Nine months

Jack,

Well, this is a milestone birthday for you. You have officially been in this world for as long as you were inside me! And when I think about the last 18 months, the pregnant nine sure felt longer than the motherhood nine have! We can hardly believe that in a mere three months you will be one year old. Crazy!

Let's see...newsworthy information. You aren't sleeping much these days. In fact, as I write this, Dad has just gone up to check on you because you woke up after only being asleep for 45 minutes. What's up? Some people try to make us feel better and say that you just love being around us so much that it's hard for you to go to bed. It's a lovely thought, but I'd rather just get some sleep. :) You tend to wake up a lot at night. Sometimes we have a couple nights in a row of "better" sleeping, which simply means that you only wake up two or three times as opposed to six or seven. Right now, you aren't feeling well, and you tend to wake yourself up when you cough. This is the second time you've been sick in the last month or so. The first was right around Thanksgiving. You just had some bad congestion and a cough, but your nose got so infected, so the doctor prescribed Amoxicillin. You thought it was pretty yummy! I don't think there is anything wrong with you right now that antibiotics would help, but we do have your nine-month appointment on Thursday just in case!

Your first Thanksgiving was pretty low-key since you were sick. In fact, we didn't even get to Berube's house until after everyone had already eaten because you were finally taking a good nap and we didn't want to interrupt it! I wish I could say that you enjoyed the feast, but being sick left you with very little appetite, and let's face it--we would have had to stick it all in the blender. Yuck. Speaking of eating, you are broadening your horizons a little bit and eating a larger amount of food at every meal. You still gag sometimes (especially when you're sick--dang phlegm), but you are getting pretty good at keeping everything down. You especially like yogurt and any fruit. And you simply tolerate vegetables! You really like "chewing" pieces of real food while we eat dinner. Sometimes you just collect little pieces of food in your mouth and never swallow!

Your personality is just the best. I think you know that you're funny! And you're very smart. When we ask, "How big is Jackson?", you raise your arms over your head and we all say, "SO BIG!", and you laugh and clap for yourself. You are crawling everywhere. We have gates all over the place. And you are drawn to cords. Dad is pretty sure you are bound to be an electrician when you grow up. :) If they weren't potentially dangerous, we'd let you have your fun with them. But there's the whole electrocution risk and everything. Oh, bother.

Christmas is next week, and we are SO looking forward to experiencing the holiday with you. We have lots of fun presents for you to open if you ever figure out how or get past the excitement of the paper itself. We really wish it would snow so you could experience a white Christmas! Besides, one of your gifts requires snow; unless we want to look like the crazy neighbors pulling their child in a sled down the dry blacktop street! No thanks.

When people hear what our nights with you are like, I think they feel sorry for us. Or you. Or both. But the truth is, you are so delightful during the day, it makes the nights a little more bearable. Don't get me wrong, I'd love a full night's sleep one of these days, but until you figure it out, you are just the most lovable, awesome kid around. Watching you grow up brings us joy beyond belief, and I know it will only get better.

Bless you, baby. I love you.

Love,
Mom.