Month Fourteen

Dear Henry,

This month's letter is a tad early because Christmas is only nine days away and there is ice on the roads and presents to wrap and ribbons to tie and groceries to buy and dinners to plan and festive things to do before Santa arrives and this letter, while more important than any of that other stuff, was likely to be overlooked because there are only so many spots in my memory reserved for remembering and those spots are rapidly filling up with all of the other merry holiday must-dos. I have to be honest, Hen, lately your sleeping habits suck. Horrific would be another apt adjective. What gives? Our nightly routine is similar to all of the routines of friends with babies we know and yet you resist as if surrendering to slumber would be your last act as a toddler. I'd tell you resistance is futile but until you're older and introduced to Star Trek I'm afraid it won't do any good. I wouldn't necessarily say that getting to sleep is your problem, although sometimes this, too, is a struggle, rather it's the staying asleep that you seem to have issues with. I promise you that your pops and I are not out in the living room throwing the party of the year with the cats and Beauty the wonder dog. If you were to come out to join us, you'd see we're both parked on the couch working on our laptops or catching up on our TiVo viewing. Okay, maybe we're drinking beers, too, but the consumption of alcohol alone does not a party make (unless you're in high school, in which case you should call if you ever need a lift). As a last resort we're thinking of trying bribery. It's risky given its illegal nature but how does $10 for every night you go to sleep on time with an additional $5 for staying asleep until morning sound? It's an easy way to get college paid for, kiddo.Gone are the days when you would crawl around this place from dawn until dusk. Now you choose walking. And choose is the operative word. When you turn away from the coffee table or couch or other such item and make the decision to move to another location, we can see you decide to travel there by way of your feet. I'd be lying if I said you were graceful, you aren't. Think drunk chicken to envision how you look when meandering around the condo. But you commit and that is what is important. For now just know that even if you stumble and fall we'll be there to pick you up, brush you off, and get you back on track.Lately you are all about the kisses. You love kisses. You are particularly fond of leaning over and giving kisses to the cats when they are within reach. The kisses are preceded with a "mmmnah" sound as you curl your upper lip in and roll your lower lip out. It is an endearing gesture. I think you are truly on your way to winning over the cats. Now that you have started doling out kisses, they do seem to be coming to visit you more often. I hope this step forward in your relationship with the pets isn't derailed when you learn how to hug. Storytime is a favorite of yours so we've instituted nightly reading. Every couple of nights we select a new book and then we all pile onto the bed and read it aloud, usually several times. Last night while enjoying a rousing rendition of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems, we got to the part - spoiler alert! - where the dog appears and the bird is frightened and you started crying because you were scared. We calmed you down and within seconds the reading resumed. When we arrived at the same page and I screamed the pigeon's response to the appearance of the dog, pops startled you unexpectedly. You did not appreciate this gesture. It required no less than six more readings before you could get through the story without becoming upset when we hit the aforementioned pages. In fact, by the last reading we noticed you rather enjoyed looking over the scary part again and again and again. This trait is one you share with your mum so look me up when you want to go and see a scary movie in the future. I'll even spring for the popcorn.You continue to amaze us every day, Henry. Even with the sleep deprivation and the increasing number of gray hairs on our heads and the anxiety we experience trying to get you to eat, we wouldn't have it any other way. We love you, bug.

Love,
Mom