46 Weeks

 To My Moody 10.8 Month Old.

It was an emotional roller coaster this week!  Happy, sad, desperate,  silly, furious, confused, and joyful.  I think you may have inherited a touch more of my genes than your even-keeled father!

You displayed your first signs of jealousy this week.  Our friend Julia brought her newborn daughter Juni over for a visit.  I held off holding her for a long time, though it was difficult, because I knew you'd want to sit in my lap and poke at her.  I haven't taught you to be gentle yet.  While I admired her tiny features and delicate skin, you grunted at me and clamored at my legs.  You wanted me!  Later when your father fed the baby and you bounced for his attention and made a high pitched hum noise to voice your confusion.  You wanted to drink that bottle, too!  You took Juni's pacifiers, her bottle, and tried to get into her car seat to play with her toys.   I bet you would be relieved to know that you are not going to be a big brother any time soon.

One of your favorite activities this week has been clapping your hands.  You learned to do it the previous weekend and you go on jags of clapping when you will clap and clap for several minutes, and then hours will pass and it is like you have forgotten how to do it.  Then a song will come on the radio or you will see a toy you like and you'll re-discover that you know how to clap.  You look joyous and puzzled that you actually can do it.  It is SO cute.  I wonder how many videos we will have of you clapping?

New foods - waffle, graham crackers, juice

I let you play in your baby pool this week.  You seemed excited at first, but them you hesitated. I had to lure you into it with kitchen spoons.  So you crouched in the pool and knocked two spoons together.  Then you concentrated on chewing the spoons.  Then you beat the spoons against the ground.  You never did splash the spoons or really play in the water.  Later in the week your dad discovered that you like to play with the garden hose in the pool.   You change the nozzle to different sprays and act surprised.  You try to drink from the stream of water like a water fountain. When the water gets in your eyes, you make a surprised expression and get frustrated. It is very funny.

You did play at the indoor city pool this week with your dad while I did water exercise class.  I would do my exercises and then occasionally catch the two of you out of the corner of my eye.  You would be beaming and being silly and your dad would be laughing at you.  All of the old ladies in the fitness class just mooned over you.  They couldn't believe how happy you were and how you waved at them.

I've loved your sleep patterns this week.  You play in your crib with a few toys for fifteen minutes and then you are conked out, cradling a blanket, for an hour and a half to longer than two hours.  You also slept from 8  PM (we heard you playing alone in your room an hour after you went down) until 5 AM when you were hungry for a snack and then again until 7 AM. Great job, kiddo!  I loved the consecutive sleep I got and the chance to work around the house without your cute face to distract me.  I also was able to watch A WHOLE MOVIE during one of your naps this week.  It was amazing.  I felt like a part time mom as compared to when you were a newborn and you needed SO MUCH ATTENTION.  Your naps just weren't that long back then.  Now, don't be sad and think that I prefer a slumbering Daniel to an awake Daniel.  I much prefer an awake, well rested Daniel!  You are in such a good mood when you wake from a "long enough" nap and you are fussy when you skip a nap and often cannot fall asleep properly at night.  Our house just works better with a baby who is a good napper.

You started to try to help out around the house this week.  You have been using a rag to wipe up spills on your high chair tray for a few days now, but when I started to clean the shower using a similar towel and wiping manner, you pitched in!  You wiped and wiped and looked so proud of yourself.  You have also helped me wipe up spills on the floor.  You are SO interested in the vacuum, dishwasher, and the broom.  You cannot use these things properly, but anytime one of us is cleaning with these things you come and try to help.  When we leave these things accessible to you, you explore them and work at them for a long period of time.

This week you started to indicate which book you wanted me to read to you.  Often you selected Are You My Mother? and The Best Nest.  You would pick up the book and open it in your lap.  You would also climb into my lap, carrying the book in your mouth because you needed both hands to climb up.  I think this is so neat.  On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday you did this and we read books four to six times a day instead of your normal twice a day or so.  I love that you love to read!

We had a scheduled photo shoot in Berger this weekend with your grandfather and dad at the historic home that bears your same name on its front step.  The second generation of Daniel Haids built the home in 1910, and though a Dan Haid hasn't live in it for a half century or better, it is still owned by relatives of your grandfather (more distant and someone I haven't met).  It was pretty neat to see how proud your grandpa was.  Usually he is gruff and very disinterested when it comes to being photographed, but he actually suggested this one!  I can tell that you mean a lot to him.  This three generation photo is very special to him.  It was a neat experience.

As always, I love you so much and I am delighted to be your mother.

45 Weeks Old

Dear Daniel,

This week you are 45 weeks old!  We are weeks away from your first birthday!

Here are two of your favorite crib toys.  You still like the pop beads and you really like this picture book of prayers.  

This week it was summer time.  This means we spent a lot of time playing, eating, and being outdoors.  Your skin is so fair that you always must wear a sun hat and sunscreen.

One of my all time favorites of you!

We traveled to visit my parents on Friday night.  On the way, we stopped at your Dad's work to pick him up.  You crawled around his office and visited your friends there.  They dote on you and think you are so funny.  Your dad carries you around proudly to see his coworkers.  It is obvious how much he thinks of you!

We arrived at dinner time and you ate a BIG meal.  You have been eating three or four cubes of baby food for some of your meals.  I cannot believe this!  You played with your grandparents and showed them how quickly you can crawl and how close you are to walking.  They were impressed! That evening and the next morning my parents taught you how to clap. You'd been trying to do this task for awhile, and you were good at clapping my hands together and clapping your hands to your lap.  Once they taught you, you clapped and clapped!

Along with clapping, you learned to wave properly this week.  You started out by shaking toys, raising your hands in the air, pointing, and then progressed to a wave.  You sometimes wave with both hands.  Your hands are usually parallel to the ground, and you flutter your wrists up and down. It is probably the cutest thing you have done so far in your whole life.  It is just SO SWEET.

You got a new toy this week... a baby pool! You and your dad went to pick it out from the store.  Your dad said that everyone commented on how cute and sweet you were and that you had so many waves for them.   Your father was so excited about the pool that he opened it immediately and set it up.  We didn't actually have a proper swim outfit for you, so you bathed in a diaper cover.  When we put you in the pool you seemed a bit confused.  You sat near the edge of the pool and played with a toy on the sidewalk.  We aren't sure if you like it yet.  But we really get enjoyment from watching you!

You are still on the pacifier.  You must have a radar for those things.  We can think one is long lost and suddenly you appear with it in your mouth.  We have no idea where  your stash is!  I found TEN behind your crib this week.  You really enjoy these things.  They seem to keep bugs and grass and other inappropriate things out of your mouth when we are out of the home, and it also keeps you a bit more quiet when we are in church.  You sort of insist upon them during naps and story time, and because you are so persistent, we usually allow you one to hold and one to have in your mouth.  Its probably not a big deal, but we were firmly against pacifiers before you were born and thought they were germy, tacky things.  We now find them quite useful and they are probably no more germy than your thumb would be.

You played A LOT this week.  Anything seemed to be a good toy.  You played with your sippy cups and enjoyed spitting water through your front teeth.  I did not enjoy tis game very much.  You played wrestling with your dad this week.  He did enjoy this very much and it was the first thing you two did together after he arrived home from work each day.  You played with empty cardboard boxes, pushing them around the house and reaching your hands inside.  You played with an unused computer keyboard that my mom let you have.  She enjoyed listening to you click clack away on the keys.  You felt so proud of yourself and very grown up.  You played with the new ball she got you, too.  You were really interested in the colors on the ball and so it distracted you during your wiggliest and most difficult times - your diaper changes.  You also played with Aunt Rachel and your grandparents during a dinner we had for your Grandma's birthday.  You brought everyone a lot of joy from your cheerful playtime this week!

Though you are becoming more independent and need your parents less and less, we still enjoy caring for you and watching you grow.  You are still the delight of our days and help us to appreciate more of what we want for our lives.  We like our routines of wake, nurse, play, eat breakfast cereal, nap, nurse, errands/play, eat lunch, nap, play, eat supper, get messy, have a bath, nurse, play, read books, and sing a lullaby, and then expect you to sleep from around 7 to 6 AM, with one nighttime feeding around 11 PM.  Its a good routine and we three are pros at it!

Blessings to you, dear Daniel Henry.
- Mama

44 Weeks Old!

Dear Daniel,

Forty four weeks is a long time for you and for us.  We are creeping ever closer to a year and your independence as your very own person is growing more with each day.

Something I would like to forget about this week are the nights you slept fitfully and the naps and bedtimes you resisted.  Arching your back, pouting your lips, and howling certainly don't become you.  Yes, baby, I know you have a nasty head cold and that its difficult to breathe.  Its also gross when you spit up mucous because you don't know how to blow your nose or cough and spit. I know you would rather not have me give you saline nose drops and that you abhor the nasal bulb aspirator.  Your cough rattles in your chest and you are miserable.  You did not tolerate comfort from your father.  He tried to read to you, sing to you, and calm you, but you only wanted me.  This was not a compliment, however.  I was sick, too!  Its tough to take care of a sick tot when you are sick yourself.  You will probably have the same experience some time in your life.  What goes around, comes around or the circle of life or something like that.

Something I would like to remember is how cuddly you have been this week.  When I pick you up from your crib (you stand in the corner closest to the door and eagerly laugh and sing for me to come) you nestle your head into my shoulder and my neck.  It is so sweet.  You hug me for about 30 seconds, and then look up and smile.  It is great.  You've also wanted to snuggle in bed with me this week. This is pretty unusual.  I am not complaining because it means I get a little longer to relax in the mornings and I get to hold you.



The weather has grown SO HOT.  You don't mind eating without a shirt on the back patio, so I often feed you out there to reduce the amount of mess on the kitchen floor.  You are content to sit outside and nibble a graham cracker and watch us hang wash on the line or work in the gardens.  You laugh at the kids on the street and at the dogs in our neighbor's yard.  You also must wear a sun hat, which you don't enjoy, because of your fair skin.   You are pretty good at snatching it away from your head!

You went to the pool for the very first time this week.  The three of us went on Monday morning.  I took a water aerobics class while you and your dad splashed and floated.  You took the the water pretty quickly and seemed to really enjoy the entire experience.  You were quiet for the first twenty minutes, but the last twenty minutes you were enthusiastically shrieking!  It was so much fun for us to see you marvel at the water and use natural instinct to kick your legs to swim.

This week we took a lot of photos at a local park.  You were so photogenic!  You were patient as we took pictures of you exploring flowers and a koi pond.  I think this was your first time seeing fish.  You seemed mildly interested.

Your dad started a new work schedule.  He works four ten hour days so that he can spend an entire three day weekend with us.  This is excellent! I can tell that you will like this arrangement because you seem so pleased when both your parents are home with you!  He will also be home with you during the summer on Mondays when I teach at MU.  I can only imagine what types of adventures you two will have.

 I enjoy watching you leave babyhood for the adventurous world of boyhood.  I appreciate you and your joy so much.

Love
Your Mama Bethany

42 Week Letter

Dear Baby,

This week you had a chance to be around many, many children.  We went to the PAT Spring Carnival, and there were dozens of babies, toddlers, and pre schoolers there for you to watch and interact with.  Mostly you watched them.

We took a mid week trip to visit my parents in St. James.  You really enjoyed playing at their house! You wanted to explore all around your Grandpa Douglas's chair.  This meant you tried to topple over the floor lamp, eat pens, knock over his books, and get into his business.  These things seemed like more fun than your baby toys here!  You enjoyed playing peek a boo, pulling up on all the furniture, climbing the couch, and moving from room to room.  You also climbed the stairs several times.  One time you climbed them so quickly and quietly that I only noticed when you were upstairs laughing!  I am suprised that you can do things like this since we don't have stairs at home to practice. 

Nana's students wrote you more letters and were excited for you to visit their classroom.  It was a rainy day, so we stayed inside.  They sang a song for you, petted your head as if you were a dog, and were enamoured by you. They really loved you and loved to show off for you.  You stayed there all afternoon and missed a nap, but you didn't fuss too much. 

You threw up in my hair this week.  You threw up on my pillow, too.  Gross.  Can you stop this, please?

You continued to enjoy playing in the Jeep this week.  You think its so fun to crawl around and pull on all the handles.

You also started to drink from a straw this week.  You lunge for any cup with a straw and a lid these days!

We love you so much, little Daniel.  Thank you for being so obedient and playful.

Love
Your parents

41 Week Letter

Dear Daniel.

Here are some notes about your forty first week in our home, which happened during the month of May.

During this week, you began to point consistently. You point at your parents, the fan, lights, windows and outside, and a few other familiar things.  Sometimes you point with your index finger, but more than not, you point with your entire fist.  It looks really cute. I find it interesting that you are pointing at objects and people that you know very well instead of pointing at unfamiliar objects.  I think you are saying "I see this here!" or "That's my Dad!" instead of "What's that over there?".

You giggled a lot this week.  You laughed hysterically at nothing I could notice as being funny.  You must be thinking of funny jokes. 

Our friend Ann Hoemann visited us this week.  She played with you a lot and marveled at your growth in just one month! You have really taken great strides in your personality, crawling speed, and capacity to express your emotions!

I had your car seat properly installed this week at the fire department.  It was not installed correctly, so you've been riding in less safety than I'd have liked.  All is better now, and you are on the passenger side next to the window, which you seem to really enjoy.  The view is much better!  During the installation process, I let you play in the front seat. You love to play in the car almost as much as you love to play with the dishwasher.  I could tell that your silly giggles and shrieks made the car seat installer lady really happy.  You were just in such a good mood!

You gave me a good scare this week  Its been awhile since we've had a medical scare, so I guess its okay.  But this one... bloody stools... shudder.  Gross.  And unpleasant to consider the bacterial causes that could be behind such an unfortunate behind issue.  Dr. Wheeler took good care of us and made sure to get your poop cultured.  With any luck, it will have been some minor thing that your immune system made quick work of.

You follow me around the house each day while I am doing chores or just going into another room.  You get really excited when you "find" me, as if I've been playing a game of Peek A Boo with you.  I scoop you up and give you a hug and show you what I've been doing in that room. Sometimes I put you back down and go back about my business and you track me into another room and the game is repeated!  You really have mastered the floor plan of this small house.  Good for you!  I hope you will be very spatially oriented.

It was a very rainy week, so there was minimal outdoor play time.  Sorry, bud.  Instead, you did play one day in the rec center day care.  I think you had a good time and the nanny there told us you loved to stand up at the snack table and smile at the little girls.  She said, "He is such a happy baby!" several times!  You can add another member to your fan club, I suppose.

This week your smile changed again as your top teeth came in even further.  It looks sweet, though crooked.  I wonder why you don't want to chomp with those things... you still prefer baby food purees!  Textures and crunch are not fun for you for some reason.  And so you eat a lot of mush - bananas and oatmeal, mango smoothies, steak shakes  - really soft and mushy things!

As you can see from these photos, you are very cute.  We love you so much! 

40 Weeks

Dear Daniel,

You tried a few new foods this week, including watermelon and Colby cheese.  You didn't appear to enjoy either of them for the first few bites, but you quickly acclimated to the taste and gobbled them.

This week I heard you say Mom-mom several times.  You usually say it after you've woken up and want me to come get you.  This is really neat for me!  I knock on your door and say, "Mama is here, baby!".  You shriek in delight.  This is such a wonderful welcome into your room.  You could not do this a few months ago.  I like it so much!

We visited the library to check out a developmental play kit. I didn't realize that you hadn't been there in recent months.   The last time I went with you, I was looking for a book on infant sleep solutions.  You howled.  People seemed miffed until they noticed I was in the "Self Help Baby Section". You really enjoyed playing in the library. You crawled all around the children's section.  You were interested in the book shelves and all of the doors and windows.  One day I hope you will love the books, too!

This week you started to be a bit cling-y.  When you are tired, you want me to hold you.  I cannot put you down to do a few quick errands because you want to be on my hip, resting your head.  At morning nap on Wednesday, you wanted more cuddling.  I put you down in the crib and your lip quivered and you began to sob.  When I picked you up, you threw your arms around my neck. I gave you five more minutes of rocking and cuddles.  It made me feel warm and fuzzy that you like me this much, since its obvious I love YOU so much.  It is affirming to see outward affection. 

 You have started to have favorite things.  Like your toothbrush.  You love it.  You love us brushing your teeth. You like to try to brush your teeth.  You like to lick the bristles.  You like to hold your toothbrush and look at it.  When we take it away, you sob as if the world has ended and it is your parents who are at fault.  Good grief, baby.

We went to an auction in Hermann this week.  You were calm and stayed in a baby back carrier I wore during the morning.  Then we went to Great Grandma Landolt's house for a little while.  You surprised her by crawling up her stairs at lightening speed!  She did not realize you were such a fast crawler or stair climber! Grandma Becky took you for a tour of her flower garden, which amused you.  You tried to eat many of the blossoms! You did not like it when we sat you up in a patch of Columbine plants. I guess it was too scratchy for you.  You played at Grandma Becky's house and were so active that she said she needed a nap after you left!  You had so many things to explore.

I took a lot of photos of you this week, baby.  You were so patient during these times.  Often you want to grab for the camera, and you do not sit still like you used to.  It is difficult to get a good smiling shot.  As you can see from these photos, you are quite active and have a mind of your own!  You don't like me to tell you to sit still!

We went to Hermann another time this week for a special surprise birthday party for Great Grandma Landolt.  You were her only great grandchild present (well, you are the ONLY one).  Lots of your family was there, including your grandparents, Uncle Wes, cousins, and great aunts and uncles.  You were so popular, of course.  Everyone passed you around, which probably wasn't the best idea, since you started to get fussy.  It was a little bit chilly that day, so you wore a sweater that Grandma Landolt had knitted for your father (or your uncle) some twenty five years before.  You got a bit over heated and started to cry.  You rarely cry, so I thought that something was wrong.  When we got home and fed you, I noticed you were hot, so we took your temperature.  You were well over 100 degrees!  103!  We cooled you off in a lukewarm bath and with some cool water.  You were so unhappy and uncomfortable! the rest of the weekend you were miserable, but your fever lessened.  We cuddled you on the couch and gave you a lot of extra rest.  Two days later, your top teeth started to appear.

This week was a great week, son.  I love you, your father loves you, your family loves you, and your God loves you.

From Mama