You've officially now been on the outside as long as you were on the inside!
It’s been a long time since I’ve written, and I miss this little ritual.
The last months have flown by so fast that I almost don’t even know where they went. You barely seem like a baby anymore, and of course that terrifies me!
You now have at least 6 teeth! The bottom two came in so quickly that I'd hoped the rest would, too, they all decided to start coming in slowly at around the same time. While I'm sure most have now finally cut through the gums, you will no longer let us look in your mouth to see exactly what's there and what isn't! All we know for sure is that you have a 3rd tooth on the bottom, and at least 3 that have cut through on the top. You look so different when you smile now!
You’re crawling! You like to rock back and forth and you have some crazy upper body strength. When we put you down for tummy time, you will often end up in a completely different location a few minutes later just because you’re having so much fun pushing up, reaching for things, and basically turning around on your tummy. You still don’t love rolling, but will do it once it a while whenever it seems to suit you. Mostly, you 'army crawl' to wherever you like to go best (you seem determined to get at my shoes) and almost are up on both legs. Baby proofing is under way!
You have SUCH a personality now. We’ve always thought so even since you were tiny, but it amazes me how much it grows and grows. You love being outside, you dislike wearing socks for any length of time (just like me), you giggle back at us when we laugh at you, and squeal with delight when you discover something new. You reach up and scratch the top of your head when you are tired, and run your hand on the pillow as if you're making a snow angel when you have a bottle. While you’re happy wearing hats, and I think you look great in them, you have more fun these days taking them off and studying their patterns before promptly jamming them in your mouth to chew on. You think saying “da da da da” over and over, both whispered and rather loudly, is funny, and you’ve discovered that bath time can be a lot of fun. You love other kids, too, and we still meet up with the parents from prenatal class for baby dates!
You developed your pincer grasp quickly, and you are really improving at feeding yourself! You love mealtime and are pretty easy going about what you will and won’t eat. (except when teething... you went almost a week without any solid food!) You make funny faces when we try to give you stuff you don’t like (no beef, but turkey is a go!) and generally just let it fall out of your mouth. You love pretty well all fruity blends of food we give you, though prunes are not really your favorite. We’ve also been trying to give you fist sized chunks of what we eat, whatever seems easily gummable, and so far you seem pretty good at gnawing away on the pieces you like.
You can stand up with assistance, and an even hold your self up on a table or chair, so long as you don’t start reaching for something and throw yourself off balance! Needless to say, we are always there to hold you when you slip. You aren’t pulling yourself up yet, but I’m pretty grateful for that one!
You’ve been sleeping in your own room for a while now and you’ve always slept well in your crib. You wake up usually twice a night (once after we go to bed), but you are still the lovey-est, happiest guy in the morning when you get up. While you go to bed still awake most nights, we’ve typically cuddled you to sleep for naps (and often stay cuddled with you, too!). Sadly, you’ve recently decided that you would like to sleep alone and Daddy has had to start putting you into your crib for naps and letting you fall asleep on your own. I am already missing these cuddles a lot.
Being back at work has left me with lots of mixed feelings. I miss you so much during the day, but love how big your smile gets when I come home at night. Though I will say that your dad has been so wonderful at being a stay at home parent that it has made it so much easier. He’s got you out for walks, he takes you swimming, and on days like today, he’ll even bring you by my office so we can go shopping or have lunch. You started your swimming lessons already, as well as music lessons at Gymboree! Luckily, your music class is only a block away from my office, so I got to come and dance with you for your first time there.
I must admit, it's been a whirlwind these past few months. I try so hard to make time go slower, but I just do not have that power! I really wish I did, though, because I feel like you'll be a little boy in no time and I'll wonder where my baby went. I already see that boy in you so often. I guess it's inevitable, though, and can't say that it makes me sad to experience the joys of seeing you grow.
Just keep on laughing, Flynn. It's what you do best!