10 months

Dear Cassius,

I wrote this about 2 weeks ago.... forgive me for not publishing until now.

Just yesterday, you transformed... from a baby to a I-don't-know-what-this-next-stage-is-called-before-Toddler.  When I went to pick you up from Eliza's you crawled to me a different boy.  You looked older, you've started to communicate, you're huge!  Your dad called me at work the day before and told me that you signed "More" as in more yogurt and it melted my heart just hearing that you are learning but then yesterday, I saw it.  You signed more as we were laughing and giggling.  I was bouncing you around and asked if you wanted more.  You put your sweet little hands together and made the sign.  Oh how my heart melted!!  Eliza also said that you saying "no" and "aya" as in all done with her.  As we walked home, we saw the airplane in the sky and as I signed airplane and said "avion" you tried to say it too.  You are starting to communicate! That's not to say that you don't still do your fair share of whining, but it's getting better, I see the light at at end of the "whining because I can't tell you what I want" tunnel.  Holy Cow!!

You are ever so sure of yourself crawling.  In fact, you prefer to crawl.  When I try to walk with you, you just push me away and get on the ground and crawl.  You can get there much faster that way apparently and you know it.  You have the cutest peg-leg crawl.  Your right knee doesn't touch the ground, yet you push yourself forward perfectly. 

You are quite adventurous with your food.  In the last week, you tried sauerkraut, hot and sour soup and carnitas.  You seem to love it all.

You are still a rockstar sleeper when you are at home.  You're like clockwork.  Down at 7pm-ish and up at 7:02am.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you. 

That's not to say that you aren't thrown off when we travel.  We got to experience Lake Tahoe in your last month and I got to experience walking to Nevada at 6am.  That's because you decided to wake up at 5:30am and we were with a whole bunch of other people.  So you and I and our new handy backpack made the trek down to the local Starbucks and over the Nevada line.  We went to another state and back by 7am!  I have to say.... it was actually pretty cool and you were a happy baby once we were out and about. 

I'm pretty sure I end my letters with my adoring love for you but I can't help it.  You teach me so much every day, baby boy.  You teach me to have fun.  You teach me to laugh and go with the flow.  You teach me a love even greater than I could have ever imagined. 

I love you.

Mama

9 months...

Dear Cassius,

You've officially been out as long as you were in and I'm uber late in writing you this letter. 

You got to spend your 9 month birthday at Witch Lake!  We spent 3 awesome weeks at the lake with family.  You giggled and screamed and scooted and learned to crawl at Witch Lake.  You didn't really like the water in the lake, but loved playing in your little pool on the deck.

Before that, you got to meet your cousins down state.  I have to say that I think Andy is your favorite.  He visited Witch Lake and is all kinds of goofy!  He made you squeal with laughter.  Once you got a bit of attention from Andy, you would scream at him if he left the room or stopped paying attention to you.  He greeted you every morning and wanted to say good night every night!

You weigh close to 21 lbs and are 29.5 inches long.  You still have 2 teeth on the bottom and 0 on top, but that top right tooth is just about to come through. 

You love to eat, most of the time.  You especially love chicken and turkey and will eat a ton!  You still feed yourself most of the time and prefer that to being spoonfed, especially when you are tired. 

You just started day care with our neighbor down the street.  You seem to love it and barely noticed that we even left you on your first day there.  On days you aren't in day care, you are spending it with your dad.  He likes to keep you busy (and you are much more pleasant to be with when you are out and about) so you guys have a constant stream of activities.

You are sleeping like a champ now that you are home.  The last few nights you have slept from 7pm until at least 7am, sometimes almost until 8am!  Rockstar!

You still love music of any kind.  You still love clapping and know what to do when we sing the clapping song or when we ask you to clap.  You are also waving hi and bye though sometimes it's a few minutes after we ask.

You are sort of giving hugs and those are the best.  Sometimes, when I pick you up, you'll give me a quick squeeze around the neck and it's so cute!

It's been a challenge and joy these first 9 months but you remain the light of my life. 

Love you little man,

Mama

8 Months!

Dear Cassius,

Time if flying by!  I'm actually closer to your actual month birthday this time, or maybe it just seems like it because I've been so busy.  But it's not about me, this is about you!

You are now 8 months old and, for all intents and purposes, mobile.  Just today, you learned how to push yourself back into sitting after you've reached forward and landed on your belly.  You are really, really rocking on your hands and knees.  You have just started to lift one hand and then the other (though you don't go anywhere).  The knees are next and I'm expecting it anyday.

This morning, before I left for work, I left you in one place on the rug and when I walked back in the room, you had moved over to the drum, then to the books and then were heading off somewhere else.  Watch out!

You are still eating like a rockstar.  Tonight you had your first taste of Uncle Yu's and your first bite of beef.  Of course, it was your father's favorite: Mongolian Beef.  You loved the fried rice, you even liked the mushrooms and asparagus.  You power down pretty much anything.

You still sleep like a rockstar though earlier in the week you were waking at 5:30 ready to party.  Not cool, kid, not cool.

Your smile is contagious, your clapping hands are adorable. You are the light of my life.

Mama

and just for the record... 1 year ago, you were:

7 months

Dear Cassius,

You are now over 7 months old and you change everyday.  Just today you slept for over 2.5 hours for a nap.  That's a first!  I took advantage and squeezed 2 hours in there as well.  Thanks little man.

You officially have 2 teeth (bottom front).  You got your first one 2 days shy of turning 7 months and the second one creeped in there about a week later.  Maybe it's because you have always been a little fussy, but we didn't notice any difference when the teeth were coming in.  You are still a super drooler and continue to drool like crazy, even though it appears that those two teeth are the only ones coming in right now.

Your dad has been taking care of you all day on Saturdays recently as I started my soon to be full time job and work on Saturdays now.  You guys do all kinds of things.  For his/your first true Saturday together, you went to your second Giants baseball game with Jeff and Haven.  The Giants won and you were a rockstart.  

You sit like a champ and are starting, just starting, to scoot with your butt.  Just this morning I sat you on your toosh in the crib and you were bouncing up and down.  You didn't get anywhere, but it was damn cute.  You have also started to move over your legs as you are sitting.  You haven't gotten anywhere but occasionally you'll topple over onto your belly.   You can lift your belly off the ground when you are on your belly but haven't figured out the leg thing yet. 

You are a regular morning pooper.  You go to sleep like a champ.  You just started to sleep until 6am but then you are up... but only for about 1 hr and then it's back to sleep.  Just last weekend, your dad and I took you to a party at Chuck and Marby's for Casey's 30th birthday and you were great!  You were a real charmer and then you charmed your mom!  You fell asleep in their office, on the floor and transfered just fine to and from your carseat and into your crib. 

You eat like a champion.  You even feed yourself those puff thingies and the teething biscuits.  You've now tried cottage cheese, yogurt, chicken, turkey, and today, you tried some bread for the first time.  Generally on the first try you make a funny face, but by the second or third time it's served, you are all game.  Your favorite right now appears to be kale and rice.  Grandma Miller would be proud!  You also tried a lime the other day and made the cutest face!  It was a bit tart, but you kept wanting more. 

You and I are just about done breastfeeding.  It makes me a bit sad, but you are happy bottle baby.  You squeal in delight when I bring you a bottle. 

You weighed 19lbs the other day but we'll get your official weight next week. You surprisingly still fit into some 6 month clothes.

You still love music.  Your dad plays the guitar to you almost every day.  You've started to experiment with playing the drum and the tamborine. 

You love to sit on the kitchen floor as your dad is getting ready.  You chew on all kinds of things, but your favorite is the spatula. 

Your dad took you to the park and you got your first swinging session in.  You loved it!  You also go to the Berkeley Warm Pool on many Fridays.  Your dad is more patient with the silly songs than I am, so he usually takes you.  You love to splash in the water. 

You are quite the flirt and smile huge smiles for some women (and some men too) but for others it's a straight face.  You are too funny.  You love to be out and about and you elicit smiles from just about everyone. 

Your hands and feet are constantly going.  You open and close your fists and your feet are often twirling in circles.  It makes me smile just thinking about it.   You also just started to clap.  You've always loved it when we clap for you and now you can clap for yourself.  It's too cute!

You also whine.  A Lot.  In fact you are whining now... so I must end your letter.

Love you,

Mama

Mom Swim Suit

We've been taking Cash to the Berkeley Warm Pool for the past couple of weeks.  The first week I went I just threw on my swimsuit (that I have had for ages... I'm too embarassed to tell the story on the internet) and then I realized.... it really has no support. 

So I went on a hunt for acute non Grandma but decent for a mom with some deflated boob suit (for under $75 none the less!).  I looked at a bunch of places, but found one at TJ Maxx.  Here it is:

http://base0.googlehosted.com/base_media?q=http://www.actionoutdoors.net/images/products/1122282.jpg&size=17&dhm=e2715ac7&hl=en

But, I really wanted something cute.  The above is functional, and not half bad, but it's far from cute.  Simple is giving away a suit from Lime Ricki Swimsuit- and they are cute!!!!  I think I want this one:

http://www.limericki.com/graphics/LR-071-1PC-SAMANTHA_FULL.jpg
 

6 months

Dear Cassius,

You are 6 months old!  1/2 a year! Holy shit! Your parents survived an entire six months!

You keep getting bigger and better and cuter and more loveable and more squishy and more, more, more! every day!  You are shrinking in your height/weight/head percentiles but Dr. Bean says that's normal. You've gone from being ginormous to being middle of the road.  It's kinda nice not having to explain that you look like a 6 month old when you are only a month.  Now, you just look a 6 month old.  Kinda nice!

Just for posterity... you were 27. 75 inches tall, 17lbs 14oz with a head circumference of 43 at your 6 month checkup.

Let's see what else is new:  You sit up like a champ.  You do fall occasionally but not very often anymore.  You can even kareen your neck around to find either me or your dad (or grandma or the cat) without falling.  You still love to stand on your feet with our support.

You've also started to snuggle.  It's the best.  Just yesterday, you were getting kinda sleepy (read: cranky) so I picked you up and snuggled you.  You just put your little head on my shoulder and settled in while I sang to you.  It was pure heaven for me.  And then last night, you fell asleep on the bottle tucked up into my arms.  You looked so peaceful and content. 

Let's see...what else happened:  You went to a San Francisco Giant's game with your dad while he was on Spring Break (you guys had a blast!).  You went to your first swim class at the Berkeley Pool (you loved it!)  You've expanded your food repetoire 10 fold.  You have now tried the following: bananas, avacados, artichokes, watermelon, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, celery, kale, sorrel, pears, apples, oatmeal, rice cereal, peas, broccoli, papaya, orange, and pineapple.  You definitely prefer the vegetables over the fruit (weird- you must take after your father).  The sorrel is the funniest!  Your dad grows sorrel in our garden.  He was pulling it out the other day and you just grabbed a piece and started to eat it.  It's so sour, but you were just chomping on the stalk.  Apparently, you squealed in delight at the sight of food yesterday.  That was previously reserved for my boobs, so I'm a little sad, but also glad that they are becoming less and less of interest to you.

Alas, I'm typing this as you are napping.  You have become a great napper for the most part and your sleep at night is quite rock star...so Thank You!

I need to get ready for work.  It's your dad's 31st birthday today!  Happy Birthday Daddy!

Love you,

Mama

Drool Bucket

I felt inspired to post a picture of you, but I really don't know what to write...

You drool, a lot. 

Love,
Mama