Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Harry Joseph, Fifteen Months Old




Dear Harry,

Oh, Harry. What a month you have had! You have decided that 10 PM is your ideal bedtime and it is slowly killing your mother. You see, we are morning people in this family. That is when we have our energetic, most productive time. You seem to be the opposite. Mornings and then again in the late afternoons, you are sluggish and calm, happy to read books and play quietly, or watch a video. But then, Nighttime Harry arrives. He comes around 6 PM, right after bath time and is heralded by squeals and squeaks and running up and down the hall. Nighttime Harry dances and screams, climbs on chairs and tables, giggles and grins, and demands snacks to fuel his bacchanalia. This goes on until about 9:30 when you start to wind down - only climbing on smaller things - until you are ready to nurse down at about 9:50. You conk out easily at that point and usually sleep until 7 or 7:30 AM with only a small peep in the night. I don't know what is causing this, but it has become routine, at this point. I hope it is just a phase.

We got you your first cello this month. Since my last post about your love of music, we have just watched your curiosity and determination grow. It is very hard for us (and not good for our instruments) to hold you and let you play the cello and bass. So, we thought we'd see what you did with a "Harry-sized" cello. It was love at first sight. You have a little stool that you sit on and bow back and forth. You are quite serious about it, which is adorable, I must admit. You ask to play all day long and we sometimes have to take it away from you when you get a bit *ahem* enthusiastic with it. (Cellos don't like to be hit!) We'll see where this goes. It may pass, but we didn't want to discourage you from something you obviously love. If you continue to show interest, we can start Suzuki next year. Until then, we'll just play.

You are doing so much new physical stuff these days. You can go down the slide all by yourself both at home (on your bum) and at the park (on your belly). You can climb anything that is not standing still. (Please note that the kitchen drawer handles are NOT a ladder.) (Nor is the oven door a chin-up bar.) The other night, I was trying to contain Nighttime Harry to the downstairs, so I closed the door to the third floor. You were running around in the hallway with a pillowcase on your head, pretending to be a scary ghost, when suddenly it got quiet. I waited a moment and then heard what I thought was a baby gate closing. I ventured out to see that you had opened the door to the third floor, turned on the stairway light, climbed upstairs and closed the baby gate and were playing with your beach ball. I must say, I was too impressed to be mad. I think we need to get you on some sort of sports team.

You are indeed an amazing little boy. So smart, so full of energy, so full of love. Nothing you do is small. When you come in for hugs and kisses, you crash into us full force. When you fall down, it is a big splat. And no matter what, you keep going. Each month, when I write to you, I'm just floored at how much you change over each week. You are just barreling ahead so quickly that Daddy and I have to run to keep up. I can't imagine what you'll think up next, but I'm very excited (and exhausted!) at the possibilities.

Love,
Mama