Harry Joseph, Five Months Old

December 31, 2007 @ 3:18 pm

Dear Harry,

OK, so this post is about two weeks late. Blame it on the holidays. This season is always hectic, but add a baby to the mix and, man, you’ve got fun! You are doing great, little guy. You’re rolling over (and over and over), getting up on your hands and knees and rocking, scooting yourself backwards, sitting up (almost) unassisted, pulling up (with help) to a standing position. You make some really funny sounds, including raspberries and belly laughs. You’ve reached 20 pounds and about 29 inches and are wearing 9-12 month clothes. I will predict that you’ll be crawling by 6 months and walking by 9 months. Prove me wrong, boy!

You’ve had your first taste of baby cereal, but you’re not wild about it. It seemed to help you sleep, though. In fact, you slept through the night a couple times in the last few weeks. Trouble is that you now have a nasty cold. I feel so bad with your nose running and your barky cough. I know it is good for you to be exposed to illness, but you’re so helpless that it just makes me sad and worried. You try to be your usual chipper self, but it’s hard when you feel like crap. Believe me, I know how you feel! Once you’re a bit better, we’ll get back on the cereal train and hope for better sleep.

You have fallen in love with our cats. Every time you see them, your whole body shakes with excitement and you reach out your hands. They have let you touch them, but they mostly keep their distance. I wish that Carmen would keep her distance from me. My poor, neglected, first baby will not leave me alone most days. She does not understand that I refuse to disturb you in order to pay attention to her. If she would just hang out and sit with me/us, it would be fine, but she must be petted with both hands, or fed, or brushed, or she will pick at me/us with her claws. I bet your first words will be, “Carmen, no!”

You survived your first holiday season with a house full of people and days full of family outings and obligations. This was supposed to be my winter break, but I feel less rested than I do when I’m working. I think we need to start a family tradition of taking a tropical vacation at this time of year. Let’s get away from the overeating, over-shopping, commercialized crap and just go relax. We’ll go build sandcastles while Daddy goes snorkeling. What do you say?

Happy new year, baby.

Love,

Mom