dear james >> all boy.

Dear James,
where do i even begin?
you are 17 months old now (what?!) and more active and talkative than ever. life with you is so fun these days, but boy oh boy, you wear this mama out!
you are now on just one nap a day, you are so close to being able to run, and you pretty much say anything we tell you to say.
my favorite is when you ask for "la-kook" in the morning.
that would be "yogurt" in James terms.
it's so sweet...i'll be sad when that pronunciation goes away.
you also enjoy watching "the (fruit, alphabet, farm animal, number) train" and "Gangnam Style" on youtube.

see those two pictures above? yeah, you have your nook in both pictures.
oops.
there's good reason though (at least i keep telling myself that..)
about two months ago, we cut out the nook cold turkey and you did really well. never really protested, so i was excited!
but then...
those blasted molars decided to poke through your poor baby gums.
you weren't happy about that (rightfully so!), so instead of constantly filling your little body with medication, i decided the nook would be a much better alternative.
ohhh, and it was. when the nook was in, you were happy!
well, about a week ago (now that all four molars have graced us with their presence) i was ready to try and go cold turkey again when i noticed...
your "vampire teeth" (what are those teeth actually called? canine teeth? fangs? eye teeth?) were ready to pop through at any moment.
so you still sport your nook throughout the day.
enjoy it while you can, mister, because it's going away after those suckers pop through! :)

and then there's bedtime...
before i get into bed each night, i absolutely have to sneak into your room and peek in on you sleeping. well, two nights ago when i went in, you started to stir and then you sat right up (weary eyed, no less) in your crib with your arms reached out towards me. i gently lifted you out of your crib, sat down with you in the big, cozy chair, and began to rock. you immediately laid your head down on my shoulder and drifted off to dreamland again. i sat there probably longer than i needed to, but my heart was full and i didn't want that moment to end. i closed my eyes and began to thank God for choosing me to be your mama. believe me when i say this, james, i don't take my job lightly. i keep reminding myself that it's SO important to soak in these sweet moments with you. i won't be able to rock you to sleep forever. you won't always randomly shout, "mama! mama! mama!" when you want me near. you won't always be my little shadow, trailing behind me, each step of the way. someday (in the far distant future), you will spread your wings and experience this big world. but you know what, little man? i will always carry these sweet memories in my heart.

whew, before i become too emotional, i will leave you with this...

"i'll love you forever, i'll like you for always, as long as i'm living, my baby you'll be"

embracing the camera and linking up over here

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