Ian

Ian

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Sweet, Quirky, Loveable You.

Dear Ian,

Yesterday was your ninth month-day, and although EVERYONE told me that it would go by fast, I can't get past the speed in which the past nine months have gone by. It almost makes my heart hurt. But then I think of all of the wonderful times and experiences to come, and I'm almost ok with it.

During the past 270 or so days, I have gotten to know a funny, happy, lovable little person. As more and more days go by and your personality emerges even more, you show me bits and pieces of the person that you will grow into. I decided to write this post now to record some of your little habits and quirks that have already become apparent, and it will be neat to look back and see how they have grown or changed as you have grown and changed.

Even as of now, you have a funny little sense of humor. You LOVE to laugh and you smile a lot. It just takes a bit of effort to do these things. To you, things are only funny once during a time period. For example, if we blow raspberries on your belly, you will laugh at if for the first couple of times, but then you're done. It's not funny anymore, and you will refuse to laugh! This cracks me and your Daddy up! Oh, it will be funny again tomorrow, or maybe even in a couple of hours, but once you're done, you're done.

You also like to have "Ian Time." Every now and then during playtime, you will sometimes get a little overwhelmed and just need to step away. At first, I didn't quite recognize your signals for this, and I ended up with a grumpy baby on my hands, but after a while, we got to understand each other. Now, you will put your hands over your eyes and make a particular (often whiny) sound, and I know that's your signal for a break. Sometimes I just sit on the couch and you do your own thing while I watch. Other times I will put you in your crib with a couple of books and you will sit a read for a few minutes. When you are ready to play again, you either climb up on my legs or call out to me. It's neat to see your independence and confidence to play alone growing. You are such a little individual, even this young, and I am proud of your ability to recognize that you need a break. I still have trouble with this skill.

One of your little quirks that I love involves your bedtime routine. Lovey, in particular. I first introduced Lovey to you when we weaned your pacifier. (That was a trying three days, but we made it!) I wanted to help you through that tough time by offering a comfort item that you could have to soothe yourself instead of a pacifier. You and Lovey hit it off right away. Now when I put you to bed, you grab Lovey, grin from ear to ear and snuggle it. Then when you start to get sleepy, you put Lovey in your mouth and chew it to bits! :) You typically only have Lovey when it's time to sleep, but I wonder how long Lovey will be with us. Sometimes I'm reminded of Linus from the Peanuts cartoon, who carried his blanket around everywhere. You and Lovey, I think, have a long future ahead of you.

You love the water, watching the Weather Channel and fish. As a matter of fact, Daddy and I are considering getting you a fish tank this weekend. You don't mind having your fingernails cut, and your favorite finger food as of now is cut up grapes. You love to play with my hair while you have a bottle, and Daddy is still your favorite person on the planet. Books thrill you, especially your Little Scholastic Colors book and Blankie, and for some reason I cannot fathom, you LOVE to play with our coasters.

Such a funny little guy you are, and I am so lucky that you are part of our family. When we first started telling people that we were pregnant, the second nugget of wisdom that people dished out, after "it goes by so fast" was "you'll forget what life was like without him." Well, actually, we do remember life before Ian; a life of sleeping until noon, randomly going places without having to pack a diaper bag or worry about nap schedules and the like. So with that part, people were wrong. What they should have said is more like, "sweet baby, since you came into our lives you have made us whole, and we can't imagine our future without you."

I love you, idiosyncrasies and all,
Mommy

1 comment:

  1. I'm right there with you and my son is almost tWO!!!!
    Time goes by in a blink, doesn't it?
    Karen, you have a gorgeous, wonderful little boy and I can't wait to meet him on one of your visits down here or one of mine up there.

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