It's Fun To Stay At The...

Happy Third Birthday, Reeves!

Here we are at your third birthday. I can’t believe it. Only 365 yesterdays ago, I was writing to you on your second birthday, marveling at what a big boy you were becoming, still being able to count the words you were able to say, just getting introduced to your fits, and most importantly, relishing our last days with you as an only child. We have now left all those things in the dust.
Obviously, the biggest change for you has been the introduction of Bennett into our family. Daddy and I were both nervous about the way you would accept your new sibling, but we shouldn’t have worried. You have been an amazing big brother to him. You have never gotten mad at him, never intentionally tried to hurt him, and have loved him unconditionally. I say this because so far, he is the only member of the household to whom you have not said, “I don’t like you no more!” Even now that Bennett is mobile and is able to take the toys you are playing with, you will still go and get him a replacement toy as you retrieve your original toy. I know this happy nirvana of no sibling rivalry will not last forever, but it certainly is nice right now. He is your “Baby Brudder”, and he adores you just as much as you adore him.
Speaking of “Brudder”, this is as good a time as any to discuss your ever expanding vocabulary and your ever increasing ability to actually verbalize those words intelligibly. While your speech has most definitely been slow, you have now, for the most part, caught up to your peers. Your pronunciation still leaves much to the imagination for most, but we understand you pretty well, and, unless you are whining, everyone else seems to also. I am so happy to see that you have finally progressed in this category. I know school helped a lot with this.
It has been so much fun watching you grow and change over this past year. Your new brother, your new school, the fact that I am now staying home. I know all of these things have made lasting impressions on you. You have handled them all very well. There have, naturally, been a number of bumps in the road, but, like all things, these too shall pass. Your temper has certainly blossomed as you have gotten older. Daddy says you get this from me. Probably. You are also quite persistent with your demands. Your memory is like an elephants, and it is taking quite some time for you to realize that you aren’t going to get what you want just by screaming and whining about it. Someday you’ll come around. You’re already starting to make teeny, tiny steps in that direction – the one in which you realize that candy is for after a meal, not in place of it, and you may as well zip it and just go ahead and eat because the faster you do, the closer you are to your “yoyyipop.” It is definitely hard sometimes not to give in to your demands, and occasionally I have a weak moment, but luckily you have learned just to take your temper to your room and lat it work itself out there.
Reeves, you are so loved. At the end of each day, no matter how frustrating it’s been, Daddy and I always thank God for you and Bennett. We are so lucky to have both of you. You are amazing children. I can’t wait to see the new person you will become this year. Such a big boy, but you’ll always be my baby. I love you!

Bennett at Ten Months

Well, Benny Boy, here we are at ten months. I still can't believe how quickly your infancy has flown by - so fast, in fact, that I completely missed your nine month letter. We're ringing in this month with a nice case of pink eye. What fun. Luckily, the only aspect of this that seems to even remtely bother you is the treatment. You scream like I've never heard you scream when I put those drops in. Of course, you being you, you recover from this trauma remarkably fast, and seconds after we're finished, you're off and playing like nothing has happened.

As Murphy would have it, since I didn't post at your ninth month, you spent the majority of the time before that hurtling over milestone after milestone. Your two bottom teeth finally popped in in April. So far, they are the only ones brave enough to make the journey. I think they have warned all the other dental buds that you thouroughly enjoy putting any and everything in your mouth and chomping down. You have mastered the art of opening any flip top with your two little teeth.

While you had been commando crawling for a month or so, you finally made the transition to full fledged crawling. It was as if all of a sudden, one day you figured out that it was much faster and perhaps less painful to go it on your hands and knees. While I find myself doing less laundry now, I am also having to clean the floors more since you are no longer doing your sweeping laps.

On morning of your ninth month, I went in to get you from your crib and found you on your knees, holding onto the railing, looking for me. I couldn't believe it. You were getting vertical on your own. Suddenly, we had to move everything we didn't want you to have up another level. The top of the toy box was no longer a treasure safe zone for Reeves. He has adjusted accordingly and without too many meltdowns. For a few days, once you got to your knees, you were stuck. You couldn't figure out how to get back down. This led to some frantic cries on your part, but once you learned to thump down on your bottom, you were happy as a clam.

On May 20, you stayed out at the country for us to take Reeves to his endoscopy. This started what was to become a five day stay. I came down wth terrible swimmer's ear and could do nothing more than lie in bed 24/7 and wonder, "Whhhyyyy meeee?" When I went to finally see you and Reeves on Friday, I learned that you had apparently decided this was the week you would start pulling up to standing and go from crawling to sitting all by yourself. As much as I hated to miss these firsts, I am so glad you had your grandparents to take care of you for them. Of course, you have never looked back, and while there haven't been any major new developments, you have certainly perfected those you do have.

We have noticed, recently, that while you always loved the little silky blanket with your name on it that Maddelle gave you, it has now, somehow, morphed into a totally necessary security for you to have in order to go to sleep. I can't tell you how precious you are when I put you in your crib, and you grab that blanket, pullit up to your face, and put your thumb in your mouth. I also can't tell you haw terrified I am that something will ever happen to that thing. As insurance, I have bought three similar blankets and had Maddelle embroider them just the way this one is done. These imposters seem to work, but you certainly don't adore them as much as the original. As long as they soothe you off to dreamland, I, and you, seem to be OK with them.

Bennett, you are just about the happiest child I have ever known. You smile all the time, and somehow, when that one dimple appears, you get even cuter. You are, most of the time, easy going, but have no qualms about letting us know how you're really feeling. You adore your daddy and big brother. I like to think you feel the same about me, but since you jump out of my arms to get to either one of them, I'll be content with being #3 in your hierarchy for now.

We say it all the time, but, Benny Boy, we love you more than you'll ever know. You have brought such joy to our lives, we'll have to spend the rest of our time repaying you.