La Vida Ladybird: July 2009

Dear EC,

Last week you turned ten months old. Why am I late writing this letter? Well, I have been chasing your little crawling rear-end all around the house. You are like the Energizer bunny, you never stop. Ever. EVER. Needless to say, I have been saying many words like “No”, “Stop”, “Don’t eat that!” and “Get out of the dog food!”

I was so excited when you decided to crawl. You have been trying for over a month. You would get up on your hands and knees and wiggle, but then just sit back down. You would move a knee or an arm every once in a while. When I would move them for you, to try to teach you to crawl, you would go into fits of giggles. Then one Sunday at Granny Garton’s house, you decided that today was the day…….and you took off across her living room floor like a bolt of lightning. You haven’t stopped since.

Not only are you crawling, but you are pulling up on everything……couches, tables, the side of the bathtub, your bed. Absolutely nothing is safe. You will pull up on it and hit it with your hands. It is usually accompanied by a little yell that says, “Behold! I have pulled up on this end-table! I claim this end-table in the name of all mankind!” My little conqueror!

This also means that you are into everything that you shouldn’t be. Because you were pulling up on your bedrails, we lowered your mattress to the lowest level. While your father and I were doing this, you pulled up on your changing table, pulled out a basket and scattered all your bibs across the floor. You were working on your basket of socks when I finally got to you. You were thrilled with your victory over the changing table! “Whoo-Ha! Behold! This changing table is MINE!”

You got your top two front teeth this month. Of course this was accompanied by the usual runny nose and grumpiness. I slept in the recliner with you a couple of nights because of your little cough. But WOW have you started eating like a big boy. You will gnaw on anything that we give you. You love Cherrios, macaroni or anything noodle-y, Jell-o, and whipped cream. We went to eat at Catfish Kitchen and you ate fish, hushpuppies, white beans and potatoes…..all cut up into tiny pieces of course. Some parents tell me about what a picky eater their child is and, so far, we haven’t found a food that you DON’T like. Well, you didn’t really like sour kraut, but I just fed that to you to watch your face pucker up. It was pretty humorous.

You love the summer time! We have gone swimming several times and you are like a little fish. You are not scared of the water what-so-ever. We have to hang on to you or you will jump right out of our arms. You love to kick and splash and bounce with Daddy. You even go swimming with your babysitter some days.

Have I ever told you about your babysitter? Mrs. Tracy watches you four days a week and she is AWESOME! You have been on so many adventures this summer with her family. You have been to the park, the library, swimming pool, several shopping trips, the school cafeteria to have lunch with her sons and even to Chuck E. Cheese a couple of times. I never know where your adventures will take you! You are so lucky to have an awesome lady like Mrs. Tracy to watch over you. She is an angel in disguise.

I have to say that you have some pretty interesting toys. Forget all the store bought, bright-colored, educational toys that are made for kids your age. Those simply aren’t good enough. Your favorite things are Daddy’s backscratcher, your nose bulb, a measuring cup, a hair brush and a wooden spoon. All of the animals run in another room when they see you holding the backscratcher, because you can really whop them in the head with that thing!

This month you have really changed from a baby to a toddler. If I write about all of your accomplishments this month, I will write a novel. Like how you sleep on your tummy now, with your rump up in the air. You wave bye-bye to people when they are leaving. Or how you learned to clap, so I get a round of applause for everything I do now. I can keep going and going.

But you are still my baby and I love it when you still do baby-like things. Every night before I lay you down in your crib, you snuggle into my neck. With that soft, warm baby breath on my neck, I whisper “I love you” a million times into your ear. You will forever be my baby.

I love you heart and soul,
Mommy