eight months

Dear Daniel,

It breaks my heart that you are celebrating eight months sick with both an ear infection and bronchiolitis. Between your phlegmy, congested breathing, the dreaded nebulizer treatments, and sad whimpers of pain and discomfort, it amazes me that you are still able to find it in you to smile and play and explore. I think it demonstrates a lot about your ability to persevere and find the good in less than ideal circumstances. My own silver lining in this is that your illness has seemed to remind you how to sleep like a normal baby.

In the last few weeks you've made very clear your disinterest in sleep. Your insistent refusal to nap has been frustrating, and not just for me, but you, too, when you grow obviously very tired but still won't settle down to sleep. I consider it a good day now when I can get one decent nap out of you.

I can't figure our why you're so apparently unable to wear yourself out enough to sleep more because you have lately evolved into an avid explorer. You've nearly abandoned your "butterfly stroke" scoot in favor of a real crawl on all fours. And you go everywhere and sometimes surprise me by what you manage to get into. Our house was once deemed incredibly well Matthew proofed, but it is apparently far from being Daniel proof. You are attracted most to the electrical cords we thought were well hidden underneath furniture and the radiators, particularly the kitchen radiator pole. (Yikes!!) Our current best line of defense, aside from trying to better hide the cords and using makeshift blockades against the exposed radiators, is to keep you in a sitting position. For as much as you love to explore and climb -- yes, you're starting to climb, heaven help us all -- you are still unable to move out of a sit and into a crawling position and vise versa, though I don't think this is an option we'll be able to rely on for much longer.

In other areas of development, you've started babbling to communicate and clicking your tongue to show off. At the table you're beginning to move on to basic finger foods -- crackers, cereal, and the like -- which you are loving. And when you tilt your head to better catch my eye and grin as you gaze at me with your striking dark brown eyes, I absolutely melt. I love you, sweet Danny Boy.

Love,
Mama