Dear Ransom,
Yesterday ( well actually the day before) you hit a really huge milestone! So backing up, on Monday night ( the 24th of October) you took TWO steps towards me! It happened so fast that I could hardly believe it, and since it was pretty much bedtime-you refused to try again and you left me excited to try again the next day...
So YESTERDAY we went out for our morning walk with our friend Miranda. We have a pretty solid routine of running or walking with Miranda every day at 9am. You chill in the jogging stroller and Miranda and I suffer it out ( while catch up on life)....yesterday it was a little chilly so I had gotten a blanket to lay over your lap to keep some more warmth in, and when we returned home we realized the blanket was gone!! So we all loaded into the car and I drove like a crazy old woman ( slowly and swerving) up and down the various neighborhoods where we'd walked that day, while Miranda kept an eye out for the blanket and you babbled in the backseat. We finally found the blanket and got home where we got you out of the back seat and I told Miranda about your walking adventure the night before. We decided to see if you'd try again...you always seem to be a bit more "brave" outside and I've had way better luck getting you to stand by yourself outside than inside ( maybe the softer ground?). Anyway, we set you down and you IMMEDIATELY stood by yourself...and then just TOOK OFF WALKING!! And not just one or two steps! like TONS of steps!! It was shocking and Miranda and i were so excited! I got out my camera to try and capture the moments for Daddy and you were a trooper and continued walking all around so I could capture so footage for Daddy...
Incidentally, later that day I was leaving the house to run some errands while you hung out with your babysitter, Liz, and I couldn't find the keys ANYWHERE. I ended up calling Miranda for help and she reminded me that we'd let you play with them during your walking episode on the front lawn. Sure enough. My car keys had been laying on the front lawn all morning! A blanket and keys all in one day! Good thing with live in a pretty safe area!
So, later yesterday evening I took you to visit your Daddy at work, he wanted to make sure he got to see you before he left for a few weeks for work. You were SO good in his office and spent most of your time sitting quietly on Daddy's lap while he worked. You then got down and actually walked a few steps so that Daddy could see it in person! At the time I didn't know this was so special, but since today you've refused to take ANY steps at all and are even refusing to stand alone, I now know that you walking yesterday really WAS a gift from God to your Daddy! He would have been SO SAD if he'd missed that special milestone in your life!
But, here we are the next day and you're back to your old crawling ways...luckily we'll be headed to Texas tomorrow where I'm sure your cousin Kilsyth will be willing to give you lots of walking lessons!
I love you tons,
Mommy
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Saturday, October 22, 2011
14 months
Dear Ransom,
You are such a cool kid. While you continue to refuse to walk ( you've stood up unaided several times, but only when so thoroughly distracted that you didn't realize you weren't being supported. *sigh*) you have been growing in other ways. You're talking a lot more. And when you're not talking you make fun noises. The noise you're probably most famous for among those who know you is the "eeee--ooooo-eeee-ooooo" sound ( imagine a much cuter and less annoying fire engine.)
Your favorite things to say are "thank you"......"What's that!?" which is always said as an exclamation while pointing. "All right!" and recently you call any four legged animal "Doggie".
You still call most people in pictures "Daddy" ( since I guess I've confused you by getting excited about pictures of your Daddy.) and you use the Please sign language really well whenever you want something. And when you REALLY want something you'll say the word "Please" too...
However, one thing I never want to forget about this season in your life, is your love for "writing" ( pen cap securely in place). While at first you wrote on just about ANYTHING when given a pen to hold, you now have preferences. You prefer to write in Mommy and Daddy's bible study books or in Mommy's journal. You seem to know that THAT'S the proper place to write.
If given paper and pen you will spend TONS of time turning the pages, talking to yourself and writing.
I would give just about anything to know what's going through your head! I do love the fact that you've obviously got an active imagination and are already understanding the value of the written and spoken word. ;-)
All my love,
MommyFriday, September 23, 2011
13 months and a few weeks
Dear Ransom.
You're currently not sleeping in your crib. Its been about an hour, but at least you're being quiet for the most part and so we'll assume you're getting some sort of rest in there. But, I decided to take this opportunity to write up a few of the things you've been up to in the last month or so-before I forget them completely!!
For one thing, you not sleeping is actually not common. You're a rockin' sleeper and usually nap time and bed time happen without much drama. But, drama DOES occur, like a week or so ago you came down with some sort of mysterious illness where you lost your appetite completely ( not even cheese! or waffles! or cookies! made you happy) and threw up twice. Its really the first time you've ever really thrown up and boy was it AWFUL! Poor baby! lets hope we never have to experience that drama ever again ( wishful thinking).
Anyway, other than your little sickness you've had a great month. You got even more into your books ( saying "bookie, bookie, bookie" while you read turned into you having a "favorite" book every few days that you wanted read to you over and over again. Mostly it was "Night Night Little Pookie" and you'd repeat the words on the first page over and over "ooooooh ooooookie" ( oh pookie) after we read them.
You've also gotten very into "walking" with the help of your little Red Fire-engine. Its suppose to be a little push rider, but instead you hold onto the front and the back ( so its side ways) and use the friction of the sideways wheels as support and literally run ALL over the house. Its pretty exciting. ;-)
You also figured out that you could push your activity table around the house like a old person walker too. Pretty much anything to help you in the walking department without you actually having to WALK.
Seriously, I think its going to be a bit longer before you walk for real. You are still very cautious and do not like to have to even stand by yourself.
You do enjoy saying "weeeoooo weeeeoooo" ( almost like a siren ) and "Ma-ma" and "Da-da" while pointing at things that are NOT ma-ma or da-da. You also still enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror and waiting for the garage door to close after we go for our morning walks-you squinch up your eyes and grin waiting for the loud sound of the door slamming shut.
One thing I've been trying to teach you for WEEKS now is how to say "please", you've finally done the sign-language for it a few times but its still a battle and we're definitely having to fight the whole whining thing. We've made some progress, but its been quite a challenge for both of us!
Well, speaking of...I better go relieve you from your crib/prison and have one of my favorite times of the day, "sippy cup snuggles" where we sit on the couch together and snuggle as you wake up from your nap. It is honestly one of my favorite parts of the day.
I love you,
Mommy
You're currently not sleeping in your crib. Its been about an hour, but at least you're being quiet for the most part and so we'll assume you're getting some sort of rest in there. But, I decided to take this opportunity to write up a few of the things you've been up to in the last month or so-before I forget them completely!!
For one thing, you not sleeping is actually not common. You're a rockin' sleeper and usually nap time and bed time happen without much drama. But, drama DOES occur, like a week or so ago you came down with some sort of mysterious illness where you lost your appetite completely ( not even cheese! or waffles! or cookies! made you happy) and threw up twice. Its really the first time you've ever really thrown up and boy was it AWFUL! Poor baby! lets hope we never have to experience that drama ever again ( wishful thinking).
Anyway, other than your little sickness you've had a great month. You got even more into your books ( saying "bookie, bookie, bookie" while you read turned into you having a "favorite" book every few days that you wanted read to you over and over again. Mostly it was "Night Night Little Pookie" and you'd repeat the words on the first page over and over "ooooooh ooooookie" ( oh pookie) after we read them.
You've also gotten very into "walking" with the help of your little Red Fire-engine. Its suppose to be a little push rider, but instead you hold onto the front and the back ( so its side ways) and use the friction of the sideways wheels as support and literally run ALL over the house. Its pretty exciting. ;-)
You also figured out that you could push your activity table around the house like a old person walker too. Pretty much anything to help you in the walking department without you actually having to WALK.
Seriously, I think its going to be a bit longer before you walk for real. You are still very cautious and do not like to have to even stand by yourself.
You do enjoy saying "weeeoooo weeeeoooo" ( almost like a siren ) and "Ma-ma" and "Da-da" while pointing at things that are NOT ma-ma or da-da. You also still enjoy looking at yourself in the mirror and waiting for the garage door to close after we go for our morning walks-you squinch up your eyes and grin waiting for the loud sound of the door slamming shut.
One thing I've been trying to teach you for WEEKS now is how to say "please", you've finally done the sign-language for it a few times but its still a battle and we're definitely having to fight the whole whining thing. We've made some progress, but its been quite a challenge for both of us!
Well, speaking of...I better go relieve you from your crib/prison and have one of my favorite times of the day, "sippy cup snuggles" where we sit on the couch together and snuggle as you wake up from your nap. It is honestly one of my favorite parts of the day.
I love you,
Mommy
Thursday, August 11, 2011
ONE YEAR! ( 12 months)
Dear Ransom,
You are a year old today! I can hardly believe it! And yet at the same time, it seems like you've been with us forever, and in that way your Daddy and I know we were always "meant to be" with you!
Speaking of your Daddy, he's had to work many late nights this last month and sometimes he gets home after you go to bed. When that happens he always sneaks in and looks at you while you're asleep. You always have funny ways of sleeping, either all sprawled out, hugging either Lamb or Bear, or huddled up with your little rear sticking up in the air.
On days that Daddy gets home while you're still awake you are SO excited to see him. You are definitely your Daddy's little boy! You start talking very loudly and pointing, obviously telling Daddy all about your day and then you go and sit outside the bathroom door while he showers, waiting ever so patiently for him to come out and play!
This month you've continued to perfect your standing and walking skills. You can now stand up against just about any surface and when we took a surprise visit to Texas to visit Nana and Grandpa and Spicy and Papa, you looooved Spicy's magnet letters on the fridge so much that we had to get you some too! Your favorite letter is "I" because it fits so nicely in your little fist.
Yes, we took another trip to Texas this month and you spent two WHOLE nights with your grandparents while your Mommy and Daddy took a much needed mini-vacay. Everyone had fun and we celebrated the end of our trip with a little "trial run" first birthday for you! You had your first chocolate cupcake with bright green icing and you LOOOOOVED it! You got it ALL over you and had to take a bath before opening presents from Aunt Anna and Uncle Ryan and Kilsyth as well as Grand Billie and Great Steve, Nana and Grandpa, and Pawpaw. ( Spicy and Papa saved there present for your real birthday!)
This month you've also expanded your vocabulary quite a bit! You now say, "Mama, Daddy, Uh-oh, Ouch, Bye, Hi, and Book. You've also said "Cow" and "Donkey" when playing your Peekaboo barn game, but since you've never repeated them any other time I'm not sure if we can really add them to the official list! Something to work towards, huh?
My favorite word that you say is "book". You say it like "book-e" with the emphasis on the "k" and you usually repeat the word over and over again while you read your books. This is something that you looove to do. This month you would sit for a good twenty or thirty minutes at a time pulling books out of your book basket, looking at them very carefully and then on to the next! Your Daddy and I are so glad that you are already a great lover of books!
For your birthday week Spicy and Papa were able to come for a visit and they loved getting to see you, and you looooved getting to play with them all day! You loved getting squeezed by Papa and getting his famous Mind-melds. And on your birthday we had a little gathering of friends who came to celebrate your life so far. We strung up pictures of you and all the people that have been a part of your life this year! We had over 40 pictures and it didn't even cover all the people in your life! It reminded your Mommy that we have been truly blessed this year with so much support and help and we know that we could not have gotten you this far without all these wonderful people! We pray that every year is stuffed full of wonderful people to support and love you, teach and guide you and be your friend in all circumstances. Your Daddy and I know that there will be many important people who impact you through the years and we pray that there will be many who are reflections of Christ in your life.
Your official birthday cake was shaped like a drum, because you like to bang on things so much, you didn't get into the cake as much this time around, but it was also a little bigger and probably very overwhelming. However you did overcome and make a huge mess that required two baths to clean up! You also opened presents from friends and cried very hard at the giant stuffed Yoda doll. We're assuming that your love for Starwars will just have to grow through the years.
Yes, you are officially a year old and your little attitude is already coming out and your Mommy is already having to "remind" you of how to be a good boy sometimes. But, this just reminds your Mommy, who loves you so much and who finds it easy to think your just perfect, that you are in fact, NOT perfect and we pray daily for you to one day give your life to Jesus.
Once again we pray the verse that we were reminded of when you were born at 14:21 on August 9, 2010:
He who has my Commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by the Father and I too will love him and show myself to him.
May you learn to love the Lords commands early in your life and may He reveal Himself to you in ways we cannot even fathom!
Your Mommy and Daddy love you!
You are a year old today! I can hardly believe it! And yet at the same time, it seems like you've been with us forever, and in that way your Daddy and I know we were always "meant to be" with you!
Speaking of your Daddy, he's had to work many late nights this last month and sometimes he gets home after you go to bed. When that happens he always sneaks in and looks at you while you're asleep. You always have funny ways of sleeping, either all sprawled out, hugging either Lamb or Bear, or huddled up with your little rear sticking up in the air.
On days that Daddy gets home while you're still awake you are SO excited to see him. You are definitely your Daddy's little boy! You start talking very loudly and pointing, obviously telling Daddy all about your day and then you go and sit outside the bathroom door while he showers, waiting ever so patiently for him to come out and play!
This month you've continued to perfect your standing and walking skills. You can now stand up against just about any surface and when we took a surprise visit to Texas to visit Nana and Grandpa and Spicy and Papa, you looooved Spicy's magnet letters on the fridge so much that we had to get you some too! Your favorite letter is "I" because it fits so nicely in your little fist.
Yes, we took another trip to Texas this month and you spent two WHOLE nights with your grandparents while your Mommy and Daddy took a much needed mini-vacay. Everyone had fun and we celebrated the end of our trip with a little "trial run" first birthday for you! You had your first chocolate cupcake with bright green icing and you LOOOOOVED it! You got it ALL over you and had to take a bath before opening presents from Aunt Anna and Uncle Ryan and Kilsyth as well as Grand Billie and Great Steve, Nana and Grandpa, and Pawpaw. ( Spicy and Papa saved there present for your real birthday!)
This month you've also expanded your vocabulary quite a bit! You now say, "Mama, Daddy, Uh-oh, Ouch, Bye, Hi, and Book. You've also said "Cow" and "Donkey" when playing your Peekaboo barn game, but since you've never repeated them any other time I'm not sure if we can really add them to the official list! Something to work towards, huh?
My favorite word that you say is "book". You say it like "book-e" with the emphasis on the "k" and you usually repeat the word over and over again while you read your books. This is something that you looove to do. This month you would sit for a good twenty or thirty minutes at a time pulling books out of your book basket, looking at them very carefully and then on to the next! Your Daddy and I are so glad that you are already a great lover of books!
For your birthday week Spicy and Papa were able to come for a visit and they loved getting to see you, and you looooved getting to play with them all day! You loved getting squeezed by Papa and getting his famous Mind-melds. And on your birthday we had a little gathering of friends who came to celebrate your life so far. We strung up pictures of you and all the people that have been a part of your life this year! We had over 40 pictures and it didn't even cover all the people in your life! It reminded your Mommy that we have been truly blessed this year with so much support and help and we know that we could not have gotten you this far without all these wonderful people! We pray that every year is stuffed full of wonderful people to support and love you, teach and guide you and be your friend in all circumstances. Your Daddy and I know that there will be many important people who impact you through the years and we pray that there will be many who are reflections of Christ in your life.
Your official birthday cake was shaped like a drum, because you like to bang on things so much, you didn't get into the cake as much this time around, but it was also a little bigger and probably very overwhelming. However you did overcome and make a huge mess that required two baths to clean up! You also opened presents from friends and cried very hard at the giant stuffed Yoda doll. We're assuming that your love for Starwars will just have to grow through the years.
Yes, you are officially a year old and your little attitude is already coming out and your Mommy is already having to "remind" you of how to be a good boy sometimes. But, this just reminds your Mommy, who loves you so much and who finds it easy to think your just perfect, that you are in fact, NOT perfect and we pray daily for you to one day give your life to Jesus.
Once again we pray the verse that we were reminded of when you were born at 14:21 on August 9, 2010:
He who has my Commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me, and he who loves me will be loved by the Father and I too will love him and show myself to him.
May you learn to love the Lords commands early in your life and may He reveal Himself to you in ways we cannot even fathom!
Your Mommy and Daddy love you!
Friday, July 8, 2011
Month 11
Dear Ransom,
I cannot believe you've gotten so big! Sometimes I look at you crawling around ( you have mastered the "real" crawl for a while now) and pulling yourself up on things and I can hardly believe you're the same little baby who joined our lives last August. Don't worry, though, you are still my little baby and I try to get as many cuddles out of you as I can.
I think that now that it is more of a challenge to get you to cuddle with me, I find that I want your cuddles EVEN MORE. hehe.
So, this month you went on your very first beach vacation with your Spicy and Papa, Aunt Anna, Uncle Ryan and Kilsyth ( and of course Mommy and Daddy). You loooved the beach-mostly the splashing and the getting sand ALL over your body, but you also didn't mind the waves too much ( as long as they didn't get too big) and the taste of salt that would get on your face with all your splashing. Of course, a week with family made you one little spoiled boy and you were not particularly happy to be home with just your Mommy for entertainment, but lucky for you we had MORE visitors coming!
This month you also perfected your pointing skills and you now point at just about everything and usually say, "oh!" along with it to make whatever point you're trying to make.
Right now your favorite foods are still waffles, but you've also added turkey lunch meat and cubes of cheese to the favs list and you stuff your face with those almost as fast as those good ol' fashion carbs.
And you like to babble on and on about all sorts of topics. This month your Mommy has also been trying to train you to "Come!" on command and you've gotten pretty good at it! Most of the time you start crawling very fast towards Mommy, laughing all the way! I think you think that we're playing a game!
All in all you are pretty good about obeying, though you do still try to open most of the cabinets in the kitchen even though you get in trouble every time. You also do NOT enjoy playpen time, which Mommy is not very good about making you stay in! You are currently only doing about 15 minutes a day in the mornings before she gives into your crying and lets you out! I guess I'm not THAT tough of a Mommy! :-)
As I mentioned earlier we had some guests this month too, Mommy's friends Christa and Esther came to visit from Texas and you loved, loved, LOVED the added attention. No matter where we went you could hardly let out a whimper before someone was there to make you giggle.
You celebrated your first fourth of July, which you spent with your friend Elizabeth and a baby sitter ( Mommy and Daddy wanted to stay up and see the fireworks!), you obviously had fun because Elizabeth taught you how to crawl while holding blocks in both hands ( what a great loud banging sound it makes!).
This month you've also enjoyed going to the on post pool with Mommy and friends, because, anywhere were you can splash water ( including the bathtub) you one happy boy! In fact, every time see Mommy turning on the water in the bathtub for your bath, you pull up and start squealing and dancing around! You are SO excited to get in and start playing with your bathtoys! What a far cry from your early days when you HATED bath time! I'm so glad that things have changed.
So many things have changed, and yet one thing remains the same, you are still such a joy to our lives and you make every day interesting! Your Daddy and I love you so very much!
Mommy
I cannot believe you've gotten so big! Sometimes I look at you crawling around ( you have mastered the "real" crawl for a while now) and pulling yourself up on things and I can hardly believe you're the same little baby who joined our lives last August. Don't worry, though, you are still my little baby and I try to get as many cuddles out of you as I can.
I think that now that it is more of a challenge to get you to cuddle with me, I find that I want your cuddles EVEN MORE. hehe.
So, this month you went on your very first beach vacation with your Spicy and Papa, Aunt Anna, Uncle Ryan and Kilsyth ( and of course Mommy and Daddy). You loooved the beach-mostly the splashing and the getting sand ALL over your body, but you also didn't mind the waves too much ( as long as they didn't get too big) and the taste of salt that would get on your face with all your splashing. Of course, a week with family made you one little spoiled boy and you were not particularly happy to be home with just your Mommy for entertainment, but lucky for you we had MORE visitors coming!
This month you also perfected your pointing skills and you now point at just about everything and usually say, "oh!" along with it to make whatever point you're trying to make.
Right now your favorite foods are still waffles, but you've also added turkey lunch meat and cubes of cheese to the favs list and you stuff your face with those almost as fast as those good ol' fashion carbs.
And you like to babble on and on about all sorts of topics. This month your Mommy has also been trying to train you to "Come!" on command and you've gotten pretty good at it! Most of the time you start crawling very fast towards Mommy, laughing all the way! I think you think that we're playing a game!
All in all you are pretty good about obeying, though you do still try to open most of the cabinets in the kitchen even though you get in trouble every time. You also do NOT enjoy playpen time, which Mommy is not very good about making you stay in! You are currently only doing about 15 minutes a day in the mornings before she gives into your crying and lets you out! I guess I'm not THAT tough of a Mommy! :-)
As I mentioned earlier we had some guests this month too, Mommy's friends Christa and Esther came to visit from Texas and you loved, loved, LOVED the added attention. No matter where we went you could hardly let out a whimper before someone was there to make you giggle.
You celebrated your first fourth of July, which you spent with your friend Elizabeth and a baby sitter ( Mommy and Daddy wanted to stay up and see the fireworks!), you obviously had fun because Elizabeth taught you how to crawl while holding blocks in both hands ( what a great loud banging sound it makes!).
This month you've also enjoyed going to the on post pool with Mommy and friends, because, anywhere were you can splash water ( including the bathtub) you one happy boy! In fact, every time see Mommy turning on the water in the bathtub for your bath, you pull up and start squealing and dancing around! You are SO excited to get in and start playing with your bathtoys! What a far cry from your early days when you HATED bath time! I'm so glad that things have changed.
So many things have changed, and yet one thing remains the same, you are still such a joy to our lives and you make every day interesting! Your Daddy and I love you so very much!
Mommy
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Month Ten
Dear Ransom,
What a month you've had! You're now ten months old and you've seriously learned SO MUCH in the last month, it blows my mind!
The biggest thing you learned this month was how to crawl. Now, mind you, it all started with a weird wonky crawl where you tucked one leg under you for support, used one leg to push with and your arms to pull you along...and while it still very much looks like this-since I think you've just gotten use to it, you now spend most of your time on your traditional all fours. Now when I see you speedly getting all over the house its hard to imagine how immobile you use to be!
It probably helped that you had a whirlwind weekend trip to Ohio for you Daddy's cousin Jonathan's wedding where you spent time with your cousin, Cal, who is only a few weeks younger than you and who's been crawling for ages! I think he may have shamed you into trying harder at the crawling thing!
You are definitely delighted in your mobility and you have gotten into the habit of crawling up and down the hall laughing to yourself-hysterically. It seemed a bit odd at first, but I guess your new found freedoms really ARE that funny! You have definitely gotten into some funny circumstances-you've gotten into just about every cabinet on your level in the kitchen, gotten stuck under the dinning room table, and gotten caught several times doing a major no-no-pulling books off of bookshelves. We're still working on that one ;-)
Because you are now so mobile we've had to have some changes around the house, one of which was a baby gate at the foot of our stairs. AND you now spend a few minutes ( not very long because you HATE it!) in the playpen that I set up in the dinning room corner. One good thing has come from your imprisonment in the playpen, though- a week and a half ago you I finally heeded your whines and went to get you out of the playpen and you started clapping! We hadn't even been practicing that particular skill, but we went ahead and added it to our repartee. Now you will wave bye on demand or when anyone says the word "bye" in conversation...or just when you're leaving-basically its your favorite things to do. You also strum your bottom lip ( sometimes you even try to strum our bottom lips too) and love to make sounds with your mouth. In fact, if you are fussy or bored one of the fastest ways to make you happy again is to make a certain sound that you can easily mimic. Then we go back in forth, we make the sound, then you make the sound...and then every so often I'll throw in a different sound to throw you off and you'll belly laugh like its the funniest thing ever. Being your mom is a great ego boost. I've never had such a great audience.
This month you also learned the inevitable. That not only could you sit up, pull up and crawl throughout the day...but you could ALSO do those things in your crib. This was a grave disappointment for me. I was kind of hoping you'd never figure that out and would always think that you had to stay lying down in your crib. But, luckily you've been pretty good about playing for ten minutes or so and then letting me lay you down again and then you go straight to sleep. Whew!! I guess we've got more sleep training in our future though.
In not so pleasant firsts, this month you had your first trip to the ER. It seems that cutting your 7th and 8th teeth has been pretty hard on you, and not only have you been cutting them off and on since the end of April, this past week you started to run a very high fever. It kept going up and up and finally when it got close to 104 we decided to take you in just to make sure nothing else was wrong. It was scary for your Mommy and Daddy, but you handled it like a pro. You even flirted with all the nurses.
Yes, you continue to steal the hearts of all that you meet and we pray that you will always be able to have a good attitude in the face of trials. For there will be trials. I just hope that they are trials for the sake of The Kingdom of God.
We love you,
Your Mommy
What a month you've had! You're now ten months old and you've seriously learned SO MUCH in the last month, it blows my mind!
The biggest thing you learned this month was how to crawl. Now, mind you, it all started with a weird wonky crawl where you tucked one leg under you for support, used one leg to push with and your arms to pull you along...and while it still very much looks like this-since I think you've just gotten use to it, you now spend most of your time on your traditional all fours. Now when I see you speedly getting all over the house its hard to imagine how immobile you use to be!
It probably helped that you had a whirlwind weekend trip to Ohio for you Daddy's cousin Jonathan's wedding where you spent time with your cousin, Cal, who is only a few weeks younger than you and who's been crawling for ages! I think he may have shamed you into trying harder at the crawling thing!
You are definitely delighted in your mobility and you have gotten into the habit of crawling up and down the hall laughing to yourself-hysterically. It seemed a bit odd at first, but I guess your new found freedoms really ARE that funny! You have definitely gotten into some funny circumstances-you've gotten into just about every cabinet on your level in the kitchen, gotten stuck under the dinning room table, and gotten caught several times doing a major no-no-pulling books off of bookshelves. We're still working on that one ;-)
Because you are now so mobile we've had to have some changes around the house, one of which was a baby gate at the foot of our stairs. AND you now spend a few minutes ( not very long because you HATE it!) in the playpen that I set up in the dinning room corner. One good thing has come from your imprisonment in the playpen, though- a week and a half ago you I finally heeded your whines and went to get you out of the playpen and you started clapping! We hadn't even been practicing that particular skill, but we went ahead and added it to our repartee. Now you will wave bye on demand or when anyone says the word "bye" in conversation...or just when you're leaving-basically its your favorite things to do. You also strum your bottom lip ( sometimes you even try to strum our bottom lips too) and love to make sounds with your mouth. In fact, if you are fussy or bored one of the fastest ways to make you happy again is to make a certain sound that you can easily mimic. Then we go back in forth, we make the sound, then you make the sound...and then every so often I'll throw in a different sound to throw you off and you'll belly laugh like its the funniest thing ever. Being your mom is a great ego boost. I've never had such a great audience.
This month you also learned the inevitable. That not only could you sit up, pull up and crawl throughout the day...but you could ALSO do those things in your crib. This was a grave disappointment for me. I was kind of hoping you'd never figure that out and would always think that you had to stay lying down in your crib. But, luckily you've been pretty good about playing for ten minutes or so and then letting me lay you down again and then you go straight to sleep. Whew!! I guess we've got more sleep training in our future though.
In not so pleasant firsts, this month you had your first trip to the ER. It seems that cutting your 7th and 8th teeth has been pretty hard on you, and not only have you been cutting them off and on since the end of April, this past week you started to run a very high fever. It kept going up and up and finally when it got close to 104 we decided to take you in just to make sure nothing else was wrong. It was scary for your Mommy and Daddy, but you handled it like a pro. You even flirted with all the nurses.
Yes, you continue to steal the hearts of all that you meet and we pray that you will always be able to have a good attitude in the face of trials. For there will be trials. I just hope that they are trials for the sake of The Kingdom of God.
We love you,
Your Mommy
Monday, May 9, 2011
9 months old!?!
Dear Ransom,
Time is ever flying by and sometimes I look at you and can HARDLY believe that you were that teeny tiny little ball of baby only 9 months ago.
This month you've been busy doing Spring Time Activities. You had your first Easter. Probably THE most important holiday there is, and I hope that as the years go by you do not just think of Easter as a time for candy and egg hunts ( though those are fun), but that it will also be written on your heart from an early age that we celebrate Easter as a remembrance for what Christ did on the cross for you, for me, for all of us. Now THATS something worth celebrating and remembering!!
As for this first Easter, our friends the Woods, put together a little "egg hunt" for you and two other babies. You were really NOT interested in the whole affair though you did shake the eggs when we handed them to you, since...who DOESN'T enjoy a round rattle?!
This month you also went "swimming" for the first time. I am personally hoping you will love to swim as much as your Mommy did-and I want you to develop a love for the water early. Of course this first 'pool' has about two inches of water in it, but you really love splashing and playing with your water toys so I think we're on the right track.
This month you've developed your waving skills from last month and now you actually know WHEN waving is appropriate and you also said your first word, "bye". You even chose the perfect time to show off your new skills since you and I went to visit our family in Texas this month and you were an ANGEL traveler. It was in the Atlanta airport that you decided to show off your ability to wave and say "bye" to other travelers who talked and waved to you. You won everyones heart. This was no small incident since on our plane from Atlanta to Houston there were high winds and we waited ON. THE. PLANE. for FIVE HOURS before we took off. This meant that you were quiet, happy, and contented for SEVEN HOURS in confined circumstances. It was incredible and I was SO grateful for your ability to go with the flow. The few times you did get fussy it seemed that it was fellow passengers that helped you return to happiness. You loved playing peek-a-boo with all the people in the seats behind us, and flirting at anyone that smiled or talked to you. Of course, you also looked cute since I had you wearing a t-shirt that said, "Congratulations you get to sit near me!" It was a joke, but I think in the end people WERE pleasantly surprised at how fun it was to travel near you!
Of course, our trip to Texas was great fun getting to see your Spicy and Papa, and Nana and Grandpa Bill and be there to help celebrate your cousin Kilsyth's first birthday. You and Kilsyth had a lot of fun together this trip. You spent most of the time watching her walk around and talk and point at things-I think it was the first time you MIGHT have wished you could be more mobile ( this is a good thing!! Since I really thought you would never be dissatisfied with sitting in one spot), and Kilsyth spent a lot of time sitting and talking to you loudly and trying to stick her finger in your mouth. You, surprisingly, did not mind at all and were very calm about having someone's little finger stuck in your mouth. You didn't even bite her! Probably from watching Kilsyth, you also made some strides in the crawling department, by figuring out how to get on your knees from the sitting position. You still slide down to a lying position almost immediately, but it was progress!!
Since returning home from Texas you've spent most of your time teething again ( if you're counting, you now have SIX teeth and from what I can tell you are working on a seventh and EIGHTH tooth...crazy!!) and your appetite has severely suffered. It seems you have now become a LOT more picky about what you DO eat and have developed a not so lovely habit of gagging as soon as something you don't like touches your lips. Awesome.
Apparently your Mommy did something similar when she was little and Papa and Spicy where kind enough to remind her of her gagging stories all growing up. So, I will now carry on the tradition. Sorry Son.
Yesterday you and your Daddy helped me celebrate my first Mother's Day as a Mommy. I am so so blessed to have you and your Daddy in my life! I cannot think of a better gift. Though the fact that your Daddy fed you your morning bottle and got you up for the day so that I could sleep in was ALSO really nice. ;-)
But, to be perfectly honest when I woke up...all I wanted to do was to play with you! You are just THAT much fun to be around!
I love you SO MUCH,
Mommy
Time is ever flying by and sometimes I look at you and can HARDLY believe that you were that teeny tiny little ball of baby only 9 months ago.
This month you've been busy doing Spring Time Activities. You had your first Easter. Probably THE most important holiday there is, and I hope that as the years go by you do not just think of Easter as a time for candy and egg hunts ( though those are fun), but that it will also be written on your heart from an early age that we celebrate Easter as a remembrance for what Christ did on the cross for you, for me, for all of us. Now THATS something worth celebrating and remembering!!
As for this first Easter, our friends the Woods, put together a little "egg hunt" for you and two other babies. You were really NOT interested in the whole affair though you did shake the eggs when we handed them to you, since...who DOESN'T enjoy a round rattle?!
This month you also went "swimming" for the first time. I am personally hoping you will love to swim as much as your Mommy did-and I want you to develop a love for the water early. Of course this first 'pool' has about two inches of water in it, but you really love splashing and playing with your water toys so I think we're on the right track.
This month you've developed your waving skills from last month and now you actually know WHEN waving is appropriate and you also said your first word, "bye". You even chose the perfect time to show off your new skills since you and I went to visit our family in Texas this month and you were an ANGEL traveler. It was in the Atlanta airport that you decided to show off your ability to wave and say "bye" to other travelers who talked and waved to you. You won everyones heart. This was no small incident since on our plane from Atlanta to Houston there were high winds and we waited ON. THE. PLANE. for FIVE HOURS before we took off. This meant that you were quiet, happy, and contented for SEVEN HOURS in confined circumstances. It was incredible and I was SO grateful for your ability to go with the flow. The few times you did get fussy it seemed that it was fellow passengers that helped you return to happiness. You loved playing peek-a-boo with all the people in the seats behind us, and flirting at anyone that smiled or talked to you. Of course, you also looked cute since I had you wearing a t-shirt that said, "Congratulations you get to sit near me!" It was a joke, but I think in the end people WERE pleasantly surprised at how fun it was to travel near you!
Of course, our trip to Texas was great fun getting to see your Spicy and Papa, and Nana and Grandpa Bill and be there to help celebrate your cousin Kilsyth's first birthday. You and Kilsyth had a lot of fun together this trip. You spent most of the time watching her walk around and talk and point at things-I think it was the first time you MIGHT have wished you could be more mobile ( this is a good thing!! Since I really thought you would never be dissatisfied with sitting in one spot), and Kilsyth spent a lot of time sitting and talking to you loudly and trying to stick her finger in your mouth. You, surprisingly, did not mind at all and were very calm about having someone's little finger stuck in your mouth. You didn't even bite her! Probably from watching Kilsyth, you also made some strides in the crawling department, by figuring out how to get on your knees from the sitting position. You still slide down to a lying position almost immediately, but it was progress!!
Since returning home from Texas you've spent most of your time teething again ( if you're counting, you now have SIX teeth and from what I can tell you are working on a seventh and EIGHTH tooth...crazy!!) and your appetite has severely suffered. It seems you have now become a LOT more picky about what you DO eat and have developed a not so lovely habit of gagging as soon as something you don't like touches your lips. Awesome.
Apparently your Mommy did something similar when she was little and Papa and Spicy where kind enough to remind her of her gagging stories all growing up. So, I will now carry on the tradition. Sorry Son.
Yesterday you and your Daddy helped me celebrate my first Mother's Day as a Mommy. I am so so blessed to have you and your Daddy in my life! I cannot think of a better gift. Though the fact that your Daddy fed you your morning bottle and got you up for the day so that I could sleep in was ALSO really nice. ;-)
But, to be perfectly honest when I woke up...all I wanted to do was to play with you! You are just THAT much fun to be around!
I love you SO MUCH,
Mommy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)