Timothy's 2013-2014 Lexicon

Water: Qua -> Gwa -> Wanner

Kitchen: Chicken 

Music: Seebick -> Muskit

Daddy: Ging-Ging -> Daggy -> Gaggy -> Dally -> Daddy 

Pickup truck: Pick-uck-uck -> Pickup truck
Hiccups: Pickups
Caboose: Aboose -> Caboose
Trailer: Aboose -> Caboose -> Trailer
Yellow: Yee-yow -> Lee-low
Alatha: Uhh-BABY! -> Uh-lay-lalalala -> Uh-lay-lalalalalala Jean
Timothy: Timty
Popgun: Anger
Coffee: Bocky -> Coffee
Broccoli: Bocky
Love: Yove -> Love

Daddy: Paul, Love
Mama: Dar-yin

Stories and Conversations 2014

Dear Timothy,

Here are some stories and conversations we've had:

Spring 2014
You usually crawl into bed with us at some point during the night. Most of the time, you just snuggle up and go right back to sleep. I thought you had that night, as well, since you hadn't made any noise for about 10 minutes. I was almost asleep, but then your daddy let out a huge snore and you very quietly said "Wow, Gaggy! Motorcycle!"


5-27-14

You: Mama, Deedo ousside?
Me: Yes, Diesel needs to go outside.
You: NO DEEDO OUSSIDE!!!
Me: She has to go outside. She needs to poop and drink water.
You: NO DEEDO POOP!!! NO DEEDO GWINK GUA!!!!
Me: ....


10-5-14
at church, during the sermon
You: *waves to Ms Angela in front of you*
Me: stop that, put your hand down
You: I just have to hi!

10-31-14
You hold your small, neon pink, stuffed dog up to your head like a phone. This is all I was able to write down before you got out of earshot:

"Hello? Hey! Hey Jeff! I'm Timty and dis is mama. Soooo....what time is it? Nine fifteen clock. No, not so much."

11-15-14

You got this popgun for your birthday. At first you were afraid of it (I can't imagine why...it's not like I popped it off near your face or anything), but then Ty and Asa thought it was so cool, so you decided you had to protect what was yours. Now, you /love/ it! Pooh Bear has one, which just makes it better. 

When you got it, we told you that it's a "popgun". The next day, you were carrying it around, and I said "is that your popgun?" and you very matter-of-factly replied "no, it's my anger." And that's what you keep calling it. I have watched the Pooh Bear movie to see if they use a word during that scene that might sound like "anger", but they don't. We have no idea why "popgun" = "anger", but we definitely use it to create humorous one-liners. 

"Timothy, take your anger outside"
"Don't swing your anger in the house"
"Don't hit the dog with your anger"
"Please take your anger out of the kitchen"

You can see how this is funny, right? 

12-8-14

Your favorite songs these days are both by Sandra Boynton, and they both happen to be on different CDs.  _Dog Train_  and _Cows_ were getting a lot of playtime in the car, but it was getting really old having to switch CDs every 4 minutes. We definitely weren't going to do that for the 10-12 hour drive to Grandma and Grandpa's house at Thanksgiving. So, daddy made you a mix CD.
The track list is as follows:
1: Cows
2: Snuggle Puppy
3: Dog Train
4: Also Quacked Zarathrustra (aka "ducks")
5: Cows
6: Snoozers
7: Dog Train
8: Penguin's Lament
9: Cows
10: I Will Wait for You
11: Dog Train

Unbeknownst to us, you were watching the readout on the radio and you figured out which number belonged to which song. You started ticking them off on your fingers (up to #5. You still aren't sure which finger belongs to #6), and then started finding numbers in books and telling us which song goes with that number.

Today the church went caroling at nursing homes. Jonah and Luke rode with us, and you chattered on and on to them about cows and ducks and dog trains and penguins, ticking the numbers off on your fingers as you talked. They were very confused. We didn't have the music playing, but tried to explain what you were talking about, that you were telling them about your "muskit" CD, and although they accepted the explanation, it was obvious that they were less thrilled about the musical choices than you were.
You kept going on and on about ducks, and finally Jonah said "Timothy, you know what some people do to ducks? They shoot them."
Luke piped in "and eat them", but you weren't phased. You were convinced that they needed to understand which song went with which finger.
Jonah asked "do you know what a gun is, Timothy?", but you just kept on explaining.
Jonah held up a finger gun. "Timothy, do you know what this is? This is a gun."
Without missing a beat, you pointed at his index finger and said "No, dat's _Cows_." Jonah and Luke were confused into silence, while daddy nearly drove off the road because he was laughing so hard.

Update 1/5/15
Today I texted Terri the following:  Please tell Jonah that Timothy is making finger guns and saying "guns guns guns bang bang bang bang!" I know Jonah will be so proud. :)
She responded with: :-D Jonah said "I win!"

12-21-14

We have a Fisher Price Nativity Scene, and when we got it down, you and I talked about the characters. Today, you couldn't find the Baby Jesus. 

"Mama, where's Baby Jesus?"

"Where is Baby Jesus?"

"He in da barn!"

"Is he? Did you know he was born in the barn?"

"Yeah, because Jesus is God!"

"That's right. Jesus is God!"

"Mama, where's Bubba Bice?"

It Just Keeps Getting Better

Dear Timothy,

You're going to be a big brother! Congratulations!

(you have no idea what this means, but your life is about to change BIG time. At least you got a great shirt out of it!)

Love,
Mama

Two Years

Dear Timothy,

Today, you are two years old.

You are 32.5 inches tall.

You weigh 26.5 lbs.


We made you an actual cake for your birthday this year. It was the first cake that we'd ever done, and boy was it a trial-by-error process. Due to your obsession with "Bi-ta" (big trucks), we wanted to create a semi-truck cake.

Try #1: too fat and short

Try #2: Better size

But what's with all the holes?!
Ah well, time for frosting..

Uh...wow. 

This looks...awful!

Truly horrifying!

Ok, now for a list of Things learned from this Endeavor thus far:

1. Make sure you frost between layers

2. The cake really needs to be level on the top and sides

3. I have no idea how to actually make a semi-truck shaped cake look like a semi-truck

4. Don't use ziploc bags for frosting bags because they split

5. Red frosting takes a lot of food coloring and stirring, and a lot more red food coloring. Pink, on the other hand? Now, that's easy!

6. The frosting needs to be really thick

7. The room (and cake, and frosting) shouldn't be too warm or the frosting will melt

8. Your daddy is a surprisingly good resource when it comes to decorating cakes!

So, anyway, that was fun!

We enjoyed celebrating your birthday with MoMo and Pop and Grandma. It's always fun when we all get together. 

Well Bubba, your mama is exhausted! You still aren't sleeping more than about 3 hours at a time, and I'm just struggling to make it through each day. I'm not sure I have much to write to you this time since I can't seem to formulate any sentences, but here are some things about you that have changed since my last letter. 

- you are potty trained! You've been wearing underwear during the day since the beginning of August. You only wear diapers at night now. Good job, you!

- you took your first airplane ride out to Arizona to see Grandma and Grandpa. It was surprisingly hassle-free!

- while we were in Arizona, you finally started eating solid food! By now you're eating an appreciable amount each day, and I'm starting to see that you will, indeed, stop nursing at some point.

- you still nurse a LOT! I think you might be an addict. seriously. 

- you are a chatterbox. you say many words now, and make up words you don't know. 

- you love big trucks, and trains (you say "duy-duy" instead of "choo-choo"), and anything with sirens.

That's all I can think of right now, sweet boy. I'm sorry this letter is so lackluster. I hope you know how much I love you. I'm so blessed to have you in my life!

Love,

Mama

20 Months

Dear Timothy,

You are 20 months old today.

You are 30.5 inches tall.

You weigh 25 lbs.

You are becoming quite a little person. You've always had personality, but you're starting to show that you have a sense of humor and also a strong sense of what you want and when. You're such a strong little boy, and I see a future of leadership for you.

You adore your socks and shoes. You spend a good portion of your morning pulling each and every sock out of your sock drawer, unmating them, handing them to me, taking them back, putting them in the drawer, taking them out, and on and on and on.

You love spoons! Every morning, you'll come in to the kitchen, spy out a specific spoon and bug me to death with "pleases" until I get it for you. It then becomes the Spoon of the Day. You carry it around and chew on it and stir your toys and your socks and other things you find in drawers and bins with it. Sometimes you'll keep that same spoon for a couple of days, and other times you'll trade it out after naptime.

You're speaking so much these days. You chatter on and on like a little monkey, but you also say several words:

remote = ma-mote
socks = dauckx
shoes = sounds kind of like a cross between "juice" and "chews"
milk = mi-mi
please =peas
thank you = nee naw!
potty and diaper are the same word = boppy
Diesel = Deedo
all done = aldi
steps = dessssssss
go = do
nose = no
mouth = mau
teeth = tee
oh maaan! = oh maaaan! (you say this at exactly the right moment! The other day you didn't make it to the potty on time and you looked down at the puddle at your feet and said, "oh maaaaaan!!")
uh oh = uh oh (you say this whenever something gets dropped. sometimes, though, you say this even when you've thrown an item on purpose. We're working on it!)

You're doing pretty well with sign language still. "Milk" is one sign you know for sure, and you've started saying "mi-mi", just to make sure there's no mistaking what you want (of course, pulling down my shirt and putting your hands down my shirt are other more subtle, but helpful signs for me to know what's going on). I guess it's a good thing that MoMo really did NOT want to be called Mimi, huh?

You also know how to sign and say "Please". I've gotta admit, I love that you use it. You signed alone for about 2 days and then started saying the word. Now, half the time, you don't even sign, but if you especially want something, you pull out both barrels. You look at what you want and say "peas!? peas!?" in a really high-pitched voice. It gets frustrating because you don't understand what "show me" or "what do you want?" mean. You think I should know what you want and you get upset because you said please but I'm not giving you what you want. You're teaching me how wonderful good communication is in a relationship! 

We're working on "thank you". Currently, you say "Nee-Naw!" when you're trying to say "thank you". I know what you mean because of how you use it. You started saying it when you'd hand me your socks out of your sock drawer because that's what I tell you when you hand me your socks. Monkey see, monkey do! You know the sign for it, but you'll only do it when prompted; it's not automatic yet. "Thank you" is a hard concept, anyway, I think. "Please" is easier because it you don't say it, you don't get what you want, but with "thank you", you've already gotten what you want, so why are you saying something else? Nonetheless, you've gotten to the point where you'll say thank you whenever you're prompted and sometimes you'll say it without prompting.

A few months ago, Daddy and I got bikes and we got a little bike trailer for you and now we take a family bike ride almost every day! At first, you hated the trailer, but the seat design is not supportive (it's basically just a canvas hammock, which they do so that they trailer can be folded up for storage and transport), so your head got pushed forward which caused your helmet (tiny helmets are SO cute!) to push down over your eyes. I finally busted out my crazy-good uh mediocre-at-best (oh, who am I kidding?) lousy sewing skills and made a little pillow and velcroed it to the back of the seat, so now you sit forward and your feet touch the bottom and you LOVE bike rides! You just watch out your windows and chatter to us and every time a dog barks you say "Dee-do? Dee-do?". It's been a lot of fun. More than once, you've fallen asleep in there, so I guess it must be a pretty smooth ride.

You play very well by yourself. There will be whole mornings or afternoons go by where I'll be working in a room and you'll be in there with me, but you'll just be playing quietly. You like to take toys out of one container and put them into another. Of course you always have your Spoon of the Day with you, which somehow amplifies your fun. You also like to sit and look at books, and I'm so glad about that! Both your Daddy and I hope that you grow up to be a reader.

You have 9 teeth. You're working on 3 more, but I'm not optimistic that you'll have them anytime soon. siiiigh. I'd really like to be done with teething now! (just in case peer pressure works on you right now, you should know that Asa has 12 teeth and Ty has 8, and they are both younger than you. Just sayin'!)

You don't sleep. It's been months since you slept more than 3 hours at a time, and in all reality (although I don't like to admit it because that makes it true!), you actually wake up closer to every 2 hours. I'm REALLY ready to be done with this! Let's go back to March 6, please!

You have learned a lot of animal names and sounds. You don't say any of the names, but as soon as you see a picture of one that you recognize, you say the sound it makes!

You also know how to say and find the following body parts: teeth, tongue, mouth, eyes, hair, nose, knees, feet, hands, tummy button, elbow

Bath time is no big deal for you these days. I'm not sure when the switch happened, but it really was like a switch got flipped. One day you hated baths (the actual bathing part, not the play-with-toys-and-water part) and the next you were just fine with getting your hair wet and being soaped. It's still not your favorite thing to do, but you don't scream bloody murder when it happens. Thank goodness!

Every day you understand us more and more. You're able to follow small commands like "take it to daddy", "put it on the shelf", "put it in the sock drawer", and "shut the door". You don't always manage to remember what you've been asked to do, but you do pretty well. The other day, I was cleaning in my room and you were rustling around in the other room. I thought you were playing with your toys, but then you waltzed into my room carrying a new roll of toilet paper, and I knew you'd been in the bathroom cupboards. I told you "you go put that back!" and you just turned right around and waddled your way back to the bathroom and very carefully placed the roll on top of the package. It was so cute to watch! I'm having to be careful about giving you orders, though. Somewhere along the line, I got into the habit of repeating my commands as soon as I'd given them. I've been saying things like "Put it in your sock drawer. Put it in your sock drawer." without giving you any time to do anything about it! I'm not sure why I started doing that, but I've been working on it, and you know what? You're perfectly able and willing to help even when I just say it once.

You love to "do" (go). Whenever you want to go outside, you head for the door saying "do? doooo?" Your voice gets higher pitched with every repetition. Once we're outside, what you do depends on which door we've used. If we go out back, you wander around, follow Deedo, dig in the dirt, swing, push around your lawnmower, or step up and down off the back step. If we go out front, you make a beeline for the sidewalk and take off on a walk. You don't go in the street or on the grass, but you love to go walking down the sidewalk, stepping on every little thing and chattering on and on.

I could keep talking about all the things you do and how quickly you're growing and learning and changing, but this letter would never end. Instead, I'll close with cute pictures.

I love you, baby boy.

Love,
Mama

BIG NEWS!

Dear Timothy,
I know I just wrote you a letter, but something big has happened.

Last night you did the unimaginable. You....you...SLEPT ALL NIGHT (from 9:30-7)!!! hurray! hurray! I'm so proud of you! (and thank you!)

Love, Mama


*update. This was merely a growth spurt. No need to get all excited. Sleep patterns returned to normal tonight.

16 Months

Dear Timothy,

Today, you are sixteen months old.

You are 24.5 lbs.

You are 29.5 inches tall.

Nicknames: Bubba, Baby, Sweet Boy, Moose, Timmamee

You can walk! You took off walking on Jan 30. You hold your hands up at about shoulder level, point your belly in the direction you wish to go, and, you're off! You've figured out how to bend down to pick things up off the floor without falling over. You're starting to figure out how to squat.

 

You love to read books. If I am sitting down, it won't be five minutes before you have brought me a book. I pull you into my lap and you snuggle in. You like to turn the pages, but you are surprisingly patient about letting me read all the words....most of the time! Your favorite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?". You are proud of your ability to slide the sliders on your own. (You also like to chew on the binding. I think teething will be the death of your books!)

Speaking of chewing...you are like a little, red-headed puppy! You chew on absolutely everything! You chew on your shoes. You chew on the beak of your duck. In the carseat, you take your socks off and chew on them. Actually, if you aren't wearing shoes, chances are you're walking around with one sock on your foot and the other in your mouth. You chew on spoons and ladles and have, on more than one occasion, absconded with a spatula from the dishwasher (I usually find it under the couch). I guess I need to amend my previous statement: I think teething will be the death of many things in this house.

You are still enamored with strings and buckles and straps and have added a strong affinity for balls to your resume.

You have started staying words.

ball = baugh

dog = Gaw

mama = mama

please (this one is rare and we're working on the sign for it, too) = beez

duck = duh

baby = babeeeee

uh oh= uh (pause) oh

yeah = yeah (apparently, I say "yeah" a lot!)

shoes = shzzzzzz (ok, not technically a word, but I know what you mean!)

balloon, book, spoon = booo? These three words all sound pretty much the same (I'm not able to replicate an differences using the English alphabet). It's a very contextual sound. Also, I'm not asking if that's how you say it. You always say it like a question!

Daddy = this one is my favorite. For the longest time, you wouldn't even try to say "daddy". Then, you got to the point where you would try, but only if YOU wanted to. When the mood struck you, the conversation always went like this:

ME: Timothy, can you say "daddy"?
YOU: ging-ging

That's right. You called him "ging-ging". And you were very matter-of-fact about it, too. Then, you started talking more, and adding more words to your lexicon and started trying to mimic our words. Now, you call daddy "daggy" or "gaggy". Sometimes, in your carseat, you practice it and you go slowly and say "daaa-DEEE!" "Daaaa-DEEE!", but it's not a sure thing just yet.

The fact that you don't know other words doesn't stop you. You are quite capable of letting us know just how you feel!

You know the sign for milk. I think you really enjoy being able to make yourself understood, because you'll make the sign, and I'll ask "do you want milk?" and you invariably grin in triumph!

You are doing better with using the potty. You're not fully trained yet, but we're definitely having more success! 


You have 8 teeth. Four on top and four on bottom. Your one year molars are giving you no end of grief as they work their way through. Your gums are so swollen and have turned a lovely shade of bruise-purple. Come to think of it, teething may just be the death of you!



You love tv show theme songs still. You favorites now include: That 70s Show, King of the Hill, Bones, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: The Next Generation, (well, I guess you now know what shows your mama and daddy watch all the time!). You've also started watching tv shows on your own. You like to watch the Baby Einstein videos that we get from the library. You also really like Curious George and Timmy Time. Your attention span is somewhere between 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I feel guilty for letting you watch tv because everybody knows it's bad for you and what kind of mom lets her 16mo watch tv?, but most of the time, I just enjoy having 15 minutes of "me" time (especially on days when the Cranky Monster comes to visit! I'll be honest: on those days, that 15 minutes is instrumental in prolonging your life.)

You're not clingy any more. In fact you're downright independent; sometimes frustratingly so...we are definitely past the start of the Terrible Two's. Why must you do everything early?! You love to walk around outside and love to try to step up on things. We go for walks a lot, and you really enjoy just being outside and looking around.

You and your Daddy are becoming great friends! You get excited when he gets home from work; your face lights up and you speed-walk to the entry way. If he doesn't pick you up right away, you become distraught, but you forgive him easily.

You've developed an intense interest in anything that is on the kitchen cabinet. If I'm cooking, you want to see what I'm doing, and more than one dinner has been prepared with you sitting on the cabinet watching me (and sometimes, using a spoon you've found to try to "help"!). You especially love pots full of food that sizzles or crackles, but your favorite thing is the bread maker. What a lot of wonderful noise and movement it makes!!




You have changed so much in the last four months! I'm so excited to see where you go from here. We are so blessed by you (though, that is so hard to remember when you keep waking up at night! STOP that!). You are smart and silly and really cute with your Moe-style hair (if you hate it, you have only yourself to blame! You've gotta learn to sit still while MoMo cuts your hair!). We love you so very much!


Love,
Mama

One Year

Dear Timothy,

Today, you are one year old.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BABY!

Weight: 24.5 lbs

Height: 29.5"

You have two teeth now.  Right in the middle of the bottom. They make for a super-cute smile (but then, so did bare gums. Maybe you just have a super-cute smile...). They came in at the veeery end of August. We were so thankful when they finally pushed their way through. You'd been pretty miserable for about a month before and then, POP! they came up and you just calmed down. I started getting sleep again! Well....kinda. But, a 3 hour stretch of sleep is a vast improvement over you waking up every hour. You're teething again, now, and it's getting pretty bad. I think you'll have your two top teeth before very long. Update: It is November 19. You STILL do not have your top teeth. For a while there, you had three pushing through and I could see them and they were almost out and then they went back up into your head. ARGH! Oh well. I guess I'll take the extra sleep while I can get it!

Just after my last letter, you figured out how to commando crawl and you were getting around really well! You just slithered everywhere you wanted to go; you got pretty fast. Once you figured that out, you started realizing that you could move your feet independently and purposefully and it only took you a couple of days to understand the concept of walking. And then you began practicing. You really are very diligent about practicing new things. It took you almost no time to learn that if you grab onto a person's thumbs, stiffen your legs and arch your back, you can slide out of their lap into a standing position. Then, if they will cooperate with you and will stand up, you can lead them wherever you wish to go. It is your very favorite thing to do. ever. Seriously. It's all you want to do right now.
Marme and Pop got you a pretty cool little walker that looks like a cross between an old 50's-style car and a spaceship. It might be both, actually. Either way, it has a radio. After your initial (it only lasted about 3 weeks) fear and dislike of said walker, you learned how to go forward in it and you cannot be stopped. As soon as I put you in it, you turn on the radio (ok, it's not really a radio. It's a button on the steering wheel that plays 8-10 nursery songs. We call it a radio because you treat it like one. You press the button as soon as you are in the walker and as soon as one song ends, you press it again. Sometimes you press it before a song ends, as if to say "I don't like that song. Change the station!".) and away you go! You are all over the house at a faster speed and a higher altitude than ever before.

You've discovered cabinet door handles. Books and knick-knacks are no longer safe. Your maneuvering capabilities are impressive. You can turn that thing on a dime! When you get all clingy, my ankles and shins take a beating because you are right up on them. I've tripped over you more than once because when I turn a direction, you immediately turn that way and head out and I am just not fast enough to beat you!

The dogs are freaked out by the walker. They don't understand it, I think. What makes it funny is that you love the dogs. L.O.V.E. them. You follow them around. When they are outside, you drive your car over to the door and stand there and watch them and sometimes, you bang on the door to get their attention. You squeal with delight when they walk to the window. And, you follow them around in your walker. And they back nervously away and run into each other and trip on things and sometimes you catch them. It's like watching the Three Stooges. Hilarious!

Somewhere in the midst of all that walking, though, you learned how to really crawl and, since that is a much faster mode of movement, you employ it often. I can hear the spat! spat!  of your fat little hands as you make your way up and down the hallway.  Now, much to my nostalgic sadness, you almost never commando crawl. In fact, the only time you commando crawl anymore is when you're being dramatic. For example: I walk away and go around the corner. You start to cry and follow me, crawling. But then, it just all becomes too much. The sadness takes over and you just. can't. go. any. further. Your legs give way and the only way you can keep moving towards your goal is to pull yourself along by your arms. But, your body is too heavy and your arms are too weak, so when you finally do see me again, you just lay your head down on the floor and sob. What a sad, sad world you live in!

You are also a little chatterbox. You talk all day long. You don't say any words yet, but you definitely have opinions on every subject. Most days I am SO curious to know what is going on in your head, but there are some days that I am so tired that I'm thankful you can't talk yet because it saves me the hassle of having to respond intelligently. You do say some form of "mama" or "mami" when you are wanting me to hold you or nurse you or when you see me. I've gotta admit; I love it! I have been trying to get you to say "daddy", but all you do is look at your daddy's chair, so I know you know who he is, but you just don't understand what "say" means.

You have also learned how to clap your hands. You get a really big smile on your face when you do this. I think you're celebrating something, but I don't know what. Maybe it's just that you like the sound of a clap.

You can also click your tongue. You practice this fairly regularly. You love to hear the sound, and being the aural little boy that you are, you also love to hear how different the clicks sound when you move your mouth in different shapes. You start out with your mouth wide, like you're saying "eee" and then move to the "oooo" shape. Back and forth you go. You find it highly entertaining when an adult clicks back at you. My favorite time though, was a few weeks ago when we were driving home from Wednesday night church. You hate being in your carseat after it gets dark. I don't blame you...nothing to see, nothing to do, nobody to keep you company. Sad times. It was just you and me because your daddy has class on Wednesday nights so takes his own car and gets to church late. The sounds from the backseat went something like this:

waaaaaggggghhh
waaaaaggggghhh
click, click, click, click, click, click
waaaaaggggghhh
waaaaaggggghhh

Oh man, I laughed so hard! 

You are unstoppable at pulling up on the furniture and then walking along the edge of it. It was a very tense couple of weeks when you first started doing that because you fell over backwards a couple of times each day. It was hard on both of us. Now, though, you're so good at pulling up and walking along that you're able to go from one piece of furniture to the next and you make your way around the whole house.

You love water bottles and books and cups (all cups, not just RPC's anymore) and electrical cords (yes, you've been in trouble more than once for messing with the cords!) and buckles and knobs and handles and strings and rubber bands. Your love of the Cheers Theme Song has morphed into a love of ALL theme songs. You ignore tv except when a theme song comes on and then you ignore everything else. Somehow you know the difference between the radio (which plays on our tv) and a tv show theme song. I marvel at you.

Although you still aren't eating solid foods, nor are you sleeping through the night, life is good. You are an alert, intelligent little boy.  You are observant and friendly and you love people. You have come so far since a year ago. We had no idea how being born early was going to affect you, but it seems that it's not slowed you down a bit!

Happy Birthday, Timothy. We are looking forward to another year with you!

Love,
Mama

Nine Months

Dear Timothy,

You Are:

• 9 months old
• 22 lbs
• 28" long
• Teething like crazy, but still have nothing to show for it. There has been more than one day when I have wanted to give you away. Well...just until your teeth come in. Then you can come back. But only if you promise that I never have to hear another whine ever again. EVER. please?
• You are also curious, alert, vocal, wiggly, happy, sweet, playful, charming, and drooly. And more. You are so much more. I would love to be able to see what you see - to know what you think about - to feel what you feel. Your world must be so vibrant, so fantastically full! I imagine that all your senses are operating at full capacity right now; each touch as stimulating as the last, each smell, sound, taste, sight exquisitely new and amazing and wonderful. I try to imagine it, but I just cannot.  

You often look at the world upside down.

You Can:

• Roll over, back to front and front to back
• Scooch across the living room floor in a quasi-commando crawl
• Sit up unassisted (by this I mean that once I put you in the sitting position, you don't need help). You rarely fall over now.
• Use the potty. You've been doing this for about 3 months now, but you're much more consistent about it these days. You rarely poo in your diaper anymore.

You Are Not:

• Sleeping all night yet. You still wake up every 3 hours. I.Do.Not.Like.This!
• Crawling (or able to get up on your knees, even)
• Eating solid foods 
• A Thumbsucker or thumbchewer
• Signing, but we're working on that. So far I use "potty", "poop", and "all done" the most, but we also use "daddy" and "milk". You'll get there!

You Love:

• This toy (you hit the button and cycle through the sounds until the song plays, at which point, you stop playing with it until the song ends. Lather, Rinse, Repeat. 

•  The Cheers Theme Song. It doesn't matter what you are doing - playing, nursing, full-on tantrum - as soon as you hear the first few notes of this song, you stop and look at the tv. You're memsmerized until the song ends, at which point, you go back to whatever you were doing before (see video). I'll admit, I've used this to my advantage more than one time, but it's awfully time consuming to have to rewind NetFlix. I'm thinking of making a mobile for your crib and using this as your song.

(and there are 60 more seconds at the beginning of this where you completely ignore the tv!)

• Being outside
• Listening to Daddy play guitar
• Being tossed up in the air
• Spoons
• Swimming

• Toes - yours or anybody's
• Playing with your toys 
• Your Johnny Jump-Up - you do the cutest little ballerina kicks!

You do NOT like:

• Baths - Well, you're much better about this now, but up until about 2 days ago, you HATED baths!
• Food - oh, you'll put it in your mouth, but you do NOT want to swallow it. You do like to suck on bacon, though, so all hope is not lost.  
• Falling backwards when you're sitting up 
• Sharing your toys (I was really hoping this wouldn't show up for a few more years months.) 
• Your Johnny Jump-Up - yes, you have a love/hate relationship with this thing. Mostly you love it, but when you don't, it's pretty hilarious to watch. You cry and whine and fuss, but you're doing your cute little ballerina kicks. Oh man! I really need to get that on video for you!

I can't wait to see what the next few months brings to us. What a blessing you are!

Love,
Mama

Seven Months

Dear Timothy,

Hi Baby! Today, you are 7 months old. WOW! The last three months have been chalk full of changes for you. I almost don't know where to begin! I guess I'll start at the usual place and go from there.

The stats:
Age: 7 months
Weight: 20.5 lbs
Length (when does this change to "height", do you suppose?): 26"
Nicknames: Dopey, Chub-Chubs, Bubba, Drooly McDroolerson, and the recently coined Rojito*

THIS is why we call you Dopey.

Since my last letter, you have learned a lot of new things. You still notice everything, and watch it all so intently. I like watching you discover new things and sometimes you discover old things again and again and again (like the living room ceiling fan. yes, it's still there. yes, it's always been there. No, you don't need to check again.), but you get SO distracted that pesky little details like eating and sleeping get put on the back burner while you attempt to explore everything in your world. It has gotten so bad that the only way to get you to settle down and eat and sleep is to go into a dark room with you. Let me tell you what, Mister: I really don't like doing that. It's boring! Ok, so maybe that makes me the worst mama in the world, but it is. I just have to sit there and wait. But, I suppose that one day, I'll look back on this with fondness.

You now love playing with toys. Big toys, little toys. All toys are equal in your eyes. As long as they can be touched and/or chewed on, toys are good. Red Plastic Cups are the absolute BEST toys right now, so you really love going to church. There are a lot of RPC's at church.
In Thumbsucking world, you are now a Master at putting your thumb in your mouth. The sucking part? Not so much. You are a Thumb-Chewer. Sometimes you are a Thumb-Plus-One-or-More-Other-Fingers-Chewer. Sometimes you are an Entire-Fist-Chewer. Eeeeevery so often, you manage to pull a vacuum on your thumb for all of 2 whole sucks. I think the sound startles you because you kind of flinch away from it and then it will be ages before it happens again.

Since the beginning of May, you have been teething. Along with that has come a TON of drool and chewing. Anybody who hugs you is guaranteed to walk away a little wetter than they were before. You still don't have anything to show for it, though. I've been told that it can take months (yes, you read that correctly) before any teeth show up. I'm not real thrilled with that prospect because you have become kinda...cranky. There. I said it. You, Baby Boy, have become a cranky little monster. I didn't want to tell you because I know you're in pain and I wanted to show support and sympathy, but enough is enough already! You need to stop complaining.

Ok, I've rolled over. NOW what?

You have also learned to roll over. Well...kinda. You can roll from your back to your tummy (turning toward the right), which is pretty cool. You had been working on it for a couple of weeks and finally figured it out on May 24.  It seems like as soon as you figured out how to roll over, you started trying to get your knees up underneath you. So now, I lay you on the floor and you roll over, push up with your arms, playing with whatever you can reach, try out the knee thing and then fuss because you don't know what else to do. It's pretty cute. Probably made cuter by the fact that you'll only do it sans diaper. Don't ask me. I don't know what it is that makes you tick.

You are starting to recognize words. When we play Stand-Up, Sit-Down, I don't have to tug on your arms anymore. I just tell you which to do and you do it! It's pretty fun. You stand right up, but it takes you awhile to sit down (I understand. Sit Down takes more trust. You can't see where your bottom is going.). We are starting to teach you sign language. Just basic stuff (food, more, milk, etc). It's pretty fun to learn.

You are very much a people-person. You like to be around people and see what's going on. As long as you are being held by someone (or really, just in the vicinity of people you can see), you are a happy camper. You love talking to Marme and Pop and Grandma and Uncle Sam.

In March, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Aysha, Aunt Cecy and Uncle Jonathan came out to visit us. They loved getting to meet you and Grandma loved getting to see how you've grown and changed since you were in the hospital.

 You charmed them with your easy smiles and sweet attitude. I hope you always have that effect on people.

In May, you got to meet Aunt Aimee. She thinks you're pretty swell. You really liked her, too.

So sweet!

"Here, daddy. This is where your code went wrong. I fix it."

Watching Magnum, p.i. Truly a man's activity!

Your very favorite person, though, is your daddy. You light up and start wiggling like a puppy as soon as you see him. You kind of arch your back towards him, and I know that, if you could, you would run to him. You are definitely a Daddy's Boy. You love to do things with him. I can see the future so clearly; you following him into the shop and being underfoot as he fixes the cars, trying to do everything he does, repeating what he says. It's a beautiful picture.

You love to listen to him play guitar. It doesn't matter what you're doing; as soon as he starts playing, you stop and turn to where he is and listen until he's done.

Well, Baby Boy, it's time to end this letter. I love you very much and I am so happy to be your mama. You are so very precious and such a blessing to us.

Love,
Mama
*This may or may not be Spanish for Little Red. In all likelihood, it doesn't actually mean that, but we're pretending it does.

Four Months

Dear Timothy,

Hey, sweet boy! Today you are 4 months old! Congratulations! I think you believed me after your hernia surgery when I told you that you had to stop the drama, because it's been a really quiet two months. So quiet, in fact, that I didn't even write to you when you turned 3 months. I know, I know. I'm such a neglectful mama.

So, let's see. What should I tell you?

First, your stats: you are 15.5 pounds and allllllllmost 24 inches. This is, of course, unofficial, because we haven't been to the doctor since your post-surgery check up.

Your eyes have focused and you watch everything! You love lights. They mesmerize you and you will lay for a long time and just stare at the lights. We call you Insectosaurus because of it. You also love ceiling fans and the shelf above your changing table, but we don't have a fancy nickname for you because of those. The best thing, though, is lights + fans. We went to Subway with Pop one day after cleaning the church and they had fans with lights behind them and you just stared. Pop kept moving into your line of sight to talk to you and you would tilt your head to the side so you could see the awesomeness behind him, and then he would tilt his head. Daddy and I were laughing so hard that your heads were practically upside down before I could point out what was going on. Pop! you said, Move your head! Don't you know what's behind you?! 

Look at those CHINS!

You are an extremely sweet little boy. You smile and coo and gurgle all the time. I don't think you've ever met a stranger, nor a shelf, that you didn't just love and charm immediately. I'm pretty sure that comes from Marme.

You absolutely adore your Uncle Sam. You just talk and talk and smile at him. It's really funny how much you have to say to him. I can't wait until you tell him everything you know in real words!

 In the last 2 months, you've developed an intense interest in the Art of Thumbsucking. Unfortunately for you, this is not one of the easily mastered arts, but thankfully, you have your daddy's work ethic and are quite diligent about practicing any chance you get. When you started out, I would lay you on your back and you would ball up your fist, stick out your little thumb, point it in the direction your mouth and let 'er fly. Eyes wide and mouth agape and unable to stop it's momentum, you would watch your thumb go flying past your face to your ears. But you were not deterred. You began to refine your approach, slowly zeroing in on your target. You would watch helplessly, as your thumb unerringly found its way, time and again, to your eyes. Later, you would snort and sputter as it made its way up your nose.

For the last week or so, your thumb has made it to your mouth more often than not, but as soon as it touches your tongue, you screw up your face as if you've just tasted the most disgusting thing in the world, and you kind of scrape your tongue against the roof of your mouth, trying to dislodge whatever it is that tastes so nasty. You kick your thumb out of your mouth and try the whole process again with the other one. fist, point, move, mouth, yuck, out, repeat. It's been really fun to watch. I know that eventually you'll find your thumb and know what to do with it, but until then, this keeps you just as occupied.

We have also instituted Naked Baby Time, which you absolutely LOVE! An explanation of this really isn't necessary (and I promise, no pictures!). You just look so content when you're naked; you lay on the mat and just kick and coo and smile and try to find your thumbs. If nothing else will make you happy, this is pretty much guaranteed to do so. Of course, you're never really not happy, but I've learned that if you get a little fussy, all I have to do is change your state of dress. Oh, that all of life's worries were so easily solved!

You still don't care for hats. One of the few times that you actually DO cry is when I put them on you. I think they embarrass you. Especially the ones with silly things like ears or turkeys on them. (hmmm, does that sound like a cue for pictures? I think it does!) Unfortunately for you, you just are too adorable in them, and so I make you suffer until you forget you're wearing one. This is what parents do, baby. We torture our children for our own amusement.

I still get aggravated with you sometimes because you don't like to go to bed much before midnight, and that's hard on me! It's hard to be too upset, though, because this is what you do when you're awake and wanting to play:

What a silly boy you are!

You really are the light of your Daddy's eye. As I'm sure you know, he does not care for his current job (and who can blame him? But, that's another post altogether), but he gets up every day and goes to work and when he gets home and holds you and talks to you and you smile at him, he says very quietly "you're half* the reason I go to that place everyday and it's all worth it". That's a pretty amazing thing, you know. He loves you so much that even though he's miserable all day, that just fades away when he gets home. Remember this when you feel like he's being too hard on you, ok? (hint: he's not).

Well, I'm going to wrap this up now.   I love you more everyday.

Love,
Mama
*I am the other half.