Ten months

4.25.09

Sugar Bear~

You are ten months old today, and you are an incredible mover and shaker. I’ve been meaning to write your nine month letter for a whole month now, but it has gotten so much harder to do things now that you are constantly on the move. You are so fast, and you hardly ever crawl anymore. You can stand up on your own in the middle of the room, take off and walk across the house. You can climb an entire flight of stairs, even steep ladders (like the lofts in L & M’s classrooms). I was so excited to take you to the park the other day and introduce you to the kiddie slide, but you were unimpressed. You walked right over to the big kid slide and climbed all the way to the top unassisted. You have no fear, no sense of danger. You are positively gleeful when you make it to the top and turn around proudly, teetering on the edge. So far, we have always been there to catch you-- except for one fall down the last couple of stairs that didn’t seem to phase you much. I worry that you are so strong and agile before being able to comprehend the danger of falling, and getting hurt. I guess that right there is one of the hardest parts of parenting-- understanding your child’s vulnerability more deeply than they do. Then learning to release the fear and allow them to live fully, resisting the temptation to hold them back and remove the element of risk.

These past two months with you have been about your increasing mobility and self expression. They’ve included lots of sunshine, exploring the outdoors (finally!), digging in the dirt, chewing on rocks, trips to the park, and your first bike rides (both on the small scooter bike, and in the double bike trailer). Your first word, fittingly, was “uh-oh”. You’re doing a lot of babbling, “Da”s and “Ma”s, but they don’t quite seem purposeful yet. Just these past couple days I’ve heard you say “Ow” as you walk towards the door and I wonder if you’re trying to say “Out!”. You adore our doggy and kitty, and any other animals we come across in our travels-- you like to chase them around and are slowly learning to pet them gently. Oh, and you’ve recently discovered your penis. The joys!

We’ve also been slowly introducing you to new foods. We started with carefully mushed up avocados, bananas, steamed carrots, roasted sweet potatoes (each mixed with breastmilk). On our busier days we give you jars of various organic fruits and veggies. Soon you worked up to some finger foods like steamed rice and Joe’s O’s. Now you like to eat your bananas and avocados whole and end up with them all over your face. I love to watch you try new tastes and the process of learning to feed yourself. Your little hands are learning to work in new ways, and I wonder at all the things they will do in your life.

More than anything, I love to kiss your belly and toes and just under your chin and hear you giggle. Your belly laughs are the best medicine in the universe. And when you sleep, I love to rub your soft cheeks and your silky golden hair and whisper to you about all the adventures we will have together. You are a gift from heaven and I absolutely adore you in every possible way.

Your ever-lovin’~
Mama