Fun Weekend

Dear Vinny,

On Friday, we went out to dinner with my boss and his family again. You have been out with them before, and charmed their entire family. Friday night was no exception. You were flirting like it was going out of style. We gave you a plateful of fruit, which you ate with great aplomb and cuteness. One thing I noticed at dinner was that you were able to use the straw in my glass to suck the water from the glass into your mouth, which is something you hadn't really done before. Previously you just chewed the straw.

On Saturday, we went over to Tia and Uncle's house. You were really happy to see Tia. You and I sat with her while Daddy and Uncle Furry went to get Sho. You enjoyed playing with Fox, Tia and Uncle's little dog, especially when she was chewing on her chewtoy and you were trying to pull it away. You liked the pizza for dinner except that somehow, the crust was too hard for you to chew so you would spit it out. You also enjoyed cleaning out Tia's tupperware cabinet and sitting in it while pulling the last of it out of there. But eventually you got very tired and it was time to go home.

This morning, the three of us went out for breakfast. We ordered you a cinnamon roll and a glass of milk. You drank all the milk from the glass using a straw, just like I knew you could. You also ate the majority of the cinnamon roll. You did all of this while flirting with just about everybody in the room. You have an amazing amount of charisma.

After that, we went to the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. Aunt Laura and Aunt Rachel and their families chipped in to give us a family membership to the museum for Christmas. This was the first time we got a chance to go there. I think you liked it. They have a room with lots of train toys and model train exhibits. You enjoyed the toys and you pointed and stared at some of the model trains. While we were there, we saw your friend Amelia and her family at the museum. It is a good place for kids to go, and we'll definitely go back again.

Love,
Mommy

Fruit Fanatic

Dear Vinny,

You absolutely adore fruit. If you see a whole apple within arm's reach, you will grab it and start chomping down on it, skin and all. You also love pears and grapes.

Last week, grapes were really expensive, so we decided to introduce you to strawberries (which were, weirdly, cheaper per pound than grapes). You are now a huge fan of strawberries too.

I don't think there's been a single fruit that you have tried and have not liked. We gave you a piece of lemon to try once, and you were fine with it. Most kids' mouths pucker at the sour taste, but it did not faze you in the least.

You also enjoy cooked carrots quite a bit. We give you peas and carrots sometimes, and you eat a couple of peas but all the carrots. Another food that we've recently introduced you to is pizza. You definitely enjoy pizza too, although we have to make sure that it's not too hot for your mouth.

We've let you feed yourself non-finger foods, with mixed success. You ate some brown rice with pork marengo sauce on it with modest success. You really liked the flavor so you made an effort to use your spoon (concave side downward or clutched in your hand, of course), and some of it made it into your mouth. But there have been other things you haven't been so crazy about. No matter your eating habits though, we are crazy about you!

Love,
Mommy

Bouncy Chair

Dear Vinny,

Daddy bought you a bouncy chair, to encourage you to make some walking motions and strengthen your legs, as the doctor suggested. It has kind of a tropical theme to it, complete with frogs and tropical birds. You enjoy bouncing up and down in it sometimes, although you prefer being free and unconstrained and crawling around.

You can walk just fine if you're holding onto Mommy or Daddy, it's just that you have no desire to walk upright by yourself. But your time will come, and when it does, you will be walking as if you'd always known how.

Love,
Mommy

Fifteen Months!

Dear Vinny,

On Saturday, you turned fifteen months old. You are growing bigger every day. Today we took you to the doctor for your 15-month checkup. You were 24 lbs, 1 oz, and 35-1/4" tall. They say that children reach half their adult height by the time they are two years old. So I am thinking you are going to be one big boy!

You got some shots at the doctor's office, this time in the arms, and they hurt a lot and made you mad. That is completely understandable, but they were pretty important shots so I'm glad you had them. I would hate for you to get measles or chicken pox.

We've been trying to teach you some more words. So far we've been successful with teaching you to say "up." The thing is, you seem to think that "up" just means "change in elevation," because sometimes you say "up" when you want us to let you back down. This is similar to your use of the sign "more," which to you, just means "food."

You're not walking yet, but I think it's just that you're not motivated to walk. Why walk, when you could crawl? After all, once you get there, it's no big deal to just stand up. The doctor gave us some ideas on how to encourage you to walk.

You are a big fan of music. There are certain songs that just make you "rock out." One of those is "Old MacDonald," as played by your toy animal transport truck. You push the button, the music begins, and you start shaking your arms and jumping up and down on your knees. Another song you like is the one that plays when you push the right button on your Thomas the Tank Engine book. You have a very similar reaction to that music.

I guess it is natural that you would enjoy music so much, seeing as both of your parents enjoy it too. We also enjoy watching you enjoy music!

Love,
Mommy

Happy New Year!

Dear Vinny,

Happy New Year! We had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa, who came down to see you this past weekend. They came on Saturday and they left this morning. You enjoyed spending time with your grandparents. They brought you a gigantic present: a slide and swing set, that is just your size. It can be used inside or outside, depending on our preferences. We have it in the living room.

You don't seem to understand what the slide is all about, but you like the swing a lot. You also enjoy standing on the platform above the slide, where there's a captain's wheel that you can spin around.

On Sunday, we all went on a trip to Cherokee, North Carolina. You were a very good sport about traveling in the car for so long. We went to the museum there, and you enjoyed it at first but you got a little bit impatient by the end. That evening, on our way home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant, and we ordered you a sweet potato but you weren't very interested in letting us feed it to you. You are becoming more independent and you like to do things on your own.

On Monday, you enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't do much of anything, just enjoyed each other's company. One thing we did do is take a walk in the park, along the trail beside the lake. Grandpa carried you in the backpack baby carrier. I think he got a little tired by the end!

Every night that he was here, Grandpa put you to bed. I think he really enjoyed getting a chance to sing to you and rock you in the rocking chair. I know that I enjoy doing that too. I know that Grandma and Grandpa had a really good time with you, and are looking forward to seeing you again!

Love,
Mommy

Your Second Christmas

Dear Vinny,

Today was your second Christmas. I think you enjoyed it more than the first one. Last year you were sick. This year, you felt fine. But I think there were some new frustrations.

You don't quite understand how the Christmas present concept works. I would help you open up the wrapping paper, and you could see the present inside. You'd be excited about the present, but at the same time you would feel frustrated, because you couldn't get to it. So I'd help you remove all the wrapping paper, and then Daddy would take the box away and open it, which was frustrating because you wanted the present that we'd finally opened but you had to wait. Then, you would get mad because we would take that present away and make you open the next one.

But all in all, you got a lot of good stuff. Granny and Granddad gave you a tricycle, even though you're still too small for it and lack the motor skills to use it. They also gave you quite a few Little People sets, and a couple of books. Mommy and Daddy gave you a bunch of books and more Little People stuff. We also got you a remote-controlled car, but it doesn't work yet because we didn't have the right batteries for it. We'll get them when we next go out.

The three of us enjoyed Christmas dinner together: Mommy and Daddy had turkey tetrazzini, while you had some delicious crackers and fruit. You don't seem to care for meat, even though I kept trying to disguise it under your oatmeal. You would find it and pull it out of your mouth.

I think that maybe next year, you will understand what's going on a little bit better and enjoy Christmas even more. I certainly enjoyed this year's holiday with you and I'm looking forward to next year!

Love,
Mommy

Holiday Fun with Tia and Uncle Furry

Dear Vinny,

On Saturday, Tia and Uncle came over to celebrate an early Christmas with us. Daddy made the adults some beef barbecue, and you had a lot of fruit and crackers.

We had a good time watching you open your presents. You didn't quite understand how the present thing works. We provided you with positive reinforcement when you did an action that helped progress towards the present being opened, to encourage you to open the presents. Tia had given you some toys in a bag with tissue paper, so we applauded when you pulled a piece of tissue paper out. After the paper was all gone, the bag was on its side, and you got down on your belly and looked inside the bag. It was cute and we laughed. You got some little cars and a giraffe on wheels with a clear plastic belly with flowers in it. It sounds strange, but you have two of the other animals in the collection and you enjoy them. Tia and Uncle also gave you some pajamas, but you were the most excited about the toys.

You are such a sweet baby and I know that Tia and Uncle Furry love you very much!

Love,
Mommy

Grand-Visitors

Dear Vinny,

Granny and Granddad came for a visit over the weekend. They arrived really late on Friday night, after you were already in bed. But they got to see you on Saturday morning after they got up! Granny spent a lot of time doting on you, as did Granddad. But Granddad and Daddy went out to get a Christmas tree while Granny and I stayed home with you.

Granny has a special way with you. She can charm you and make you laugh like no one else can. Granddad is amazing with you too.

Granddad and Daddy picked out a beautiful Frasier fur for the Christmas tree, and Daddy decorated it with lights. You were pretty enthralled by the Christmas tree, and the lights in particular. You tried to eat some of the needles off the tree, but I kept you from eating them.

We gave Granny and Granddad personalized gifts made from your photographs: a tie for Granddad, with little one-inch pictures of you all over it, and a fleece blanket for Granny, with a picture of you from Halloween. We also gave Granddad a framed picture of you in a Santa hat. They loved their gifts. I know that they would want to be with you more often if they could. It's too bad that they live so far away.

Granny and Granddad left on Sunday, and you cried when they left. That was the first time you'd ever cried when somebody other than Mommy or Daddy left. But, they left behind a big pile of presents for you, sitting under the tree and waiting to be opened.

Love,
Mommy

Update

Dear Vinny,

You have been teething lately. You already have twelve teeth fully in; now, we suspect you are getting your canines. It has been painful enough that it has awakened you during naps or in the night. You wake up screaming and it takes 30 minutes before you're calm enough to resume normal activities.

You've developed an interesting (and adorable) pouty face: you purse your lips as if to make the "oooo" sound, and squish up your face. It is cute and quite humorous, so it may not elicit exactly the same reaction in us that you're looking for.

Something else you've started doing is teasing me with your food. You'll offer me a goldfish cracker (for example) and then pull it away when I'm about to eat it. You think that this is absolutely hilarious. I play along and call you a little rascal and tickle your belly.

I think you have grown a lot, too. You seem a lot heavier when I hold you in my right arm. Also, your sleepers are smaller on you. They used to be way too big, but now they are just about the right size. Some of that could be the fact that they've been through the washer and dryer a few times, but I really do think you have grown quite a bit. You've certainly been eating as if you're growing a lot.

This past weekend, I introduced you to Triscuits. You seem to really like them, even though they don't taste that great to my adult tastebuds. But as long as you like them, I'm happy.

We also introduced you to oranges. I had erroneously believed that you couldn't have citrus fruits until you were two years old, but reliable sources said it was okay to introduce citrus at age one. So I peeled a clementine, and let you have the inside of one of the sections. You didn't appear to be allergic, so I think we'll keep on letting you eat oranges, because you definitely enjoyed the delicious flavor!

Love,
Mommy

Grape Strides

Dear Vinny,

Since you are a big fan of fruit, we decided to give you some grapes. Grapes can be dangerous for a baby to eat, but Daddy cut them up into little pieces.

You loved the grapes! You ate them with great enthusiasm, and voiced your enjoyment by saying "Mmmmmm."

Love,
Mommy

Vinny Appleseed

Dear Vinny,

You are an avid fan of fruit. You loved your first taste of prunes, and you've loved any kind of fruit you've gotten your hands on. You've tried peaches, pears, apricots, and apples, and you've had grapes in the form of grape juice. A couple of weeks ago, when I was making baked apples, I let you try a piece of raw apple. It was a very thin shaving from the interior of the apple. You were crazy about it so I gave you some more.

Well, you can now identify an apple on sight, and you go absolutely crazy when I begin to eat one. Last weekend, I was eating an apple while you were sitting on my lap, and you were really interested in it. So at first I pulled off some chunks and fed them to you, but that was not enough for you. I let you bite some apple off the core for himself, and you loved that! I ate the entire outside of the apple, but you ate most of the (edible) interior.

Today, I got an apple from the bowl of fruit and you looked at me with excitement. You were very impatient as I washed it off, and you immediately wanted to bite into it yourself. But I told you that I had to eat the peel layer, but that you could eat from the interior. We sat down together and you immediately grabbed the wrist of the hand I was using to hold the apple with both your little hands. You tried to pull it towards yourself, and I had to move my head forward to sneak in a bite before you brought the apple to your own mouth. I turned it around to a part where you could eat, and let you take a bite. Periodically, when your mouth was sufficiently full, you would loosen your grip on my wrist and deign to allow me a bite of the apple. But when you wanted more, you pulled it right back!

I am glad that you are such an avid fruit eater, and I really enjoy sharing food with you!

Love,
Mommy

Upstanding Boy

Dear Vinny,

Daddy and I are watching you develop and we wonder when you are going to start walking. We think you are really close. You stand more and more. As I indicated earlier, you spent much of Thanksgiving standing, clinging to my legs. But you also stood unsupported for ten seconds, at least twice that day. You stood just fine, until you noticed that you were standing, and then you sat back down.

You can walk a few steps when you are holding on to something. You are adept at cruising around the basement living room, holding onto the furniture for support. And you can walk pretty well if we hold your hands. You just don't have the confidence to walk on your own quite yet.

Yesterday, you crawled most of the way up the steps, with supervision and encouragement from Daddy. But those steps are really huge to you, so it was very difficult and quite tiring for you. But I think if you can do that, you can walk. It is just a matter of time.

Love,
Mommy

Thanksgiving Day

Dear Vinny,

On Thursday, Tia and Uncle came over for Thanksgiving dinner. But it was a long day for you before that, because Mommy and Daddy had to cook for the dinner and didn't have a lot of time to spend with you. Also, you were teething and we hadn't quite realized it. The pain of teething made you extra clingy.

You spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the kitchen with me. You stood at my feet, balancing yourself by holding on to my legs. Sometimes, you would demand to be picked up, so I would hold you in one arm and cook with the other. I made the corn pudding entirely one-handed while holding you.

But when I tried to put you down for a pre-dinner nap, you got really upset. When I went back in to calm you down, I observed how much you were chewing on your binky, and realized that you were teething. So I gave you some ibuprofen, and Daddy put the orajel on your gums, and then you were okay.

Tia and Uncle were really happy to see you, and they spent some time with you while Mommy and Daddy finished up the last steps of the dinner. For dinner, you had some bananas, some mashed potatoes, and some sweet potatoes. You played with Tia after dinner, but we put you to bed early because you were very tired after going napless all day. You slept for a while, but then you woke up screaming from the tooth pain. Daddy calmed you down and administered the proper medication before putting you back to bed.

It was a very enjoyable Thanksgiving and I'm glad you were there to share it with us!

Love,
Mommy

Sick Leave and Time Together

Dear Vinny,

I was home from work on sick leave on Monday afternoon and all day Tuesday. I was flattened by some sort of cold or something. But, it did give me some time to spend with you, even if I wasn't feeling top notch.

We sat together in the big green chair for much of the day on Tuesday. We played together in kind of a low-key fashion, since I wasn't feeling the best. I was trying to teach you how to be gentle. I thought that it would now be possible for you to be gentle because on Sunday evening, for the first time you realized that biting my finger hurt me. You bit my finger particularly hard, and I drew my hand away and yelped in pain. I saw on your face that you noticed my reaction, and seemed to understand it as pain. So I was no longer so reluctant to put my finger in your mouth. At first I just let you have my knuckle, but after you just nibbled gently on it, I gave you my whole finger, and you really didn't clamp down on it at all.

But I was teaching you to be gentle in other ways. You still have a tendency to grab my nose and twist it, or yank my hair, or poke my eye very hard, so I was taking you by the wrist and gently stroking my face with your hand. I was telling you the whole time that you were being gentle, and praising you for it, so hopefully you will know to do it that way when I say "be gentle" in the future.

We enjoyed an apple together on Tuesday. I wanted to eat an apple and you were sitting in my lap. I had planned to break off little pieces of the apple to give to you, but you decided that you wanted to bite the apple too. So I bit off the peel, and left some parts of the apple jutting out and you bit off pieces of apple and ate them. I ate the outer layer of the apple, but you ate much of the interior of it. You really enjoyed eating the apple and were disappointed when it was all gone.

Daddy and I were talking and we just think you are an incredibly thoughtful little boy. Not only are you figuring out that biting other people hurts them, but you are very generous with your food. I was holding some goldfish crackers for you to eat, and you would take them from my hand and feed them to me. And you like to share your sippy cup of milk or juice with us too, which is quite generous. You've been sharing your food for quite some time now. It is so sweet of you!

Love,
Mommy

Travel

Dear Vinny,

I was gone to a conference all last week. I left early Sunday morning and came back late Friday night. While I was gone, Daddy took you up to Louisville to see Granny and Granddad. You had a good time visiting with them. You two didn't get home until Sunday afternoon, so it was a whole week since I had seen you.

You looked different than the last time I had seen you. Daddy had given you your first haircut, so that made a difference, but also, I think you had grown a lot too. But when you two drove into the carport and you caught a glimpse of me, a big smile spread across your face. I was really excited to see you and I scooped you out of your carseat as soon as I could. You were thrilled to see me, just as I was to see you.

I had missed you a lot. Oh sure, I had fun at the conference, but something was missing from my life, and it was you. I think you had missed me a lot too. It was good to be reunited with my favorite little boy!

Love,
Mommy

Thirteen Months!

Dear Vinny,

Today you are thirteen months old! You have grown a lot and learned new things.

You've admired Daddy and Uncle Johnny's ability to make a popping sound using their finger and pulling it out of their mouth from the side of their cheek. You have tried to imitate this, by pulling your finger out of your mouth from behind your teeth. It is adorable to watch you do this.

This weekend, I accidentally taught you to jut your jaw forward and expose your lower teeth. I made that face to you as a silly face, and you imitated it. When I do it, it looks like a grimace, but when you do it, it's really cute.

This actually helped you learn to eat. Daddy had to jut your jaw like that, and then bite off a piece of banana. You ate most of a banana like that, with Daddy holding it and sticking it into your mouth far enough that you could bite a chunk of it off.

You've been eating wheat products for a week or so now, and you seem to be doing just fine with them. We first introduced you to bread by feeding you a soft piece from the inside of a biscuit. You absolutely loved it! As your Aunt Laura said when I told her about it, what a great introduction to bread. Biscuits are delicious.

Then, Daddy gave you some pretzel sticks, which you really enjoyed. When we next went to the grocery store, I picked out some Melba toast for you, and Daddy got you some thicker honey-wheat pretzel twists that were lower in sodium. We also picked out some goldfish crackers for you. You liked all of those, especially the goldfish. They have now become a staple in your diet.

Tonight, we went out to eat. We ordered you a baked sweet potato, and you ate the whole thing. We hadn't brought along any of your spoons, and they gave us a soup spoon that was way too big to fit in your mouth, so I had to use my finger to feed it to you. You also drank some water from my glass.

You are becoming more and more mobile. Just the other day, you were sitting on the bed while I changed my clothes, and you stood straight up without pulling up on anything. I was very impressed that you were able to do that! You'll be walking in no time.

Thanks for being such a sweet little boy!

Love,
Mommy

Halloween!

Dear Vinny,

Tonight we took you out trick-or-treating for Halloween. We dressed you as a little devil and you were absolutely darling. Unfortunately, you didn't nap very well all day, so you were very tired. But you were in that slap-happy mood that you get in sometimes when you're tired, so everything was hilarious.

We took you around the neighborhood, and everybody agreed that you were absolutely adorable. After we were done, Daddy put you to bed while I gave out candy. I met a family who just bought a house down the street, who have a daughter who's just about your age. We'll have to get together with them after they move in!

You are a sweet boy and I love you!

Love,
Mommy

Visitors

Dear Vinny,

This past weekend, your Aunt Ginger and Uncle Johnny came for a visit. They brought you a present that you really enjoy: it's a singing "cookie jar," where the "cookies" are shapes. Anytime you put your hand in it, it sings. You like to push the nose on the face, because that makes it giggle.

On Friday, you and Daddy took your aunt and uncle on a trip to the Smokies. You got to see all the fall colors. Then on Saturday we all piled in the car and took a long road trip. First we stopped off in Chattanooga. You had a lot of fun when Daddy put you in the backpack and carried you around. Then we went to Stone Mountain near Atlanta. We went on a train ride, but it was kind of dark by that time, and I don't know how much you enjoyed it. But you were a good sport, despite the fact that the train was very noisy. It did kind of freak you out whenever they blew the whistle on the train.

On Sunday, we went over to Tia and Uncle's house, where you got to meet Tia's family who were visiting from California. You really enjoyed all of them, but when Tia held her nephew, you wanted her to hold you, so then when she and I traded and I was holding her nephew, you wanted me to hold you again. So I guess you wanted our attention all to yourself!

You can have my attention anytime!

Love,
Mommy

Cute Face

Dear Vinny,

Daddy has taught you how to make a funny face. Basically, you squish up your face and then you smile really big. This is supposed to make us laugh, and it works. It's your idea of a joke.

Sometimes, you do it at the most inappropriate times, which makes it even funnier. For example, you drop your milk and then you turn to me and make your funny face.

It is so incredibly cute, and I think it's wonderful to see your developing sense of humor!

Love,
Mommy

Birthday Fiesta!

Dear Vinny,

On Saturday, we had your birthday party. Lots of people came to help celebrate your first birthday with us. Granny and Granddad came on Friday night and entertained you while your parents and Tia and Uncle cooked for the party. Grandma and Grandpa came on Saturday afternoon. You took a nap just before your party.

You were a little confused by all the people who kept arriving, but you seemed to enjoy the party overall. There were plenty of people there who you already knew: Amelia, Burt, their parents and grandmother; Mommy's boss and his family; and Aunt Mary and Uncle Wayne, who came down from Harlan just for your party. You also met a lot of new people: Mommy's colleague Vickie, Mommy's former boss George, and George's boss Ed and his family.

I made you some special gluten-free, egg-free cupcakes, topped with whipped cream, but you didn't really know what to make of it. I think you liked the sweetness of the cupcake, but since you'd never actually eaten any type of bread before, you weren't quite sure what to do with the cupcake.

You got all kinds of loot for your birthday. Granny and Granddad bought you more things than I can remember: a lot of clothes, some toys, and a super deluxe red wagon. Grandma and Grandpa, and Mommy's sisters and their families all chipped in to give you a fun activity table, which Grandpa put together on Sunday before they left. Aunt Anne gave you a fuzzy, stuffed sea turtle, which you really enjoyed because it was so soft. And of course, Tia and Uncle made all the food for your party as your birthday present.

Mommy and Daddy's present to you was a backpack that we can carry you in. It is bright red and has lots of straps. I think you will really enjoy riding along on our backs.

This first year of your life has been full of wonder and joy, and we were really happy to celebrate it with you, sweet boy. We're looking forward to another fun year!

Love,
Mommy