so much to love

I was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher when I heard the cat begin to meow loudly in the livingroom. Then Ivar started repeating over and over, "uh oh. uh oh." And when I rounded the corner I found him shaking his bottle up and down, while continuing to repeat uh oh. The cat was also wet with milk. Ivar looks guilty, doesn't he?

Ivar at 16 months. So much to love.

Dear Ivar,
I love that you shake your finger the whole time we read Five Little Monkey’s. You love it when the doctor says, “No more monkeys jumping on the bed!” It's especially funny that you use your middle finger. We'll teach you why that is culturally inappropriate later.

I love how you know two signs: all done and birdie. You love how effective "all done" is. When you’re finished eating you flail your arms around and we hop up, wipe you down and free you to your toys. You are proud that you can tell us what you want. We are relieved.

I love that you use Mama and Dadda interchangeably. It is obvious one name is not connected to either one of us in particular, but you use these names with affection and have learned, I am sure, that either one of us will drop what we’re doing to see what you need.

Your words are growing every day. You love pointing out your nose and teeth and ears. You love making animal sounds, “neigh, bow wow, and moo” are the current favorites.

You’ve been sick this week, and we snuggled so much. Oh I wish you would snuggle more often! It is so wonderful to have your head on my chest. But if you’re feeling better, you are much too busy than to cuddle your mom.

We love you baby boy.