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