Dear Ash,
You’re 3/4 of a year old! This month has been great. You’ve slept better than you ever have before, you took your first plane ride (or six) and you did phenomenally, and you cut FOUR teeth in the last half of the month. But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself…
We took a trip to Georgia a few days after you turned eight months old. Your father left a couple of days before us, which meant that you and I had to travel together, alone, our first flight leaving at 6am and not ending for eight hours and three plane rides. I was extremely nervous. I’ve been on flights with crying babies, and boy, they are annoying as hell. I did not want to be responsible for other people’s discomfort and I didn’t want you to be upset. You surprised the crap out of me by being everything I needed you to be- friendly and calm, curious and overall a wonderful travelling companion. You even nursed when I needed you to (during takeover and landing), something which doesn’t happen very often- especially when there are new and exciting things to see. You loved looking out the window and the people in the seats behind us.
I must say that the sling made it so much easier to travel. If I had to haul around a stroller, even a small one, I’d have been screwed. I don’t have that many arms. That’s my biggest piece of travel advice for parents: invest in a sling. They’re cheap and yet PRICELESS>
We had a great ten days hanging out, going to restaurants and lounging around the pool. I was glad to go home though because one can only stand reading the same five books and spending days in one little room. It was nice to get away from home though, because the past eight months have been… well, the same, and it was nice to have some change. The weather was great, the food was greasy, and everyone FREAKING LOVED YOU.
I thought Canadians were friendly, but they’re nothing compared to the people down South. Every waitress in Denny’s would come over and say hello to you, coaxing many smiles out of you. I even had a guy yell out of his big pickup truck that you were beautiful! Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, commented on your eyes.
The highlight of our trip was going to the Georgia Aquarium, a trip which you really enjoyed. I’m glad that you’re such an observant baby, because I think a lot of other children your age would have just been there along for the ride- but you have always paid close attention to your surroundings, even as a newborn. So being able to see the fish and other sea-life was really easy for you.
It was your first time playing in the sand, too. You were more interested in eating it, and well, you pooped quite a lot of sand the day after the trip. Oopsie.
Your father and I are so happy that you enjoy the water. You’ve always liked the bath and have been taking swimming “lessons” since you were seven months old. We went in the pool quite a lot during our trip, but it was pretty chilly so you never really wanted to stay in the water for very long. It was the very first time you ever expressed that you were cold to us, even after this past horrible winter. You’d raise your knees and try not to let your feet touch the water, or worse- your bum. But once you got used to it, you were happy.
Another big milestone that you reached this month was the ability to clap. You really like clapping, and can clap on command. Yay for you!
I must admit something… during a channel-flipping episode while we were vacationing I came across the Teletubbies. I haven’t allowed you to watch children’s television shows yet, but was curious about how you’d react. And… you freaking loved it. You spent the entire 20 minutes glued to the tv, bouncing up and down on the bed and reaching out for them.
And then, your laugh. It still takes quite a lot of effort to make you laugh- me often looking like an idiot, but damn, I love to hear your giggle.
On the trip home, everything was going smoothly until we hit the last flight home. We were able to fly with your father, this in itself made everything much easier. We boarded the plane in Boston, headed for Halifax and ended up staying on the tarmac for nearly FOUR HOURS due to plane troubles. Four hours we sat in the same seats, only being offered a mint and a glass of water and we kept expecting you to suddenly break down from fatigue (it was prime bedtime) or boredom, but instead you stayed extremely happy and a model baby. We were so proud of you. We sang, we clapped, we let you look out the window, we entertained you the best we could and as long as we were paying lots of attention to you, you behaved. When we were waiting in the customs lineup and for our luggage we got several compliments from other passengers about you. You were magnificant!
This month we had a little event at your grandmother’s house. She and Dee have been planning to plant an Ash tree basically since they found out your name, and this was the month that we planted it. It’ll be nice to look back at the pictures when this tree is much bigger. Maybe someday you’ll sit under it and play with cars or read library books. Maybe, a long time in the future, you’ll even be able to climb the tree.
I spent a lot of money on you this month, specifically on a new toy. You’ve been pulling yourself up into standing position since you were seven months old and have developed into a wonderful crawler, but you seem to really want to walk around. So, I found this walking tool by Plan Toys and you really like it. You figured it out so quickly! Your father and I are constantly amazed at just how smart you are.
You are a character.
You make us so proud.
I love you so much.
Love,
Mama
