A Christmas Letter to Mommy

Dear Mommy,

I was thinking and thinking about what I could give you for Christmas that would be super special.  But I realized that none of the ideas I came up with worked because I can’t wrap presents yet.

Then I asked myself, “What’s the BEST thing Mommy could have?” and then I remembered…

It’s me!

So, I asked Amma to help me put together some pictures for you, so you could remember what it was like my very first Christmas.

You know how I’m ‘talking’ more and more?  Just think how fun it will be when you can understand what I’m saying to you!!

But sometimes I just like to listen, especially when you tell me how ‘big’ I am.

  

Mostly I just like to hang out with you because you’re a lot of fun.

Well, it’s time for me to say goodnight because it’s Christmas Eve, and I know I have to go to bed before Santa comes.  Besides, I’m getting kind of sleepy…

And because it’s Christmas, Mommy, I’ve let Amma dress me in this reindeer outfit.  Even if she insists on having me wear this hat…

And even though it’s tough to be very manly when your feet look like this…

And sometimes that flash from the camera is just so bright!

But I do it because I love you THIS MUCH…

Merry Christmas, Mommy!

Love,

Bently

Goodbye, Bubba

I know that one of my biggest regrets in life is going to be that you weren’t old enough to get to know your Bubba.  We lost her 5 days before Christmas.  We had known since earlier this year that the cancer was terminal, but it didn’t make it any easier to say goodbye.

In the time before she passed, we got you over to see her as often as we could.  She kept remarking what a good baby you were.  She enjoyed your smiles.  My favorite memory is the day we were over there, and we were all sitting in her TV room with me holding you.  She started adjusting her position - something that was difficult for her sometimes, but once she got situated, she patted her lap and said, “Bring him here”.  She sat talking to you with you cooing and smiling at her.

We’ll miss you, Bubba.



With you at the hospital





Here with your cousins, Maddie and Lily



Kitty Love

When she's not out chasing down mice and bringing them inside, Oreo does like to show you a little kitty love now and again.

Sometimes you don't see it coming...



The Crazy Kitty

Just in case you should be awe-stricken and amazed as an adult at what strong and independent women raised you, you should be aware that your mommy and Amma are really very... girly.  Case in point...

Oreo Kitty has discovered mice in the garage.  And rather than playing with them OUT THERE, she likes to capture them and bring them in the house to play with.  This has resulted in several incidents of your mommy holding you and sitting on the back of the couch and your Amma 'staking out' the last known location of said mouse with a broom and a box.

Oreo has now been banned from coming in and out of the kitty door at will until we can get the critter situation under control in the garage.

Meanwhile, you don't seem to have an opinion on the subject one way or another...



Just let me at 'em, Mommy!  I'll protect you!!





Napping with Mom

We are trying to convince you to spend more of your sleep time in your crib, but given how often you eat, sometimes this is where you wind up instead!

Monkey Boy!

As hectic as life always seems to be, sometimes it's nice just to hang out and play pat-a-cake, or dance, or introduce you to new toys.  Here you are with your little monkey, which is also a rattle.  And when teething time comes, it will come in handy since the feet have little plastic tabs for you to chew on!



That smile just melts everyone!



That Elusive Thumb of Yours

You are just SO CLOSE to figuring out that thumb of yours.  Now you at least seem to realize that it needs to stick out to be able to suck on.  The next step will be to figure out how to keep it in!

See, Mom?  No worries.  I'll get there!



An ambidextrous thumb sucker, perhaps??



Your New Coat

Six weeks old now, and you’ve been officially introduced to your ‘theater family’.  Amma and Mommy both are very involved in community theater, and in spite of all of the chaos in our lives right now (or maybe because of), we’re jumping back into another show.  Amma was cast in ‘Curtains’ (very excited since it was a show I saw with the original cast on Broadway), and your mommy is going to help backstage.  They’re even going to set up a room in the dressing area for you and the other little one whose mom is in the show.

For the first rehearsal, you debuted your new coat, which your mom found and ordered for you.  Little fuzzy monkey coat, which is just adorable on you.  And perfect timing, too, because the temps have been dipping into the 20s, although we have had beautiful weather during the day (although still chilly - only in the low 40s).

You were fussed and cooed over by everyone at the theater - and of course, you slept through most of it!

Trip to the Doc

We’re still trying to work out the insurance fiasco, but you were due for an immunization, so off to the doctor’s we went.  It was just starting to get dark, and the lobby was FREEZING, but you were contented enough hanging out in your car seat.  When they finally got us in, we went through the usual routine of getting you stripped and weighed (which you really seemed to enjoy)…

Getting all of your stats measured and recorded…

At this appointment you weighed in at 10 lbs, 13 oz and were 22” long.  That put you in the 77^th percentile for height and weight.  Didn’t catch the actual measurement of that head of yours, but it landed you up in the 99^th percentile!  Just think of what that big ol’ brain of yours will be able to accomplish!

Things got a bit dicier after that.  You were hanging out (literally, since you were naked!) while we waited for the doc to show up.

Once he did, he didn’t make you very happy.  He performed all of the tests he needed, then plopped you on your tummy to see how strong you were.  You did fine, but it definitely made you unhappy.  Things only got worse when he checked your reflexes by lifting you by your hands and then plopping you back on the table.

And then, of course, just as we got you kind of calmed down and dressed (after peeing on your mommy), you had your shot.  Poor baby!

The Fashion Files

It will be interesting to see how your own style evolves as you get older.  Will we be shaking our heads over your insistence upon wearing cowboy boots and Spidey pajamas here in a couple of years?

Heaven knows that at this point, while you have zero say in your attire, you are certainly a very stylin’ baby.  Yes, we picked up all of those very practical nightgowns and pull-on pants, but we also couldn’t resist adding a few more style-centric pieces to your wardrobe.

The latest craze in the baby clothing world are these…

Yes, we are now forcing brand-new babies to relive the 80s and putting them in legwarmers.  As funny as the idea is, though, I have to admit, they do have practical applications.  You can use them on your legs OR arms, which means we can keep you warm even when wearing onsies.  And those gowns with the elastic bottoms?  I don’t know how many times you’ve wiggled your way free of one of those.  So having your legwarmers on just means we can keep you toasty - even when the house isn’t.  And the temperature has been dropping into the low 30s here lately.  I imagine they’ll come in even more handy when you start to crawl.

Ok, so we can at least try to convince ourselves of the practicality of the legwarmers, but I have to admit that sometimes it’s just fun to dress you.  Your mom expressed an affinity for sweater vests, and I was able to find a couple via an online ‘thrift’ store.  But you’re still a little small for those.  So when we were at the mall last weekend, and I ran across one in your size, I couldn’t resist.  And don’t you just look so handsome!

The Prepmeister

See, even YOU seem convinced at how cool you look…

Yeah.  I look good.

And then there were the shoes.  Your mom INSISTED that it’s silly to put shoes on a baby before they can actually walk.  But I’m afraid she was overcome by the cute factor of these…

I mean, really.  Who wouldn’t be??

And I have to say, what self-respecting fashionismo would want to share the spotlight?  Go away, kitty!



Yeah.  Dude.  You're in between me and the camera.




Mommy!  Make it go away!!



Such a Guy

Today you had your first full-blown, all-day shopping trip.  Your mommy and Amma decided to head to Eugene for the day, which involved copious amounts of time prepping and preparing for you to be out in the great, wide world.  Bottles had to be prepared.  Diaper bag packed.  A game plan had to be put into place.  And to top it all off, we also had dinner plans for a 2^nd Thanksgiving dinner at Gary and Carley’s (which none of us bothered to take photos of).

So there we were at Valley River Center, prepared for anything.

And here you were…



Yeah, sure, Mom.  Those jeans look great on you.



Such a guy.

First Real Bath

In spite of the fact that you lost your umbilical cord a couple of weeks ago, we just haven’t gotten around to giving you a real bath yet - only sponge baths.  And so today we hauled out your tub and gathered all of the paraphernalia together for your first submerged bath.

You were a bit fussy going into the whole thing, and when you were placed in the water, you were having none of it.  Screamed bloody murder for about 10 seconds.  Then you could see the light switch go on.  It was like you all of a sudden stopped and thought, “Hey.  This is NIIIICE.”  Then you kind of let it all hang out (literally) and were kicking one foot back and forth off of the little ‘hammock’ that the tub was fitted with.  If it hadn’t been so chilly in the house, we would have let you hang out in there a lot longer, but instead it was all business so we could get done and get you scooped out of there and into a warm towel.

SOO not impressed...  at first.



Hmm.  Maybe this isn't so bad after all.



Ah, yeah.  I could get used to this...

You were all coos and gurgles while we dressed and fussed over you.  Your mommy says I’m not allowed to touch your hair because the last time I brushed it out, I gave you a ‘comb-over’.  And yet SHE’S all excited about giving you your first ‘faux-hawk’.

Silly Mommy.



Still looking for that thumb.



You Crack Me Up

I just have to say that this is one of my favorite pictures of you from our little photo session, which I've entitled, 'The Thinker'.

Three Weeks Old

You have no idea what a stir of activity you’ve caused.

You, my beloved boy, happen to be one of the millions of uninsured children in this country.  I tried very hard to be proactive on your account, but thanks to faulty information given to us by the State of Oregon, and a glitch in the system, you have been denied coverage.  The only other option given to us was to sign up for the ‘Oregon Healthy Kids’ plan, to the tune of $440 a month in premiums - nothing short of highway robbery, and hopefully an indicator of a broken system that will be fixed by the time you reach adulthood.

My panic in the idea of you not being insured sent me in a number of directions, and there has been a flurry of activity by a number of people trying to help.  Tuesday looked pretty bleak. Things look much more promising today.  I even filed a formal complaint with the Governor’s office.

You see, I learned as soon as your aunt and mom were born that I had a highly developed ‘Mama Tiger’ instinct, and I can already see your mom has the same.  We’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe and make sure your future is well-assured.



Amma and Bently



And yet, you are totally oblivious to all of this.

This was a big week for you.  You went on your first official ‘out in public’ outing to dinner with your mom and I.  We decided on a local burger joint downtown, and you slept blissfully through the buzz of activity going on around you the entire dinner.

Last weekend I had you all to myself for several hours while your mom and Auntie Heather went to Corvallis for lunch together, and then your mom went to watch a friend in a show at the theater.  She left bottles for you, and the whole time went smoothly.  You’re just so easy-going!



Auntie Heather and Bently



Your second outing was to Kohl’s with your mom and I as part of my work’s Coats for Kids drive.  We loaded you up in your car seat, then packed you into a stroller, did all of the shopping and checking out (which took about an hour and a half), then transferred you to your other car seat, fussed with the car seat base, dropped by your aunt’s place and then went to Red Robin so we could eat dinner.  You slept through the entire thing and only woke up as we were heading home.

You smile more and more every day.  You are most happy a few minutes after you eat (after the ‘milk coma’ wears off), and I hate to say it, but immediately after creating a dirty diaper.



Such a happy boy!

Within the last couple of days, you are more likely to go to sleep - and stay asleep - when cuddling with your mommy.  Even when you seem to be in a deep sleep, I can put you in your crib, and more often than not, you will wake up a short time later.  We definitely want to adhere to the ‘Back to Sleep’ campaign that was launched encouraging parents to place their infants on their backs to sleep, but if you’re fussy, it seems to be a sure way to calm you down and let you drift off.  Oddly enough, although that’s your favorite way to fall asleep when you’re cuddling with your mommy, you prefer to lie face up in the crook of my arm when cuddling with me.

You’re still eating well, and eating bigger meals now.  Your 4-oz bottles have now become 6-oz bottles, and you’re still going back and forth between nursing and bottle-feeding.  Switching definitely does NOT cause you confusion!

You still haven’t quite gotten the hang of getting your thumb in your mouth on demand but you are starting to suck it more and more when you do happen to make the connection.  You’ll only take a Binky when tired and well-fed.  Definitely not something that can just be popped in your mouth at any given time to soothe you.

Two Weeks Old

I know that in the blink of an eye I’m going to be saying, “I can’t believe you’re 18 already!”  But for now I can say that your first two weeks with us has just flown by.  I think we’re starting to get a handle on the new ‘schedule’, such as it is.  With me back at work, Taylor has taken over nighttime feedings, although I tend to wake up at least once during the night, if only to pop in and check on you.  You were only up twice last night, and for the second night in a row, your 4-hour-wide-awake-at-4 am periods have given way to a short feeding and one long sleep.  Much nicer!

I can see you being much more tuned in to your mom and I when we talk.  You’ll turn your head and look towards us if you hear us speaking.

Today you’ll go with your mom to the doctor and then go over to your Bubba’s to hang out until I collect you guys after work.  She really enjoys watching you, keeps commenting on what a good baby you are, and also insists that you’ll be called ‘Ben’ or ‘Benny’ later, which tends to irritate your mother.

We shall see.  J

Newborn Photos and Returning to Work

Today was the true test of just how low-maintenance and easy-going you are.  Carley and Cathy gifted your mom a newborn photo session, and it was an all-day event!

Carley came at about 10:30 in the morning.  And aside from lunch breaks for us and for you, and a visit from your Amma’s friend, Erin, we were focused on baby photos.  Your Aunt Heather showed up as well and commented that you’d look back on these one day and just roll your eyes, because here you were, just a little guy, and you had these three women primping, propping and posing you over and over again.

Carley sent us a couple of ‘teaser’ photos that night, and I can’t wait to see the rest of them because these turned out just beautiful!

By about 5:30 you were starting to get cranky enough that we decided to call it quits.  And your Mom decided to go back to nursing you.  Turns out that couple of days was just what she needed.  She’s fine, and you had no problems at all going back to nursing.  So much for confusion!

Tomorrow I head back to work, so it will be the first night that your mom takes on the night shift solo.  But she’s doing such a fantastic job with you, that I have no doubt it will go very smoothly.  The toughest adjustment is going to be me being at work all day when I’d rather be home hanging out with you!