Cognosco

Dear Albie,

This update will probably not be eloquent or funny, but by golly, I’m going to get it done. At least I will someday be able to point to your monthly updates as evidence of some sort of consistency in your life.

You started walking last month, and have now developed great balance. We live in an old house with some uneven flooring and bizarrely placed steps (that I had not realized were "steps" until I watched a toddler repeatedly trip over them). It didn’t take long for you to catch on and grab a nearby wall or door when you reached those points. Now, you don’t even need to do that. You are like a 4 wheel drive machine. Your favorite toy right now is one of those pushable poppers. You’ve been fascinated with it for quite some time, but now you really enjoy it because you can walk while pushing it. In the last few days, it’s obvious you’re trying to learn how to run. I do hope that it takes some time for you to figure that out. I’m not ready for you to run away from me! In the last week, you’ve now started standing up by yourself without need of something steady yourself with. You are also thinking vertically, and I will often look over to see that you are now standing on something so that you are up off of the ground. It freaks me out. But through a fuzzy lens, it becomes so obvious that you are, after all, a little monkey. And by god, you want to climb like one. It’s too bad you don’t have a prehensile tail. I have been lamenting my lack of one for several years now.

We made a purchase in the last month that has been one of the best baby-oriented investements thus far. We bought a couple of “Signing times” DVDs. You had seen some signs on the Baby Einstein DVDs, but I sometimes get the feeling that those DVDs were really created by people who just wanted their kids out of their hair. I feel like the Signing Times DVDs were created by people who really love children. You are fascinated by them. The songs are catchy and fun. And, the best part is that because they show several kids your age signing, I better understand the range of forms a baby sign can take. I think you may have been signing at least a little bit for awhile now, and I was missing it. Your most common sign is “finished”, and you have also signed more, milk, and horse. I don’t think you actually understand the horse sign, but that you were just copying what the other kids were doing. I could be wrong. You also wave “bye-bye” now, will give high-fives, will head-butt one of your parents on command, and will play along (when you feel like it) to pat-a-cake.

In terms of spoken language, other than attempts at “dog”, I don’t think you have much interest. Which doesn’t mean you are quiet. It just means that you prefer a wide range of goofy sounds. I’m okay with that. I often prefer them myself.

You try to brush your hair. You try to brush your teeth. You will babble on a phone or anything resembling a phone. You help with getting dressed by pushing your arms and legs into the appropriate holes. You help with getting undressed by lifting your arms over your head. You can grab your foot when I ask “where is your footie?”, and will pat your belly when I ask where your belly is. You know where my nose is, but seem perplexed about the whereabouts of your own. You know the names of many objects and will grab them and bring them to me when I ask (if you feel like it).

You still have four top teeth and two bottom teeth and you are cutting your first upper molars. You are in the 90th percentile of height, and 75th for weight. Which is funny, because the exact opposite was true at 6 months.

You are self-feeding now, and are really pretty good at it. You still have a great appetite and wide palette, and I feel very fortunate in that respect. In general, you have great table manners. I’m sure this will not always be the case, but I can dream. You have really decreased your nursing, and the only big session you get in each day is the dream feed. At this point, I could let it go and it probably wouldn’t affect your sleep, but I like knowing that you are getting a big dose of mama goodness during that time. You will randomly take very short little nips during the day, but I’m not really sure if you consume much milk then or just like to know it’s still available. You’ve even shortened your first-thing-in-the-morning-feed to almost nothing, but will not tolerate actually skipping it. In truth, I probably hold onto the dream feed because it is the only time you are really settled down and nursing, and I’m not willing to let it go yet.

You sleep 10 to 11 hours each night with a solid 6 to 8 hour stretch most nights. Sure, you wake, and may even grumble, but then put yourself back to sleep. You went through a short period of screaming some time within the first 2 hours of sleep and needing to be momentarily consoled. I don’t know what was going on, but it didn’t last long. Every once in awhile you’ll have a bad night with repeated waking. I figure it’s some kind of developmental spurt and try not to get too upset about it. And suddenly, inexplicably, you started sleeping in later. I almost don’t want to mention it, for fear of jinxing this new development. Once upon a time, you used to sleep until about 7:30, and around the time of your surgery, it moved back to about 5:30. It was infuriating. I don’t know if you were traumatized, or if that time period also corresponded to trying to learn mobility skills. Now, after learning to walk, you wake between 6:30 and 7:30. Maybe you just wear yourself out during the day I never thought I would rejoice at sleeping until 7:30. That, my little friend, is the power of a baby. The power of you. And I don’t even hold it against you. Much.

You are also slowly starting the transition to one nap a day. About once a week, you just take one nap a day. The other days, you still take two, but there’s more variation in how long they last than there had been previously. As you are getting older, you can handle longer stretches of wake time without complete melt-downs.

With regards to elimination communication/potty training….well, you don’t want to poop on the toilet. You used to do it, but now just don’t. I can’t blame you. I think it must be a lot easier to stand up and squat a little than to sit on the toilet, especially when your feet don’t even touch the ground. If I realize you’re pooping, I’ll try to get you there for at least part of the experience, but I miss it most of the time. You pee on the toilet a lot, and it’s easiest after a nap. So, at this point, I figure if you’re not afraid of the toilet, we’re on the right track.

You still love your Tiggy more than just about anything. You love your binkies and love your fuzzy blanket. You love spending time in your crib to just hang out. You love car rides, and I will often think you are asleep, but no…you’re just checking it all out, taking it all in, grooving to some tunes. You love food, especially your greens. I’m not kidding. You love to laugh. You love hitting inanimate objects. You love it when we sniff or blow on your footies. And you have recently grown to love dolls—any kind of doll with a human face. You love bath time and books, especially your Chirpy Chick book with the fun tractor sounds. You love mangos with sticky rice and garlic noodles (gotta start the Thai food early). You love garlic, period. And water. And pears. You really love pears. You love visiting Dada at work. Everyone he works with lights up when I bring you in. Even the assholes. You love seeing what kinds of objects will fit into other objects. You love carrying shoes around the house. Your Dada just told me that he got up early to go to work the other morning, and as he was putting on his shoes he found one of your stacking cups inside. As if you had left him a present. You also love to carry all sorts of other random things, like the slide-in cover of the dog door. You adore the dogs and have a very particular squeal that only emerges in their presence. You love Signing Time, Sesame Street, and Dan Zanes. You have recently started dancing. I cannot possibly convey to you the emotion that flows through me when you dance. I hope you are never afraid to just boogie on down. And oh yeah. You still love Radiohead and Thom Yorke. I love that about you.

You hate being told no. You hate people in your space when you need your Albie-time. You hate diaper changes, except when you don’t hate them. You hate someone else feeding you or even attempting to feed you. You hate having your face wiped off. Perhaps some will think hate is a strong word, but I assure you, it is accurate. You are a passionate kid, and you have strong preferences about many things. You also hate having to stay in a shopping cart. Thus, you are back in the baby carrier for excursions. I don’t really mind, as I know that I have precious few months left of you wanting to be carried.

I’ve really enjoyed your company in the last month. You have been a complete joy. I hope I can remember that when you are…not.

Love,

Mama