you are ten months old.
it feels like five, tops.
i can't believe it's been ten months.
you are nothing like we expected.
no, let me amend that.
you are a lot like we expected. you are beautiful, delicious, and irresistible.
and you are a firecracker. you have a long fuse ... you're pretty patient with sam, and his rough & tumble hugs, his less-than-generous toy-trades, his big loud laughs. but sometimes you want what you want and you aren't going to stand for anything less!
like when you want to stand up. you grab on to whatever is nearest and you pull yourself up. you're so strong, baby. and you love to run. you clutch my index fingers for all you're worth and just go. crazylegs labelle is what we're calling you these days. vava VROOM!
you have an adorable wave. like the queen, on fast forward. you have the prettiest little leopard-print birthmark. your hair is just starting to grow in, coarse blond fuzz all over your lovely bald head. you're gorgeous.
we all love you and everything about you, vava. sam cheers every time you crawl, or try to walk, or run. you miss each other if one of you is asleep. he's teaching you to throw, and you're surprisingly good. (surprising for your age, yes, but also considering your parents ... we never won any prizes for sports, baby.)
you like to eat finger food, but you hate purees. you've loved pickles since forever, and today you had a tiny taste of a blizzard ... but i think you still love pickles best ;).
a few nights ago, after we put you in your playpen, we knelt down and peeked through the sides and you were delighted to find our faces there. you laughed and grinned and high-fived us, and kissed us, and drooled through the mesh. it was a party.
then last night, well, you wanted us to do that again. but we didn't understand. you can't talk yet, baby. you're fiercely smart - you understand so much, and you communicate a lot, but we didn't understand, so instead of sleeping last night you just cried. and thrashed. and got so so angry. red in the face and yelling.
it took a long time before you went to sleep. we knew something was wrong, but we couldn't figure it out. tonight, you batted the side of the mesh really hard, over and over - until your slow mama finally caught on and i realized - you wanted us to play again!
so we did, and you smiled such a triumphant smile.
you're a sweet sweet love, vava-my-darling. your kisses make me happy like birdsong, like starshine. thank you for ten wonderful months!
