Dear Davis: Months 8, 9, & 10

Dear Davis,

I'm sorry I'm cramming three very fulfilling, hectic, and big months for you into one post, but I wanted to get something on the books.

We had a rough winter. I'm not going to sugar coat it. After some ups and downs, sick weeks and healthy stretches, you got the flu. Both strains of the flu. At the same time. Your doctor couldn't believe what a champ you were considering how much stress that was on your little body. It was hard to witness, as you slept a lot and were just so sad. We saw your temp rise to digits we've never seen before and had to call the children's hospital one night. Thank you for rallying, Davis. It was such a blessing seeing you come back to life and be your jolly self once again.

Since the last time I wrote, our dog and cat ended up at the emergency vet. Bowen broke a toenail, survived, and embarrassingly wore a cone for a week. Tragically, Bronx encountered a car in front of our house, and we had to say goodbye to our feline. I always thought I would be sending my kids off to college and still be shooing Bronx away from me. We never saw eye-to-eye, as I'm sure he viewed me as the person who stole his best friend, but he was always very loving toward Fraser and you. It's weird not having him around, and you'll never really know Bronxie cat.

You started eating real food, which took considerably longer than Fraser to get the hang of...I'll blame all your illnesses. You started scooting and army crawling recently, too. But no teeth yet. Eek. Let's see...what else? You enjoyed a special night of swimming with friends without your sister (who was sick at the time, imagine that). We witnessed your first snow (you loved it), Dad's 35th birthday, snowshoeing in Hood River for my birthday, and your first Valentine's and St. Patrick's holidays. We got outside as much as possible, hit the gym often (despite the hotbed of germs), and watched a lot of hoops. You're riding in a grocery cart like a big boy now and trying to crawl away from your big sister.

Thanks for taking long, hard naps. For waving with your entire arm. For kicking your legs and dancing and wiggling your body when we sing certain songs. For--just like Fraser--loving Itsy, Bitsy Spider. For changing your mood the minute we get out into nature. For being as happy as can be to go to any of the ladies at church or the gym. You are a sweet soul, and I just can't imagine you being anybody but you,.

We love, you, Davis Norman.

Love,
Mom

Dear Davis: Month 3

Davis,

If I don't get this posted, you're going to be four months old already!

You continue to be a jolly soul, but you've already come down with your first cold. I blame your sister. That sweet thing didn't get a cold until like 12 months or something crazy...but you, you who never did anything to her...well, she can't keep her mitts off of you, and I blame her.

From months two to three, we hosted our dear friends the Bolgens, and you were a champ sleeping in your bassinet until close to daybreak. I didn't have to worry about you waking anybody up in the middle of the night. You've been a great sleeper, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for the dreaded four-month sleep regression. How about we just skip that part of infancy, huh? Back to the Bolgen family...we had the best week of adventuring, eating, wine tasting, beer drinking, kid wrangling, and laughing. You were a wonderful addition to the crew and will be chasing after Fraser and Jack before we know it.

At the end of August and beginning of September...you sat through (and sometimes slept through) your sister's swim lessons and trips to the park so she could run free, and you're settling into the rhythm of the stroller just fine. The weather was HOT, and you, my friend, are like your dad and sister and apparently run very warm because we experienced a couple of overheated Davis days. I'm sorry about that. I'll remember not to bundle you up too too much once the weather cools down.

Dad took your sister camping for a night at the coast, and you and I had a great day just the two of us. Lots of snuggling and errand running (fun for me, not so much for you, but thanks for being a good sport!), as well as your first Coug game (pretty sure you slept through all of this--how rude!). And I'm mentioning this because I don't want to forget how the carbon monoxide alarm went off in the middle of the night and would not stop. It was frightening for both of us, and I apologize that I was just wandering around the house looking for a fire instead of grabbing you and running to the street. It was a good practice run in case of a real emergency and quite hilarious that it would happen the first and only time when your dad and sister just happened to be gone. Thanks for sleeping through most of it.

We talk a lot about how crazy and energetic and spunky Fraser is, and when both of you are finally asleep, your dad and I just smile and say you're such a good little guy. Thanks for going with the flow so much. The days are flying by, and you're really just about four months old. We are gearing up for a big road trip, and you're going to cross state lines for the first time (not counting Vancouver). We hope you like adventuring as much as the rest of us. Something tells me you will.

You have the best crooked smile and you still have that little dimple. Thanks for being you, Davis boy. We love you oh so much.

Love,
Mom