My littlest baby will be one two weeks from today. When did this happen? I ask myself.
While I wouldn’t trade him for anything in the world, I guess the sleepless nights with him have kind of hazed my life into a series of moments and “Did-I-remember-to-do-thats?” These boys have turned out to be so different, and yet I know they are both my children by the littlest nuances about their personalities, their likes and their dislikes.
Alex has been tougher in that he’s still not sleep-trained (sob), and wakes up at least once a night. This has been an extremely long and rough winter for us. He’s managed to catch every bug that’s come through our daycare, and difficulty with his eczema has caused him to have to take antibiotics three times because he’s scratched so much that it’s gotten infected. I just hope that he’s like Grayson in that he grows out of it after this first winter.
I had good intentions of keeping a baby book the second time around. (Hell, I had good intentions of filling out one for Grayson, too, but that didn’t happen.) But I have tons of pictures and videos, so there’s that.
For my Sweet Baby Boy
Since I have no baby book to give you, here are some of the things that have happened during your first year of life:
– You have eight teeth (six on top and two on bottom), and your Dad and I have drugged you most every night since October because they have been quite the literal pain for you, and have taken FOR-E-VER to break through. God help us when your molars come in.
– You say “mama” and make my face light up like sunshine every time I hear it.
– You finally mastered real knee-to-elbow crawling about a month ago and we see you turn on the turbo whenever Grayson has a toy you want or if there’s a piece of dog food on the floor that hasn’t been claimed.
– Oh yes, you’ve tried dog food. And worse, you appeared to like it.
– I’ve also pried dog hair, chalk, and soap out of your mouth. (Hey, it’s hard to keep stuff off the floor with your brother around!)
– You love to pet Leela and climb all over her and she doesn’t seem to care. Ellie,on the other hand, won’t let you come near her. Shredder won’t, either.
– For about a month, all I could get you to eat was mashed sweet potatoes. I had nightmares you were going to turn into an orange root vegetable and people were going to eat you with their Thanksgiving dinner because SON, YOU WOULDN’T EAT ANYTHING ELSE.
– Then finally, you gave us a break and started trying other foods. Some of your favorites: Cheese, Cheerios, sausage, crackers, scrambled eggs, rice.
– You were bald until you were about 8 months old, and we have lovingly called you pelonchas since your birth. Be ready to have this be your nickname until you move out of the house. Other nicknames include: Baby Alex, little man.
– You grab my neck when you’re happy and squish your face into my face and in that moment, I am so happy to be your mother that I feel I can literally feel my heart swell.
I want so many things for you, my sweet baby Alex. I want you to love music. I want you to love animals. I want you to feel free to pursue whatever tugs at your heart, even if it means you’re poorer than you would have been otherwise. I hope you love to read. I hope you love to laugh, and that you find someone that makes you laugh the way your dad makes me laugh. But mostly, I hope you will be happy.
You are my second and last-born, and I love you so very much. Happy (almost) Birthday, my sweet one.
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