Ten Month Newsletter

Dear Rory,
Yesterday you turned ten months old and I’m pretty shocked that I now have a child whose age is in DOUBLE DIGITS. I mean, in just two short months you’ll be A WHOLE YEAR OLD, and I’m not sure I’m ready to handle that just yet.

This past month has been a whirlwind of activity for you. The most exciting achievement of course is the fact that you began crawling, and now it’s like we suddenly have a completely different child with a whole new set of challenges. The house has become a playground for you and you’re into absolutely EVERYTHING. If I’m in the bathroom, you’re in the bathroom yanking miles of toilet paper off the roll. If I’m in the kitchen, you’re in the kitchen knocking over the garbage can. If I’m trying to get dressed, you are right there in the closet with me, gleefully pulling clothes down off their hangers. Ah yes, people, now that our little man is mobile, the fun at our house never stops.

Of course, crawling also brings with it the added responsibility of baby-proofing the house. Who ever designed the things to supposedly make our house “safer” for our child obviously never had to deal with the likes of you! Our DVD player has been under attack ever since you figured out that you could push the buttons and make a cool clicking noise – over and over again. So we bought this handy little plastic shield at Babies R Us to put over the buttons. You went right over to the DVD player after we had attached the shield, and your Dad and I stood by thinking to ourselves, “The fun is over, buddy” and we went about our business. But within two minutes, a distinct clicking sound could be heard from the other room and there you were, pushing the buttons and smiling, with the shield off and tossed to the side. You looked up at us with this gleem in your eye and it's like you was saying, “Ha, people, is THIS the best you can do?”

To add to the excitement in our household the past few weeks, we have also been dealing with a bout of the baby runs. Son, you have produced more poopy diapers than I ever thought you could be capable of, and oh what a joy it has been changing them! We have been up to our ears in shit around here, and I mean that quite literally. As a matter of fact, last Wednesday at the Ventura Mall, I went to change your diaper, not realizing yet that you had the runs, so I had no idea what I was in for. I went to pull your pants off quickly like I always do because it makes you laugh, and as I flicked them off, poop went flying EVERYWHERE. And by everywhere I mean all over you, all over my hair, all over my clothes and all over the bathroom walls. It took me a second to realize what had happened, and then naturally, I was totally and completely grossed out. I ended up having to give both of us a makeshift sponge bath in the bathroom sink using paper towels and hand soap from the dispenser. Luckily, I had a full change of clothes for you, but as for myself, well, I wasn’t wearing anything under my sweatshirt, so I had to walk through the mall and then drive home covered in crap. Ah, the joys of motherhood - they are truly endless.

But honestly, Rory, the joys of being your mother ARE endless. Even if you are covered in poop and crawling up the walls. I love watching you discover new things every day and your adorable smile lights up my life. I can’t wait to see what adventures we’ll have next.

Love,
Mama