Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Someday

Someday, I will purchase a piece of furniture that I don't have to put together (and that does not come from Ikea, Target, or HomeDecorators.com - not that there's anything wrong with those places... you know what I mean). I will organize my desk, and my hall cabinet so that I know where the staples, and the tape, and the printer paper are - without having to dig. I will put things away in their proper place, and not have piles to sort through at the end of the month.

I will wake up earlier than the baby so that we will be ready to leave the house when he is done with breakfast and dressed. I will even wake up early enough to put on my yoga DVD and do my a.m. stretch. I will pick a diet (or way of life, as I guess it should be) and stick to it.

I will complete not only my business to-do list, but also my personal/domestic one instead of collapsing onto the couch with a glass of wine and piece of chocolate after the baby is asleep. I will update my blog regularly (or at least write down the things I would like to write about before they escape me 30 seconds later).

I. Will. Be. Patient. (And if I believed in making new year's resolutions, that would be it.) Patient in my work. Patient with my son. Patient with my family. Patient with myself. I will breathe. I will count to 10. I will appreciate the little things more, and I will say, "I can't wait until..." less. I will forgive more easily, and I will move on from the things that hold me back.

Dare I say it? This is my year.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Nine Months

Dear Joey,

About three weeks ago, you turned nine months old. (I know, I know! I'm behind again.) That means you will be turning one in less than three months, and I have to start planning your birthday party now. Yes, mom is a planner, and the thing I love planning most is parties. OK, but I'm getting ahead of myself here... back to month nine!

You had a well check with Dr. M, and you were 19lbs, 7ozs and 28 inches long. You have grown almost 10 inches since you were born - that is just amazing to me - and you seem to grow bigger every single day. Sometimes, you wake up in the morning, and I do not see the same baby I put to bed the night before. As of today, you have 6 teeth (when you turned 9 months though, you had 5 and the 6th was working its way out). You are doing surprisingly well with teething, and it doesn't really seem to be upsetting your nighttime sleep too much.


It seems like the older you get, the faster time moves. Every day, you are less like a baby, and more like a little boy. The way you interact with the people around you is changing - you participate (or want to participate) in every activity more, you flirt or play peek-a-boo with anyone that will look your way at the grocery store, and you want to do just about everything all by yourself! You explore everything you can get your hands on, which means we have started to child-proof the house. For the most part, we have left the cabinets unlocked (except for the one where the trash is, and the one where mom's breakables are). You are still trying to climb everything, and you make daddy walk you around the house any chance you get.


Some very exciting things happened during your 9th month. You finally got to meet your Uncle Ray (daddy's brother) and you absolutely adore him - and although he might not admit it, I think the feeling is mutual! It was very special for you to meet Uncle Ray because he is in the Army, and we don't get to see him nearly often enough. In just a few days, he will be heading to Germany for three years! He is very excited to go, and we can't wait to hear his stories - you will come to find out that Uncle Ray is a great story teller (although I hope he doesn't tell you some of his stories until you are much, much older!).


You also had your first Christmas. You got lots of fun things to play with - walk-behind/ride-on toys, a train, a car and truck, a teddy bear, some new clothes... I know I'm missing something here! Basically, you were absolutely spoiled. But the part you enjoyed the most? Tearing and eating wrapping paper and climbing on and into boxes. Yep, we can definitely say with confidence that you are totally normal! You were so tired out from all the festivities, you slept until almost 9:00 the day after - the latest you have ever slept. Uncle Ben, Auntie Alli and little Ricky came down to visit for Christmas, too. You were quite interested in your little cousin, and we spent a lot of time telling you, "Gentle! Be gentle with Ricky!" It was so much fun to see the two of you together, and I know as you both grow older, it will be even more fun.






You are starting to communicate with us more, and although your main method of telling us you need something is to yell or cry, you have started to wave, you say "ba ba" when I ask if you want a bottle, and sometimes you say Dada (although we're not sure if you know what you're saying, or if it's just another sound to you). You have started to try to blow raspberries on us, just like we do to your belly or cheeks - sometimes you get it, and sometimes you succeed in covering us in drool - either way, it is pretty funny. You also make this "rrrrrrrr" sound - I don't really know how to describe it. Basically like you are rolling an 'R', but you have different pitches that you make when you are either upset or happy.


You are trying more and more new foods, and lately all you want is whatever we are eating. Some of the things you like are actually kind of surprising to me - asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower. Thinking about feeding you has made me start to think harder about what I feed daddy and I, too. If I don't want it to go in your body, maybe it shouldn't go in mine either. (Although completely saying goodbye to chocolate and other occasional indulgences may prove to be pretty difficult!) You love watermelon, cheese, Cheerios, pasta... anything you can feed yourself, really!

(Not really your 1st St. Patty's Day - Grandma just got that on sale)

It is getting more and more difficult to bring you to work with me during the week - you are very active, and it is just not safe for you to crawl around the shop. You get very frustrated with this, and some days I seem to spend more time distracting you than working. I struggle on a daily basis with what to do about it. Daddy and I have talked about putting you in daycare a couple days a week so that I can get my work done, and you can have some time to interact with other kids (something you don't get nearly enough of, and I know you would definitely enjoy). But it is hard to think of someone else taking care of you, or me missing anything new that you do - like saying "Mama" or taking your first steps. We have also talked about me working more from home, and although grandpa would miss seeing you at work every day, this is probably going to be our best option for now. You take better naps when you are at home and in your own bed, which means you are happier, and you sleep better at night (which means daddy and I are happier, too!). Whatever decision we make, rest assured that we will have thought long and hard about it, and we will always have your best interest in mind to make sure you are safe, happy and receiving the best care possible.


I know I've said it before, but you really are an amazing little person. We love you so much, and I am so happy that I get to be your mom.

Love,
Mom