Dear Jack: Month 2

You’re the one I love…

June 27, 2011

Dear Jack,

Wow, today you are two months old! It seems like just yesterday you were being pulled (quite literally) out of my tummy and your cheek placed against mine. You have become the center of your daddy’s and my universe. When you are happy and alert, we just sit and stare in awe, goofy grins across our faces. I ask your daddy often, “Can you believe he is ours? Can you believe we made him? Can you believe he fit inside my belly?” Daddy just smiles, shakes his head and says quietly, “No, I can’t.” We have so much love for you it hurts (in the best possible way).

This month has been filled with visitors from near and far. During your fourth week of life we went to visit Mama’s school. You met the teachers I work with and they loved holding you! You were so amazing on your first outing that we even got to go out to lunch, it was a big day for us. That same week Grandpa Bob came out from Virginia to meet you for the first time; it was love at first sight. He was already excited to play soccer and go exploring with you.  Grandpa Jeff, Grandma Maralee, Auntie Andi, Auntie Erinn and Uncle Matthew came to visit during that same weekend. We took you out to McMenamin’s for dinner. It was great to have a night out with you. Everyone (but you, Mama and Uncle Matthew) enjoyed their yummy beers. You slept the entire time, it was fabulous, I felt like a great parent.  

When you were five weeks old, Aunt Becky flew out from Washington, D.C. to meet you. She loves you so much and had fun playing with you on the floor. During that same busy weekend, you attended your first graduation! Uncle Matthew graduated from high school. We were very proud when we watched him walk across stage through the emergency exit window, as you were not the happiest camper during the ceremony.

Our days this month were spent trying to find a rhythm and routine. We diaper you, feed you, burb you, put you to sleep and then start it all over again. Some days we get to go on trips. We went back to school several times, once to meet Mama's students and other times to get a little work done, you even went to your first union bargaining meeting (go teachers!). We also got to visit Daddy's work. The ladies he works with loved you and gave you lots of attention. You are content to sleep in the Ergo carrier during most of our outings and make it easy for me to travel with you. We took our first visit to the library and checked out eight books for read alouds, you got quite a few compliments from the librarians! 


Our days this month are filled with long walks (some days four miles, sometimes Mama is ambitious and we made it eight miles), alert times spent playing on the floor, anticipating Daddy’s arrival home from work and bath times.

You make the most amazing sounds. Your coos are an auditory delight, the best sounds I have ever heard. Jack, you have begun to smile too! You love funny sounds and just being close to our faces. When you lay on the floor you like to wave your hands and legs around, sometimes you even notice your hands. This makes us laugh to no end. Who knew these simple feats would provide your parents with hours of entertainment?

These were some of your amazing accomplishments this past month:

• You have been known to sleep for seven hours straight during the nighttime, daddy and I love this (note: this does not happen every night)!
• You started smiling when we smile and when you hear a funny sound.  You smile in your sleep and when you pee on one of your parents.
• Jack, you can turn your head from side to side with confidence to follow sounds and faces.
• You have noticed a few things about yourself: your hands exist and that you can control your leg movements.
• You stay alert and content for up to an hour at a time, most of the time with Mama and Daddy nearby, but sometimes even independently.
• Jack, your neck is so strong, you push yourself up into a baby push-up position a lot and you even rolled over once (from tummy to back)!
• You made your first communicative noises this month: ooo, aaa, waaaa, ma (this one means you are hungry).
• At your two-month well child visit you weighed 12 pounds, 13 ounces (78 percentile), were 24.5 inches long (93 percentile) and took your first shots like a champ!

Some of your favorites from Month 2:

• The song, “Lo” by Flo Rida, is still in heavy rotation around these parts, it calms your crying within 30 seconds. Your daddy and I are desperately searching for a replacement tune.
• You love rattles! We have a wooden rattle that you are smitten with and some plastic keys  that seem to capture your attention. Mama also picked you up some sweet rattles that you wear as a bracelet. When you wiggle your little arms the rattle makes a noise, a lot of fun for you.
• Walking around the neighborhood is so calming to you. You used to fall asleep after a block in the stroller, but this month you have loved to take in the sights and sounds of St. Johns.
• Kya, the dog, makes you smile incessantly. When you are on the floor playing and her shadowy figure towers over you, you get the biggest smile, it makes our hearts soar that you two are becoming such good friends.
• You are such a wiggler, so Daddy came up with the nickname "Mr. Wigglesworth" for you. When he calls you this, you think it is the funniest thing EVER and get a huge smile on your face. Your smiles are fantastic!

 “The One I Love” by David Gray is the song I play a lot on our walks. It makes my eyes swell with  tears thinking about the immense love I have for you. In the past I had heard parents speak of the love they have for their children and I smiled and nodded, politely appreciating their sentiment. Now I get it, in a big way. Having you in our lives makes everything different. You make me want to be a better person for you and the world you will grow up in. I am so grateful you are the one I love.

I love you this much (arms spread as wide as they can be),

Mama B