Newsletter: Month 10

January 10, 2008New foods: Oatnut Toast, chicken, oranges
Nicknames: Remo, Remmers, Rems, Remi-toe, Remingtoe, So-so, Remi-so

Dear Remington,

This month begins your official reign of terror.

You have been such a little malcontent for what at first seemed like no reason. Then as time wore on I began to notice the source of your woes...a little pearly white trying to break the surface of your gums. Yes sirree, you are getting your first tooth. This tooth is an important milestone we felt would never come, but it was also brought upon us a lack of naps, screaming, whining, fevers, and interrupted nights of sleep.In addition to tooth trouble, you also had the super wiggles at the beginning of this month. You could scoot backwards so fast in would make our heads spin. You didn't seemed to have any particular destination in mind, but I had to rescue you from yourself several times. The day after Christmas a switch in your head flipped and you finally began to crawl forward. On top of that, you have started to pull yourself up on furniture, your main objective being to pull at Baxter's feet or Niles' ears. They have both lost some of their fondness for you due to this new development. Another interesting aspect of so much movement is FALLING. STRAIGHT BACK. LIKE A BOARD. Somehow you have not had a concussion yet, but you are the master of hitting your head on the only spot of the floor where there is not nearly enough protection.To protect you from yourself I have created a barricade in the family room that includes a rug with a nice soft carpet pad underneath, lots of toys and two roving dogs. Toys aren't enough to keep you away from the oh-so-attractive fireplace, which is surrounded by a soft and cozy brick step, and an ever alluring electrical outlet. I have never understood the importance of baby proofing until now!
Now that you know how to stand, you refuse to go peacefully down for a nap. You sit up the second I put you down. You got your limbs stuck in the crib rungs so many times that I finally had to banish you to your pack and play. You weren't at all thrilled, and I don't even want to count how many hours I spent letting you 'cry it out' only to give up and bounce you for a few minutes in order to get you to go to sleep.
Despite all of your recent troubles, you have managed to keep your precious sense of humor. You love to laugh and jabber. You say 'mama' (I think you know what that means) you wave 'hi' and 'bye' and you love to stretch your hands above your head when we ask, "Who's so big?"We celebrated your first Christmas this month. You got a million board books from me, an awesome push and ride toy from dad, and a barrage of other presents from family and friends. It seemed you were a little overwhelmed with all of the wrapping paper because we gave up after about 30 minutes and ended up not even opening all of your presents until three or four days later. We spent a lovely Christmas Day evening with Marshall's family and you are trying to gain a better appreciation of strangers. Everyone was so sweet to you, but you rarely let your guard down. You really did enjoy eating Cheerios given by my nine year old cousin Alicia. Every time we get together she is gentle and patient with you and you seem to really enjoy her attention. This has been a very interesting and hectic month for all of us. We are so glad that you are growing so fast and hitting a nice stride. You are no longer a baby! You are our little boy!
Love you!

Love,
Mama