One Month

X-man, today you are one month old (and the way the calendar worked out, you're also 4 weeks old). I can't believe it's been four weeks. Some days it seems like it was just yesterday that we met you and some days it feels like it's been four months!

You are a precious little boy. I could just sit and look at your little face all day. But, I can't...I have laundry to do. Mostly because you sometimes have a little gas and spit up alot. Or, you pee on yourself while I'm changing your diaper. You've only gotten on your face twice...

I love to rub the top of your head. It sometimes calms you down. And I'm mindful of the swirly cow-lick at the back of your head. I could spend hours just smoothing your hair in the right direction.

Your little forehead wrinkles into 4 big wrinkles when you raise your eyebrows. You must have gotten this trait from your daddy...he can make the same face! My forehead doesn't wrinkle. You like to make the wrinkly face with your mouth in an "O" when you are particularly interested in what you're looking at. My heart just melts when you make that little face.

You've got a little red spot (with three whiteheads in a triangle) on your nose that you've had there since you were born. It's adorable! And I like to give you mommy nose kisses (that's an eskimo kiss if you don't know X-man-ese). Most of the time you like these. There are times, though, that you'll wrinkle your nose at me. Whether you like the nose kisses or not, I love them. When I get that close, I can smell your sweet breath. I love that smell. It's my little baby boy smell.

Your ears are the softest cutest ears, too. The left one is a little curled. I imagine it'll straighten out as your ears grow and mature. When we were at the hospital, I was afraid that I had done that to your ear when I fed you. I always managed to get your ear curled up under my thumb. I'm holding you a little bit differently now, so I know I didn't cause the curl.

We're getting much better at the "nursing dance." You still get excited and you grunt and root around then. I have to smile at your little "ungh, ungh, ungh" noise. But mostly, you just latch on like we're old pros. I love it when you look up at me with your beautiful baby blue eyes. We just stare at each other and it doesn't matter what time of day it is...I'm in love! I like it when you rest your hand on my breast or when you hold onto my finger while you're nursing. There's something that stirs in me when I think that I'm the only one that can give you what I'm giving you in this very special way.

Your legs are pretty much always moving. It's like you're still on the bicycle you were on when you were in the womb. They just cycle back and forth. It makes it difficult to change your diaper or put you in a footed suit, but we know you have very strong legs!

The sounds you make while you are sleeping are really strange. You squeak, make a strange little coughing sound, something that sounds like an elephant (not as good as my elephant imitation, though) and grunting...then there's the crying.

You like for me to hold you under your arms and lift you up. Sometimes you'll straighten your legs so you can "push" yourself up. There are times, too, when it seems like you are walking right up my belly with your up and down leg movements.

You like it when I sing. I sing "You are my sunshine" alot...and "This is the day." Sometimes I make up a song...like the one the other day about how you had to wait just a few minutes to eat because I had cheese toast in the oven. And just this week, I was making up silly rhymes and I realized that I can use the little nickname my parents had for my sister...just with your name instead.

You try to roll over now. You seem to favor your left side. You actually did roll over the other night but I think it's because daddy helped you a little when he wiped your mouth.

You are also doing a great job of holding your head up! When I'm burping you, you'll wrinkle your forehead and look at me with your head up off my chest. Now, getting your head back down is another story. It's more of a KERPLUNK than a controlled movement.

You love your daddy. And I love to watch you and your daddy together. When he comes home from work, he'll take you and hold you and talk to you. He took you to change your diaper one evening and I could hear him talking to you all the way down the hall. I asked him what the two of you were talking about and daddy said, "Secret boy stuff." He is going to love playing soccer with you! I am enjoying so much watching my husband turn into your father. It's a whole other side of him that I knew was there, but just hadn't seen yet.

Baths? Now that's a different story. You haven't liked any of them that we've given you. You didn't even like the one where I actually got in the tub with you. I hoped that you wouldn't get so cold if you were more in the water. You peed on me. However, when it comes time to wash your hair? You love that! After the first tub bath, I took you over to the sink and turned on the water to get it warm. You calmed down instantly and looked at me like, "I know what's coming next. You're about to rub my head! Proceed, mamma!"

You've outgrown one outfit already. It was an outfit that ^starshine sent to us in a box of boy hand-me-downs. I can tell that you're fitting in a few outfits a little better. Your feet are getting closer to where the feet are in the suits!

Speaking of feet, you've got big ones, kid. I'm guessing that means that you're going to be tall like your daddy and Aunt Chickie. The newborn socks are too small for your feet. The three month socks fit your feet just fine, but go up to your knees! How adorable is a baby in knee socks?!?

What a blessing and a miracle you are. It's just almost unfathomable that you (all of us, really) started out as just a few cells and then grew into a little human. I'm still amazed that you grew inside me. What a outward expression of God's love and greatness.

I want to remember just how tiny you are. Your little fingers and little toes. Everything about you is just so precious and while I can't wait to see your little personality develop, I'm a little sad that you're not going to stay this tiny forever.

Hopefully you'll still let mamma give you nose kisses...even if you secretly wipe them off when I can't see you.

Love,
mamma