Dinner Time!

Dear Mr. Bear,

This morning it occurred to me that you would very happily subsist on bananas, macaroni and cheese, and milk.  Pretty much everything else we try to serve you either ends up on the floor or in a pile in the corner of your high chair tray.   Once I tried to give you a piece of a cookie and you literally spit it right out on the floor.  

However, just this past weekend we made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for you for lunch - and you loved it.  You ate the whole thing!  I'm hopeful that someday you will also enjoy cheeseburgers and lasagna.  But for now, I'm happy that you've started to appreciate one of my favorite foods:  peanut butter!!  Ask your father, I LOVE peanut butter.  When I was pregnant with you I ate it all the time.  Even now a good spoonful of peanut butter is a great snack.

Here are two photos of you enjoying one of your first peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  You're adorable.

Love,

Mommy

Halloween

Dear Mr. Bear,
Sorry I haven't written lately.  Things have been busy and I've fallen behind.  But this is such a fun time of year that I will redouble my efforts to write to you more often.

Yesterday was Halloween, and you were adorable. Last year I dressed you up as a goldfish, but you were pretty young - so really this was your "first" Halloween.

Recently you've become attached to a stuffed tiger we bought for you in Williamsburg, VA, so your dad and I decided to dress you up as a tiger for Halloween.  The costume had a fuzzy jumper that covered your arms and legs and tummy and then little feet and a hat with ears and the tiger face.

Before the big day, you actually completely refused to let us put you in the costume.  You'd shriek and scream until we took it off, even when your dad dressed up in parts of it.  Even yesterday morning, you were immensely unhappy when I drew whiskers on your little face and tried to paint your nose black.


But peer pressure seems to have had an effect on you.  All the kids in your nursery school class had on their costumes, so I guess you were willing to let your teachers stuff you into the outfit.  The class then went to the grocery store to get treats and then came to the lobby of the office building where I work.  I gathered my coworkers who know you and we all went down to see how cute you were.  You had a bag of candy and were completely overwhelmed.  But you were adorable!

Love you,
Mommy

Teddy Gets a Haircut

Dear Mr. Bear,

This past weekend we took you to have your first haircut.  I had rather liked your little baby curls at the back of your neck and the little fluffs that stuck out over your ears, but your father thought it looked a bit messy.  You were a perfect little guy while the girl carefully cut your curls off and trimmed the front so that you could see without your hair getting in the way.  We sat you in the racecar seat and you ate raisins. 

I post on this only to mention that it’s hard sometimes for mommys to accept their little guy is growing up.  Your new cut is adorable – but you definitely look like a little boy now, rather than my baby.  I guess it’s the first step of growing up.

Love you,

Mommy

Things I want to remember – Your dance moves.

This past weekend we bought an album of music for you – 123 Favorite Kids Songs.  It has pretty much every kids song, nursery rhyme, and folk song that I can think of.  You love it.  One of your favorite songs is this insane rap version of Patty Cake.  It's weird.  When we turn on you are immediately aware of the sounds and look over at the speakers to see what’s going on.  Every now and then, you do the cutest dance that I've ever seen.  You sort of stand and wiggle your bum and shoulders in a crazy sort of spastic movement, all the while smiling your big beautiful smile.  When we stop to watch you, you seem to get shy and stop – but you always start back up again soon.  Sometimes you also move your little finger in time to the music, as if you’re conducting an orchestra.  Adorable.  I want to remember that dance forever.

Here’s a picture of you surrounded by your library of board books on Labor Day.  Love you.

Things I Want to Remember - Night Owl

Dear Teddy,

Last night was a rough one.  You went to sleep at 8 like normal, but woke up screaming at 11.  Your daddy went in to try to comfort you, but you just kept screaming.  Then I came in and tried to get you back to sleep, but you just cried and cried.  Finally, I got you changed and put you in different PJs and went out into the living room to read books and drink apple juice.  You were happy as a clam as you searched through your stash of books to select first one, then another, then another, and another for me to read to you as the rest of the world slept.  It was Sunday night, or, more accurately, Monday morning and I had to work today.  But I suspect the days when your favorite thing to do is to be read to over and over won’t last forever.  So I want to remember how earnestly you search through those books to find the one you want, pick it up, and then proudly bring it over to me to read.  You can’t quite get up on the couch yet, so you climb and wiggle your way up to sit on the couch, cuddled into me, and we read.  Sometimes I help you up and you giggle because you know I'm going to read your books to you.  Every now and then you look up at me with your great big blue eyes as if you’re trying to figure out how this reading thing works.  Soon, no doubt, you’ll be able to read these stories to yourself. 

Reading with Daddy

Still love the Hungry Caterpillar sheets!

You finally agreed to go back to sleep after 1 am after snuggling and rocking in our chair with our pillow.  Then you were up at 7am, right as rain, and ready to play.  I'm tired today, but someday I will miss those nights with just the two of us.

I love you.

Sleepy guy.

Dear Mr. Bear,

As you continue to grow and become your own wonderful, happy, perfect little man, I keep thinking that I want to record these days together so that someday, when you’re older, I can show you how much fun we have together and how loved you are.  So I’ve decided to start this blog.  I hope that it will be a place for me to record our ordinary lives and our extraordinary days and my feelings about being your mommy while also trying to be all of the other things that I need to be in the world (a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an attorney).

So consider this one long letter of love to you, my perfect little boy.  Through it, I hope you’ll learn how special and wonderful you are, that it’s OK and normal to struggle with things sometimes (we struggle with things all the time) and that your daddy and I will always be there for you when you need us (and when you don’t).  I’ll try to write every few days – or at least every week.  I plan to post pictures of our adventures and you as you explore the world.  I’ll also post “Things I want to remember” so that someday, when you’re older, I will have real Teddy Stories with good details to tell you and so that someday, when I’m older, I will remember each of our special ordinary days together.

I’m so lucky to be your mommy.  No one could love their son more than I love you.