An Open Letter to Mom.

Dear Mom,

Hey! How are you? I just thought I'd drop you a quick note about what's been going on around here lately.

Sooooo... my sisters are gone. I don't know where they go, or what they do, but now it's just you and me, mano-y-mano, all day long. I'd appreciate it if you'd just carry me around now, like, all day, since you're not doing too much of anything else.
And what the heck is going on with my mouth? It just hurts all the time, like something is poking up through my gums or something. Weird. But just so you know, that's one of the reasons why I've been waking up at all hours of the night. It hurts.
Of course, I've also been waking up because when I sit up and cry in my crib, you come get me and then we lay down on the family room couch together and snuggle and sleep. Good times. You're like my own personal mattress. And it doesn't seem to matter when I do it- sometimes I get up at 1am, sometimes 3am, sometimes I get up at 10:45pm and you still come in. You don't seem too happy when I get up at 10:45pm, though. Maybe you should get a little more sleep. You'd feel better.

I hear you and Dad talk about this thing called Ferber-izing me but I don't know what that means. Hope it's something good.

Please stop changing my diaper and getting me dressed. I think I've made it pretty clear by the kicking and crying and screaming that I don't enjoy it.

And what do you think of my stairclimbing? Pretty good, huh? I've been working at it as much as possible when you forget to close the darn gate. Why are you always trying to foil me? I'm safe on the stairs... I even stop at the bottom and make noise so you know I'm about to go up. And I always turn around and look to make sure you're right behind me.
And I love how you cheer for me when I get to the top. I also love, love, love standing at the top railing and looking down on the hallway below. Super cool. And when I stick my foot in between the spindles... is that awesome or what? It's like I'm trying to step out into space. I'm an astronaut!! Sorry if that freaks you out a little.

And seriously, you have GOT to ditch giving me those baths. They are HORRIBLE. Can't you see that the whole time I'm trying to climb out of the tub? I mean, I fight you as hard as I can. I know, I know, most kids love the bathtub, love to "play with the water", love to "splash around", but I hate the whole thing. From the time the water starts running to when it's all over and you're getting me dried off and dressed, it is just heinous. HEINOUS. I don't mind being smelly. Really. I'm just more of an "au natural" kind of guy.

Other than that, life is pretty good around here. I'm enjoying the "big boy" food... the pasta, the peas, the puffs, the cheese. Mmmm. I do love that cheese. And the waffles and Cheerios. I love playing ball with you, I love dancing to music (I've got pretty good rhythm, eh?), love swinging on the swingset. You guys are fun to be with. One thing- could you maybe give me the phone and computer to play with a little more? I love jamming my fingers on those glorious buttons and you're always taking that away from me. But I like you. You're good people.

We've had a good first year.

Love,
Alec John

PS- No matter how many times you try to feed me those disgusting pureed green beans, I will never eat them. Give it up already. They're gross.