopped, and and I had to recruit Forrest into disposing of the beast, but alas! The mouse is dead. I did a little victory dance around the kitchen whilst singing, "Ding Dong, the mouse is dead, the mouse is dead...." and so on. We seem to have caught our critter.

That said, I still feel ridiculously filthy when I walk in my kitchen. Granted, I've scrubbed the counters down pretty good, but for some reason, I feel as though it could be slightly more sanitary. So out with the Clorox wipes, and enter the straight up clorox solution. I plan on spending my afternoon with clorox, gloves, and a tiny toothbrush to clean out every possible crevace these vermin may have touched. Wish me luck!

Beach Bum

So Sweet
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.

This past weekend, we spent at the beach... we had such a wonderful time with Shepherd, we cannot wait to go back again. He absolutely LOVED the water, squeeling and laughing as he stomped through the tide pools. He'd run and run through the water towards the ocean, falling a few times, but getting right back up and running some more. Nothing scares this child... not even big waves (well, they did at first, but he got over it quickly). We had a blast watching him run and play. We also spent some time at the Aquarium and enjoyed looking at all the fish and turtles. He put his new signs for fish, turtle and boat to good use, and by the end of the day, was pointing at every fish in sight, signing fish. So cute! All in all, it was a good weekend...

Check out more pictures on flickr by clicking on picture above.

These are some Dadgumed Lucky Mice

Total Mouse Traps = 6
Bait = Peanut Butter


Dead Mice = 0
Mouse Traps licked clean = 6


Seriuosly, what are we doing wrong?

15 months

Shepherd,

Wow... I hardly know what to write about, since this last month has gone by so incredibly fast. And on top of that, you are changing so much every day, that it's nearly impossible to document what new things you know.

You've begun to repeat everything we say. E-VER-Y-THING. In fact, the other day, while we were riding in the car, I was joking with your daddy, and said something about someone acting like a jackass. No sooner had the word left my mouth, I heard this little voice from the back seat say "Jaaaa...", as though you were trying to say the word. Of all the words I had said, that was the one you'd picked to repeat. We now know that we must be incredibly careful what we say around you.

You're also picking up more and more words for body parts. You have known where your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hair are for a few months now, but recently added elbow, knees, feet, toes, and your favorite, bellybutton. You're quick to show anyone your bellybutton, and quick to point out their bellybutton to them by lifting up their shirts. I'm amazed at how quickly you learn now, as opposed to even a few weeks ago.

You also are learning new words every day. You have so many words and signs that I cannot keep track of all you know. This weekend, you learned the sign for boat and bird, mostly because we were at the beach and you kept pointing to both of them, as if to ask what they were. You picked up on the signs immediately, and were fascinated with every boat and bird you saw. At the aquarium, you squeeled and laughed at all of the fish. You even came up with a new sign all on your own. After seeing the big sea turtle swimming in the tank, you raised your arms up and flapped them around, just as the sea turtle was doing to swim around in the water.

Your sense of humor has really come out this past month, and you laugh at mommy and daddy when they do silly things. A silly face from daddy makes you giggle like crazy, and a silly dance by mommy makes you laugh out loud. You love to entertain us, and will dance and "shake your booty" when we ask you to. When we have company over, you love to do silly things to make them laugh, and the more they laugh, the more and more you love doing the silly things. You're quite the ham, and love being the center of attention.

I look back over the past 15 months, and realize how much things have changed. I've been doing a lot of thinking about when you were a little baby, probably because you are going to have a little sister this fall. I keep thinking what she will look like, and try so very hard to remember what you were like at that age. It's so hard to remember, even though it wasn't that long ago, but the one thing that sticks out in my mind about that time was how impossible it seemed that you'd ever reach the age that you are now. I want to remember that, because it's so hard to enjoy those first few months when it seems all you did was poop, eat, and sleep. I want to remember because when your sister comes, I'll feel the same way. I hope and pray that I don't wish those first few months away wishing she were the age you are now. I have to remember that it took that long for you to grow up, and that I wouldn't change it for the world.

I love you little man... more than you will ever know. Happy 15 months!

Love,
Mommy

Long Weekend + Best Headline of the Day

We're heading out of town for a long weekend with my father-in-law, which may or may not include lazy beach combing and lots of sand and sun. I'll be sure to post pictures when we get back, as I expect to have lots of them.

I'll leave you with the best headline in the news today... or at least the one that cracked me up:

Rogue toddler destroys monks artwork

Because, seriously? Rouge toddler?? I thought that word was reserved for secret agents or something of the sort, although if you think about it, it wouldn't be that surprising if these little guys weren't secret agents, conspiring to drive their parents absolutely insane!! :)

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!!

Of Mice and Corinne

I like to consider myself an animal lover. I've always had a special place in my heart for animals of all kinds (bugs don't really count). If the animal was furry and cute, I was in love. Of course, there are your usual housepets I loved, dogs, cats, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits, chinchilas, and so on. Then, of course outside animals, cows, horses, donkeys, pigs, anything on a farm. I even thought house mice were cute, and was one of the few in my 8th grade class who didn't freak out when a little grey mouse decided to sit in on a math lesson. I just figured he wanted to learn.

However, in recent years, I've found myself more and more prone to hate certain animals... yes... certain furry animals. Our old apartment was over-run with stray cats. At first, I felt sorry for the little cats, and tried my best to get the animal shelter to come out and catch them. Then the female cat had kittens. "Hooray!" I thought, "now the kittens will get management's attention and the animal shelter will catch them and they will be adopted!" Much to my changrin, the kittens were not captured, and instead, grew up and started having babies of their own. One time, a little kitten crawled up in my engine and got stuck. Thankfully I heard the kitten before starting my car, and managed to fish the little guy out. I called animal control to let them know I'd caught one, and they came out to collect it (they'd come to collect animals, just not trap them). Yet, even after talking with the animal control officer, they did nothing. Our apartment was overrun with cats, so much so that we began tracking fleas inside. In to where my precious baby, my beautiful 7 month old baby was learning to crawl. I started down a path I'd never thought I'd go down. I started hating those cats. I'd hiss at them, stomp at them, I was angry at them. But more than that, I was angry at the woman downstairs who refused to stop feeding the cats, thus keeping them around.

Thankfully, we moved away before I ever snapped, and I went back to loving animals again, even stray ones. Several weeks into our new home here in NC, we had a little visitor. A little grey mouse had gotten himself caught in one of our ceiling lights. We carefully trapped him (and his fried little buddy) in a trash can and promptly did the humane thing to do.... released him into the woods across the street. Problem solved. Or so we thought.

This this past saturday, we were cleaning the house, and I decided to do more than just a standard wipedown of the counters, and move everything off and scrub really good. As I moved the flour/sugar/tea canisters, I noticed little black droppings everywhere. Upon closer inspsection, it was obvious we had more visitors. This time, it wasn't just one. Angry that our little friend hadn't appreciated my saving him from proper drowning in the toilet, and instead had brought back a party, I set out to the local hardware store. We purchased two traps that looked easy enough to use. Gone, I thought, are the days of the old fashioned wood traps that are near impossible to set. In their place are the new plastic, easy to set traps. We purchased two and set home, gloating in our smart purchase, hoping to wake up the next morning with two dead mice. That was not the case. The little buggers still ran around our kitchen (as evidenced by their droppings everywhere), yet didn't venture near our traps.

The next night, we set the traps out again, this time with pieces of cracker set down deep in the trap. We awoke the following morning only to find our traps cleaned out, and little cracker crumbs strewn about the counter along with fresh mouse droppings. Infuriated, we headed back to the hardware store, only this time to purchasee some poison, because these mice just HAD TO GO. We set out the poison, inspired by the hardware store man who went on and on about how mice LOVE to eat this stuff, and how quickly they'd be gone. Just for safe measure, we set the traps out again, this time, baited with peanut butter. This morning, we awoke to find our traps cleaned out again (they licked the stupid trap CLEAN) and the bait/poison untouched.

I am beyond insinced. I have no idea what to do now. I may go out and purchase 50 old fashioned wooden traps and line the walls and counter with them, hoping a bloody massacre of mice will happen. Have any of you had this problem? I'm at my wits end cleaning the counters off every morning with clorox, and I'm trying very hard not to think about where else these little vermin may be roaming.

25 weeks

This morning, as I was showering, I realized that I only have 15 weeks left in this pregnancy. Only 15 weeks?! Where has the time gone? I'm definately feeling more and more pregnant, as my belly has popped out. It's harder to bend over and pick up Shepherd, and near impossible to get comfortable sitting or sleeping. The little lady is kicking up a storm, and her patterns are pretty predictable. She almost always gets to going around 3 or 4 in the afternoon, with a flurry of activity right before I go to bed. Earlier this week, I started having some pretty intense Braxton Hicks contractions, enough to where I called the after-hours nurse, who told me to call back if they continued after another hour, or if I experienced more than 4 contractions in one hour. Of course, I'd already had 5 that previous hour, and told her that. We scheduled and appointment the following morning just to double check everything and make sure nothing was progressing. I met another doctor from this new practice and liked him a whole lot. He was so wonderfully nice, and reassuring. Everything checked out, and the baby is doing great. He said since I had early contractions with Shepherd, that I'd probably have even more with this one... especially since everything has already stretched out once before. The babie's heartbeat was super strong, and my weight gain is wonderful (so far only 8 lbs, but I'd lost 6 pounds the first trimester, putting me only 2 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight).

I'm getting more and more excited about this pregnancy. It's not that I haven't been excited, it's just so hard to focus on being pregnant when chasing after a 15 month old. It's much easier now to focus on being pregnant when my belly is in the way of chasing and running after Shepherd, making it a challenge to keep up with him anymore. I'm having to find more creative ways of corraling him so I don't have to run after him. Thankfully, our mall has a wonderful play area for toddlers that's completely closed in. They also have free wireless, allowing me to type this entry while Shepherd runs screaming around the play area climbing everything he can. Another bonus? No one seems to know that the play area opens early in the morning, so no one is here. So here I type, on free internet, and not having to chase my son around, only glance up from time to time to check on where he is. Whoop, gotta go!!! He's on top of the slide!!

Good Reading

Good Reading
Originally uploaded by meandscreech.

Nothing says "Happy Mother's Day" than seeing your son enjoy a good book...

Ever wonder if He liked Milwaukee's Best?

While perusing the shelves of my mother-in-law's vast collection of books, I stumbled across a book that looked quite interesting. I laughed aloud at the title, and pulled it off the shelf.


Imagine my dissapointment when it wasn't a book about Jesus' childhood obsession with beer, or better still, a guide to Jesus' recommended brews. Instead, I found that the authors name was Beers, and that it was poorly placed on the spine. Still, at least it made for a good chuckle.

I've Created a Monster...

A Strawberry eating monster...

14 months

Shepherd,

A few weeks ago, you turned 14 months. I know, I know, I'm a little behind in the monthly newsletter, but this blogging thing is getting harder and harder, as it is way more fun to play with you. More and more, you are developing the most precious and wonderful personality, making it harder and harder to put to words how you've changed.


This month, your vocabulary has taken off. You learn signs very fast, and you're not afraid to try out new words. Just last night, you were carrying your toy remote around, and held it up to me as if to ask what it was. I told you it was a remote. You paused, looked at it, and slowly but very confidently repeated "meh-mote". The pure wonder in that moment of you repeating back to me what I'd just said can never be described. I sat there in amazement, begging you to say it again by prompting, "what is this?" You'd reply, "Mote!" "Meh-MOTE!" with excitement. Later that night, during your bath, you picked up a fish, made the sign for it (you just learned the sign yesterday) and then said, "ey-yee". You pointed to the fish's eye, then to your own, looking up to daddy and me for confirmation. You pointed to the mouth and said, "mou" and then to the nose and said "nuh". You know all the parts of your face, including ear "ee-yer". You also made a sign up for daddy's beard, where you stroke your chin as though you're up to no good.


Not only are you an excellent communicator, but you figure things out so incredibly fast. You know that keys work in cars and doors, and if you find daddy's keys, you either attempt to open the front door to go outside (your favorite sign right now) or you ride your tractor, trying to fit the keys in the ignition. You know that doors open by their handles, and you are constantly trying to open doors. We are soon going to have to buy some safety knobs so that you can't open them. Saturday night, Gram babysat you, and she pulled out one of Uncle Jussy's old toys. It was a workbench, complete with screws, hammers, and bolts, and the necessary tools to manipulate them. Gram showed you how to turn the screwdriver and make the screw go in. You grabbed the screwdriver from her, placed it properly in the screw, and started turning. Just like that, you'd figured it out.


This month also was a hard month. You've cut 4 teeth this month, and you're already working on your canines. This hasn't been a fun experience, but usually, you handle it like a champ. The only time that it's just too much for you is in the evening, when our day is winding down. You begin to get fussy, and very quickly, it turns into hysterical screams of pain that nothing can soothe. We try to soothe the pain, oh boy do we try. But holding you close is about the only thing that seems to help. After crying yourself tired, you wind up falling asleep, and then amazingly you then sleep 13 hours straight, without as much as a peep from you. The only thing we figure is that you're just so tired from all that crying that you just poop out.


This month, you've also started helping us out a whole lot. You're fascinated with the broom, and help mommy sweep the deck off. You also love helping us dust the coffee table. But the most fun we've had cleaning was when we washed the car in the from yard. You grabbed a rag, and helped us wash the dirt off. You weren't sure about the water coming out of the hose, but that didn't stop you from exploring how it worked, even if every time the water came out, you cried and ran for one of us.


But all in all, you are a brave little boy, venturing out in the yard to check new things out, climbing on top of everything you can, and learning to slide off the bed feet first. You love dogs, and cats, even if Garfield, Gram and Grandaddy's cat, hissed at you after you grabbed his tail. You love other kids, and love playing with them. You make friends with everyone you meet, and have never met a stranger.

I only hope that this next month holds as much joy and fun as this last one, as it seems every month gets better and better. I know everyone always says that it gets better, and as cliche as that may sound, it is so very true. I say that every month, but I can't help it. I love you little man... keep up the hard work of learning, and never, ever give up.

Love,

Mommy