Dearest Boy: Month Twelve

Dear Jensen,

On the morning you were born, you came into this world hollering,

so to commemorate that special day one year ago, the girls and I decided to sing to you.  I think our version of happy birthday is much nicer than yours!

So many things that we have all learned about you in these past twelve months!  You are independent and let people know when you don't want their help.  If you had words, it would be more civilized, but you don't have words so you just scream like a tea kettle until people leave you alone. 

You love to laugh.  You are constantly trying to play peek-a-boo or hide your face so you can be surprised when you see someone looking at you.  This is a lot of fun for everyone because your little giggle is hilarious! No one make you laugh as hard as your Daddy does, but I know all the fun tickle spots and can get you going pretty good myself.  We know this won't last forever, so we are constantly doing what we can to make you smile!

You have learned that if you hold your arms up, someone will pick you up.  You aren't really particular about who it is, but if you are currently being held and want someone else to hold you, you just turn to them and hold your arms out in their direction until they get the hint.  The taller the person, the better, so that you are high enough to see everything and everyone below you.  This is part of being a toddler and being busy - you want to be a part of everything at all times and being held means you are right in the mix.  You make it funny by switching "holders" every 30 seconds or so.

You love hugs.  You are, by far, my best hugger at this age.  Freya didn't really want to be held, Ilsa was good for a quick squeeze, but she would fold her arms in and let you do all the work.  You, on the other hand, put your little arms around my neck and nestle in.  I love it!  There is nothing more validating to a parent of their child's fondness for them than a good hug.  Sure, you understand the concept of giving kisses, but like all children your age, they are open-mouthed, sloppy, and not really all that desirable.  But your hugs?  Ooh, they are enough to keep this mama happy until I see your little chubby face and need another one!

My sweetest baby boy, I really could not have asked God for a better little guy to round out our family.  I look at you and imagine what your Daddy was like as a baby because you are the spitting image of him.  I also wonder what you are going to bring to this world as you grow.  Will you enjoy sports?  Are you going to be a Lego loving guy?  Will you be obsessed with anything that has wheels?  Will you collect bugs or comic books or both? 

No matter who you decide to be, you are very loved and always will be.

Happy first birthday, Jensen John.

Love Always,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Eleven

Dear Jensen,

Forty-four weeks old and you have spent most of the time either having things put in your mouth or finding things to put in your mouth yourself.  Either way, it really makes you happy, so I'm happy too!

You recently commandeered your sister's tea party set and stole all of the utensils for yourself.  There probably isn't a room in the house that I haven't found a fork, knife, or spoon in varying shades of white, pink, and blue and somehow the discovery does not surprise me one bit.

I took a load of laundry down the hallway and I was shaking out the pants from the laundry bag, a little white fork flew out onto the carpet.  A few days later, I pulled out the Tupperware drawer to find something to put the leftovers in and there was a tiny knife nestled between two containers.  You being the third child in our family means that I am well prepared to find tiny objects and toys in places they don't belong.  I have to say, it is completely refreshing to find things that are bigger than Barbie-sized forks and itty bitty purple Legos.  I welcome the change to larger, sharper, more noticeable items for me to step on with bare feet.

You have always been a babbler, but suddenly you've had a babble explosion.  You are making noise all of the time, from the moment you wake up until you finally give in and go to sleep at night.  I don't worry about where you are because even in a room by yourself, you are talking away to whatever object you are playing with.  None of your words so far are actually acceptable in the English language, but you speak as if everyone understands you and never seem to get frustrated if we don't know what you want.  The tone and inflection are correct, but the words are nothing more than gibberish.  Here is a current list of your 'words' and what we think they mean:

*geegle - this could be anything.  most commonly used in rapid succession when around your sisters

*gock - for Ilsa and Freya, this was a duck noise.  For you, it means you are hungry because you only bust this out when food is nearby.

*gilly - we think you are talking about Coda.  Sometimes it sounds like "kittykittykitty" but again, you only use it around the dog or other four-legged animals.

*Dada - this is your one true word, and you really mean Dad when you say it...or someone who looks a lot like Dad and can pick you up.  Or me.  Or the girls.

*Mama - uttered very seldom and usually when you are angry, tired, or starving.

There is a pretty big difference in the language patterns of girls and boys and I am realizing that I have no reason to be worried that you don't have many words yet because generally boys develop slower than girls in this area.  You are so chatty that we know you are communicating and that is good enough for now.

With your first birthday just around the corner, we are awaiting your transition from crawler to cruiser.  Not to say you aren't giving it the old college try, but you seem to be stuck in fast-crawl mode with the random one-step thrown in for good measure.  I have only just adjusted to having a very quick and very mobile baby and am not sure I'm ready for you to be a true "toddler" yet.

This milestone is always a tough one for me - to have my children go from being babies to toddlers, it just makes me a little sad.  Not sad enough to want another newborn, but sad in the sense that this passage in your little life has gone by too fast.  Because once you start walking, you stop needing mama as much and I kind of thrive on being important to you.  Obviously there are things that I don't want you to need me for ("mom, I need you to wipe me!" and "mom, there's a giant spider in the bathroom!") but the hugs, the snuggles, the kisses, and to comfort you when you need it.

Sure, all of the other parts of parenthood are important, I mean, we are shaping your lives and all of that, but the fun part is being needed and a walking toddler would rather run away from their parents than toward them.  It's just a fact that I'm going to have to face.

So for now, my little boo boo bear, crawl to your heart's content and make sure the direction you are crawling is toward me.  Just stop calling me Dada while you're doing it.

Love,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Ten

Dear Jensen,

Welcome to little boyhood!

You are no longer looking much like a baby and I can't believe how close we are getting to your birthday.  I'm happy and sad at the same time.  I'm shappy.

Something inside of you has clicked over from that neutral 'baby' phase to the actual 'boy' phase.  You growl, you grunt, you like to bang toys together and push cars around.  It is completely foreign and really fun!

We are now looking into finding more toys that are suited to you.  Things with wheels, tools (mostly hammers and saws), and "action figures" because God forbid you have something that can be mistaken for a doll!

Your sisters have a nice collection of little cars from Happy Meals at McDonald's, and they will suffice for now in that department, but the only 'tools' we have are the silverware from their Disney Princess tea party. You have zero interest in the teapot, teacups, and plates and immediately dig to the bottom of the basket for the knives and forks.  Then you stab things or just crawl around the house with one or two utensils hanging out of your mouth.  It's pretty darn cute.

Speaking of cute, you are a total cheeser.  You know when I am about to take a picture, will stop whatever dangerous stunt you were attempting, turn and smile for me.  I think you have the innate sense of picture time and are pose-ready at a moment's notice.  Now people will know why I have so many pictures of you and fewer of the girls - they hide from me when I want a picture and you bask in the limelight!

The ability to turn on the self-portrait option on my phone's camera means that you can see yourself. Boy, do you love you some you!  Your first instinct is to grab the phone and eat the baby that you see in there, but when I point out that it is Jensen in there, you coo and babble to him.

This month you also figured out that you have a tongue and like to show it to people, lick things (that you shouldn't), and try to grab it.  Your tongue is a fun built-in entertainer, but I have now been caught off guard and licked way too many times to count!  

Your independence is growing, and you are not so fond of being picked up all the time.  Now we have to live by your rules and wait until you want to be held otherwise you turn into an angry badger and bite/kick your way out of our arms.  But when you need to be held, suddenly you are cuddly and nice. And if no one does what you want, there is a lot of screaming and bouncing up and down.  All of these things happen more than a handful of times per day - it's getting harder to keep up with your wants!

I enjoy your squishy "duck-face" as Daddy likes to call it and like that I know that it means you aren't perfectly pleased with something.  I like that you are vocal with grunts and growls about what you want because who knows when you are going to formulate the words to tell me!  I like that you sleep in longer than anyone else in the house - it makes week day mornings that much easier to manage.  

And I especially like you, my little booger.

Love,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Nine

Dear Jensen,

Nine months big and things to do!

You just can't keep still anymore.  Daddy laments about how you used to sit in the crook of his arm for hours...or lay on his chest and sleep for hours.  Basically, he is sad that you don't do anything for 'hours' anymore, everything is only minutes long and then you're on to the next thrill!

 

You have become a scavenger of all things hidden.  If it is put away, you pull it out.  If it is concealed, you unearth it.  If I don't want you to have it, you definitely have it.

Finding your dad's baseball bat under our bed (kept there for late night noises such as raccoons) was the highlight of your little life.  If no one is watching you in the morning, especially during the time we are getting ready for work, you most likely are sweeping your arms under the foot of the bed trying to roll the bat far enough out to grab.  What comes next is usually you dropping it on your legs and crying, or hitting yourself on the head and crying.  It's a vicious, vicious cycle that you don't seem to want to break, no matter how many bruises and goose eggs you give yourself.

Your mobility has also wreaked havoc in the play area because you now have instant access to everyone's toys.  Your sisters just LOVE this!  No they don't, I'm lying right now.  They spend most of their time in the play area complaining about how you are IN THERE and TOUCHING their STUFF, MOM!!  It is exhausting trying to keep track of your shenanigans and calm their freak outs over how many Barbie shoes are currently in your mouth.

So far you haven't tried to pull anything apart or swallow anything small, but you definitely have tried to do both to many things that don't belong to you.  Specifically the items that are hanging out on the Tinkerbell table because it is just the right height for you to stand at and sweep your arms over.  This is kind of an awesome move, the arm sweep, because it looks like you are an angry executive trying to make a point to an underling.  The underlings in this scenario are your poor older sisters who just can't get their stuff hidden fast enough from your grubby little fingers.

The thing is, you are mighty cute.  This makes all the touching, grabbing, stealing, and general tomfoolery a little less annoying.

But someday, you'll be bigger - just as cute - but bigger, and your sister's won't be as forgiving of you constantly touching their stuff. 

So go ahead, play with their toys and put things in your mouth while you can because when you are twelve and I am fish-hooking your mouth to dig out some dog food, I won't be laughing and neither will you!

Love,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Eight

Dear Jensen,

Over half a year has passed in your little life and it has gone by so quickly!  

You are very, very curious about the world around you and what it tastes like.  I swear, there isn't much in our house that you haven't either put in your mouth or put your mouth on.  When your oldest sister was your age, I was way more cautious - first babies make parents nervous - so she wasn't allowed the same leeway you are given.

With Ilsa, it was too hard to keep track of her and what she had put in her mouth so we just decided that she was building immunities with her oral 'exploring'.

Now it's your turn and honestly, I just don't care unless it is harmful, poisonous, or something of mine.

This is just one of the wonderful things you'll find about being the third child!

Not too many days ago you began to attempt a slow roll.  This is the next step following getting on your knees and rocking, which happened last month.  Now you have found that you can flip your arms about and roll from one side to the other.  You don't go far and you don't go fast, but you are moving and to you it is the thrill of all thrills.

The new found freedom is making it harder for you to sit still while being held.  This part of you growing up makes me sad because you are my last baby to hold and cuddle and you DON'T WANT IT SO KNOCK IT OFF, LADY.

This is a hard stage for you because you like that you can kind of do things yourself, but you also want help, but not a lot of help, just a little.  No, don't pick me up because that is too much help, but don't leave me on the ground because I want to get over to the tv remote and can't do it without you.  Rock and a hard place, kid, with screaming thrown in for good measure.

Your temperament is still quite easy-going, but you are exploring your voice a lot more with shrieks and squeals and growls.  The growls are very interesting and so very boy - a noise I'm not used to quite yet!  But it sure is funny to you so you will growl and growl until you make yourself cough.

On top of that, you have discovered the D sound and set yourself on repeating da-da-da or duhduhduhduhduh until you get bored of it.  I'm not sure that you are specifically saying dada, but if I ask you to say it, you look around the room for him so you have the comprehension part of it down.

This month you have grown leaps and bounds in every possible, wonderful way.  Though you have a hard time conquering some of these major milestones, you certainly never give up trying.  Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing!

Although you now can get yourself where you want to go, I will always be around to help you get up the harder steps.

Love,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Seven

Dear Jensen Lou-Who,

This month marks the introduction of smiling and subsequently closing your eyes for the camera.  For every good eyes-open picture you give me, I also get four eyes-closed pictures.  I'm thankful for the digital cameras and camera phones because if this was 1985, I would have an entire roll of what appears to be a blind child.

A blind child who has a bird's nest growing on top of their head.

You have always enjoyed bath time, no doubt about it, but now you have figured out that you can move around in your little tub and drive your mother nuts.

It is extremely difficult to keep a hold of a soapy baby who feels a desperate need to pull the drain stop out of the bottom of the tub.  Believe me - I've tried and I've failed!  And just when I think you are going to sit nicely so that I can rinse you, you hop up and try to throw yourself over the edge of the tub onto the bath mat.

I realize that the pictures I've taken make it seem as though I let you do what you want, but that was a one-time thing so that I could document your glee.  I had one hand free at all times to catch you and sit you down...I swear.

This seventh month of your life has been pretty great.  You are such a happy boy and love to be where the action is.  Usually that is in whatever room your big sister's have made a colossal mess in which doesn't matter to you as you are bound to add to the mess.

As is tradition with my children, you are in love with the brown rubber door-stop in your bedroom.  You wait until I am busy doing something that doesn't involve you and hurriedly crawl down the hallway to dislodge that disgusting wedge from under your door.  I have practically hammered it under there in hopes you won't be able to wiggle it out, but you always do.  It's kind of gross, but keeps you entertained for another five minutes of cleaning time!

 You are still sporting those two bottom teeth with no signs of any other guys coming in.  I feel like this is a good thing because teething babies are SO MUCH FUN to be around.  When your teeth started poking through last month, you decided to bite everything - mostly me - and slept so poorly that you spent most nights in our bed, robbing us of sleep as well!

I love ya, kid, but I love sleep more.  Ask Nana and Papa, they'll back me up!

Baby cakes, you are the best little ray of sunshine that I could ask for each day.  You make everyone around you smile and your giggle is music to my ears.

I am hanging on to these days where you can be with me all day long because I know how fleeting this time will be for us! 

Now, let's work on getting back to being "just friends" instead of "bunk mates".

Love,

Your Mama

Dearest Boy: Month Six

Dear Jensen,

This month you grew a mustache. 

Look at you - you were just as surprised as we were that it happened! 

Okay, so you didn't really grow any facial hair, but you changed in so many other ways and are really starting to look less and less like my tiny baby.  Sniff.

There is an extra chubbiness to your cheeks that I can't help kissing.  You know, mama's don't have very much time to snuggle babies because at some point, you realize what we're doing and start pushing us away. Your sisters both give me the "ew, yuck!" and try to wipe off my kisses (mostly Ilsa) if they are unexpected. I guess I have to start giving them advanced warning, so they can run away from me.  Good thing you can't do anything more than roll - and not very fast, at that!

You have discovered how fun your tongue is and started sticking it out for a good portion of the day.  I appreciate anything that will entertain you while you are awake and luckily, your tongue can't fall out of your mouth so that I have to pick it up every 30 seconds like your other toys.  Your motor skills are getting better and better, but holding onto toys isn't one of your strong suits.

Late this month we figured out the reason you were sticking out your tongue and biting everything that came within inches of your mouth - two teeth!

I wouldn't even say you were especially fussy while those two little guys worked their way out, but you were not your normal, smiley self either.  With you, I decided to try some natural teething pills, which seemed to work, and I'm glad we have numerous frozen teethers to keep your gums chilled, because the biting thing was getting painful for all of us.  You even bit your own fingers and toes pretty hard a few times and realized that the little white nubs in your mouth were actually hard, sharp weapons!
 

We are finding new things that amuse you as you get older - the most recent is being upside down.  You like being dangled from your feet and Daddy is really good at that one.  Instead of sitting up in my lap, you like it when I turn you around and let your head hang over my knees.  You will lay like that for what seems like a long time and then figure out how to either flip over or grunt until I help you to sit up.  Of course, there is a lot of tickling done by me while you are laying in my lap and no particular spot that doesn't make you laugh - mostly your armpits and the bottoms of your feet.  Such sweet, soft, chubby feet!

Aunty Tresha gave us some clothes from cousin Peyton to pass along to you and these awesome alien pajamas were in the mix.  There is something about the transition from footies and one-piece pajamas to a shirt and pant set that makes time seem to fly.  Suddenly you are sitting on your own, looking more and more like a little boy instead of a wriggling, cooing newborn baby.  Not that you sit up for long or stay in one place for me to really reminisce on any of it, but boy is time passing quickly.

We went back to solid foods with you with more success this time around.  I stuck to my guns and made purees for you myself and you kindly ate everything I gave you.  The one snag seems to be mashed avocados, but I have given you far worse tasting (according to me) fruits and veggies and you have liked every single one.  Carrots, squash, plums, apples, sweet potatoes, bananas, peas, green beans, black beans, apricots, nectarines, peaches, blueberries, I'm sure I'm forgetting a few but you ate them all anyway.

You also still love to hold your own spoon, but aren't worried about it having food on it as long as the spoon one of us is holding is still feeding you.  I'm sure, like everything else you put in your mouth, it is just a new texture to try out and feels pretty good on those incoming teeth but it also helps to have your hands busy instead of swinging and smacking the food off the "real" spoon.

Jensen, here you are, half a year old and well on your way to being a very busy little boy.  It is an absolute pleasure to be on this journey with you and I am so very thankful to have a front row seat to see the joy that you bring to others!

Love,

Your Mama