Dear Jadyn,

Not too much news to report since last month, and I suspect that I’ll be writing a lengthy entry to mark your soon-to-be-celebrated first birthday, so I’m going to try to keep this relatively brief (which, when it comes to my writing, means that there’s a small chance you won’t die of hunger before you finish reading it).

What this month’s letter might lack in terms of size it will make up for in terms of significance, because you recently took your first steps. You, Mommy, Zack and I were all sitting on the floor playing in Zack’s bedroom, and you pinched your finger in some sort of child-eating toy that you were holding. Much crying ensued. I scooped you up and hugged you, then turned you around to let Mommy give you a hug. I was holding your hands to help you remain upright, and you were so preoccupied with crying that you didn’t notice when I let go of you, at which point you took two steps forward into Mommy’s arms. Allow me to officially thank you for choosing to hit this milestone while we were all on hand to witness it.

In other news, you continue to get ridiculously cuter with each passing day. I’m sure there are those who would suggest that I think this because I’m your father. To those blind, cold-hearted, cruel, brain-dead heathens, I say “Hah!”

If my “Hah!” isn’t enough to convince you, then allow me to present Exhibit A, which captures one of the funny faces you’ve been making this past month:

C’mon. That’s cute, people.

And since we’re talking cute: you’re two front-bottom teeth are all the way through now (and if you take after your brother, they’ll be the only ones you’ll have until sometime next year).

Speaking of your brother: you continue to adore him like no other person in the world, and he delights in making you laugh, which he is usually able to do simply by looking at you … so you can imagine the laughter when he takes it a step further by making funny faces at you, or by doing a pratfall, a move I once watched him repeat over and over for as long as you continued to laugh, which resulted in him hitting the floor about two dozen times.

Other notables from the past month include your mastery of waving and (sort of) saying “bye-bye,” which you now do spontaneously whenever you or anyone else is leaving the house, or when one of us carries you off to bed at the end of the day.

You’ve also caught on to giving kisses, which you decided you wanted to try after Mommy and I gave each other a smooch while we were holding you. You subsequently spent the next couple of minutes taking turns leaning your face toward one of us, then the other, pressing your lips against ours each time. You haven’t mastered the pucker yet, but, since that first kissathon, you have, on more than one occasion, placed your hands on my cheeks and then pressed your lips against mine. During the brief second or two that it takes you to complete this act, I can see flashing through my mind’s eye visions of myself, during the years ahead, being a complete pushover when it comes time to either discipline you or field your requests for candy, or toys, or live horsies, or a convertible corvette. I’m counting on your mother to intervene.

That about covers it, sweetie. I’ve been so busy as of late that I’m writing this letter almost two weeks after your June 12th, 11-month milestone … which means your first birthday will be here in no time. I’ll tell you all about it next month.

I love you, Princess.

Love, Daddy

Share This

Filed under: Jadyn, Parenthood
Leave a comment
trackback • RSS 2.0