Dada chomping puffs.

Every day, we realize more and more how we don’t have a baby so much as a little boy. Buddy is growing into a patient, perceptive, playful little one.

Patient: I read that it’s developmentally healthy that Buddy is eager to express his opinions and desires. Humans are selfish and Buddy is no exception. He kinda wants what he wants when he wants it. That’s why about a month ago, he resolved to work on patience and gratitude. I’ll leave gratitude for later, but Buddy is trying to learn…

…That time between his bottle coming out of the warmer and his bottle hitting his little mouth is actually a timeframe he can survive. I mean, I realize that his little brain has a hard time comprehending the idea of 30 seconds. And I know that even though this routine has happened no less than 150 times in his life, it’s tough to process trends when you’re 10 months old. Still, patience is a virtue…so Buddy is working on it. And I have to say that as long as he has a binkie to tie him over during this tumultuous time, he has learned to not scream his head off every night prior to bottle hitting lips.

…That waiting on Mommy to rescue him in the morning is not reflective of her love and commitment to his wellbeing. Instead, it’s just that she has to put on pants, go to the restroom, and put his bottle in the warmer. Not in that order because clearly, the bottle is first.

Perceptive: No, he doesn’t understand everything we say, but he is starting to pick up on so much. For example, Buddy has figured out “nono.” We have tried to instill a sense of obedience and boundaries at an early age. No spoiled child here. And to ensure consistency: we chat about what is and isn’t off-limits and never, ever omit to nono when Buddy is into forbidden mischief. The only tricky thing is getting him to not laugh hysterically when we say nono.

At first, Eric thought it was my tone. My nonos were not stern enough. But it turns out that the sterner the nono, the more humorous to our little fella. That’s right: wanna get giggles from this baby, forget peekaboo. A good, stern nono will get you at least 5 minutes of hysteria.

Playful: (warning: no sarcasm in the following…seriously….i know it’s a shift, so I wanted to give notice.) Buddy is a blast. He loves his toys but more than toys, he loves being outside, banging on anything at all, playing with friends and family, and laughing at his uber-comic parents. (okay…a tad bit of sarcasm there.) He also loves climbing up and getting around. He isn’t walking, so he climbs up, decides he wants to be in a different spot, climbs down, scoots to new spot, climbs up…repeat…over and over and over and over again. Makes him so happy, even as the inefficiency of it all is flabbergasting. And on an up side: he is now crawling all fours instead of trench warfare style.

I should also mention that he loves his Zadies caregivers who have done so much to encourage his exploration and development. It warms my heart when I drop him off and he is so excited with smiles, giggles and hugs for his teachers. When I pick him up, he’s still so sweet to them and can almost tell them bye-bye!!!

One last thing…speaking of picking up Buddy from school…his reaction when we walk in the room is one of the best things in life. It may alone make all those sleepless nights worth it. Best thing ever. Heart melting. The ultimate heart thief, that little smile and squeal.

I realize all the time that it’s impossible to capture all the little baby Buddyisms in videos and pictures and blog posts. But his precious self is so full of moments that make our lives so rich. Love sharing a smidge of this joy with our family and friends.