Snuggle Bunny

Dear Sawyer,

You are the total package: smart, sweet, funny and sooooo cute! You have started to take an interest in JieJie's baby dolls and often hug them and cradle them in your arms. When I ask you where your nose is, you point to your mouth (we'll work on that). When we go for walks, you point out every buh buh (bird) and che che (car). When I ask you to show me your muscles, you scrunch up your face and flex your arms. You like to push me down on your play mat just to help me sit back up again. You love to do somersaults and flips. You've learned to put your finger on your lips and say "shhhhh." You also learned how to say "GuhGaw." When you see me putting lotion on, you hold your hands out for some, too, and rub it in yourself. When it's time for you to nap or go to bed at night and we lie down together, you like to clasp both of my hands in yours and cuddle up against me--and snuggling with you like that is one of the best parts of my day.

Love,
Mom

Photo Fail

Dear Sawyer,

I have never taken any of my kids to the mall to have their photo taken with Santa. I will wait in lines for rides at a carnival or a table at a good restaurant, but I will not wait in a line next to Cinnabon with tons of tired/angry/stressed families to plop my babies down on a strange man's lap, watch them play with his probably super germy beard and pay $20+ for a single picture. Nope, that is one photo you guys will not have in your photo albums.

But then we went to your hair salon today for your haircuts and there was a real live Santa in the store, waiting for kids to take their picture with him. And so you did. Well, GuhGaw and JieJie did. You were so terrified of the tall man in the big red suit (as well as his even taller snowman companion) that when I tried to place you near him, you burst into tears and ran away toward the doors. And JieJie was so shy that she refused to smile or even look at the camera. So my kids' first (and possibly last) photo with Santa was not so picture-perfect:

Hahaha! Merry almost-Christmas!

Love,
Mom

Full Belly

Dear Sawyer,

Man, have you been cute these past few days! On Thursday morning, you were sleeping next to me in my bed (as you are every morning, sigh) and when you woke up, you kissed me lightly on the mouth. Yesterday, we went out to dinner after your checkup (stats: 32.5 in., 22 lbs. 5 oz.) and when the waitress knelt down and asked you how your dinner was, you instantly looked down and stared at your feet because you are so shy.

Tonight, we went over to my friend's house for a hot pot dinner and you didn't. Stop. Eating! The other kids ate for maybe 10 minutes and then ran off to play together but you stayed at the dinner table for almost 2 hours eating noodles and fish balls and beef and pork and more fish balls and veggies and more fish balls (you reeeeeally liked the fish balls) and then strawberries and pineapple and cookies. You seemed to want more even after dessert but Daddy and I had to cut you off for fear of your stomach exploding. Aunt Yuan put it best when she said, "Yikes, I wouldn't want to be the one who changes Sawyer's diaper tomorrow." Yikes, indeed.

Love,
Mom

Love Hurts

Dear Sawyer,

Today, you purposely dropped a toy car on my foot just so you could hug and console me. Um, thanks, but no thanks?

Love,
Mom

18-Month Update

Dear Sawyer,

Happy year-and-a-half birthday! The months are flying by and you are doing so many new things every time I turn around.

Words you now say: buh-buh (bird), whooooa

Sounds you now make: growls a la Cookie Monster

Commands you now give me: you tap your high chair tray when you see me with food and want me to put it on the tray

Vain moments you have had: you were crying one night after I took you out of your bath (you hate getting out) but stopped when you became captivated by the reflection of yourself in your hooded bath towel in the bathroom mirror (I'll admit, though, you do look pretty darn cute in your hooded towel!)

Other things you do now:

-run over really fast and give me a hug when I come into the room (I love it every time!)
-bite me playfully (playful or not, though, sometimes it hurts!)
-lay on your belly and flip through books for long stretches
-sit on your toy drum and look at books
-push your drum to the window and stand on it to look outside
-tap your crotch and butt when you poop
-scribble with markers and crayons
-behave so well during long, 9-hour car trips (we went to Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving) because you are so transfixed by cars and trucks, you entertain yourself by just watching all of the vehicles on the road
-insist on putting your books and toys back on your toy shelf before we leave the house, even if I tell you it's okay to leave them!
-automatically expect food when we visit JieJie's preschool classroom; at her class's apple party last month, you immediately walked over to the table, sat down and patiently waited for the food to be passed out as soon as the presentation was over--before any of the other kids even did it!

Happy 18-month birthday, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

Little Drummer Boy

Dear Sawyer,

I love this age when you are doing so many new things every day. In the past few weeks, you:

-learned how to say nai nai (milk).

-walked into the kitchen while I was making smoothies, pushed me back away from the counter and raised your arms to tell me that you wanted me to pick you up.

-have been so cute in your gym class. You love going down the slide and are so good about cleaning up the balls and rattles when the teacher says it's time to put them away. You immediately start picking up all the toys and follow the teacher around so you can put them in her bag. One time, a boy was sitting on top of a ball during clean-up time and you stared at him and pointed at the ball, as if to say, "Um, hey, I need that now."

-have been sleeping for longer stretches at night after I put a sound machine in your room. One night, you slept in your crib from 9pm-6am! Gah! Why didn't I think of getting you a sound machine sooner?!

-started saying "woof" when you see a dog.

-have continued to eat well. You love broccoli (yay!) and when you see me with something you want to eat, you ask for it by going, "Mamamamamamama."

-covered your mouth and gasped when you dropped a (luckily, plastic) bowl. So cute!

-have been pumping your feet in the air really fast whenever I pick up up and say, "Run run run run run!"

-have been immediately reaching for my hand and holding it while I rinse your head during your baths.

-have been grabbing your nanny's hand and pulling her toward the play attic as soon as she comes through the front door in the mornings.

-hugged JieJie when she hurt her knee in the study one day and patted her on the back when she was feeling sad one time.

-sang along (kind of) to the ABC song.

-have started squealing with excitement when GuhGaw and JieJie come home from school.

-were sitting on your toy drum and looking so cute. I ran to grab my camera but you had already stood up by the time I got back to your room. When I said I'd wanted to take a picture, you, totally on your own, walked back over to the drum, sat down and posed for a photo. Click!

My cutie!

Love,
Mom

Lots of Kisses

Dear Sawyer,

When GuhGaw jumped up and shouted "ta-da!" this afternoon, you copied him and said the same thing. When you bumped your head later, you looked at me and motioned to the spot you had hurt. And when you, Daddy and I were sitting on the couch tonight, you crawled over to me and kissed me on the lips, then crawled over to Daddy and kissed him on the lips, and then crawled back to me and kissed me on the lips. You went back and forth between us and kissed us about 10 times. How cute are you? :-)

Love,
Mom

Stranger Danger

Dear Sawyer,

You moved up to size 18-month clothing today and you look so big!

And there were so many new behaviors this month! You know how to smile and nod your head yes when I ask you questions ("Do you want a snack?" always gets a head nod!) and you also know how to shake your head no and hold up both hands in the air when you want to say, "I don't know." You can say hi, yeah and baobao (bread) and you say "dadadada" and point when you see something that interests you.

You have 8 teeth in the front of your mouth and your molars are coming in. You can feed yourself with a fork and you do a little happy dance--you point your fingers up and rock side to side--when you eat something that tastes good, hear a song you like or encounter anything else that pleases you.You like to play in the kitchen and move stuff around--you move the bottles of water onto the floor, then into the hallway and then back onto the shelf or take the oatmeal container out of the cabinet or move the bag clips in the snack drawer from one box to another.

One day, you sat in a plastic toy box and read a book (something GuhGaw and JieJie both also did when they were around your age). You love to chase bubbles and attempt to blow them, your favorite toy right now is your little yellow school bus, you always stop whatever you're doing to listen to a passing ambulance or helicopter and you lift up my shirt and start nursing whenever the mood strikes.

You started your first gym class (you're still a little timid in class but you seem to like it) and you rode your first subway when I took you to Manhattan a couple of weeks ago. My friend Rob and his girlfriend Kimia were visiting from Amsterdam so we met them at a restaurant in Gramercy and it was a bit of a traumatic day for you. Riding the subway was a big strange event in and of itself--taking the (smelly) elevator underground, riding on the rocky, noisy subway while giant strangers loomed over you in your stroller--but then we also spent the entire day with the unusual hairy giant who spoke weirdly (Rob is more than 6 feet tall, has a full beard and is British, haha). Your stranger danger detector was on high alert and you didn't crack a smile or put your guard down for even a second, no matter how hard Rob tried to make you laugh. You wouldn't even sit in the high chair at the restaurant or walk around in Central Park; you just clung to me and shot wary glances at Rob and Kimia the whole day, haha.

And you didn't even get a break when we got home later that evening. My friend Dennis was also visiting, from California, so he came over for dinner. You had managed to keep your composure around Rob and Kimia but when Dennis arrived, said hi and patted you on the head, it was too much. You burst into tears and started wailing. My poor guy. So much stranger danger for one day!

Love,
Mom

School Day

Dear Sawyer,

Today was GuhGaw and JieJie's first day of school, but you were able to go to school, too! Since it was JieJie's first day of pre-K, we accompanied her to her new classroom and stayed with her during the first hour. JieJie seemed to acclimate right away--and so did you! You were totally comfortable walking around the room, playing with the toys, scribbling with the crayons. When JieJie and her classmates gathered in a circle on the rug, you walked right over to her and hugged her, as if you were saying, "Hey! Don't leave me behind!"

When we went back later to pick JieJie up, we were waiting in the hallway with the other parents. You were toddling about and, thinking it was me, walked up to another mom and hugged her legs. Then you looked up and the expression of shock and confusion on your face was so funny, haha!

Love,
Mom

Morning Rush

Dear Sawyer,

Daddy is traveling for work this week, so when I took GuhGaw to camp this morning, I had to take you and JieJie, too. So instead of waking one kid up, I had to wake up three. And instead of feeding one kid breakfast, I had to feed three. You see where I'm going with this. Everything about the usual morning routine was multiplied by three (well, four, since I had to get myself ready, too) and everything about this morning was. A. Total. Disaster.

First, GuhGaw and JieJie did not want to wake up so I had to cheer and sing and shout and draaaaag their tired butts out of bed, which took about 15 minutes. Then JieJie spilled her milk on the dining room table. Then you dumped all of your cereal and yogurt bites onto the floor. Then GuhGaw couldn't find the sunblock. Then when I found the sunblock and was taking it downstairs, I didn't realize the cap was open and squirted half the bottle all over my dress. Then you wouldn't stay still while I was trying to put sunblock on you and more of it ended up on the coffee table than on you.

Then when everyone was fed, brushed, dressed, sunblocked and ready to go out the door, I picked you up and discovered that you had pooped in your diaper. And then I said, forget it, I give up, I'm not rushing anymore, GuhGaw is just going to have to be late for camp today.

Oh good lord.

Love,
Mom

First Cut

Dear Sawyer,

First haircut! (And first fauxhawk!)

Love,
Mom

Thirsty Boy

Dear Sawyer,

More adventures in the land of cute and funny:

-I left you in your crib the other night and went to help JieJie brush her teeth. While we were in the bathroom, you suddenly cried out in fear and I ran to your room to discover that you had gotten your sleep sack stuck on your head (it was in your crib with you and I guess you had tried to put it on by yourself?). You were unable to pull the sleep sack off and couldn't see anything, so you got scared. Aww, sweetie! I shouldn't have laughed but the sight of you shaking your head back and forth with the sleep sack draped over you was funny!

-You are way too old for your baby seat but you still fit into it and sit in it all of the time. I guess it's cozy!

-You like to play your toy piano with your butt.

-A couple of days ago, I walked by your room and you were pacing back and forth with your toy phone to your ear, as if you were on a very important phone call. It was especially funny because you were only wearing a diaper.

-You are so affectionate with your stuffed animals! You often hug them and put your mouth on them to "kiss" them.

-Like GuhGaw and Daddy and Uncle Tony and countless other little boys before you, you looooove playing with toy cars and trains. Pushing them around on the floor easily keeps you entertained for a long time.

-Like JieJie, you are shy around people you don't know. JieJie's friends came over to play today and they were all in her room. You were too scared to come into the room and play with them, but you were curious so you sat right outside her room and kept peeking in to see what was going on. 

-So you, um, kind of boobie-raped me yesterday. You were standing up in your crib and when I walked over to you, you pulled down my shirt, latched onto my nipple and started nursing, just like that. Wha huh? I was totally blindsided; GuhGaw and JieJie had never done that. You must have been really thirsty!

Love,

Mom

Dada!

Dear Sawyer,

You can now climb up the stairs on your own, but you get a little nervous halfway up and always stop at the midpoint, turn back to me and reach for my hand. Once I hold your hand, you're then good to keep climbing to the top! You love to pretend to talk on your toy phone and when I go into a plank position, you immediately crawl underneath me and sit there, as if I'm your human fort or something. But the biggest new thing with you is that you made Daddy very happy today when you saw him and called him "Dada" for the first time!

Love,
Mom

July Update

Dear Sawyer,

You have been busy this month! You can easily go from sitting to standing and are walking so well now. You like to walk to the kitchen (you love food!) and I melt every time you walk toward me and fall into my arms or when you walk into my legs and then hug them. I also love how excited you get when you walk longer and longer distances; you giggle and squeal and are clearly proud of how well you're walking!

You have 7 adorable little teeth now (all the better to eat your favorite fruits, blueberries, watermelon and grapes) and you always want to eat what I'm eating, especially if it's a bread or roll of some sort. But you still aren't a fan of cow's milk and only drink maybe 1 ounce a day, when you should be drinking 15-20! Come on, dude! (Some mothers breastfeed their kids until they're 5 years old but your mama will most certainly not be doing that.)

You love upbeat music and when I turn on a good dance song, you dance by swaying back and forth and pointing your fingers up in the air. You love JieJie, hug her a lot and can even say, "Li-ah." But you get jealous when you see her sitting on my lap and immediately come over and try to squeeze onto my lap, too. Oh, dear.

Love,
Mom

Post-Meal Nap

Dear Sawyer,

I call this series "Baby's Food Coma."

Haha, you keep falling asleep in your high chair after you eat!

Love,
Mom

Hello, Hamptons!

Dear Sawyer,

The last time Daddy and I went to the Hamptons, it was for our babymoon and GuhGaw was still a baby growing in my belly. Fast forward 6 years later and we returned to the Hamptons last week with our three kids! We even stayed at the same hotel (though we kind of had to, considering it's the only one in Southampton) and it was fun revisiting the places we'd first gone to before you and your siblings were born--La Parmigiana, Tate's Bake Shop, The Golden Pear. Southampton hasn't changed much and many of the same restaurants and shops we went to before are still there.

But of course, the main draw during our vacation--then and now--was the beach. GuhGaw and JieJie have been to beaches several times but this time, they were very scared of the crashing waves and terrified to walk into the ocean. Not you! This was your first time at the beach and you loved it! You were fascinated by the crashing waves and wanted to walk into the ocean; I actually had to pull you back a few times because the waves were way over your head. You laughed when the waves came in and beamed when the water washed over your feet. The first time JieJie went to the beach, she was terrified of the sand and refused to sit or stand on it. The first time you went to the beach, I plopped you down on the sand and you didn't even bat an eye but just started playing with the sand as if you'd done so a thousand times. When GuhGaw first encountered sand as a baby, he kept trying to eat it. You knew better and didn't even attempt it once, though you did keep putting sand-covered toys in your mouth (ugh).

We were in the Hamptons for five days and you actually had a somewhat rough vacation. At dinner one night, you were sitting in your high chair when you pushed your feet against the table. You and the whole high chair fell backward and before Daddy or I could catch you, you hit your head on the floor. The next day at the beach, Daddy dug a large sandpit, which served as a makeshift playard for you. You were outside of the sandpit at one point, crawled toward it and then fell face first into it and got a mouth full of sand. I wiped the sand off your face with a wet wipe but then forgot to reapply sunblock, so you got a little sunburned. And you did not get to nap as much as you needed to since we were out at the beach all day every day and it wasn't super peaceful with all of the people and kids there. But despite all those hiccups, at least you did really love the beach!

Love,
Mom

Fun Times

Dear Sawyer,

You are such a funny little guy! You can now do high-fives; you are in such a hurry all the time and crawl so fast that sometimes you pitch yourself forward and almost do face plants; when you eat, you like to spit out your food, play with it and then pop it back into your mouth (that one's more gross than funny); you like to take a tissue and wipe things like JieJie's doll crib; and you pretend to talk on the phone and eat with your toy utensils. I love playing with you every day!

Love,
Mom

June Happenings

Dear Sawyer,

Here are some of the things you did in the past few weeks:

-You tried blueberries--and loved them. I'd say they're your favorite snack, but all snacks are your favorite snacks! You love to eat! Sometimes when you eat, you take such passionate bites and go "Ahm!"

-You started sitting on your butt and turning around in circles. I guess that's fun for you? It's definitely fun for me to watch!

-You favored your sister over your brother -- one night while you were in your crib, JieJie kept running up to you and you gave her a kiss every time she reached you, but when GuhGaw did it and leaned in for a kiss, you pushed his face away. Harsh.

-I am trying to wean you but you have been refusing to drink cow's milk. I warmed it up, gave it to you cold, put it in a cup, spoon fed it to you . . . you will not drink it. You'll only drink breastmilk. I didn't have any problems switching GuhGaw and JieJie to cow's milk, so I don't know what to do.

-You recognized yourself -- I showed you a photo of yourself and you said, "DiDi."

-You caught coxsackie disease from your brother and sister, uuugggghhh. And then I caught it from you, double uuugggghhh. I got hit pretty bad (I couldn't even get out of bed the first day) but thankfully, you just had a fever for a couple days and didn't seem that uncomfortable.

-You made me laugh when I was talking to GuhGaw one day and you were next to me in your high chair, imitating the hand gestures I was making, haha!

Love,
Mom

First Steps!

Dear Sawyer,

So many new behaviors since your first birthday! JieJie was watching "Sofia the First" and when Sofia started singing, you "sang" along with her. You can hold your water bottle and drink from it by yourself. You like to crawl into tight spots, like the space in between your crib and the wall, and one time you got stuck in between your crib and the wall (oops). If I leave the gate in your room open, you make an immediate beeline for it and always try to crawl to the play attic (of course, there are so many toys up there!). On your birthday, you stood on your own for a few seconds and fell forward when you tried to walk. But then today, you actually walked!!!

We were doing FaceTime with PoiPoi and Uncle Tony and I was showing them how good you have become at standing on your own. You were standing in the living room near the bookshelf and I was looking at my iPad screen to make sure I had framed you properly in the camera and as I was looking at the screen, you took your first three steps! PoiPoi, Uncle Tony and I all shouted in surprise at the same time, haha. Exciting day!

Love,
Mom

Yogurt Mess

Dear Sawyer,

So I put your bowl of yogurt down on the dining table and went to put the laundry in the dryer. I should have made sure you could not reach the yogurt from your high chair, though, because this is what I came back to:

Oye.

Love,
Mom

First Birthday Party!

Dear Sawyer,

Sunny day! Sweeping the clouds away! We celebrated your first birthday with a Sesame Street-themed birthday party yesterday! And contrary to Sesame Street's theme song, it was not a sunny day and actually rained quite hard, but everyone still came out for your party and you had so much fun playing in the play space.

Happy birthday, sweetheart!

Love,
Mom

You're One Year Old!

Dear Sawyer,

As I've mentioned before, you are not a good sleeper. You wake up every two to three hours and Mama is so so so so sooooo tired. But if I have to be up all night, it's not too shabby being up all night with you! You are my sweet, silly and super cuddly Sawyer and I have loved getting to know you this past year. Happy 1st birthday, sweetheart! While exhausting, our first year together was also full of joy, laughter and fun. You are such a happy little guy and your megawatt smiles and belly laughs are infectious. You find humor in so many things and are a total ham who loves to share that humor with those around you. You are curious and always observing things; when we go for walks, you usually sit up in your car seat instead of leaning back, as if there's too much to see and you don't want to miss any of it. And you are constantly on the go, exploring one book, toy or object after the next.

I love that you do indeed call me "Mama" now (and that you're not just babbling); I love the way you shake your head back and forth when you hear music you like; I love how excited you get when you realize we're going up to the play attic (you shriek and pump your feet); I love it when you're nursing but suddenly stop to look up at me and smile; and I love the feelings I get when you rest your head on my shoulder and when you hug me and pat me on the back the same way I pat you on your back.

Happy birthday, baby bear! I love you so very much.

Love,
Mom

Here Comes Trouble?

Dear Sawyer,

Your nanny was feeding you dinner tonight and I mentioned that all weekend, you had been really fussy when Daddy tried to feed you. I then asked you, "Were you giving Daddy trouble?" You covered your mouth and laughed mischievously, as if you knew exactly what I had asked you. Uh-oh!

Love,
Mom

Rocking Chair Scare

Dear Sawyer,

You are a really good eater and will eat whatever I feed you, from turkey and lentils to zucchini and spinach. (You don't like egg yolks and make a face when you eat them, yet you still obediently eat them.) I think you are starting to get sick of your boring pureed foods, though, because tonight, I tried to feed you plain old broccoli while I had a juicy hamburger and you would not have it. You stared at my burger, banged your hand on your highchair tray and cried and when I tried to feed you a spoonful of mashed up broccoli, you angrily turned away and covered your mouth with your hand. Can't say I blame you!

In other news, the recent "It's Monday, so something crappy is going to happen" tradition** continued today when you were almost crushed by the rocking chair in your room. *siiiiiigh* This rocking chair was in GuhGaw's room when he was a baby and was in JieJie's room when she was a baby and had never been a hazard. It's actually designed for nurseries and built in such a way that it's not supposed to tip over. But today while I was doing laundry, you crawled behind it while JieJie was sitting on it. She decided to stand up and look over the top of it to look down on you. Her weight toppled the chair backward and it landed on your teeny, delicate baby foot. Oh my GOD. When I heard the crash and then your hurt cry, I came charging into the room, threw the chair off of you (with JieJie still sitting on it) and swooped you up. You have a bruise on your foot now but you were crawling, standing and walking with assistance normally all day (and trust me, I kept checking), so you are okay. My nerves are obviously not, though--I keep thinking about how it could've ended much worse had the chair landed on your head or your entire body. Thank God you came out of it with just a bruised foot.

Love,
Mom

**Two Mondays ago, JieJie didn't make it to the toilet in time and peed allllllll over the bathroom floor, like several cups worth, after not having any accidents for months. Then last Monday, you vomited on three separate occasions, and you don't usually vomit ever.

(Not) Cleaning Up

Dear Sawyer,

I was walking around your room today putting away all of your books and toys and you were crawling around right behind me, immediately taking them all out again. *sigh*

Love,
Mom

Almost 1

Dear Sawyer,

Two weeks from now, you will be 1 year old! That's crazy! This year has gone by sooooo fast and you are growing into such a fun little person. I don't even remember what you were like as a newborn because you are so big and active now. Here are some things about you at almost-1-year-old:

-Often, you reach for me and say "mama." It's probably just a coincidence since it's a little early for your first word, but I like to think that you are already addressing me :-)

-When GuhGaw and JieJie climb into their beds at bedtime, you wave bye to them and make a kissing noise with your mouth.

-You have four teeth now.

-When you are happy and excited, you scream at ear-shattering decibels.

-You still looooooove being tickled!

-You think it's hysterical when you burp or sneeze and then try to make yourself burp and sneeze again, but you actually just make a growling sound.

-You love to eat and get soooo impatient when you see your food while you are waiting to be fed. You start whimpering, fidgeting in your high chair and leaning forward frantically. Dude, chill!

-You love Mum-Mums and snack puffs and can easily feed them to yourself. I have to be careful how many puffs I pour onto your high chair tray, though, because you will stuff all of them in your mouth at once if I'm not watching you.

-Speaking of Mum-Mums and puffs, you get really excited when I'm carrying you and we walk past the snack cabinet where we keep them. You point to them and ask for them by urgently saying, "Ungh ungh ungh!"

-You like opening your dresser drawers, pulling all of your clothes, sheets and blankets out and throwing them onto the floor. Actually, you love pulling anything--toys out of your toy box, books out of your bookshelf, tissues out of the tissue box--and throwing it onto the floor. You embrace not order but chaos--if I put plastic coins in your piggy bank, you immediately take them out and scatter them around your room; if I put all of your picnic basket toys inside the basket, you pull them all out; if there are toys and books on the coffee table, you will walk around it and methodically throw everything onto the floor. Cleaning up after you is pretty pointless, as you destroy the room as soon as I straighten it up!

-Like GuhGaw and JieJie when they were babies, you don't like wearing socks and pull them off every chance you get.

-You already know how to crawl up stairs. Uh-oh.

-The other day, you managed to push the sling bookshelf in your room--which was full of books, by the way--all the way from the wall to the middle of the room. You can also do pull-ups on the side of your crib, pulling all of your body weight up with your arms while you lift your feet in the air. Well, hello there, baby Hercules.

-You are so adorable when you flop onto your belly and just lay there contentedly kicking your feet.

-You are also adorable when I say "No no no!" and you respond by shaking your head no and smiling.

-You are especially adorable now that you have started posing for pictures. When I say, "Say cheese!", you tilt your head up, smile and scrunch up your face like this:

-Today while eating, you insisted on holding your spoon and feeding yourself. Agh! Stop trying to grow up so fast!

Love,
Mom

Catboy

Dear Sawyer,

Newest developments:

-You currently have three teeth.

-You are still not sleeping through the night regularly but did get a good chunk of rest last night from 10:30pm to 4:45am, your longest stretch yet.

-You were doing this weird thing yesterday where you licking the palm of your hand and then wiping it on the side of your face . . . like a cat.

Love,
Mom

10 Months

Dear Sawyer,

You turned 10 months old today! You are such a happy, playful baby and it is so fun spending time with you every day. You smile and laugh all of the time (especially when you sneeze; you think your own sneezes are hilarious!) and when you get excited, you wiggle your whole body around. You also bounce up and down when you hear music, have learned to wave side to side (instead of just up and down) and are getting your first top tooth!

Love,
Mom

(Not) Sleeping Through the Night

Dear Sawyer,

GuhGaw started sleeping through the night when he was 4 months old and JieJie has always slept through the night, even when she was a newborn. But you, my youngest child, you are almost 10 months old and still waking up every 2 to 3 hours at night. *siiiiiiigh* Except last night! You slept in your crib from 11:30pm to 4:30am, at which point I woke up to silence and wondered why you hadn't woken up crying (I wake up when you cry and I wake up when you don't cry because if you're not crying when you're usually crying, I'm scared something is wrong--that is being a mom!). And you must have heard my thoughts because a second after I thought that, you woke up crying. Doh!

Love,
Mom

Waving Bye

Dear Sawyer,

You just learned how to clap a few days ago and now you clap all the time when you are happy, when I say "Yaaaaay!" and when I do random things like shut the refrigerator door (I guess I do do a pretty good job of closing the door, huh? :-P ).

You also wave goodbye a lot, even when you're busy! I was nursing you on the couch tonight and JieJie was sitting next to us and doing FaceTime with GongGong. When you heard them saying bye to each other, you waved bye as you continued nursing. Haha! So cute!

Love,
Mom

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Dear Sawyer,

I just booked a location for your first birthday party because you are somehow turning 1 year old in a few months . . . wha? This year is going by so fast and you are growing so big and you are acquiring so many new traits every week! Your most recent ones:

-You have outgrown your 9-months-sized clothing and currently fit into 12-months clothes.

-You can crawl pretty quickly now, so Daddy had to install a baby gate in the doorway of your room.

-When I come into your room while you are playing on the floor, you immediately crawl over to me, grab my legs and pull yourself up.

-You wave goodbye to people when they are leaving the house.

-You recognize your pediatrician as that big man who gives you the painful shots, so you start to panic and whimper as soon as you see him enter the exam room.

-You can stand up on your own for a few seconds.

-You like baths so much that you cry when I take you out of them.

-You like me so much that you cry when I leave the room.

-I often sing "If You're Happy And You Know It" to you and make you clap your hands at the right spots in the song. Today, you clapped at the right spots all on your own!

Love,
Mom

Little Monster

Dear Sawyer,

I seriously love all of the crazy gremlin noises you make!

Love,
Mom

First Tooth

Dear Sawyer,

You were a whole lotta cranky the other night and barely slept but for a good reason: Your first tooth is coming in! I can feel the tiny sharp tip of it when I run my finger along your bottom gum. You have noticed it, too, and have been cutely playing with it all day with your tongue!

Love,
Mom

Headbanger

Dear Sawyer,

Last night, I was holding you and accidentally banged your head on the wall when we were turning the corner to go into my bedroom. This morning, I was holding you and accidentally hit your head on another wall when we were coming out of your bathroom. I am so so so sorry. I suck :-(

Love,
Mom

Mama Kiss

Dear Sawyer,

Your favorite things: being tickled, being tossed up into the air, remote controls, lotion bottles, your toy drum, pulling on your socks, playing with JieJie's dollhouse and princess castle

My favorite things: the noises you make when you babble ("a-dah, "buh buh buh"), the way you smile, bounce excitedly and reach for me when I come in the room, when I say "Mama kiss" and you open your mouth and press it on my cheek to "kiss" me--so cute!!

Love,
Mom

Bumps and Bruises

Dear Sawyer,

Pro: Last week, you completed a milestone trifecta by learning how to crawl, cruise and push up to a sitting position from your tummy.

Con: With your new-found mobility comes the plethora of new-found bumps and bruises. You were sitting up when you lost your balance, fell backward and hit your head on the mat. You were crawling over to your activity table when your arm buckled and you hit your face on one of its hard plastic legs. Then there was this morning, when you were cruising in your crib, stumbled, fell and hit your head on the plastic toy laptop I had (stupidly) left in your crib. Uggghhh. Bring me the bubble wrap!

Love,
Mom

Standing Tall

Dear Sawyer,

You are trying so hard to crawl! You get on all fours and try so hard to propel your body forward. You aren't quite there yet but in other news, you did learn how to pull yourself up to a standing position today! You were in your crib when you went on all fours, grabbed the side of your crib with your left hand and then your right hand and then slowly and a little shakily pulled yourself up and stood on your feet! Once you were standing, you grinned from ear to ear and laughed this giddy, excited laugh as if you knew just how momentous your accomplishment was. Go, Sawyer!

Love,
Mom

Turtle Power

Dear Sawyer,

I really can't leave you alone anywhere anymore! You were sitting in your floor seat in your room today, JieJie was playing with you and I went downstairs to get some water. While I was in the kitchen, I suddenly heard JieJie call out, "DiDi fell down! DiDi fell down!" I raced upstairs and Daddy ran out of his office and when we got to your room, we saw you crawling around on your belly on your playmat with your seat strapped on top of your body and looking like a cushy turtle shell. You had leaned so far forward in your seat (probably reaching for a toy) that you had flopped onto your stomach, taking the seat with you. You are getting so big and strong! (And props to JieJie for alerting us so quickly!)

Love,
Mom

Stuck In Bed

Dear Sawyer,

You are one step closer to crawling! A couple days ago, you pushed up on both your hands and your knees for the first time. You can't move forward yet but you can definitely move backward, as I learned tonight. I usually hold you in my lap while I read bedtime stories to GuhGaw and JieJie but you were so squirmy tonight, I put you on your belly in the middle of JieJie's bed and then sat on the floor next to the bed with your brother and sister. We were all sitting facing away from you with our backs leaning against the bed when you started going, "Unh unh unh unh!" I had never heard you make that noise before and when I turned around to look at you, your whole body was stuck in between JieJie's mattress and the foot of the bed! Oh my god, oh my god! Just your head was sticking out above the mattress--you had shimmied backward on the bed and fallen into the gap between the mattress and the foot of the bed! I immediately pulled you out and you were fine, but gah, you totally freaked me out!

Love,
Mom

Things I'll Miss

Dear Sawyer,

Now that I have a 3-year-old and a 5-year-old, I realize that you do a lot of adorable baby things that I will miss when you get older. I'll miss the way you rub your face on my shoulder when I'm holding you and the way you squawk like a pterodactyl when you're trying to talk. I'll miss your drooly smiles and the super-fine baby hairs on your head. I will miss the way something as simple as a button can fascinate you for a long time. I will miss how a game of peekaboo will make you burst out laughing as if it is the best game ever.

I'll miss the way your head and body wobble a little when you're sitting up on your own because you're still mastering the art of sitting up on your own. I will miss the way you look up at me while you're nursing. And I will especially miss how your tiny body feels--all curled up and warm and emitting that intoxicating baby smell--when you fall asleep against my chest.

I don't want to be missing those things yet, so don't grow up too fast, mmkay?

Love,
Mom

New Tricks

Dear Sawyer,

Happy new year! You have started 2016 with a new trick: push-ups! You were on your belly today and pushed up onto your hands for the first time. Are you going to start crawling soon?

Also new is the way you now stick the tip of your tongue out to lick and play with your top lip and how you jump so hard in your jumper, your feet lift off of the ground. You look so cute when you do these things! Not cute? The fact that you have started biting me occasionally when you are nursing. Uh, ow.

Love,
Mom