Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Monthly Newsletter, Month Six

Dear Nate,

You are halfway through your first year. I can't believe it's only been 6 months! It seems like you've been with us forever.

You had a lot of family time this month. We spent a week in Aruba with your Grandma Jill, and Grandpa, and Aunt D. It was wonderful for all of us. You grin every time you see your Grandpa, and you are so comfortable and happy with Grandma Jill and Aunt D. They all love you so much!



Aruba was a lot of "firsts" for you - you swam in a kiddie pool and a big pool. Funny enough, you hated the kiddie pool but loved the big pool. When we tried to put you in the kiddie pool you cried, and cried. We even tried putting your bathtub in the pool first, and then putting you in the tub so it would feel familiar, but that just pissed you off. Aunt D figured out that you liked being held in the big pool, and we had a lot of fun after that.



You also got to dig your toes in the sand and feel the sand. You seemed to really like it!



Your Daddy laughed at me for covering you up so much, but the thought of an already sleepless baby getting a sunburn made me cringe. I love you so much Nate, but you're a lot of work already! I didn't need you to get sick, too.

You are so inquisitive and curious. You want to grab everything in sight and in reach. In Aruba, Daddy was trying to take a nice photo of us, but you were busy grabbing for the rocks I was leaning against!



Your hair is filling in a tiny bit, but mostly you still have that one tuft on the top of your head. Your Daddy said that you look like a radish. We love our little radish!



You're sitting up now, and it makes it so much easier for you to get your hands on your toys. You're not stable enough to leave alone yet, but you can really balance now - even when you reach for a toy and pull it to your mouth. This gives Mama the option of putting you on the bed with some toys while she gets dressed using both of her hands! This makes your Mama happy.

You have perfected what we call your "teradactyl scream." When you're happy, you open your mouth wide and make this squealy noise at the ceiling. It's such a horrible sound, but I love it. I love that you're happy, and calling it out for everyone to hear.

In the last few weeks, you have come to clearly prefer your Mama, and I can't deny that it makes me feel good. You have also finally started to cuddle with everyone, just a bit. When I hold you and walk with you, you no longer keep your arms stretched out to the side like you're balancing (I must admit that it offended me a bit when you did that, like you didn't trust me!). You casually rest a hand on my arm, and when you're tired you even lay your head down on my shoulder.



You are an expert teether. No fussing, no waking, no nothing - just two little teeth popping through.

A long time ago, Mama had a boss who loved children. He finally had a son, and dreamed of taking his son to the beach for the first time. When his son was a year old, they finally took a trip to the beach. They walked to the sand, spread out their blanket, and put the boy down. The son walked off the edge of the blanket onto the sand, stopped, picked up his foot, brushed the sand off, and refused to leave the blanket for the rest of the vacation. Mama thought of that story when you delightfully squished your hands and feet into the wet sand. I am so glad that you're a boy who is going to grab at life, and squish your hands through it. I'll do anything I can to help.

Love,
Mama

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