Emerson and the other fish

Emerson and the fish

Letter to my one year old son

Dear Emerson,

You are a little over a year old and, while I hardly thought it possible, I love you even more now than I did when you were born. It has been so much fun getting to know you and I wanted to take a moment now to capture this sweet, sweet time in our lives together.

You are a very curious young man: you like to explore every new thing and new place and even new people. And especially dogs. You LOVE dogs and seem to wish there was one around to play with more often.

I still can’t get over seeing you walk around, going in and out of rooms just like that. You’ve been walking for several weeks now but it still feels like a miracle to me. You still sometimes walk with your arms straight up in the air, probably because you learned to walk with us holding your hands, or maybe just because it looks cool.

I think my two favorite times of day with you are bedtime, when I hold you and rock you in the glider chair at twilight and listen to your breath slow as you get sleepy, and then around 5am when you start chirping in your crib and I come get you and take you back to bed to snuggle for another hour or two before we start the day. You are so little and warm and sweet. It’s wonderful.

You talk a lot and tell us all kinds of things that we don’t yet understand. You say “doot!” and “doy” a lot, as well as “ba” and “da.” You say “mama” too, but only when you are sad or angry. I guess that’s when it feels most needed.

You have five teeth right now, with several coming in even as I write this. These teeth serve you well eating salmon, tempeh, tofu, peas, spinach, black beans, avocado, cheese – especially strong flavored grown-up cheese – lasagna, spinach cheese pie and buttered toast, among other things.

Everywhere we go people comment on your beautiful blue eyes. And on how much you look like your father. And what a happy little guy you seem to be. It’s all true.

Maybe the very best thing of all is hearing you laugh. You are quite a joyful child and it isn’t hard to make you laugh, and your dad and I just love figuring out what tickles you. Funny faces, weird noises, throwing you up in the air or onto the bed, your dad “bushwhacking” up and down the hallway. You are constantly cracking up and we totally love it.

You are a beautiful light, dear Emerson. I love you very much and feel so lucky to have you in my life.

Love,

Mama

Favorite new place to play

Storage ottoman: not just for toys. Also for little boys.

I think my favorite part is watching him get himself in and out, usually head first.

Jane visits

Emerson's great aunt Jane was here for dinner on Wednesday which was great fun. She brought Emerson a fun new toy: stuffed bowling pins with farm animal heads, and a jingly bowling ball. It's a hit!

Determined as we were to get a great shot of Jane and Emerson together, this turned out to be the best one. While they are both technically in the frame, it is not exactly them together. (Emerson was throwing and chasing after the bowling ball).


Great to see you Jane!

A first birthday in three parts

Emerson celebrated his first birthday three times in three different states in the last few weeks. Here are the highlights:

In San Francisco on his actual birthday, March 27th, we started with the Polish family tradition career selector: on his tray were five items symbolizing potential future careers, and the first one he touches indicates what his future holds. His options were: rosary necklace (priest), hundred dollar bill (business man), orange (farmer, not necessarily citrus), computer mouse (technology), and shot glass (alcoholic).

Farmer it is!
Alcoholic was a close second.

Then it was time for cake! The chocolate cupcake was fun to play with but he didn't really get into actually eating it. Happy Birthday Emerson!

Last weekend in Franklin, TN Emerson got to celebrate with his Freundt grandparents, uncle Todd and cousins Ashley and Lauren (five and seven years old, respectively). Here's the almost-birthday boy enjoying his chocolate cake (which he did eat, and smear in his hair, and throw on the floor...)


His first first birthday was in Chicago on March 5th with the Polcyns. He had a tiny fruit tart to celebrate there and the blueberry seems to have been a bit tart for his taste.




Happy first birthday dear Emerson! We love you.

Four hour layover in Minneapolis

Thank goodness for the children's play area!