Love

Dear Lennan;

Do you know how loved you are?  Even though this week you gave us some very early mornings and late nights, you are pretty much the best thing ever in life.  I know it's just because you were growing some little teeth to fill out your beautiful smile.

Daddy really enjoys spending each night with you during bath time.  He hardly ever lets you faceplant in the tub!  You surprise him a lot with all the new things you learn how to do and he delights in telling me all about it.  Often, he calls me into the bathroom to check out some new trick that you can do, from sitting up to laying on your tummy playing with your Purple and Green friends (bath toys!) to banging on the side of the tub like a drum set.

We've got some weirdo names for you that have developed.  You have been 'The Buddha' from birth, and thankfully have been a Zen baby a lot of the time!  You also went through a period of being called "Little Booty Lichtenstein", which has been shortened to "Booty Booty Booty" and eventually to "Bood".  Sometimes I call you my Halla.  I don't know where they come from but I guess sometimes there's just so much cuteness that your regular name isn't enough to contain it!

As I'm typing this, you are napping upstairs.  We call this a "daycare nap" because it happens at the exact times that you will be napping in September when you are a big girl!  You are making this very easy on us; thank you!  I'm excited for you to make some new friends and have new adventures, BUT there is a lot of time left before that happens and I get to spend it all with you!!!!  I'm the luckiest.  During your naps I usually play the sound of waves crashing to drown out Sally and Leo sounds, but hopefully when you're older you won't have to go to the coast to get a good night's sleep!  Sometimes when you are sleeping I look at pictures of you till I can see you again.  That's not weird, is it?

It's not just the people that live here that love you, but you are getting loved from all over!  There are people in China that love you, people in Cochrane, Alberta and Waterloo that love you.  You have grandparents in Arizona who are watching you grow and loving you!  You will see them soon.  You have grandparents in Huntsville who love you and take lots of pictures of you and squeeze you every chance they get!  You have grandparents in Chatham who love to watch what you do on video calling and love to play with you on visits!  You have great aunts and uncles all over Ontario who love you and your Mommy and Daddy's friends right here in Burlington that love you.  Woah!  That's a lot of love!  Oh yeah, I think Sally and Leo love you too.  They show their love by drooling upon you every chance they get.  Don't worry, you get them back bigtime.

Oh, even though I worry about you and wonder if I'm doing the right thing sometimes a lot, spending time with you is awesome.  It is a trip watching you get bigger, watching that crazy hair of yours get longer,  and watching you develop your skills.  I've already filled up 3 vacuum bags of clothes you have grown out of.  Just this week, you started getting up on all fours...you might be crawling soon!  The other day you picked up food from your tray and fed yourself!  And you've also started moving your little hand in what looks like it could be waving!  I guess waving at you like an idiot for so long is catching on!  And your laugh is still infectious...Daddy and I turn ourselves inside out to get you going - I'm glad there are no cameras on US all the time!!!  Daddy's new thing now is to flip you over his shoulders and let you drum on his head.  "Daddy Head Drum!"he shouts, while you giggle.  Love it.

I've got to go now and water the plants and do some other stuff while you are napping.  I just checked on you and you are still sleeping peacefully, with Elly and your Glowworm strewn around you and your thumb just out of your mouth where it popped after you fell asleep sucking it.  Man, you are sweet!

I love you, little one!

Sincerely,

Your Mom.