Dear Matthew
Last week you turned one. It has been a crazy year. The days have at times seemed to have gone on forever and yet I can't believe you are already officially a toddler. We have been so blessed to have been able to watch you grow into the gorgeous little boy that you are. You make everyday better and I love that my days are filled with your smile, your infectious giggle and beautiful easy going nature. We love you monkey.
So to celebrate we had invited all your nearest and dearest to the local park but Mother Nature had other ideas so we relocated to our backyard in case the forecasted rain decided to hit during the party. Fortunately it only rained in the morning and come the afternoon we were flooded with sunshine.
You somehow managed to stay awake from 11am to 8pm without too much of a fuss- I'm guessing you were on a high from all the loving friends and family around you.
As always, I love you to the moon and back.
Love,
Mum xxx
P.S. Your cake was a combined effort by me and your dad- over five hours of cooking/decorating.... and then we forgot to give you any haha! Oh well, you still had plenty of treats and sugar-filled snacks!
Dear Matthew
I've been back at work for three weeks now and we both seem to be coping really well.
Luckily I've been able to pump breast milk at work for you very easily and my supply hasn't dropped at all. In this regard I'm glad we waited till you were 11 months before I returned to work, as I'm not at work stressing that you're hungry/thirsty. You have also become used to taking my milk from a bottle, and don't seem to mind who gives you the bottle!
As I think I've said before, it's great for you to spend time with your grandparents as they offer you new and exciting things to do. I never had a close relationship with any of my grandparents growing up so it makes me so happy to see you so comfortable around them. It really just goes to show that babies are meant to be raised by a village filled with loving adults. You have this village and are thriving because of it, lucky boy!
Sooner or later you will be going to day care for a day or two a week which will also help prepare you for school and give you lots of social interaction with other kids. Whereas before now I was stressed about you going, given how easily you've transitioned to me working I now don't worry too much about it. Hopefully it's still a year off anyway!
As always, I love you my monkey boy.
Love,
Mum xxx
P.S. Below is a photo of you on your new trike from yesterday (an early birthday present from us to you). I love this photo and captioned it 'Soda the reindeer'. You refused to let anyone but you hold her lead so our compromise was to tie her lead to your handle bars. You have such a personality already and are fiercely independent. Exactly as I'd hoped you'd be :)
Dear Matthew
In the past couple of weeks your language has really exploded. You can now say nine words: mum, dad, da (for Soda), ball, duck, woof, boo (when we play peekaboo), clap and broom-broom (when you are driving something, be it a toy car, hairbrush or your dummy around on your mat).
It's so lovely that you are communicating more. I can't wait till we can have a proper conversation. But for now I'm enjoying watching you learn more every day. An average 12 month old can say 1-2 words, so you are doing brilliantly.
As always, I am ever so proud and love my gorgeous boy.
Love,
Mum xxx
Dear Matthew
On the day you turned 11 months old, you took your first step.
Luckily, it was at night at home and your dad and I were just sitting down watching tv. You were standing unassisted and then all of a sudden took one little step forward.
I was so excited I jumped up and picked you up for a great big cuddle! Little did I realise you were probably still in walking mode and may have taken more had I not grabbed you, but oh well! I was just so happy and glad that both your parents saw your first step together. I was due to go back to work the next day, so had it been 12 hours later we both would have missed it.
A week or so later you took three or four steps at grandma and gramps house, from their coffee table to their couch. Your dad, grandma, gramps and I were all watching :)
We are just so proud of you little boy. Although I'm having a little trouble farewelling your babyhood, I know toddlerhood is going to be a lot of fun.
You are so wonderful. I love you.
Love,
Mum xxx
