He Might Be a Genius

Dear Jack,

I know I'm very biased and all,

but I happen to think you are pretty darn smart for your age.

Love,
Mom

Libby

Dear Jack,

Who is this lady who makes you so happy?

That's your sitter, Libby, of course.

I know that you will barely remember her when you are grown, but she takes care of you and your sister every day while I'm at work, and it made me sad when I realized I had never gotten a baby picture of your sister with her, so I made a point to get one for you.

Love,
Mom

Visit to the Children's Museum

Dear Jack,

I keep asking myself if I really intend to maintain separate blogs for you and your sister. There are days like this past Saturday when we all went to the Children's Museum and it seems that one post would do.

But then I write the post on your sister's blog, talking about all the cool exhibits at the museum and I realize that your experience was completely different than hers.

She played with cool things and got to experience what they could do. You got to play in a cool environment and were free to experience all the things you can do.

Because of the perfect height of the dividers, you could bend down to pick up toys.

You crawled all over the place.

You (and your new best friend), crawled up and over "barriers."

And you learned to let go with one hand to switch which side you want to hold on to.

You are so impressive to me, sweet boy. You are eight months old as of yesterday, and already you have so much movement in you. I look at you trying new things and pushing the limits of your physicality and I marvel.

But do you want to know my very favorite part of the museum experience with you?

Holding you while you slept, of course. You may be going places, but you still come back to your mama when it's time for snuggles.

Love,
Mom

Weathering the Storm

Dear Jack,

Today at school, someone was commenting on my particularly challenging class this year. Last year, I had nine sweet children and teaching was a breeze. This year, I have my hands more than full with the twenty-one children in my room.

I told that person that I truly believe that when life is easy (like it was for me last year), it means that God is giving you a calm before the storm. I was so scared during the pregnancy that you were going to be my storm. That something was going to be physically or medically wrong with you.

So when this person said they were amazed at how happy I seem to be at work, I told her that I am happy. I love my students... even (especially) the difficult ones and every day I come to school, I thank God that I have a happy, healthy baby at home and that they only storm I have to weather daily is some troubled students at school.

Of course, I didn't really get into it with my co-worker that weathering the storm of losing your Uncle James and now having my friend Kara hospitalized in critical condition is a little different. Still, I have you, and your sister and your father and that makes up for so much. Not to mention all of my friends who offer their support in so many ways.

And weathering a storm is so much easier when you have the right people with you.

Especially when your people are this cute.

Love,
Mom

To Sleep, Perchance to Dream?

Dear Jack,

How did you sleep last night? I have to ask because I wasn't there. I was off in my own room, in my own bed. I did come and bring you a bottle when you asked for it at four in the morning, and I did hear you playing at seven, right before I came and got you.

Was it neat to sleep overnight in your own crib in your own room with your sister?

I hope so, because I plan on having you do that more and more often.

Love,
Mom

Guys and Dolls

Dear Jack,

A while back, my friend Summer had this whole blog post using the exact same pun about guys and dolls. Her post was more about which kind of doll to buy for her son, but it got me thinking, even before you were born: would I want my son to have a doll?

It was so easy to decide to give your sister cars and trucks and tools. Girls can have boyish things these days with little to no social repercussions. I would even argue that there is an entire counter-culture movement where have a "boyish" little girl is a good thing. I know that your dad and I value your sister's toughness and physical nature. We appreciate that she likes to be outside and doesn't mind being dirty. We have actually outlawed the Disney Princesses and the message of girl-waiting-to-be-rescued that they bring with them. Mostly, though, we are proud of all of the skills she is picking up and how many of them are useful skills, gender-roles aside. Cooking, cleaning, washing a car, using a hammer are all skills that everyone should know.

For you, though, would I have the same philosophies? Would I, in a southern culture that ridicules the softer side of men and thinks that men acting like women are weak, be strong enough to raise a son in touch with his feminine side?

It turns out that I am. I love your boyishness. Already I can see that you are a much different kind of person than your sister. But when it comes to some things, I want them to be the same. She got her first doll for her first Christmas, and so did you. Right now, all you want to do is nom on him, and maybe that will be all he's good for to you, but I wanted you to have the chance to carry around a precious baby and love on him like I love on you. Maybe, like so many of my southern friends have said, it's only little girls who have that natural instinct to play "mommy," but if that be the case, I wanted to be something you chose within yourself, not something I denied you the chance to express.

Love,
Mom

Don't Blink

Dear Jack,

It seems like you are developing new skills daily right now. Today it was clapping.

What will tomorrow bring, I wonder?

Love,
Mom