Whadda Ya Know, Jack?

Dear Jack,

Some things of note lately:

You are now a six tooth Jack.

You can drink from a straw.

You tried whole milk today, a whole three weeks early and your head did not explode.

You prefer to eat sitting on your dad's lap on the floor. I blame Lillia.

You like to get into the pots and pans cupboard and make lots of noise.

You have a talent for finding the thing(s) you are not supposed to be doing... like going into the laundry room. It doesn't matter how many times we shut that door, the very first time we leave it open, there you go.

You love the outdoors. When nothing else will soothe you, a soft breeze will calm your spirit.

You still love to snuggle, even though you are a boy on the go.

You will not walk. You crawl. You creep. You stand and play with a toy in each hand. But the second we take you hand or call you over, down you go.

You are adorable. People stop in restaurants to talk to you. The church ladies fuss over you weekly.

I love you like crazy cakes.

Love,
Mom

Summer is Here?

Dear Jack,

It's really just the end of April.

But somehow every April around here there's that one day.

The day where the thermometer hits 90 degrees and I rush out and buy a kiddie pool.

Happy splashing.

Love,
Mom

Red Poppies

Dear Jack,

Did you know that Georgetown is the Red Poppy Capital of Texas?

Did you also know that the red poppy is also a symbol of the American Legion? It became associated with veterans because of a famous and beautiful, if melancholy, poem by John McCrae called "In Flander's Fields."

I feel quite certain that you did not either of these facts, and probably still will not know them for many years to come. They are not well known, nor often repeated and have no place in school history books.

You will, though, by the time you are a preschooler, know that there is something called a Red Poppy Festival and although for you, it will have nothing to do with wild flowers, community pride, or remembrance, it still means all of those things for me.

You will enjoy the parade, the cars, the food and the bounce houses. I will enjoy the slice of Americana come to life and I see a dream realized in living in the kind of community that can come together in such a small town way on such a big town scale. I will remember one of the last few happy memories of my dad... going by the American Legion tent outside Kroger's where he handed me a red poppy pin just like he was doing for all of the other shoppers as he asked for donations for veterans. I will remember the poem and think of your uncle, and think of how I can take up the torch for him and try to be there for his family when he cannot.

It's just a day of walking around the square in good old Georgetown.

But it's also a day to count blessings and right now, sweet boy, my blessings are many and my complaints not worth mentioning, and I cannot imagine a better place to be in life.

Love,
Mom

On this day...

Dear Jack,

Today was a day worth noting in your life.

Not because you have your second ear infection -- fourth round of antibiotics.

Not because you are now a five-tooth Jack.

Not because you are eleven months old and still enjoy snuggling in your Moby Wrap -- especially when you don't feel good.

Nope. Today was worth noting because today you tasted coffee for the first time.

And loved it.

Starbucks is about to get even more expensive.

Love,
Mom

A Not-so-Little Orange Crab

Dear Jack,

I remember when I bought this little romper... you were three months old and had almost out-grown all of your crabby outfits. I remember looking for a 12 month size, thinking that would work for the following summer and still, as I looked at the romper and I looked at you, I could not imagine you being big enough to wear it.

So here we are, in the Spring, you are 11 months old today and the romper is a nice comfy fit. I also got out the old one and this time was amazed by the littleness of it.

You are growing so fast, sweet boy. From one month to the next, from one day to the next.

You crawl at an amazing speed, stand and creep along furniture easily, you have four teeth and at least one more coming in soon. You eat all kinds of table food from grilled cheese sandwiches to mac n' cheese to crackers and more. You babble and copy. Your favorite games are "pass the baby" where you reach for your dad when I'm holding you and then reach for me when your dad is holding you and shaking your head "no" in response to any and all questions. You can put a ball into a hole and like to bang on things. You do not like getting hurt and cry like crazy at the smallest bit of pain. You also don't like being thwarted and will cry big sploshy tears when the door to the bathroom is closed because playing with toilet paper is your favorite verboten activity.

I love you more than I even thought I could and find you more endearing every day.

Happy eleven month birthday, Jack!

Love,
Mom

First Art

Dear Jack,

I think that arts and crafts are a big part of early childhood development. They are a great way to explore texture and work on fine motor control.

Plus, it's fun.

So, I decided it was high time that you did your first craft project.

For the medium, I chose something edible, because, well, you eat everything.

Case in point.
So, after mixing two packages of jello (orange and lime) with some water, you smeared the whole thing around, eating most of it, but enjoying the process nonetheless.

And were absolutely adorable.

And you did get some on the paper... with prompting.

So we have here, your very first piece of art (well, a photograph of it... the original would have drawn ants and was kind of gross in the end).

Love,
Mom

Just Desserts

Dear Jack,

Everyone says that younger children get to do things sooner than their older siblings.

I use as an example, gummy bears (called "sunnies" by your sister). Sydney has always had a snack from the bulk food isle at the grocery store. For the longest time, it was graham crackers. Then it was star shaped cookies. Now, it's sunnies. She didn't get to move beyond graham crackers until she was well over two and the sunnies didn't start until she was three. They may be made from raw cane sugar and better than most sugary snacks, but they are still a sugary snack and nutritional content aside, with their gummy texture, they are not the best choice for a baby.

So, when you go to the grocery store, you get graham crackers and your sister feeds you graham crackers in between feeding herself sunnies. You eye the sunnies and sometimes whine for them, but your dad is firm.

No sunnies for Jack.

We were not going to fall into the younger child trap of allowing you to do something just because your sister is doing it. She's older and has teeth.

What we did not count on was the confluence of events brought to you by a combination of ingenuity, persistence, availability and a toddler who puts up her own snacks on the lower shelf of the pantry.

Happily for you, in this house, we reward character traits like ingenuity and persistence and you got to not only have the two in your hand, but the one half chewed one I found on the ground when I was cleaning up.

And your sister has been taught to put things on the higher shelf.

I said reward, not fall victim to.

And I still don't understand how you eat gummy bears with only three teeth.

Love,
Mom

Making it Work

Dear Jack,

Having two children at different stages in life is hard. It was hard last summer and I'm sure it won't be easy this summer either. Your sister is becoming more and more independent and likes to go and do things and you are just learning mobility and need time to explore and help staying safe.

I think that as a parent, I have only two choices here. I can keep your sister in places that work for you, or I can make the places your sister wants to be work for you.

I chose the latter. It just seems more fair to allow her to continue to do what she needs and as a bonus, you have a lot more exposure to things than you otherwise would.

Things like grass and dirt and leaves, for example, while playing in the backyard in your new play yard.

I was so excited to find this for you. For now, it keeps you contained, and even once it stops serving that purpose, it's still a cool climbing structure for a toddler and your sister even thinks it's neat to sit in the middle and play for a while. You had toys and I brought shade over to you. I weeded the gravel and your sister played with her sink. Everyone wins.

Love,
Mom

Wait, this isn't attached?

Dear Jack,

There is a particular shtick in cartoon humor that I have always found very funny.

It's when the character can run on air as long as he doesn't look down.

Or the dynamite doesn't blow up as long as no one notices the fuse.

Or the character is holding on to a rope which pulls him just fine until he realizes it isn't attached to anything.

Or when a rope is a holding a piano which doesn't fall until someone looks up and notices that someone else cut the rope.

Or when the baby can stand holding on to a solid surface.

Even when the solid surface is a block in his hand.

I'm counting it in your baby book as the first time you stood on your own, even though you haven't noticed, yet.

Love,
Mom

Thwarted

Dear Jack,

Your cries always get my attention.

That's the way it should be, I know.

What I had not really noticed before today was how very piercing your cries can be.

We were on the front back porch and you were playing with a crate of rocks.

Why, oh why, do we buy toys?

And your sister closed the lid to the crate. I think she might have knocked you down in the process, but being as short as you are and as wet as your diaper was from playing with the rocks in the water, I doubt it really hurt to be sat down.

But you cried.

And cried.

And cried.

The man walking his dog stopped to check on you.

The man mowing his lawn next door stopped to check on you.

Your dad came around from the side of the house to check on you.

I swear a grandma across the street and three doors down came down off her porch to check on you.

I yelled the very same thing to all of them.

"Thwarted. Not hurt."

Because that's how it was.

You weren't injured. You were mad.

And your mama knows the difference.

Love,
Mom

A Rule Quandary

Dear Jack,

Every parent has his or her own rules. I know a lot of people scratch their heads over mine.

No eating chicken nuggets (unknown chicken parts disturb me), but eating sand from the sand table is just fine (it's not like anyone's eating enough to make a sand castle in their gut).

Listening to curse words in Irish punk music is okay (the whole family is listening to Flogging Molly these days in memory of Uncle James and shared experiences are important), but no Disney princesses (too dependent on rescuing and not enough substance).

Going out in public wearing shorts and rainboots is okay (an expression of self), but a ten month old in public wearing nothing but a onesie is not (a onesie is baby underwear and I don't go out in underwear, so why should you).

I know other people have different rules. A lot of people whom I respect as parents have completely different rules than mine. I don't worry about it too much. I know my rules are odd and sometimes even at odds with each other, but I'm consistent and fair about them and you will learn them over time just like your sister is starting to. And frankly, the two of you are the only ones who really have the right to care too much about these rules (I don't count your dad because he's the other half of the rule making committee and therefore creates or supports all of the aforementioned rules).

I mention all of this because I had a real quandary about my rules today.

I came home at a quarter of four and your dad had a one-on-one conference call with his boss in Australia and I really needed to get you and your sister out of the house. Fast.

I had plans to meet up with a lady in Austin to buy something from craigslist and figured the round trip to and from would eat up the hour I needed to kill and as a bonus, no one would be out of the car, so what you wore to Libby's today -- a onesie -- would be good enough.

Turned out, though, the craigslist lady was out of the house and we had to fill over an hour's worth of time.

Here's the quandary: should I take you and your sister out somewhere with you in only a onesie or spend an hour cooped up in the car with both of you? Barnes and Nobles was on the way and it's really easy to kill an hour at B&N with the train table and coffee and all. But Barnes and Nobles in only a onesie? I really couldn't bring myself to do it. And ten minutes was all the car sitting you and your sister cared for.

Sigh. What to do?

Final solution? Spend the coffee budget at Old Navy (right next door to Barnes and Nobles) to buy a new shirt and shorts.

Problem solved.

And I even got over the fact that you were shoeless.

Love,
Mom

Happy Easter

Dear Jack,

Today was your first Easter. I think you really did enjoy it. There were plastic eggs to bang together. Each one had frosted cheerios inside which was tasty. You got to play outside quite a bit and all the attention from the grandmas and grandpas at church over how cute you looked in your Easter clothes was nice as well.

What I wonder is when you will be old enough to appreciate Easter.

Then I wonder when I will be old enough to appreciate it.

Some days I think I get it. Jesus died for our sins. He was crucified and buried. On the third day he rose from the dead. We say these words all the time in the affirmation of faith. But today I was thinking for the first time about the oneness of the trinity. I always want it to be God's Son on the crucifix. I find the image of the sacrificing of the Son to be powerful as it is. But today I thought about the idea that God Himself was on the cross. He humbled himself as a servant and consented to being put to death for our sins.

How can I, who am still having revelations myself in my thirties, expect you or your sister to get much of anything out of Easter? The answer comes to me like this: I can't even give full atonement for my own sins. I have to count on Christ for that. So in this I trust the Lord, as well.

That through His infinite wisdom and divine planning, that He knows the way to your heart, mind and soul. That He will use me and others in your life as instruments to point the way for you.

That I can give you all the plastic eggs in the world and it will never teach you a thing without His intercession and with Him, anything can be made to a way of understanding.

So that is my Easter prayer for you, son, that all of the hype around this Holy Day never distract you from the true meaning of Easter and that God find the way to your heart and lead you to belief.

For as much as I love you, sweet boy, God loves you more.

Love,
Mom

What Next?

Dear Jack,

Your latest trick, caught on video, is putting a ball into the hole in your Drop n' Roar dinosaur. It is no exciting to see you learning new skills and starting to play on your own.

Love,
Mom