Just posting these on the Internet, so that in case something happens to my computer, I won't loose them forever ( :
Sunday, August 7, 2011
My Precious Beau,
One week from today, my little baby will turn 1 year old.
And, suddenly, you won't be so little anymore. In one short year's time, you
developed from not even holding up your own head to walking and blowing kisses.
My precious Beau, Mommy and Daddy love you so
much! We call you "the Precious" as another nod to the Lord of
the Rings. I wonder, when you read this letter years and years from now,
whether we still call you "The Baggins" or not...
Your daddy and I were so eager to welcome you into the
world, William Beau. From the day that we learned that I was pregnant, we so
eagerly anticipated your arrival. Of course, you didn't arrive quite as we
expected. Do you know what your naughty daddy used to call you? Retard Breech
Baby. I know, not a very nice name at all! But indeed, you were in the breech
position, and that's why you entered the world by caesarean.
I remember bringing you home from the hospital, to our small
rental home in Osceola... You looked so
small in the crib! Like a fish out of water, you hated that crib! And the
bassinet... The only place that my precious Beau wanted to sleep was with his
mommy and daddy. 12 months later, you still sleep with Daddy and I. Honestly, I
would have it no other way. I have loved and cherished our co-sleeping arrangement.
What can be more nurturing for a baby then falling asleep nursing, cuddled up
beside his Mommy's warm body, listening to her heartbeat? Daddy and I both love
to watch you sleep. When I watch you sleep, your sweet innocence simply
radiates from every pore.
This first year was filled with so many amazing memories,
many of them involving the entire Wheeler and Ketcham families. I remember your
Baptism, carefully watching Grandpa Jay pour the water over your head. Grandpa
Jay is so proud of you. Recently,
you've started watching him during church. You little head pops up, as you
listen to his voice, and you smile... I've caught Grandpa beaming in your
direction many times. Today, you tried to grab the communion wine trays.
Grandpa chuckled and his eyes twinkled, doing his best Santa Claus imitation.
Over the past years, I've discovered that the connection
between grandparents and grandbabies is so
profound. Your grandmothers absolutely adore
you. As grandparents, your grandmothers appear to be re-experiencing
moments from when your father and I were children. Grandma Carol says that watching you is like
déjà vu. You and Daddy looked so much alike as babies! When you eventually read
this letter, I wonder if you will still look like your daddy? You definitely
have his expressive eyebrow movements. Recently, we've decided that your smile
looks more like mine. You furrow your eyebrows, lift your cheeks very high, and
squint.
Your smile brings me such joy, Beau! You communicate so much
with your smile! When you smile at me, you just radiate adoration and such pure, innocent joy and love. I feel so
blessed and privileged to have received every one of your broad little grins!
Today, you and I spent such a lovely afternoon together. The
weather was gorgeous: partly sunny,
not too warm, with a gentle breeze. You splashed in the baby pool, while I read
a book in the shade. It was so
relaxing. You were so content to play independently, vigorously splashing and
trying to climb up the little slide that I had placed in the water. My book
mentioned the strength of love by a mother for her child, and I actually got
teary...watching you splash in the water and smile up at me. I love you so
much, my Bilbo Baggins.
Well, Beau, my plan is to write you a birthday letter every
year. I'm not sure when I intend to give you these letters... Right now, I
think that I will give you the first letter when your first child celebrates his or her first birthday. Because
then, you'll know what I am talking about... You'll be well familiar with
the unconditional love and adoration
that a parent feels for its child. You'll be able to fully appreciate how
greatly your mother loves you. Please remember that, Beau. I'm sure that, over
the years, I haven't parented you perfectly. For that I am sorry. But always
remember, William Beau: I love you. I
love you so, so, much, and I cannot even begin to tell you what joy you have
brought to my life.
Love Always,
Mom
P. S. This picture is from our lovely afternoon today. See
what I mean about your smile? Beautiful!
Random Facts and Memories about Beau's First Year of Life
Favorite TV Entertainment:
Sesame
Street
Favorite Songs:
The
Office Theme Song
Sesame
Street - Elmo's Song
Patty
Cake, Itsy Bitsy Spider,
Favorite Comedian:
Mommy
Daddy
- You love the corner of our sectional couch: It is your
personal trampoline! You coyly stand in the corner, while I attach you,
tickling and blowing bubbles. You screech like a hoot owl, fall down, and
quickly come back for you.
- You love Sesame Street. When we need to keep you occupied
while we do something, we put you in your exersaucer in front of Sesame
Street... It won't win Daddy and I any parents-of-the-year awards, but you LOVE
it.
- You think Mom is the most hilarious comedian of all time!
Seriously, all I have do is make a funny face or sound, and you crack up!
- Favorite Toys: a musical frog, a rubber ducky, your books
(You love to take your books off the shelves and then rummage through then- oh,
and you also like to do the same to our DVD collection!)
- You've recently discovered how to open the toilet lid.
Lifting the lid like the hood of a car, you excitedly splash in the toilet
water.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Happy Birthday Eve, Bilbo Baggins! After 24 minutes of
wrestling around in bed, you are finally asleep upstairs. Tomorrow you turn 2!
Random Facts and Memories about Beau's Second Year of
Life
Favorite TV Entertainment
Sesame
Street Clips
Barney
videos
Favorite Musical Group
Celtic
Thunder!!!
Karmin
Favorite Toys
Train
Set that Grandpa Ketcham bought you for your 2nd Birthday
Cozy
Coupe
Elmo
and Cookie Monster Stuffed Animals
Favorite Food
Mandarin
Oranges
August 15, 2013
Happy Third Birthday, Bilbo Baggins!
As I write, you are taking your afternoon nap. It's that
magical time when both you and your brother are asleep, and Mommy takes one looong,
deep breath of relief ( ; You've been such a good boy today, Beau! I would like
to thank you for the reprieve from your behaviors yesterday. As I told your
Aunt Emily, I am pretty certain that you were trying to fit in every last
"Terrible Two" tantrum possible, prior to "officially"
turning 3 in the evening.
Beau, it has been a wild year. You have grown in SO many
ways. Watching you become a big brother has been SO amazing! You love Lincoln
so much, and he just ADORES you. Don't get me wrong: You two ALREADY fight. A
current example: You'll be watching Curious George on the Ipad, and Lincoln
will use his new crawling skills to chase you down, trying to touch it, too.
You'll then screech like a monkey and sprint away... only to have Lincoln
dutifully chase you to the next place ( : Do you remember that we currently
call Lincoln "Tito La Tortuga"... He just LOVES to dutifully, persistently
follow you around.
Watching you interact with our family CONTINUES to be one of
my favorite parts about being your mother. Your grandparents continue to adore
you. Honestly, it's a little sick. Both grandmas think you are the most
amazing, wonderful, smart, well behaved little boy they have never met. Boy,
you've tricked them! ( ; Both grandpas adore you, too. You are always SO SO
excited to play trains with Grandpa Ketcham, "Train Grandpa". And you
and Grandpa Jay just have a casual, easy relationship. He lets you eat all the
Pringles you watch, watch Celtic Thunder over and over again, and go on long
walks together. Your grandpa thinks you are a pretty funny guy ( ;
Oh, and you became potty-trained this year. Woohoo!! Once
you learned how to pee-on-demand, the process was pretty easy. I remember one
night, you jumped up from playing to trains to run to the bathroom. And from that night on, you consistently went
in the potty. Now, don't get me wrong. You went through a phase where you
pooped and peed wherever your heart desired! You would literally feel the need
to go to the bathroom, pull off your pants, and just let loose! You had a
favorite spot to pee, behind the couch, in front of the window. I would just suddenly hear the sound of pee splashing
on the carpet! You also peed on top of my Hope Chest twice(what were you trying
to tell me with THAT, huh, William Beau?) Yes, you've pooped and peed about
everywhere in the house. Grandpa Jay thinks that you consider that a source of
pride ( ; You still wear a diaper for naps and nighttime, but I am SO PROUD of
how quickly you learned to use the bathroom.
Well, I suppose we should talk about this, too: your talking
(rather, lack thereof). All year, you've been seeing a speech language
therapist from AEA: Nancy. She is very sweet. You really weren't making any
progress. In February, we started a sign language class, once a week for an
hour. And THAT, my William Beau, is when things started to change. You took to
sign language like a fish to water. In the first 4 months, you had learned over
100 signs. It's like I had FINALLY given you the tool that you needed to let
your voice be heard. Your tantrums decreased. My frustration decreased. It was
wonderful. Grandma Carol said she thought you seemed happier and more outgoing.
I was NEVER more proud of you, darling ( :
I remember one of the first times when you REALLY used your
signs without prompting. We were having a rough morning (aka, you were driving
me CRAZY). I was sitting on the couch with Lincoln, tearing up. You came over
to me, signed "sad", and gave me a hug. I could have BURST with joy (
: Another fun sign language memory: One morning, you came downstairs, pantless
and holding your morning diaper in your hand. You looked at me, grinned broadly,
signed "poop" and "dirty". Sure enough, Mommy had some fun
poop nuggets awaiting her on the stairs ( :
In April, we started private speech therapy with Miss Jen. We
see her twice a week, for a half hour. You LOVE Miss Jen. Whenever I ask if you
want to see Miss Jen, you always give a big smile and nod yes. You've made some great strides in therapy!
Actually, this week has been HUGE! You said purple! PURPLE (well, puh pl)! FOUR
times on Monday! And yesterday, on your 3rd Birthday, you said "more"
for the very first time. Oh, and for the record, the first "more"
came in a request for more Salt and Vinegar Pringles while shopping at Wal-Mart.
Did I mention that you like chips? ( ;
The whole apraxia thing sucks. It just sucks. Dad and I are
still working to come to terms with it. Nancy first casually mentioned apraxia
last November (you were 27 months). Then she mentioned it again in January then
February... well, Mommy finally overcame her denial, educated herself, started
looking for private pay therapy, and found our sign language class. I will
never give up fighting for you, Beau. I promise, I vow, I pledge, that I will
do EVERYTHING in my power to help you find your voice. You have my word. I wish
I could time travel to whenever you are reading this letter someday. I would
give anything to hear your voice, to hear you tell me that everything's gonna
be OK, to keep fighting, because that beautiful voice is indeed inside just
waiting to come out. But I don't need to time travel to know that you will talk
someday, because I have hope. I have hope. And I have faith.
Well, I should probably close this letter. Lincoln is awake
from his nap now. You are still snoozing. (Thankfully, after a couple of tough
nights getting to bed, you really need to catch up on sleep.) I love you so
much, William Beau. You know, as I reflect on the past year, I realize that
apraxia has only made the year more special. I think that I cherish and
appreciate your every accomplishment even MORE, because I know how much harder
you have to work for it. My favorite smile right now? How you smile when I
praise you for talking. Like, when you said "more", I just squealed
in delight, hugging you so tight. Then you giggled and did this little grin
that says "Geeze, Mom, it's not a big deal. I'm this awesome all the
time." I know, son... I know.
Love,
Mom
(This Picture is From our Immediate Family Birthday Party on
Your Actual Birthday.)
Random Facts and Memories about Beau's Third Year of Life
Favorite TV Entertainment
Curious
George
Toy
Story
Cars
Super
Why
Favorite Musical Group
Signing
Time?
Favorite Toys
Trains,
Trains, Trains, Trains, Trains! Yes, STILL!
Toy
Story Figurines: Oh, you were SO SO SO excited when Mommy gave those to you as
an early birthday present.
Actually, you discovered them in the back of the car one day after speech.... and I just didn't have the energy to say no (
:
Favorite Food
Peanut
Butter Toast (You eat this at LEAST once a day)
Chips
(whenever you can get your hands on them!)
Ice
Cream (usually, courtesy of the grandmothers)
Big Events
Went to
the ER, because we thought you swallowed a battery. The X-ray showed you didn't
Lincoln
was Born
Went to
Your First Movie! Despicable Me 2! You did SO good! You sat there TRANSFIXED! Popcorn in your lap, pop in the
holder.... You didn't even move for the first hour. Then you ran out of popcorn. We got more, and you
were good to go ( :
Best Friend
Teagan!
Random Funny Memories
After
Lincoln was born, trying to nurse your stuffed animals on your belly button.
