Dear Jack: 14 Months

Dear Jack,

You are a year and two months old! I tell your dad that you seem like a big boy in a baby's body, yet at the same time you are looking more and more like a boy too. You love to run around the house and play rough. You chase the dogs; you wrestle your brother; you tackle me; you play sports.

You are the sweetest little thing. You love to cuddle, just not for long because you always have something to explore. If your dad or I leave the room, you chase after us either laughing or crying. In fact, I'm pretty sure you are a big time daddy's boy because you always want to be around him even more than me.

A few weeks ago, I weaned you the rest of the way. We nursed for over a year. I'm proud of our accomplishment! Sometimes I feel sad about it, but I think you are happier, even, because you don't come up to me crying like you used to (begging to nurse). You are eating better now too. Well, you were up until a couple of days ago when your molars really started to bother you.

Sometimes you are such a dangerous little guy! You do way more climbing and get into far much more mischief than I remember your brother seeking out. You climb on chair, tables, the stairs, up high on toys.... You do these crazy things and look at me with the biggest smile. You know you're not supposed to. Heck, you stand in the tub and smile at me. I ask, "Are you all done? Ready to get out?" You just plop right back down and then do it all over again.

You seem to understand so much more these days. Your speech grows as well. You say ma, dada, dog, ball, bear, bye, boo when playing peek-a-boo, vroom for cars, and quack for ducks. You love dinosaurs the best, but you really started liking bears recently too. You like cars and trucks, especially noisy toys like firetrucks and police cars. You pretend to talk on the phone. You try to water the plants with a hose. You play soccer, football, and basketball with your brother. When Eliot has soccer practice, you watch from the bleachers and want to play so badly. I'll get you in soccer classes too when you're older, buddy. You want to be a part of everything we do, like pretending to cut grass with your dad.

Jack, I love you at this stage. You are sweet, fun, coming into your own, and so adorable. I had forgotten how much fun babies are at this age. I know the "terrible twos" are right around the corner, which will still be fun in its own way, but for now, I'm holding on to today.

Dear Jack: 13 Months

Dear Jack,

You are now 13 months!  You are at that weird place with age where I could just say "a year and a month," but it feels so confusing.

Everything about you is so much more independent than I remembered with Eliot.  I can't eat with a fork around you because you want to steal it.  You are set on feeding yourself.  You want to climb all of the stairs by yourself, give yourself a bath, pick out your own food, brush your teeth, and even try to wipe yourself during diaper changes.  You've stepped it up in playtime with Eliot too and have specific toys you want to play with.  A simple "trade" strategy no longer works with you two in order to maintain the peace, but we're always working at new ways to play.

You really are taking in the world around you and are beginning to understand how things work.  You take the remote from us and point it at the tv.  You take our phones and pretend to talk.  You get ahold of the ear thermometer and put it in your ear.

As for speech, you haven't expanded your words much lately and mostly stick with ball, dada, ma, dog, some form of "kitty," and bye.  These are your favorite things, so it makes sense.  It's funny because when we are leaving and saying bye, you wait until we are almost gone before bellowing out this huge "BYE!!!"  If we are leaving Target, you wait until we are about to walk out the door.  If I am dropping you off at Nana's so I can work, you wait until I'm pretty much on the front porch.  You're so silly.  And, of course, you continue to growl and roar all of the time because you love dinosaurs the best.

Your dad and I have kind of concluded that you are a daddy's boy.  Sure, you get sad when I leave and so excited to see me, but you yell "Dada" all the time and almost bust out a window if your dad goes to check the mail.  Maybe you aren't playing favorites all the way because I can tell that you really love us both for sure.  And you love dogs the most, probably.  You bring them balls and try to get them to lick the inside of your mouth.  Yuck...

You are so good at so many big kid things.  You love to color with your brother.  You read books on your own (and don't let us help).  

I know that you will grow up and continue to become a boy, but I can't imagine you as anything but our sweet baby boy.  I really can't.  At the same time, I have a hard time remembering what your brother was like at your age.  I'm enjoying this period with you as our little one--our youngest--and I know it will just keep getting better.

Dear Jack: 12 Months

Dear Jack,

Happy first birthday!

When we drove to the hospital, I had done my best to set up a plan.  Your brother was with your Robinson grandparents and Aunt Elizabeth getting more than enough attention.  It was my first time away from him overnight and I felt sick to my stomach.  We had a scheduled induction since we had complications with your brother related to him being overdue.  For the first time in nine months, I felt like I had a little bit of control.  Just a little bit.  And though we never are truly in control, I thank God that I went with my instincts and scheduled an induction with you because the cord was wrapped around your neck, dangerously causing your heartrate to dip repeatedly.  When you were born, I let out a sigh of relief.  You were with us and you were safe.

Since that day, I have felt at the mercy of your whims.  When you are hungry, I nurse you.  When you are tired, I let you sleep on me.  For months, we were in survival mode.  I am not good at setting schedules and you are not so good at accepting them.  You may have been outside of me, but I lived to nurture you each day.  And you thrived!  Now that you are one year old, though, you are stepping away.  You sleep through the night.  You nurse just a few times a day.  On June 5, you started walking (at 11 months and about 10 days).  You walk away from me and around the corner to play by yourself.  You were once so very dependent on me; now you are exerting your independence.

These past few days, your brother has been away visiting your grandparents.  I miss him terribly (and I think you do too); however, it has been nice to focus just on you.  You seem like you have developed and grown so quickly while he has been away!  You jabber on with such expression.  You point to communicate.  You run.  And I mean you RUN.  I make cars vroom.  You mimic the way I play with toys.  You build.  You bang toys together.  You make everything growl.  One of your favorite things to do is to carry a toy around the house making it growl.

You are doing well with food.  Finally.  Your favorite foods are icecream, spaghetti (complete with sauce and Boca crumbles instead of ground beef), yogurt, blackbeans, and chips. You clearly point and jabber about what different foods you want.

For your birthday, we went to the Hunt Club.  You were pretty grumpy and not into it.  Then we came home and played in the yard.  A couple of days later, we threw you a dinosaur birthday party.  You dug for dinosaur bones in sand and splashed in the pool.  When it was time for your cupcake, you leaned over and ate the whole thing--and then another one!  We had a beautiful day celebrating you with family and a few friends.

Sometimes I think back to your newborn days and with a sigh I miss how tiny you once were.  You would nurse and then sleep and then nurse some more.  I loved to hold you close all of the time.  The thing is, though, you are becoming more and more fun the older that you grow.  You are more aware and involved.  You are starting to keep up with your brother in play, which is great and exciting, but hard sometimes too.

This birthday isn't about the fact that you are one, but instead celebrating this whole year.  We survived your first year, Jack!  And I think we might have even done a "good job" at it too.

When I was pregnant with you, I worried that I wouldn't be able to love you enough.  How could I give love to two babies at the same time?  How would there be enough of me to go around?  When I learned that you were boy, I was so excited and scared too.  Would I compare you and Eliot?  Would I be unfair without meaning to?  You and Eliot are so very different.  You have different demeanors and accomplish milestones at different rates.  You look like brothers, but you look unique as well.  Without a doubt, I love you both fiercely in the same way and the same amount.  I love every detail about both of you.  I didn't anticipate how full my heart would feel with two boys--how you would take this beautiful thing, our family, and accent it in a perfect way.  You bring so much to our family.  We love you, Jack.  We are so incredibly thankful for you.  Happy first birthday.

Dear Jack: 11 Months

Dear Jack,

One more month left until you hit a year.  I can hardly stand that thought!  You are growing up so fast!  You are doing such big boy things.  The day before Mother's Day, you started taking more and more steps on your own before falling.  This month, you had your first haircut, which I must say was overdue.  You had a little bit of a mullet going on in the back.

I'm trying to teach you to rely on me less for food.  You've never been super into solids, but I have convinced you that drinking almond milk from a sippy cup is quite fun.  You always want to steal my food, but only to give it to the dogs.  Arg.  I had you doing well with solids, but then you got sick one week and regressed.  Speaking of food, you now have four teeth up top and two teeth on the bottom!  We're still nursing, by the way.  A lot.  It feels like too much, but you'll get weaned when the time is right.  Hopefully in a month or so.


You have such a funny temperament.  You are always laughing and smiling or crying and screaming.  Sometimes I wonder if you are teething or just bored when you throw a fit.  You seem to get frustrated by your limitations--you want to have everything your brother does (especially his food, which, as I said, you're just trying to give to the dogs).  When we are out and about, though, you are much more cheery and easy-to-please.  That makes me think you are simply bored.  You know how to light up a room with your smile and flirting with strangers.  I can always count on you for a big grin in the morning.  You also like to clap your hands, give high-fives, and shake your head "no".

You're doing all right as far as sleep goes.  You sleep for about 12 hours in your crib.  You either wake up at 4:30 am for a snack and sleep in until 6:00 am or you get up for the day at 5:00 am.  It is hit or miss.  You take a morning nap and an afternoon nap, but you always want to be held while you sleep during the day.  I love watching you sleep because you look so peaceful.  When you sleep, you remind me of Eliot at this age.

You are still a big fan of water.  We swim in the pool frequently.  You love it when Daddy throws you in the air and blows bubbles for you.  You like the beach because there is so much sand to eat and dig in.  The waves scare you just a little when an unexpected wave gets you wet, but I'm always right there to save you when the water gets too close.  The only drawback about you loving the water is that you also are very interested in the toilet....  You have not touched the toilet water yet, but you have tried.  Oh boy, have you TRIED.  You have flushed the toilet a couple of times, but have not thrown anything in yet.  Yet...

I can hardly believe that you are the same little baby boy we brought home from the hospital last June.  I look at my maternity photos from a year ago and remember how I waited and worried and yearned for you.  Now you are here.  Every day, I get to hold you and kiss you.  Every day, I get to hear you growl as you play with dinosaurs and "vroom" when you play with cars.  I'm so blessed to have you near me.  Healthy.  Strong.  Smart.  Sweet.  Growing.  I never take you for granted--not one second.  We love you, baby, our son.

Dear Jack: Ten Months

Jack,

You are getting so close to a year.  I had better start planning your party....

You are continually growing more and more mobile.  You can now climb up the stairs without slipping (and quite fast, mind you).  You like to climb up and play with the door at the top of the stairs.  It makes me nervous, but your brother insists that he is "keeping an eye" on you.  I stay close by, though, just in case.

Every couple of weeks, your dad takes you and Eliot to the library.  You love putting your fingers over all of the books.  You love for me to read to you, and your brother "reads" to you as well.  However, you are equally interested in eating the books, so we try to stick to board books.

I've mentioned this time and time again, but one of the unexpected blessings of having you around has been the joy of watching you and Eliot grow into best friends.  He loves babies, so I knew he'd love you, yet I didn't anticipate how my heart would flutter as I watch you wrestle him or when I quietly peek in on the two of you gazing out the window together or how I push the two of you on the swings at the park together.  I didn't think about how happy I'd be when Eliot insists on packing a special snack for you on picnics or when you bounce happily when Eliot pays you even the slightest bit of attention.  He sings to you in the car when you seem tired, and I think you like it.  You two love each other so much.  Sometimes it is hard when you both need something at the same time.  There are points when you both want the same toy, and someone has to give.  Overall, though, you two make the best team.

You are becoming more verbal these days as well.  You say "dada" and "daddy" a lot, and I think you say "diddy" for "kitty" and "dig" for "dog".  It certainly seems that way.  You reserve your "momma" for when you are particularly upset (or hungry).  You seem to say "ball" for balls as well.

You are getting a lot better about eating.  You love yogurt now and will eat pureed food if it has bananas mixed in.  You do not like tart things at all (unlike Eliot).  It used to be a struggle to get you to eat one meal a day, but now you are eating three usually.  You had been pretty fussy for a couple of weeks.  I couldn't figure out why and then, all of the sudden, you had a new tooth!  You have five total.

I think we need to have a celebration of some kind because you are now officially sleeping through the night.  It only took ten months, but, you know, it's much better than it could be--your brother still gets up.  You take two or three naps a day while laying on me.  If I try to put you down, you wake up.  You sleep in your crib in your own room at night, though, so that is the main thing I aimed for.  Sometimes you cry for just a couple of minutes and then go to sleep.  On occasion, you wake up once in the middle of the night, but you put yourself back to sleep after a moment.  I never could do this with your brother--letting him cry just didn't work.  I'm so glad that you are a better sleeper.  And I don't mind the naps with you too much.  Eliot always wants to play then, but I try to soak up all the cuddles I can get from you.  I know they won't last forever.

 You're growing, changing, learning, and loving.  I love each day with you.  You make our lives so much brighter.

Dear Jack: Nine Months

Dear Jack,

At nine months, you are starting to seem like such a big boy.  You want to do all things big, just like your brother, and you are continually meeting new milestones.

I worried about your brother not sharing with you, but I never worried about you taking his things.  I should have!  You are fascinated by everything Eliot has and want it.  Now!  If he is drinking in the car, you fight to take his straw.  You beg for his food like a puppy.

You are crawling great, pulling up on everything, cruising everywhere, and occasionally stand for a moment by yourself without holding onto anything.  I can't imagine you walking any time soon because your brother waited until right after a year, but I suppose you could....  Either way, you're well on your way.

As you become better at eating finger foods, your pallet is expanding.  You fought off pureed food for the most part, but now you like feeding yourself blackbeans, some rices, diced up bananas, and other similar foods.  You also love smoothies, so we get extra greens in you that way.  You are absolutely crazy for icecream.  If you see us giving your brother food, you look at him and then glare at us like you can't believe that we aren't being fair.

You continue to be passionate about water.  As I draw your bath water, you pull up on the side of the tub and scream like a middle school girl at a Justin Beiber concert.  If someone takes a shower, you try to break in on them in the bathroom and scoot your way in.  You are going to have so much fun this summer in the pool.

It is crazy to think that you have been with us on the outside as long as you were growing inside of me.  It seems so long ago that I was pregnant with you--and it felt like it lasted forever.  It seems like you have always been with us.  I'm so thankful for you, Jack-Jack.

 

Dear Jack: Eight Months

Dear Jack,

This letter comes a little late....  I am so sorry!  I have a good reason, though:  we were in Florida the day that you turned eight months.

You are our sunshine boy.  You are always so happy and smile at everyone.  If you don't know the person, you often turn and hide your face in my shoulder to then smile at them again and again.  Playing peek-a-boo almost, but I like to think that you find comfort and protection in me when you hide in me.  I love how friendly you are--and it is so easy to get you to smile for cameras.

You've been crawling great for a while and have really picked up some speed.  You can pull up on things, sometimes even with one hand.  You also can climb up the stairs little unassisted.  Ah!  Nothing is safe.  You love being able to get around everywhere and make a mad dash for the dog's water bowl.

It took us a while to get you excited about food, but now you love putting everything in your mouth.  If someone is drinking something with a straw, you will surely snatch it.  If your brother has a popsicle, you don't hesitate to tug and pull at him until he shares.

As for your appearance, you are our fuzzy-headed, blond, blue-eyed baby.  Your hair keeps growing longer and sticks up in the front.  It is getting a little long in the back, so I might cut it soon to avoid a mullet....  You have four teeth total--two up top and two below.  You and I are still nursing, which I really didn't expect.  I hoped to make it to six months, and here we are:  still going strong.  I managed to get you to stop biting most of the time, so there is no reason to quit, really.

I love watching you with your brother.  You want everything he has.  His toys are so much more interesting.  And while he's bigger, you rise to the challenge whenever he acts a bit too big for his britches.  It is funny to watch.  He loves you more than anyone, I think.  Every day, he says how cute you are and how you are "such a niceeee baby".  He wants to hug and cuddle you all the time, and you are so fascinated by him.

Jack, you are so special to me.  I love your laugh.  I love your smile.  I love the ocean in your blue, blue eyes.  I love watching you chase and pet the dogs, and I love how you laugh at everything they do.  We got lucky with you, little buddy.