A Letter to My Boys

Gavin,
Kid, I think you will constantly perplex me and amaze me. I just need to prepare myself now for the ongoing years of this feeling. I keep noticing you can do things by yourself now that seemed so daunting to you even six months ago. They're little things, like swapping out the battery between your play drill and flashlight set, or counting backwards, or pronouncing all your letters correctly. They're so subtle that we barely notice, but I know it's those things that add up to the big kid you become more and more every day.

You have an innate kindness that emerges more every day, too, both at school and at home.  Your teachers this year have all made comments about how "sweet-natured," "happy" and "kind" you are to your friends, and I've lost count of the times you've put your brother before yourself at home. Every time you hand over your "lovie" when Bennett is crying, or volunteer to get him a toy when we're at the dinner table, it makes my heart swell with love and pride for you because I know how rare it is to be selfless at your age.

Now, as much as I love getting all mushy over you, my journalistic side needs to offer up the other side of the "sweet" coin as well. It also means you're sensitive. You get your feelings hurt easily when friends at school say they don't want to play with you, or when they push or throw rocks on the playground. The Momma Bear in me wants to smack them silly and tell their parents to stop raising little assholes, but the rational side of my brain knows it's something you're going to have to learn to deal with on your own. The world if full of assholes, buddy. Where your Momma gets hot-headed with them, I hope your sensitivity will help you see the good in them. Side-note: I cuss too much. Don't take after me there, either. :)

Lately, we've been watching a new show on PBS called Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. It's a spin-off of Mister Rogers Neighborhood that I used to watch as a kid, and I'm loving the themes, songs and characters I remember so well showing up in your vocabulary. It's been helpful, too, because you're applying what you're learning to your life. After watching an episode about patience the other day, I've heard you saying "it's hard to wait" instead of melting down when immediate gratification isn't an option.

This month, you got to go on a field trip to the pumpkin patch and Daddy got to go with you. You were beyond excited about it, and talked about it for days afterward.

In other news, I don't think it's possible for you to be more adorable. Case and point:

I love you more, kiddo.
Mommy



Bennett,
Your first month at daycare started out a little rough, but it didn't take long for you to adapt and your teachers now comment often on how "happy" you are. That, in turn, makes me happy. Thanks for that. You still haven't quite gotten the hang of sleeping at daycare yet though, which means you're only getting two, sometimes three 30-minute naps a day, which also means you're going to bed super early most weeknights. I'm missing that little bit of extra time with you in the evening, and I'm hoping you'll find a better rhythm soon.

Half asleep during dinner.

This whole month has been a month of "firsts."  You tried oatmeal for the first time, and quickly moved on to carrots, cauliflower and avocado. So far, you've liked it all. I think you're just so happy to finally be having solid food that you're gobbling down whatever I feed you. We're just trying to be more cautious with what we give you and when we give it to you to try and avoid food allergies. Because your brother's allergic to peanuts, apparently you're much more likely to have a food allergy.

You also got your first tooth this month and I believe number two and three will swiftly follow. We're going through teething tablets like candy. Poor thing. I hate seeing you all fussy because your gums hurt.

You're also this close to crawling. You move all over a room backwards, and turn circles to go the other way, but you're not quite moving forward yet so I'm not counting it as official crawling. You also do this hilarious downward-facing-dog-yoga-like move to try and propel yourself forward. It won't be long until the "official" crawling happens, followed quickly by pulling up, which you're already doing with assistance. You can also easily move from a crawling position back into a sitting position. Basically, you're a motor skill wizard, kiddo.

I can't wait to see what you've got in store for us next month, little man.

I love you more,
Momma