Dear Carter,
Today you're 14 months and 1 day old.
We moved to North Carolina last month because Daddy got a new job. We're following our dream to get you a great home with a yard you can be proud of. I wonder if you ever remember our house in Pennsylvania, or if it's already a completely lost memory. I kinda hope you've forgotten it, because the thought of you wishing for our first home gives me a desperate, panicky, sad feeling.
This morning you didn't cling to me as nearly as much as you usually do. You were too busy proudly toddling everywhere ... when you started walking towards me - and I thought you'd grab my leg and whine - you kept walking right on past me. I felt relieved and a little sad, too, because I can't believe you're starting to choose independence.
You had your first really bad cold this week, and you were such a trooper.
You don't eat. As in, ever. I wonder how you're surviving like this, but you seem happy and strong. It makes me frustrated to no end preparing meal after meal, trying to come up with something new you might like and then throwing it in the trash.
You're obsessed with things with lids. Containers, contact cases, empty milk jugs. You carry them all over the apartment and try to screw the lids on.
Tonight we got you all dressed up in your new red sweater and took you to the mall to see Santa Claus. The line was really long and full of (smelly) dogs ... I guess maybe it was pet night? By the time we got to the end of the line, they'd cut the line off and told us we had to come back another day. It's probably better this way though, I wouldn't have wanted you to sit on Santa's lap after all those dogs did.
You loved walking in the mall, but you kept walking in the opposite direction as us, and you wouldn't follow us when we called your name. We'd pick you up and you screamed and cried.
You say mama a lot. You also call apples pah. You can tell me that duckies go kah-kah, kitties go mouh mouh, sheep go bah bah and tigers go aaahhh. Sometimes you point to your nose, but most of the time you ignore me when I ask you to. :)
I love you.
Here's what you look like today:
Love,
Mommy
July 20, 2010
Dear Carter,
Today you fell off the couch, onto your head. I knew it would happen sooner or later, it scared me to death. You're ok, you just cried a lot. I doubt it'll slow you down one bit.
You've started a new thing where you throw your food off your high chair and then look at me and shake your head. I'm currently trying to catch this on video camera, I have a couple shots of it so far, but they're not your best performances.
Yesterday Daddy taught you how to hand him things, and when he says Thank You! I can hear your hysterical laugh all the way downstairs. Your sense of humor is awesome.
You played in the dishwasher today, you actually climbed up to sit on it all by yourself.
Here's what you look like today:
Love,
Mommy
July 16, 2010
Dear Carter,
Today you're 9 months and 1 week old.
You're asleep in your crib right now (which is kind of a major feat). You cried for a half an hour then finally fell asleep at 8:30 p.m. when I started singing Row Row Row Your Boat about 20 times in a row.
I want to write you letters so later in life, you'll have an idea of what things were like when you were little. You won't remember being a baby, so this can be something tangible for you to look back on. I'm going to write about our days together - the ways you make me smile, your reasons for crying, places your dad and I take you, people you see and how much I admire you. Reading this now, you're (probably at least) ten or twelve years old. I can't even imagine what you look like or how you act, probably very different from the baby I spend my days with, my best friend, my sidekick. I'm going to miss this baby!
As a quick summary, you're 9 months old right now, and I never thought you'd get this old. I should get used to it, because you just won't stop growing!
We went to your nine month pediatric wellness check up the other day. You weighed 18 lbs, and the doctor said you're underweight for your age. He was surprised to find out you're calling us mama and dada and crawling. I think he assumed that since you're underweight, you aren't developmentally on track. I've always known you're smart ... you figure out how to open drawers and doors so quickly and pay close attention when I show you things.
You even have six teeth.
You loveeee to nurse, when you want to nurse you say nana! over and over. And you hate your crib. You stiffen your body up as soon as I start walking you toward it. You've been sleeping with us most of your life, only occasionally in your crib. We're working hard on keeping you in the crib this month because you crawl so fast that I'm sure you'll fall off our bed. You wake up at least twice a night to nurse.
For the past three weeks, our air conditioner's been broken and our house has been chaotic in the heat. All three of us have been really grumpy and lazy. We bought a temporary air condition unit for your bedroom and moved a big mattress onto the floor of your room so we could all sleep at night. Today we finally got it fixed, and your mood changed dramatically ... you crawl around so much more happily, I didn't even know that was possible!
Yesterday we got you a mail cart to push around and walk, you were good at it from the very second you tried it. You look like a cute little old man delivering mail and give us the most proud smile/laugh combo I've ever seen! I wish we had more room for you to push it around, you haven't figured out how to turn it. Our cat, Tigger, is terrified of you. He had no idea you'd eventually be on your feet. He hides under the couch so you can't pull his tail. You pull (our other cat) Winnie's tail all the time, though. She's more social and a little less smart.
I need to go to sleep, you wake up early and I don't want you to get too many hours before I even get a chance to go to bed! I love you!!
Here's a picture of what you look like today (I snapped it with my phone, so the quality isn't that good, I'll take a better one next time):
Love,
Mommy