1/24/2012

It’s a trap!

Filed under: — Aprille @ 2:33 pm

M:  Trapezoids?  Why do they not trap you even if they’re called trapezoids?

The Tobin Times #5

Filed under: — Aprille @ 2:27 pm

My dear little Tobin,

This month you’ve shown strong evidence that you are beginning to understand language.  We’ve seen signs of it before, but it was hard to tell whether you were responding specifically to words or to gestures that went with them.  Well, in the last week or so, you’ve been doing something heart-meltingly adorable.  If you’re in your bouncy seat or Exersaucer or lying in bed, and I say “Do you want to come see Mommy?”, you smile, wiggle, and sometimes even squeal.  This happens even if I don’t stretch my arms out to you or use any particular intonation, so I’m pretty sure you understand and are connecting the words to being picked up and cuddled.

You’ve gotten kind of Mommy-centric lately.  Not most of the time, but sometimes (especially during your usual evening crabby time) you cry if your dad is holding you instead of me.  This can be very tiring.  By evening I usually need a break, and I really appreciate your dad’s efforts to give me some time to myself, but it doesn’t always work.  Part of me is a little thrilled, though.  A mom has to give a lot of herself, and in some ways it’s rewarding to know that my efforts aren’t going unnoticed.  It’s nice to see that you’re growing fond of me.  I’ve been fond of you since before you could turn your own head.

Nothing has changed in your fondness levels for your brother.  You always want to be where he is, and you’ve started grabbing for his face and hair.  He’s very patient with you, and lately we’ve spent a lot of our time together in the afternoons all cuddled up in his bed, reading or telling stories.

You mastered and then promptly lost interest in rolling over.  Now when I put you on your tummy you just want to try to crawl.  There was a period there when you’d immediately flip over onto your back, but once you realized that with just a little support on your feet you could move forward, that became your favorite.  You didn’t roll for at least a week, and I thought you’d forgotten how.  But yesterday you proved that you can still do it.  You just prefer not to.  You haven’t mastered crawling yet, not by a long shot, but you grunt and strain and scootch forward the best you can.  Something tells me you’re going to be hard to keep up with once you become mobile.

This is your last month of being 100% breastfed, as we plan to start you on limited solids next month.  It shouldn’t be too difficult, since you already love to grab anything in your reach and shove it into your mouth.  I didn’t realize how much we’d been chiding you about it until I heard your brother say yesterday, “I don’t know how clean that is, Tobin.”  I bet you’ll get a kick out of having something actually digestible in your mouth.  It is one of the first truly tangible steps toward independence, though, and naturally it tugs at me a little (or maybe the tug is just moving from literal to figurative).  It will also mean grosser diapers, but that’s all part of the process, I guess.

Your sunny disposition remains sunny, and you’re so easygoing and pleasant.  The only thing you really don’t like is to be left out of the action, which means that we eat most of our meals one-handed with you on a lap.  Sometimes you’re okay with sitting in your bouncy seat, but not usually for long.  As soon as you’re up there with the rest of us, all is well.  That’s yet another reason I think you’re going to like being an official part of the family dinnertime experience.  You still sleep pretty well—not straight through the night, but you go back to sleep quickly after nursing a bit, and you spend most of 8 p.m. through 7 a.m. asleep.

There are a lot of pregnancies and new babies in our sphere lately, and while I am thrilled for those families, I must say I’m glad I have a 5-month-old.  Newborns are great, but it’s even nicer to be past that exhausting early time and into the really fun time.  Your smiles and giggles and growing awareness add happiness to every day.  Even these bleak winter days are brighter with you around.

I love you, my little meatball.

Mommy

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