Sedryn

 12 months have gone by since my successful (and exhausting) VBAC of our surprise baby boy.  12 sleep-deprived, laughter filled, glorious months with this proud boy who sits tall and laughs hard (and lives hard too).

I love being a boy momma.  I love my girls to bits, but they adore daddy.  And girls are born with an agenda (at least mine were), boys (at least Sedryn) just seem to go with the flow. Plus my girls would never have ever shared part of their birthday cake with me willingly and with joy.

Sedryn Justice, I think you’re an amazing little guy.  Snuggly.  Non-stop.  Easy going.  You think you’re hysterical. Your fine motor skills are through the roof, but I think you won’t walk until after Christmas (though you could prove me wrong).  You love details and romping with anyone within the reach of your social world.

You adore your sisters (even when they’re unnecessarily and sometimes violently overprotective).  You can’t wait to wrestle with daddy. I’m totally your favorite person (I’m sure that will change, but for now I’ll eat it up). You flirt with all women equally.

You’ve purged a ton of sin from my life this year.  I’m a better person because of the surprise gift you are (and the grace of God).  The end of this year… so bittersweet to me.  Here’s to seeking after the joy of your second year.

A year ago today I was eating my first meal in HOURS and watching my brand new baby boy.  I was still in shock that he was a boy.  But he was a champion nurser and an even better snuggler.

Happy Birthday, Sweet cuddly Sedryn boy.  I’ll be back to write to you tonight, but right now I need to snuggle you after your nap.

Dear Sedryn-Boy,

Eleven months is suddenly seeming so old.

You’re crawling fast and pulling to stand.  You hate the feel of grass on your legs but in the name of exploring you crawl on hands and feet to conquer the yard.  You gleefully destroy entire clumps of grass.

You laugh so hard at your daddy knocking you over with his head.  You think everyone is here to visit you, and if they don’t recognize that they’re here to visit you, you’ll climb right over them and inform them. You never stop chatting and singing.  You still don’t have any teeth.

You have three moods: I’m hurting/hungry/screaming, I’m pretty tired by still vaguely smiley, and I’m happy happy happy.  The third one is your 96% of the time mode.

You’re still not the best sleeper and greet us (happily of course) most mornings at 6 and at least one or so mornings a week around 4:30 (in the hurting/screaming mode).

You busted your gums on a coffee table a couple days ago.  Your first tooth is so so so close.  You’ve got a cold.  And suddenly you’ve refused your pacifier because of discomfort.  I’m on board with that… I don’t want another thumb sucker nor do I want to go through another pacifier battle at 20 months.  Oh, but how I want to hang on to that paci and let you just stay a baby a little longer…

You think some of life’s greatest moments are flipping the page of a book.  Part of that is mimicking and part of that is your own special brand of meticulous.  I fear by the time you’re two, that I’ll be watching in wonder as you take things apart and put them back together again.

You still adore me.  I walk into the nursery after church and even if you’re crying tired, you light up with a smile so huge I have to squeeze all of your eleven month body so close to me.

I can hardly contain how much love you require.  I explodes in squeezes and nibbles and kisses and wrestlings all day long.  I don’t think you’d have it any other way.

Stay a baby just a couple more months, okay?  I don’t think I’m ready for another toddler yet.

Love you,

Momma

I’m still wanting to freeze you, Sedryn.  You’re just a perfect baby right now (except for some minor sleep issues).  Lots of laughter and exploring and crying only when gassy or tired.  I can hardly stop kissing and squeezing you, which explains why you crawl around the house making kissing noises.  It’s the most frequent noise you hear close up between me and your sisters.

You still have no teeth (and mommy is eating up those ephemeral toothless grins!).  You’ve learned how to crawl like a big boy.  And finally to sit (though always on your own terms.  You stalk mommy if you’re hungry or tired. You think Bronwyn is hysterical!  You avoid Aeralind and her tireless mission to make sure you don’t fall or get into any trouble (you’re tired of being laid on…).  You crawl all over daddy.  You love to clap for any audience and give high fives, too.

You are Mr. Meticulous.  Slow on most of the mass motor skills (at least compared to your sisters who crawled and sat at 7/8 months while you waited until nine), but your fine motor skills are remarkable.  You’ll open little doors and bang little blocks together and pick up the tiniest bits.  You’re either going to be a jeweler or a engineer!  So detail oriented.

Our home loves having you and the sweet sound of baby laughter!

It’s been a big month of firsts for you, sweet boy!

In your 9th month, you’ve learned to

• crawl 4-6 steps as a real crawl (though you prefer the army/wiggle/scoot crawl that goes “faster” in your opinion. Mommy’s not complaining… I’m hoping you don’t learn how to really crawl… you’re already fast enough!)
• get from your tummy into a sitting position
• get from your tummy into a pulled up position on something low like a step
• get your feet under you once again on something low so you’re standing at a 45 degree angle
• blow raspberries in response to me doing the same
• climb over every low lying object in your path with glee (not limited to objects… people are your favorite)