Welcome Jenna!

Wee Baby Bradbourne was born (bourne?) this morning! Go tell Rose and Mark congratulations. Isn't she a gorgeous creature?

a beautiful day

Today was a day that promised good things for the future. It was absolutely springlike outside, warm and balmy and sunny. In the afternoon Gavin discovered how to open the screen door and let himself out onto the porch, which forced me to stop thinking about going out to enjoy the day and actually go do it.

peas

Gavin is undoubtedly a fan of peas. Or at least, of the cooked, unsmushed variety -- he is definitely not fond of the pureed kind. But the whole peas? The boy voraciously consumed nearly a quarter of what I prepared for my own lunch today. I've been hesitant to give him anything with a skin like peas and beans because of the potential for choking. Those skins can be tricky. But today he was tugging and pulling on me endlessly while I tried to eat my lunch, so in an attempt to placate him I gave him a pea. Which he ate. And which he loved. So I gave him more and more and more and... he loves peas. End of story.

pictures

I realized it has been a long while since I posted any pictures. So, here are a few from the past several weeks.

Gavin's hair is long enough for doing funny things to in the bath. This is his very first bathtime mohawk.

The "oooooo" face. I wish you could hear the ooooo. He's so expressive with it. He uses it for alarm, interest, intrigue, worry, excitement, surprise. So funny. So cute. One of the things I will absolutely miss when it's gone.

I have always hated sewing clothes, though I sew other things. In recent months I decided I wanted to learn to sew clothes so I bought a simple pattern for baby pants. This was my first attempt. I got confused by the pattern and sewed them so the waist made the legs and what should have been the legs ia the waist. They still work, although they look like cowboy chaps. I have since sewed 2 more pairs, and I am, improving with each pair.

Gavin is a very strong baby.

Gavin walking on Saturday at Aunt Helen's. If we were to assign a specific day as the day he started walking it would be Saturday, as that is when he stopped falling at things and prolongling the impact by moving his feet and actually started walking.

Lastly, this is my grandfather a week and a half ago on his birthday. I include him because he passed away on Saturday. I hope you found peace, Grandpa.

a very long letter to my son

Dear Gavin,

I haven't written you a letter before because I haven't had much to say. But now I have things to say and I am inspired to write to you. You are just a few days over 300 days old now. I haven't figured out the exact day you turned 300 days, but it was sometime at the end of January. I had thought about writing to you on that day, but life kept getting in the way and I never did. You keep me on my toes!

On Saturday you turn ten months old. Looking at you, I am amazed at how much you have changed. I've witnessed the transformation of my friends' and sister's babies from newborn to toddler and have been amazed by it, but it is an entirely different thing to have that transformation happen to my own child. You were such a tiny little baby, and for all that you were (and still are) rather large as babies go, I still think of you as a tiny wee thing. Even when I nurse you and see how much bigger you are - when you were newborn you fit just perfectly across my body, but now you stretch out and your legs hang off my lap - I still can't help think of you as a tiny baby.

I love watching you learn. A couple of weeks ago you took your first steps. You were so proud of yourself. You continue to be very proud of your walking efforts. Daily I see your confidence in your ability to walk grow and flourish. Now, instead of looking back and forth hesitantly from where you are to where I am, wondering if you can do it, you get your balance and wobble your way right over to me. Sometimes you fall, but it doesn't seem to faze you. You're just as proud and encouraged at having made the attempt, no matter whether you "succeeded." Writing it out that way, I can see now that is a really important thing, something I could use a little of in my own life. See ? You aren't the only one learning these days.

A little while ago we stood in the kitchen. I held you as we shared a banana. You didn't used to like banana, but you have recently started taking to it, as long as it is ripe enough that is. Apparently my banana activist activities while I was pregnant with you made an impression. I would take a bite, then offer you a bite, which you eagerly took. You discovered banana peel for the first time and managed to take a bite before I could stop you. Surprisingly, the bitterness didn't seem to bother you. You obviously don't know yet that banana peels are supposed to be yucky. After a few bites you grabbed a big chunk of banana with your hands and smushed it up and smeared it all over...me. But I let you because I'm washable and you are learning things. Besides, it's fun to watch you enjoy the exploration of how bananas work.

These days you are eating more or less what Daddy and I eat. Most of the foods we give you are things you can feed to yourself - pieces of cooked apple, banana, pear, cheese, bread, noodles and pasta, beans, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt. We never give you the pureed baby foods anymore, and we almost never give you oatmeal, even though I think you would still eat it - that was the only food we could regularly spoon-feed you.

One of your favorite things to do is to bang on things with your hands. You do this all the time, on anything, and with much excitement and vigor. Your whole body gets into it sometimes, as you bang, bang, bang on a chair, the sofa, a book, my face, my chest, the TV, the table, your dinner. You especially like it when other people bang with you. The other night we were at Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa's for Great-Grandpa's birthday and you had a whole table of us pounding on the table. I'm sure we made quite a sight, but you were loving it. Your grin lit up the room and you giggled and laughed.

You haven't said your first word yet, and it doesn't seem like you are close to doing so, but you could suprise us anyday. But it seems as if you are concentrating more on your physical efforts than on talking. You are making all kinds of sounds and syllables. You combine ma, da, ta, ba, ya, yeah, oh, the occasional explosive "p" sound, as well as the ever-expressive ooooo. You also make a host of indescribable sounds, truck engine sounds (though you don't know they are truck sounds yet!), "djsss," "shlsss," and a high pitched screechy-squeal.

Even though you aren't making recognizable words, you are communicating in other ways. You have made a couple of sign language signs, though you don't use them on a regular basis. You have signed "dog," and although you haven't signed it since the first couple of times, you still know what it is, because when I make the sign without saying "doggie" and you look right over at Straka. This week you started raising your arms and hands up in the "up" sign (which is also the universal "pick me up" baby signal). When you want to nurse, you start picking at my shirt and mouthing at everything in a particular way.

Yesterday Daddy and I think you made the nursing sign. You have been making a waving motion with your hand, with your thumb tucked inside, something we have never done when waving at you, but that slightly resembles the nursing (milk) sign. Early yesterday you did that with your hand slightly turned, and based on the context I thought you were saying "nurse." Then last night you were crawling across the floor following me as I left the room, then you sat back and rubbed your eyes and made the waving motion with your hands turned sideways, only in this instance, we think you actually meant "mommy," since I was leaving and you wanted to be with me. An aside about rubbing your eyes: I have thought for a while that rubbing your eyes is your very own sign for nursing - this is what you do when we are sitting down to nurse you to sleep for a nap, and I've seen you do it at other times when I know you aren't tired but obviously want to nurse.

Other signs that we do with you regularly, but you haven't started to do and dona't seem to recognize yet include "more," "apple," "cat," "mommy," and "daddy."

Right now you're teething, and you aren't too happy. Actually, you've been teething for months now. I can't remember when you got your last tooth, but it was easily three months ago. Yesterday I finally saw what I think are the bumps of your new tooth (teeth?), which surprisingly appear to be your upper eyeteeth. It's a bit early for you to be getting those, but that's where the bumps and white under-gum dots are. If so, that means you'll have seven or eight teeth on top and still only two on the bottom. You're a bit lopsided tooth-wse, so far!

I am pretty sure I could keep on writing and writing and not run out of things to say, but it is late and Daddy is home and we need to be getting to work on dinner. Plus, you need to take a nap. Not that you will, because lately you seem to be avoiding naps like the plague, but you need one. You're tired, and rubbing your eyes - and this time I am pretty sure you mean you're tired, not that you want to nurse!

Love,
Mommy