Greetings Little One

First snowman

You named him Fred, little one.

He’s not impressive, but the snow was not ideal. We did what we could with the material at hand.

       

Sitting up!

You’re still prone to toppling over, little one, but you’re getting there.

Avocado not good

The first supper

You have been staring at and reaching for our food for more than a month, little one. Up until now, all of your nourishment has come via breast milk.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we served you your first meal tonight.

Rice cereal. 

When your sister tried her first meal, she spit it out in disgust, a precursor to her discerning palate.

Your first experience with real food was slightly different:

First jack-o-lantern

You had no desire to remove the insides of the pumpkin (“Gross!”), but you helped to design the cut outs of this jack-o-lantern with Jeff and Nhi, little one, making this your very first jack-o-lantern.

A horse!

I grew up on a horse, little one.

Before my parents divorced, our home and our lives were geared towards the many horses that we owned and boarded. The horses were partly the cause for my parent’s divorce.

My father loved them and my mother did not. 

I used to compete in horse shows with my father.

I was bitten and kicked by horses.

A horse once bolted with me clinging to its back, sans saddle or reins. The horse eventually brought me back home more than an hour later.

So when Jeff sent me these images of you on the back of your very first horse, I was both elated that you were brave enough to climb aboard and a little saddened that your mother and I were in Brattleboro, Vermont at a literary festival at the time.

I'm proud of you, little one. So very proud. And just a little bit sad, too, that I wasn’t there to see this happen.

 

Tinkle tinkle

‎"Do you hear that?" you shouted from atop the potty.

You were making a pee pee, little one. It was your first real pee pee on the potty and you wanted to be sure that Mommy heard the tinkle.

We are thrilled with the prospect of only having one child in diapers.

First laughs

You have started to laugh. It’s the best thing.

First haircut!

You received your first haircut, little one, after your hair had finally reached down past your waist. Mommy and I were braced for a difficult and tear-filled experience, but you handled it like a big girl.

The only complaint you had throughout the whole process was leaving after the haircut was finished. There was an area in the salon full of toys for kids as they waited, and you wanted to stay and play for a while longer. You screamed and cried when we pried you away from the toys, but the haircut itself went off without a hitch.

Another big step in your young life, little one.

      

Relief at last

After almost nine weeks of insisting on being held at all times (except when sleeping), you have finally decided that you can be happy outside of our arms, little one. The bouncy seat, with its plastic birds, repeating music and flashing lights, has captivated your interest in the same way it captivated your sister’s interest three years ago.

It’s not that we don’t like to hold you, little one. It’s just that holding you all the time makes it difficult to accomplish anything.

We’re happy that you are finally finding comfort in the presence of molded plastic as well.