for caleb at ten months

Dear Caleb,

Sometimes you seem so much older than your ten months. Maybe it's because you're always on the go -- crawling, cruising, climbing. Or maybe it's the fact that you're so incredibly tall for your age and like to show it off by spending most of your waking moments standing up. Last week, just watching you play with your little cousin, Lydia, gave the illusion of being older. I need to take care not to close my eyes for too long because every time I blink you're showing off some new trick you've mastered.

Speaking of new tricks, here's what you've learned how to do in the last few weeks:

• Clapping your hands, which you do both when you're happy and when you want attention (you know we love watching you perform this trick).
• Playing Peek-a-Boo with more precision. Instead of pulling a blanket in front of your face to hide, you cover your eyes with your hands.
• Pointing at things you notice, like, and/or want.
• Finger-feeding yourself. You've mastered the intricate pincer grasp.
• Cruising along furniture, and, what's more, balancing yourself with only one hand. You really are getting very close to letting go completely to give walking on your own a try.
• Climbing stairs with surprising speed and agility for someone who just figured it out a few days ago. You can go down, too, but not on purpose and not without pain.
• Popping bubbles. You know that when someone is blowing glycerin bubbles in your direction, you're supposed to flail your arms in an attempt to pop them.
• Your talking is still babbling, but you are beginning your attempts to formulate actual words. Sometimes there is enough context to lead me to believe that you do, in fact, know what you're trying to say. For example, babbles that sound like "pop" when we're blowing bubbles, and "ball" when we're playing with balls.

You have the sweetest smile, and you dole it out frequently. Your laughs, both those that are sincere, as well as your well-timed courtesy laughs, are contagious. In general you are a very happy boy, and I love that. (I love it even more when you wake up happy, which you did this morning). But even happy babies have their writhing, miserable moments, such as you do whenever I change your diaper or get you dressed. Lying still is not something you do willingly or happily. You've also kind of turned into a bit of a mama's boy, preferring me over anyone else, but I don't mind, so long as you're still willing to branch out and play with others once you've warmed up. I love you, my baby boy, more than I can find the words for, even though you are growing so fast.

Love,
Mama