Blogging Baby

24 Months - 2!

Emilio,

You’re 2!  Wow.  And quite a 2 year old you are.  You shine such a bright light on the lives of the people around you.  You are warm, welcoming, funny, smart and thoughtful.  

You love to laugh, dance, sing and cuddle (for a few seconds at least).  

You are so self assured and confident.  You are who you are with no qualms.  It is so refreshing to see.  I know some of it will fade, regardless of what we encourage as your parents, and I will continue to bask in it now.  As zany as you get, I eat it up.

You recently started saying, “Bless you, Mama” when I sneeze.  Out of nowhere. Sweetest.  We don’t really request that you say “please” and “thank you”, we just use them appropriately and hope you’ll understand their meaning and then use them appropriately on your own.  And you do.  And it is so sweet.  Even at 4 AM when you want to nurse and are telling me, “Milk Mama, Milk, Pleasssse.”

We had quite the month as we celebrated the holidays and then geared up for your Birthday which we celebrated with a party and together as a family on the actual day.  

It was busy, and we were together a lot which was wonderful.  

As you continue to grow your language skills in leaps and bounds it gets even more fun to do things together and then talk about them later.  Your comprehension and memory continues to astound me.  

It all just keeps getting better.  There are still moments when it is really hard.  And moments when I think, “When does it get easier?” (I know it doesn’t, it just changes).  Overall though, man it is awesome.  You are awesome.  

And now, we keep on growing together.  

I love you Milio,

Mama

Growth, Stillness, Watching.

Last night, as Emilio was eating his dinner he spotted Elmo on the table.  

“Elmo, Elmo.” He said pointing at him and looking at me.

“Yeah, that’s Elmo, you can play with him if you want.”

He picked Elmo up and proceeded to look at him, really look at him, like I would.  And it hit me, he gets it.  He’s moved way way beyond baby-hood.  

He played with Elmo, in the way I can remember playing with Barbies and stuffed animals.  He moved him around, spoke as if Elmo was speaking (all gibbersh still). 

Then he threw him on the floor and looked up at me.

“Elmo, Elmo.”

“Yeah, you threw Elmo on the floor.” 

Yes, Mimi and D, thanks for teaching him this fun Elmo goes on the floor game.

And then he went back to shoving pieces of food in his mouth.  Multiple pieces at a time. 

But then, as if he really wanted to hit home that he is rapidly growing before my eyes, he taught himself how to get the peas out of the pods.  So he proceeded to rip them apart with his teeth to get the pods out.  Which resulted in him then handing me the pods ripped apart.  He’s nothing, if not giving.  

And there I sat, watching, waiting, witnessing this explosion of boyhood over dinner.

And the biggest lesson I learned was to pick up my phone a little less in these in between moments of our day, and sit and watch a little more because everything is fleeting and Emilio is soaking it all in.  It isn’t so much that I’m bored and want something to do, it is that I have a problem being still and just sitting.  And I don’t think it is just me, it is a product of our current world, our environment.  There is a reason I rush to leave work early every day to be with him at dinner, I don’t want him to think back to his early memories and although they will be of me with him at dinner, my eyes will be on my phone and not on him.  

I have a problem sitting still, but this boy who even more than me doesn’t want to stay put, he’ll teach me to.  

11 Months

Emilio,

You’re one month away from a year, and it blows my mind.  You’re such a wonderful boy.  Everyday, you’re changing and growing and it amazes me.  

You’re figuring out how to walk, Emilio, and it is pretty awesome to watch.  This past week, just as you edged in to 11 months you started getting more comfortable and taking many more steps.  You took your first step on November 4th, so technically as a 9 month old, but it is really in this last month that you’ve been walking.  Your biggest walking achievement has been standing and clapping, and standing and dancing.  It makes everyone who witnesses it smile, and how could it not? 

You also are a pro stair climber.  You fly up those stairs now, with us close behind you.  Next is teaching you how to get down them.  

You’re very familiar with your gear, and how things work in your life.  When you see the highchair, you get pumped and wiggle your body, and then slap the tray as you wait to see what delicious food you’ll be served.  When you see the car seat, you hold tight to us, whine a little and look away, as if if you can’t see it, you don’t have to go in it.  

You’re still quite the chatter box.  You make much more familiar and obvious sounds now as you build your speech.  We’re pretty confident your first word was ball… but it could be just us.  I swear the other day you pointed at Khadijah and said, “Dijah.”   You say “mama” a lot now, and sometimes I think it is talking to me, but most of the time it is just how you ask for something.  

Your newest addition is pointing.  We’ve got a pointer in full effect now.  I can’t lie, it kills me everytime you point and say, “Da.”

You also wave goodbye and goodnight now, and I think you might be close to learning how to blow a kiss.  Your grandma taught you how to do, so big when someone asks you how big you are.  That was a hit at Thanksgiving.  

Last month bud, we retired the sleep sacs.  And maybe it is just a coincidence, but I swear you’re sleeping better.  You are a man who likes the freedom to move.  You’re sleeping in style now too thanks to some awesome handmedowns.  You’ve got a bunch of great fleece pjs that keep you comfy and warm, and adorable.  Always.  

You went through a phase in your 10th month of only wanting to sleep on me.  Not even next to me, some part of you had to be pressed on me.  It wasn’t easy on me, but I didn’t mind the close cuddle times we’d get, mostly in the early mornings.  I won’t lie though, you’ve slept through the night 2-3 times in a 2 week period and it has been pretty nice.  Lately, you’re back to waking up just once and I really appreciate it.  

You’ve got 4 teeth now, and good thing because you love eating!  You’re a great eater.  You love mango, grapes and melon right now.  You’ll try everything, and seem to have a pretty diverse palate.  You’re fav is still breastmilk though and I’m thrilled that we’re closing in on a year of nursing.  Lately, when you nurse, you like to play with my hair, it soothes you and helps you fall asleep at night.  I am just happy you’ve grown out of tugging and pulling on my hair, and slapping my chest.  Those kind of hurt!  

I’ve had some moments, recently, where I look at you and I see a little man, a guy, a boy growing up.  It throws me for a loop and I get sad and nostalgic while also excited and happy.  You’re already becoming the boy you’re going to be in a few years.  You’re independent, fun loving, adventurous and loving.  

You had two Thanksgiving meals and you loved them!  We had a great time celebrating with all the family that loves you so much, and you liked the pie!  We traveled up to NH for the holiday and got to see lots of extended family.  They love you, of course.  By the end of the visit, you were a pro at being passed around from person to person and just going with the flow.  

But, when you’re sleepy all you want is me, you clutch me and burrow your head in my shoulder.  I couldn’t love it more.  I’m your mama, and I’m so damn lucky to be.  Thank You buddy.

Love,

Your lucky mama who loves you SO MUCH.  

Fueling this growth

Right now, I’m struggling with fuel.  I know what healthy eating is, I know what I can and can’t eat for the baby and for myself (gluten intolerance, oy!) and I know what I like to eat.  And some weeks they match up well and some weeks (this past one) they don’t. 

I’ve had constant hunger, I feel like everything I eat has too much sugar and I’m definitely not getting enough protein. 

So, I’m focusing in it on it more.  My glucose test is in 3 weeks (thank god for a midwife who doesn’t make me drink the yucky drink!)  and I want to work on my diet now rather than risk failing it and then stressfully work on my diet.  

I eat healthily, I do.  I get veggies in daily, I get lots of fruit in, and thanks to a stomach being crammed in to another part of my body I don’t overeat.  

What needs to go is the Sugar and what needs to increase is the protein.  The sugar I’m not worried about, I’ve already started replacing my sweet tooth cravings with apples, thank god I’m craving apples!  

I don’t really like protein in its most basic form.  Chicken doesn’t really appeal to me generally, I especially don’t like cooking it at home and pregnancy has made me even more averse to it.  I don’t eat steak, sure I’ll have a burger here or there but then it is loaded with fatty yummy things that I should probably not be eating daily.  Fish is eh, but I have to be so careful with the kind of fish that I’d probably end up having to spend more than I’d like to get it ingested.  Tofu, I love tofu, but I worry about too much Soy.  You see my problem here? 
There is protein in a lot of places you might not think (Watermelon!) and I know if i work at it I can get my 60-70g in everyday, but that’s just it, I have to work at it.

So baby, your momma is going to take what used to be her daily focus on how to exercise that day and turn it in to how to fatten you up with lotsa protein.  

I think the crock pot is calling my name.