When I cook dinner, Rich and Ian lounge in the kitchen to keep me company. So while the chicken is simmering, I take videos of them in the floor. Ian is wearing the Cookie Monster shirt I made for him (it's his birthday today) for school and is rolling around in the floor with daddy practicing high fives. I think high fives are just an excuse for him to smack something and have us be happy about it.
Dear Ian, Last week you turned ONE YEAR OLD and I'm just getting around to talking about it. Really, it's a lot to digest, this whole counting in years versus months thing. If you protest a diaper change, your father has already started quipping "Don't be such a baby. You're a year old now. Knock that shit off." You don't quite understand him yet which is why he can get away with being such a potty-mouthed sarcastic poopy face. Soon we'll just start talking about how everything is "silly". I've learned that from other parents that silly is an acceptable substitute for "dumb-ass", "stupid", "obnoxious", "rude", and many other colorful versions of those terms.
You don't understand everything we're saying but you are picking up things fast so our days of listening to Raw Dog Comedy in the car are numbered. Your first word was "meow" (we're totally counting that as a word) and you use it more than we expected. You meow at our cats, at the money kitty in the sushi restaurant and at our friends' chihuahua. You also have mastered "uh oh" and use that with abandon. You've been known to throw things on the floor just so you can lament their fall with gusto.
We didn't do much for your birthday proper. We bought a cake but when your Nana and Uncle Lee were under the weather and we postponed the party, we just quietly had some cake before bed. You didn't seem to mind. You did seem to get into the spirit of Halloween, though, and I'm pleased that your birthday is so close to such a fun holiday. You were a little monster and smashed blocks on the back deck before heading out to trick-or-treat around the block. You were pretty suspicious of all these people handing out candy, but we think you'll rally to the cause by next year.
You've moved over to the Toddler Room now as of the Monday after your birthday. You were visiting there for quite a bit but now you're officially in Toddlerland. After your first day, when I picked you up Ms. Barb asked "does he get his feelings hurt easily?" I told her I didn't think so.
"Well, this afternoon he was playing and accidentally hit another kid with a block. That baby started crying and we told Ian 'you need to be careful and not hit people with blocks' and he immediately started crying and ran over to the full length window to the Infant Room like 'let me back in! They're mean to me in the Toddler Room!'"
Thankfully things got easier after that first day.
Every day you bring home another art project and it's getting a little out of hand. You've painted and worked on letters and had themed activities. For the Friday before Halloween they asked us to send your costume so you could trick-or-treat in the building. They also asked us to send you in your pajamas as part of the costume fun. I didn't have the heart to explain to the teachers that you don't actually own any pajamas since you just sleep in a diaper and we weren't sending you to school in just that. Ah, well, maybe we'll buy you a set of pajamas for "dress up".
On the days leading up to your birthday I was thinking about how far we've come in just a year, you and your father and I. I was thinking how "this time last year I was just starting to feel contractions" and "this time last year I'd given in and gotten an epidural". I always kind of knew but now I really understand how moms don't ever forget birthdays. Because as much as October 22 is a special day for you, it's a very special day for me too. It's the day I became a Mommy and the day we became a family. It's the day all our lives changed for the better. And no matter how old you are, I'll always remember you on that day.
Love, Mama
Dear Ian, This week you turn 11 months old and you marked the occasion by taking several steps on your own! It's hard to pinpoint a specific day when you start walking, but based off the squeals of joy from your Grandma I'd say it was an impressive display of mobility.
You are rocking the Toddler Schedule at day care now and it's led to my no longer going to nurse you at lunch. You have a snack at 8:30, lunch at 11 and then nap from noon to 2pm before your afternoon snack. I was first sad that you didn't need me anymore for milk but it's obvious that as soon as you see me after work you can't get to that milk fast enough. So we're just cutting back a little.
I had to go away on a business trip a few weeks ago for only one night, but it was the longest night ever for both you and Daddy. You and he were up every hour walking the floors because you both missed me. It's bittersweet to be wanted and needed that much from you.
That's not to say you and Daddy don't bond plenty on your own. You both are champion zerbert performers and many conversations dissolve into "pffbt"s back and forth. It surprised me when I made a noise like that when you fell down and you made it right back at me. You also love to shake your head no as if that is Comedy Gold, though thankfully you don't understand what "no" means quite yet. You'll just shake so hard you make yourself dizzy!
You had your first illness this month - hand,foot and mouth virus that gave you a slight fever and some general crankiness. We've been spoiled so far in your constitution and I have an every growing respect for parents who worry over sickly kids.
Bath time is one of your favorite things and it's awesome to watch you stand at the end of the tub desperately trying to crawl in. You've discovered how all the cabinets in the kitchen work and we had our first accident of dropping a jar of ginger dressing all over the floor. But the stove has a lock and the breakables are put up high. I have no idea how to keep you off the stairs other than to ask you as a personal favor not to climb them. Something tells me this won't work long term. But thankfully you have no interest in going down the laundry room stairs and much prefer to slam the door shut and play peekaboo through the cat door. By the way, the cats don't understand peekaboo.
11 months seems like one of those so close and yet so far ages, where you're "not quite a year". You're not quite walking and you don't quite have teeth yet and you can't quite say any words yet. But you can definitely get around and you can sure eat everything you see and you absolutely know how to communicate and get your point across. So you're more than just "almost 1" you are completely you!
Love, Mama