You have had a fever. You have had a diaper rash. You have broken out with bumps all over your body. You have gnawed (and swallowed) a corner of my novel cover. All just in the last week (most in the last 24 hours)! These are only the tough things that have been going on in the last month, you've had plenty other business to attend to as well.
We have moved to Roanoke and gotten settled into our new house, which we close on tomorrow! Mommy will be very relieved when this part of our new adventure is completed. For the last two weeks you have gone to work with me most days and you have done very well. You have the staff at Covenant charmed, of course. They think you are a little sweetie and Rev. Bob thinks that you are "just cool." It is pretty amazing how you have taken in meeting all of these new people and adjusting to a new environment. As a parent, this pleases me to think that you will probably be well acclimated in social situations. However, knowing that you are in the process of becoming mobile has led to the important task of finding child care for you.
The Mother's Day Out program at Covenant is currently full. Great news for the program, bad news for us. This has ultimately brought us to the discovery of a place called Creative Kids which my friend Tresica told me about. We went and visited there on Monday and went back on Friday for a bit for you to become familiar with the room, teachers, and other little ones. Beginning on Wednesday you will be there two days a week. At the moment I am just relieved that finally we have found a place where I can enroll you part time! But, on Wednesday I may be singing a different tune. I have no illusions that it will be easy leaving my baby boy in the hands of people who are not family or trusted friends for the first time. It all became real to Daddy and I upon the purchase of your very own dinosaur lunch box. I trust it is the right thing for us currently and I pray that you will flourish.
As I was contemplating our situation last week in regards to your care, it hit me like a lightening bolt that Madisson, who was our nursery worker at Appomattox for a few months is now here in nursing school. I contacted her and she has agreed to watch you on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for a few hours. Another win! While this will have to be navigated differently while Madisson is away for the summer, this gives us some cushion for the spring.
Ah, but this will all be boring news to you as you read this years from now. You've also done some really fun things in the last month, including spending some quality time with your Beba and Papa Tate and seeing Papa Bass and Grandma Deb. Auntie Susan and Auntie Jane also came and spent some time with you so that I could work and go on a date with daddy. I think that you great aunts and uncles should be known as "Great" so "Great Jane and Great Tom" "Great Nita and Great Glen" "Great Susan and Great Bud" "Great Ray". After all, they are pretty great :) You and Daddy also spent a whole boys club weekend together while Beba and I went to Nashville to Anitha's wedding. I missed you both a lot but I am thankful that I could go, and that you and your dad had some awesome bonding time. We also went over to Hollins last week on a pretty day and sat on the quad for a little bit. It is cool to think that you might start your own connections to a place that is special to our family so early in life.
You've hit the "eating real food" milestone and are excelling in this. No surprise there, you love to eat. You still seem to enjoy the sweet potatoes and peaches, but you have also begun a love affair with mandarin oranges. Being a real man's man; you love items from the beef, poultry, fish category. Sausage, Chicken, Pork, Tuna (yes tuna) doesn't matter, you dig it. Already a better eater than Mommy. It is fun to watch you figure out that you can grab at things and stuff them in your mouth without assistance (except when it is my book cover). The sippy cup however is not a concept you have embraced.
You are not yet crawling or walking but you sure do love trying. The other day I watched you just bounce up on both knees to look at something across the way. We have found that the cats seem to be a real incentive to get you rocking to your knees in hopes of hot pursuit. They are tolerant of your presence in their kingdom (about as much as they are of each other). Perhaps the beauty of this is that they will bond over fleeing from your grip!
You still enjoy bouncing on Daddy's shoulders, giggling at photographs of yourself on my phone, and sleeping with your hands behind your head. You are still not a fan of waking up (this is from me) or putting real clothes on (this is from daddy). ;) Oh my goodness, I almost forgot, you absolutely love riding in the cart at the grocery store. It is worth the trouble of taking you just to see how excited and happy you are.
Next month around this time you are having a little outpatient surgery at UVA. Hopefully this will be our last trip! I can't even imagine what you will be up to by then. How much you will have grown, how busy you will be, and (fingers crossed) how well adjusted to the new routine. When you are fussy I say to you, "I know it is so hard to be a baby." But, you know what, you've probably handled this transition with more grace and resilience than we have as adults. Kudos to you, Bear!
Who's the cutest baby in the whole wide world? You know.
Love,
Mommy
