Eight Months

Dear Will:

This month was huge.

You had your second flu shot and didn’t shed one tear. You definitely get that from Daddy because Mommy used to howl about getting shots and bloodwork.

Your palette has expanded by leaps and bounds and you’ve discovered all sorts of deliciousness. Your favorites include apple-raisin-flaxseed oatmeal, Aunt Jackie and Aunt Joy’s feta dip and cheesy-jalapeno-onion frittata (stick with your great aunts, kiddo for they will feed you well), St. Thomasian Johnnycakes and mangoes.

I am so excited about the prospect of us sharing meals and cooking together.

You’ve loved being outside since you were born and we spent lots of time outside this month. We had a really beautiful day, hanging out on the front lawn with the dogs while Daddy explained ROY G. BIV and basic engineering principles to you.

And you spent more time at the beach than ever before.

Despite that we live super close to several beaches, we rarely go but we might have to change that.

We did a quick little visit with Masi and Uncle Ranson where you decided that you hated the ocean and the sand but loved the park right next to the shore.

And then, we went on our first family vacation to St. Thomas, USVI where Daddy was born.

I’ll admit that I had a lot of anxiety about traveling with you. What if you hated it? What if the air pressure on the plane hurt your ears and made you utterly miserable? What if you got hurt or sick and we had to go to the hospital?

And it was all for naught because you were the most chill traveler in the world. You slept on the plane, you charmed pretty much every woman by waving hi and bye to them and you were great when TSA insisted upon their stock and standard dickery by asking what your baby food was in a remarkably accusatory tone - it’s applesauce, jackass.

Oh and you felt right at home in St. Thomas - sleeping outside amidst cool mountain breezes with Coqui Frogs singing you lullabies, spending hours in paraiba tourmaline blue water and wearing as little as possible.

I feel like we might have shot ourselves in the foot a little bit, though. Because I mean - how are we ever going to top this, right?

For example - here you are playing with your silver rattle on the beach at the Ritz-Carlton.

You think a goddamn funnel cake at the fair will suffice from here on out? Well, it better because Mommy works for a non-profit.

(It will. It seems you and Indiana have the same taste in toys - he loved empty plastic water bottles when he was a little pup too)

Sidebar: Spending all of this time in the sunshine, you’re finally starting to look more like me. Now, people will likely mistake me for your second aunt as opposed to your nanny.

Look, I know that every mom thinks her kid is the best and odds are, she’s right. But Will? Let me assure you - you really are the best. You are literally my favorite person on the planet and every single day, I find myself marveling that this baby - this perfect baby - is someone I get to share my life with.

Being a mom is somewhat terrifying for me because I literally have no idea what I’m doing but now and because of you - I’m less scared. As long as I’m with you and Daddy - things are right and we are at home.

I leave you with these words from Charles Bukowski’s The Laughing Heart:

your life is your life.

know it while you have it.

you are marvelous

the gods wait to delight

in you.

The gods can wait their turn as I’m not done delighting in you yet.

I love you so much, William John.

Love:

Mama xx