A Letter to Indigo at Eleven Months

Dear Indigo,

My little cuddle bug. You've come a long way from being that scrawny "velociraptor" you were in the hospital, although you've still got quite a set of lungs. Lately I've been wondering if you are confused and think you are going to be turning two, not one, because you seem to be breaking out the temper tantrums a bit. You seem to get into fights with the shape-sorter cube on a daily basis, which end in you face down on the blanket screaming. We really wish we knew why you were getting so frustrated, but we'll keep trying to help you out.

Turning into a little boy.

And the other side of the coin, you are a gentle, sweet, and loving little boy who loves snuggle time with Mommy and Daddy, but especially Daddy. You've gotten into the habit of crying at bedtime again. We don't want you to prevent your sister from sleeping, so we remove you from the room and you end up falling asleep on one of us. The past week or so, I've tried to break this habit. I'll hold you until you are calm and sleepy, but awake, then put you down in your crib. You start to cry again but I quickly soothe you by rubbing your back and behind your ear. Eventually, you are asleep. Last night I didn't even have to hold you (but I did miss those snuggles). I just kept rubbing your back. If I stepped away, you started to cry, but a reassuring, "Mama's here" calmed you down again. I think you miss us. I think we don't get enough time together during the week so you just soak it up on the weekends and at bedtime. I'm sorry, little man. We miss you too.

More hugs!

But you are making so much progress at daycare and we are so proud of you. You are getting better at waving, and are a pretty awesome high-fiver. You stand with such pride, and I know you'll be walking, holding our hands, just as fast as your sister, any day now. But best of all, you are so expressive. You tell detailed stories with such earnest facial expressions, such perfect inflections of your voice, I can almost understand what you are saying in your baby babble. I do love a good story.

High Five!

You are definitely having fun testing your boundaries. You will repeatedly grab at bottles in the wine cabinet, turning around to look at us with a sly grin when we call your name and tell you no before reaching for them again. You think the tray of DVDs under the TV is yours to play with, and you recently discovered one of the cabinet doors moves. Part of all this is the many bumps and falls you've had as you realize the ottoman rocks back and forth and the new stroller will roll away from you if you try to pull up on it. But you keep trying. You are one determined little boy.

You braved your flu shot at the doctor's office, and are 22lbs even and 29.25 inches long. Your head circumference is 46cm. You are in 55th percentile for weight, 58th for height, and 69th for head size. Basically, you're right on track!

Trying to escape?

You are really into books lately, especially the one that makes animal noises. Every time I push the puppy and it barks, your face gets this look of such astonishment and delight and you give a little shout as if saying, "Mama, did you hear that? Amazing!" It's perfect. You like turning the pages, even if you are holding the book upside-down. And you love pointing to the kitties. I think you are making the connection with our two kitties, and I love it.

Nothing like a good book

One of the best parts of my day is still picking you two up at daycare. The second I walk through the door and you two realize I'm there, it's off to the races. The baby races, that is. You both just bolt for me across the floor. If I pick one of you up, the other will cry. If I pick neither of you up, you both cry. There is no winning. But I just love how excited you are to see me, because I am just as excited to see you. We put on some kids music in the car on the way home and have a grand old time singing along to "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Old McDonald." You seem to really enjoy the sound effects.

Let the race begin!

I love you, little man, with a "moo, moo" here and a "moo, moo" there.

Love,
Mama

Checking out the ground

A Letter to Periwinkle at Eleven Months

Dear Periwinkle,

Eleven months. Is that it? Only eleven months knowing you; your smile; your sweet, sleeping face? Impossible. You bring such joy to our lives every single day that it seems a part of us must have been missing before you came into the world. And lately you have been bringing that joy in such fun new ways.

What's up, Mama?

You can now wave and say, "Hi!" in this adorable, chipper voice. One rare night when you fought going to sleep, I was holding you and you just kept waving and saying, "Hi!" like that would somehow save you from bedtime. "Look, Mama, I'm doing that thing that always makes you smile! See, I'm waving!" It didn't work. Mama won that battle. But it was damned cute. We're working on "Bye" now, although you will wave and say, "Hi" as we leave a place. Daddy says we should have taught you "Ciao" instead, since that works both ways. We'll get there.

This past week you also brought "Uh oh" into the picture, out of the blue. You'll say it and then drop something (wrong order, sweetie). And sometimes we'll just hear this little voice from the backseat saying, "Uh oh." Always with a slight pause in between. Daddy and I just crack up sometimes because it is just too cute we can't take it anymore.

Red Sox girl (to Daddy's chagrin)

You also learned how to high-five at daycare. I'm hoping since you are getting good at these hand gestures you'll soon start doing some of the baby sign language too, especially "all done" and "more." Sometimes you don't want your whole bottle anymore and you slap it away and we end up with formula everywhere. A simple hand gesture would be much cleaner, thank you.

So much hair!

You've also started sticking up your pointer finger. I'm trying to get you to associate that with the question, "How old are you?" so maybe by your birthday (in only a MONTH) you'll be able to proudly raise that little chubby finger in response. We'll see how that goes.

You also seem to be using that finger to actually point at things. You pointed at the Cat in the Hat stuffed animal Grandpa G got you but then seemed apprehensive when it got closer to you. You two are still in negotiations about physical boundaries, it seems.

Pointing at the Cat in the Hat

Another foe is the big orange ball. It started out in the pool but has come inside since your brother really likes it. But we keep it away from you because if it gets to close to you, you cry and cling to us. We get it, baby girl, we'll keep you safe. Except in "Chloe's Color Book" (thank you Citrus Lane) there is a big orange ball, and you always point to it when we get to that page. Always. And almost never do you point at anything else in the book. It's as if you are working up to the REAL orange ball by touching the one in the book. You'll get there.

Exploring

You are now a pro at walking around holding our hands. You pull up on your crib constantly and are starting to make your way around it on your own. You pull up on basically anything you can. A few times, you've been standing holding my hands when you let go, and you stood on your own for at least five seconds before you fell onto your rump. I don't think you even realized what you did, but I was so proud.

Not the safest choice for pulling up

You're also quite the prolific artist. In your new daycare room, where you are doing quite well and are apparently the "boss", even of kids older than you (that's my girl! Taking after Mama!), fingerpainting is a near-daily activity. You've painted apples, leaves, handprints, and a snake. I guess it's time to buy some art supplies for our house!

Turn off the flash, Mama, it's 6am

This month we went to the Big E in Massachusetts with Grandma and Grandpa. You saw lots of big animals and were very brave around them, and also quite fascinated by them. You also went to the doctor. You are now 20lb 13oz and 28 inches long. You got your flu shot like a champ. The doctor said you are perfect.

I'm so proud of all your accomplishments this month. You are so engaged with the world around you and you just soak it all up. Keep learning, little girl. Learning is pretty awesome.

Love,
Mama

Starting to "read" books