Julian Ridley: Month 10
The last 10 months have felt like 10 seconds but have been 10X better than I could have ever imagined. Although I have given your Mama much input on each one of your newsletters I thought it was time that I write one that is from your Dad. (Thinking of myself as a "Dad" still seems so unreal.) Along with perfecting all of the "tricks" you've learned in the past nine months you have also learned several sweet things and several scary things. First you are saying "Mama" and "Dada" fairly well and too the right person. Oddly enough you say Mama when your tired, hungry or upset. You seem to sing daddy when you are happy and playful.(*It's my newsletter and I can embellish if I so choose). Seeing you crawl down the hallway toward me when I get home with a toy in each hand sliding all over the place singing "da da da...da.da" is priceless and makes all the stress of the day ok.
You are no longer a picky eater that makes a Mr. Yuck face every time you take a bite. You are becoming a very adventurous eater and like to try new things. (As long as they are on the approved list and are mostly dairy and nut free, and not fried....sorry no french fries or ice cream yet....Mom says when you are 1 year old....we'll see.)
You in general are just a smiley and happy baby unless you are cooped up for too long.
I can't count the amount of times that people tell us how happy you look when we are in public as you are laughing and throwing around your killer smile. Speaking of smile your fangs are taking forever to come in, they don't seem to bother you to much.
You went through a patch were you HATED taking a bath. You would cry and try to climb out for the entire bath. This then made you a grump pot for story time, but I could usually bring you back to life. If not Mom came to the rescue to feed you and lull you to sleep. This was hard on your Pop because this was part of the brief time that I could spend with you in the evening before you went to bed, and you weren't digging it. Thankfully you are all about the bath again in the big boy tub again. You have bonded even more with the dogs. Just this morning Mommy and Daddy were having coffee in the kitchen and heard silence coming from the living room were you all three were. All further inspection in turned out that you each were chewing on a pair of crazy Chinese slippers that your Mom got you in New York. All 3 of you were huddled together tearing away. Your Dad was not too sad to see this pair of shoes destroyed.
Now for the scary. You have learned how to go down stairs the right way and get out of bed. You use to crawl up to a step and just go down front ways often times bonking your face on the ground. You now have learned to roll up to the step turn yourself around, dangle your feet over the edge, make contact, and turn yourself back around and go! You are getting pretty damn good at it, but sometimes come up short and end up sitting on the edge of the step instead and then tumbling down. You do the same same routine out of the bed, but this is a little more tricky with all the covers and height of the bed. You are a stair magnet and love to climb our STEEP stairs, heaven forbid we forget to put up the gate, and find you 3/4 way up playing with pictures left on the stairs as you keep your balance on 1 hand. Did I mention that we installed a permanent gate at the bottom so this wouldn't happen? You are still flirting with the walking idea and can get around like a madman while holding on to things. You have taken a few steps here and there but you are still content with being on all fours with your brother and sister.
That about sums your progress from last month. I look forward to every single second that I am able to spend with you. - Dad
Now it's Mom's turn: Awww, isn't that sweet. But see, this is how it really is. It's not that your dad is sugarcoating anything, it's just that you are a completely different baby when it's just you and I. You know how every month I say "this one was my favorite?" Well I honestly can't say that about this past one.* You have been going through...something. You just haven't been your normal happy-go-lucky self. You definitely have your good moments, usually in front of your Dad or Grandparents just so it looks like it's all in my head. But I know better. Plus I know your Father has caught moments of this as he walks in the door after work and you are hanging from my leg crying and impossible to soothe. He knows it's not just me. I can't really describe what it's like because it's not just that you are clingy, that I could handle. It's that you are clingy yet you don't want to be clinging to me. You fuss and grunt, you want up, you want down, you want to me with me but you don't.
You only miss me when you see me. I can leave the house and you are an angel but as soon as I return you get upset and need to be with me (but again it's that whole "I want to be with you but I don't" thing) but if I wasn't even home, you are totally fine. You've thrown tantrums when you couldn't have something or if I had to set you down for a second to put the gate up or when I put you in the stroller so we can get OUT OF THE HOUSE to reclaim our sanity.
None of this is your fault and I don't mean to make it sound like I'm misserable ALL the time because that's totally not the case. And it comes with the territory. You have a lot of stuff to work through for such a little person. I know a big part of it is teething (because yes they DO bother you but fortunately for Pop only during the hours of 9-5) plus all of the normal developmental changes but all I'm saying is if you wake up one morning and I ran off to Europe, don't be totally surprised.
We have had our fun too this past month. You went on your first plane ride and family vacation to Chicago.
You loved meeting our good friends Lisa and Jeff and having the time of your life with their daughter Emma. You also enjoyed the increase in variety of food you are able to eat. Like your dad mentioned, we stopped worrying about the allergy thing a good deal so you were able to eat a pancake, hamburger, chicken, just a whole bunch of the same food your Dad and I eat. Boy do you love it. Your appetite has really increased and you just aren't satisfied with breastmilk anymore. You still get plenty of that, as in alllll night long, but you love your food. And despite what your Dad thinks you will not be eating fries or ice cream anytime soon, 1 year old or not! I have a feeling regardless of how I feel about that if I'm not around someone will be slipping it to you. But not on my watch babe. There is plenty of time later on to develop bad eating habits.
We also get out every day and go for nice long walks and usually end up at the park. You are so content strolling around the neighborhood people watching. You have even grown to feel right at home at Starbucks since it's become part of our daily ritual. It's the next best thing to sleep and it just wouldn't be possible to make it through the day without it.
Even though you may give me a hard time here and there you are still an awesome little boy. It doesn't even feel right to call you a baby anymore. Just last night your Father and I stood over you as you slept in such amazement at how old you look. You just laid there with your leg kicked up looking so mature. And your smile, my goodness. All I need is just one of those a day and if you continue to give me at least that, then you can fuss and grunt all you like. We are still one perfect little family.
to 
*Who am I kidding, even the worst months are still my favorites.
You are no longer a picky eater that makes a Mr. Yuck face every time you take a bite. You are becoming a very adventurous eater and like to try new things. (As long as they are on the approved list and are mostly dairy and nut free, and not fried....sorry no french fries or ice cream yet....Mom says when you are 1 year old....we'll see.)
You in general are just a smiley and happy baby unless you are cooped up for too long.
I can't count the amount of times that people tell us how happy you look when we are in public as you are laughing and throwing around your killer smile. Speaking of smile your fangs are taking forever to come in, they don't seem to bother you to much.
You went through a patch were you HATED taking a bath. You would cry and try to climb out for the entire bath. This then made you a grump pot for story time, but I could usually bring you back to life. If not Mom came to the rescue to feed you and lull you to sleep. This was hard on your Pop because this was part of the brief time that I could spend with you in the evening before you went to bed, and you weren't digging it. Thankfully you are all about the bath again in the big boy tub again. You have bonded even more with the dogs. Just this morning Mommy and Daddy were having coffee in the kitchen and heard silence coming from the living room were you all three were. All further inspection in turned out that you each were chewing on a pair of crazy Chinese slippers that your Mom got you in New York. All 3 of you were huddled together tearing away. Your Dad was not too sad to see this pair of shoes destroyed.
Now for the scary. You have learned how to go down stairs the right way and get out of bed. You use to crawl up to a step and just go down front ways often times bonking your face on the ground. You now have learned to roll up to the step turn yourself around, dangle your feet over the edge, make contact, and turn yourself back around and go! You are getting pretty damn good at it, but sometimes come up short and end up sitting on the edge of the step instead and then tumbling down. You do the same same routine out of the bed, but this is a little more tricky with all the covers and height of the bed. You are a stair magnet and love to climb our STEEP stairs, heaven forbid we forget to put up the gate, and find you 3/4 way up playing with pictures left on the stairs as you keep your balance on 1 hand. Did I mention that we installed a permanent gate at the bottom so this wouldn't happen? You are still flirting with the walking idea and can get around like a madman while holding on to things. You have taken a few steps here and there but you are still content with being on all fours with your brother and sister.
That about sums your progress from last month. I look forward to every single second that I am able to spend with you. - Dad
Now it's Mom's turn: Awww, isn't that sweet. But see, this is how it really is. It's not that your dad is sugarcoating anything, it's just that you are a completely different baby when it's just you and I. You know how every month I say "this one was my favorite?" Well I honestly can't say that about this past one.* You have been going through...something. You just haven't been your normal happy-go-lucky self. You definitely have your good moments, usually in front of your Dad or Grandparents just so it looks like it's all in my head. But I know better. Plus I know your Father has caught moments of this as he walks in the door after work and you are hanging from my leg crying and impossible to soothe. He knows it's not just me. I can't really describe what it's like because it's not just that you are clingy, that I could handle. It's that you are clingy yet you don't want to be clinging to me. You fuss and grunt, you want up, you want down, you want to me with me but you don't.
You only miss me when you see me. I can leave the house and you are an angel but as soon as I return you get upset and need to be with me (but again it's that whole "I want to be with you but I don't" thing) but if I wasn't even home, you are totally fine. You've thrown tantrums when you couldn't have something or if I had to set you down for a second to put the gate up or when I put you in the stroller so we can get OUT OF THE HOUSE to reclaim our sanity.
None of this is your fault and I don't mean to make it sound like I'm misserable ALL the time because that's totally not the case. And it comes with the territory. You have a lot of stuff to work through for such a little person. I know a big part of it is teething (because yes they DO bother you but fortunately for Pop only during the hours of 9-5) plus all of the normal developmental changes but all I'm saying is if you wake up one morning and I ran off to Europe, don't be totally surprised.
We have had our fun too this past month. You went on your first plane ride and family vacation to Chicago.
You loved meeting our good friends Lisa and Jeff and having the time of your life with their daughter Emma. You also enjoyed the increase in variety of food you are able to eat. Like your dad mentioned, we stopped worrying about the allergy thing a good deal so you were able to eat a pancake, hamburger, chicken, just a whole bunch of the same food your Dad and I eat. Boy do you love it. Your appetite has really increased and you just aren't satisfied with breastmilk anymore. You still get plenty of that, as in alllll night long, but you love your food. And despite what your Dad thinks you will not be eating fries or ice cream anytime soon, 1 year old or not! I have a feeling regardless of how I feel about that if I'm not around someone will be slipping it to you. But not on my watch babe. There is plenty of time later on to develop bad eating habits.
We also get out every day and go for nice long walks and usually end up at the park. You are so content strolling around the neighborhood people watching. You have even grown to feel right at home at Starbucks since it's become part of our daily ritual. It's the next best thing to sleep and it just wouldn't be possible to make it through the day without it.
Even though you may give me a hard time here and there you are still an awesome little boy. It doesn't even feel right to call you a baby anymore. Just last night your Father and I stood over you as you slept in such amazement at how old you look. You just laid there with your leg kicked up looking so mature. And your smile, my goodness. All I need is just one of those a day and if you continue to give me at least that, then you can fuss and grunt all you like. We are still one perfect little family.
to *Who am I kidding, even the worst months are still my favorites.
posted by Julian at 3:21 PM
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