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