Friday, June 20, 2008

Jack's Monthly Newsletter, Month Seven

Dear Jack,

Happy seven-month birthday, sweet boy. You're coming along.



You continue to amaze everyone with your happy nature and your big smiles. When I'm holding you facing outwards and people start to interact with you, I can tell you're grinning because the sides of your cheeks push outwards with the force of your smile. I honestly can't think of a time when someone got your attention and you didn't reward them with a smile, even when you've been sick, even when you've been tired. A lesson to be learned, I think.

Sleep is still elusive, but I see some progress. Without any "training" on my part, you've started skipping some of your night-waking. Two nights in a row you slept from 7 to 3:30, and again until 6. And last night you did have a feed at midnight, but then slept until 5:30. So progress is slow, but it's there.

You can be quite the inquisitive one. I try to keep several soft toys with me when I put you in the car, and as you accidentally toss each one over the side of your carseat I hand you a new one. I love stealing glances of you in the mirror as you handle each one, turn it all around, look at every piece of it, and thoughtfully chew on the different parts. Sometimes you hum the whole time you're doing your examinations.



You are pretty content with almost anything we're doing. You love the swings in the park, but you also love it when I just throw you up in the air. You love it when your brother wants to hang out in your crib with you, but you also love it when the cashier at the store talks to you. Life is one grand adventure, and you're just taking it all in.

Contentment aside, you are not a physically calm baby. You are constantly moving, squirming, grabbing, pulling, and fidgeting around. When I feed you, I always give you a little blanket or your Pooh bear to fondle, but you're never content with it. You spend pretty much the whole time reaching up as high as you can to grab and pull my hair. It's your prime directive: must pull hair. Hard. I'm logging today as your first official crawl, though it was just a bitty one - you got up on all fours and then tried to push into a push-up position, and when you came down you slightly moved one knee forward before collapsing onto your belly. Good job, buddy.

There's just no way a Mom of two kids can help comparing them, even when they try not to. So I'll just get it out in the open: you are far more social than Nate ever was, and you are far less physical. You still haven't cut a tooth and you've just started to be able to sit up. I am constantly surprised when you do things differently than Nate did, but I'm soaking it all up. I'm so glad that you're your own little person; that I get someone totally different to love.



Tonight Daddy and I are taking our first weekend away in quite a long time. Grandma and Grandpa are going to stay with you and Nate and take wonderful care of you. I hope that I don't miss you guys, but I know I'll be thinking about you. For better and for worse, taking care of you and your brother is the point of my life, my prime directive. I wouldn't have it any other way.

I love you.
Mama

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