Friday, May 4, 2012

To My Darling Burke: Eleven Months

I know I start nearly every To My Darling Burke post with the same phrase, but really it’s true.

I. Cannot. Believe. That. In. ONE. MONTH. You. Will. Be. 1!!!

I simply do not know where the time has gone, and yet I have cherished every single moment of the past 11 months!
 I have been saying for a few months now that I can’t wait for you to walk. I thought that you’d finally feel liberated, wholly satisfied, and proud of yourself. I thought that the look of frustration that would flicker in your eyes would finally disappear when your body no longer betrayed your mind's desires.
 Well, you’re walking now. Scratch that. Your running now. Full force. Everywhere. All the time. And I was right. The frustration is gone. You are free! It’s still shocking to me at times to catch you toddling across the room, hands high above your head in typical zombie-toddler fashion. I guess I just forget that you can walk. And you’re becoming braver and braver each new day. What started out as a few steps has turned into an all-out first instinct as your new mode of transportation.
 You still have not figured out how to stand up without holding onto something, although the mechanics are there. You do get really close sometimes. But, you just don’t know that you can do it. So, usually, the only time you crawl anymore is to get yourself to something on which you can pull up to start speed walking toward whatever has caught your fancy. Usually the dog.
See the hair on the floor?? That's all thanks to you pulling it out by the fistfull!
 Yes, the poor dog. You have really made a determined effort to tantalize and torture your doggy this month. You usually approach the dog under the false pretenses of snuggling—or aye-ayes—but then you just destroy him. Pull his hair. Pull his lips. Invade his mouth and ears with your determined pudgy fingers. Steal his toys. Taunt him with his own toys. You name it. You do it. Oh, and it’s also a full-time job keeping you from splashing all of the water out of his bowl. He loves you so much, though. Sometimes, he’ll play along, stealing his toy right back from you. {This back-and-forth sometimes goes on for a few minutes before you start pouting} But mostly, he lays there and endures your “snuggles.” I can’t imagine raising you without your dog. You would probably be so lonely.
 You are an observant little fellow. You’ve become a pro at tracking all of the birdies, squirrels and cats that scamper and fly about our neighborhood. If I ask you where the birdies are, you look up to the trees. You follow them when they fly. You’re also at the staring stage. You love to stare at people, moving objects, animals. It’s how you learn, assess, discover, understand the world and all of it’s lovely interactions.
 Well my fearless wonder, it has been fun these past 11 months. Watching you grow, learn and develop into the funny little human you are now has brought me the most incredible joy! Now, I will spend the next month planning for your 1st birthday—a circus theme! Daddy is virtually dying of anticipation in hopes that you’ll just destroy your cake. I’m sure you won’t let him down!

xoxo,
Mama

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