Dear Radley - Month Four

My Dearest Radley,

As I type this you are sleeping soundly on my chest on the evening of your fourth month birthday. You are very deep in sleep sometimes cooing lightly, sometimes smiling as you dream your sweet baby dreams and I am just full of love for you right at this very moment. I think my heart may melt into a thousand little puddles.

You are so very perfectly perfect for me. I find myself on the verge of bursting into tears of joy at the beauty you have brought into my world. I am not sure what I did to deserve someone as wonderful as you, but I cherish every moment. It seems so very unfair how quickly it seems these four months have gone by. It is like someone is playing a cruel joke on me for how fast the time is passing and how quickly you are growing. But meanwhile, moments such as this one tonight I want to freeze in my mind forever and never forget. I know I am gushing...it is just my heart is so full. I want you to know how so very much you are loved totally, completely and forever and ever. Amen.

As we come to the end of your first 120 days or so on earth, you continue to amaze me with your laid back personality and charm. You are such an easy baby. You see, when your brother was born, I counted my blessings that he was such a super easy baby and it is true that he was. Your Aunt Jen even declared him maybe easier than your cousin Bella, and that is saying something! As I was pregnant with you I told everyone how I held no expectations of you being "as easy as Mack". I was certain that all the stress I was under was going to marinate you in a cocktail that would most certainly result in at best a mildly colicky munchkin and most certainly a difficult baby.

But the Lord had other plans for you my sweet. You entered this world smiling and happy and for the most part have spent the last 4 months making your "easy baby" big brother look kind of "high maintenance". You rarely cry and if you do are easily pacified once we diagnose your need of the moment - diaper, food or sleep. You sleep well and often and for nice long stretches. You sleep in the car like I expected babies would, yet your brother did not. You "go with the flow" wherever and whenever that adventure may take us never failing to sleep-on-the-go as needed. You smile at everyone. You have started to laugh. You are just really, really happy...all. the. time. It is wonderful and I am so very very blessed. I am just the luckiest mommy in the world.

You have also discovered your hands this month...

You spend a large portion of every day staring at them...

In the last week or so you have started drooling like crazy and putting them in your mouth where you pretty much put everything these days.

I think this may be the beginning of the "teething phase", though when I feel around in there I don't feel anything coming in. Come to think of it, you pretty much put everything in your mouth and the drool is out of control.

One night recently you seemed a bit "off" so I gave you a shot of Tylenol when I just could not figure out what you needed and it seems to calm you down, take the edge off and let you get to sleep for the night. I guess time will tell, but it seems something is happening with you...so I am guessing teeth.

This month you have really enjoyed being talked, read and sang to...pretty much anything that gets you some one on one attention and you seem to have a definite fondness for my voice. And though i do question your taste in vocal talent, I do look forward to spending a part of each day just getting down close to you and talking about how your day has been or all the fun things we will do one day...ride bikes, fish, build big bon fires at the ranch, buy mommy great presents (I can dream) You don't answer much yet, but you smile and get so very excited.

Sometimes, if it is close to a nap time, I can sing you a few songs...usually limited to You Are My Sunshine or the annoying Barney "I love you, you love me" or even just tell you over and over how very much I love you and how awesome I think you are...and you will smile so very sweetly and stare deeply into my eyes until I see you start to blink heavily, and your eyes roll a bit and fianlly you drift off to sleep with a silly grin on your face. I just love that.

You started your lifetime of travel adventures this month and took your first flight to Texas as a bit of a dress rehearsal for the upcoming holiday travel season and followed in your brothers footsteps and slept through nearly the entire flight. I am sorry to say your brother didn't sleep a wink and juggling the two of you was very interesting and I have more to blog on traveling through airports with TWO of you, but will save that for a future post. Ultimately we managed to make it there just fine at the end of it all. It was a quick trip, but you were a rock star traveller and as I really have no interest in being anywhere you and your brother are not, it is a very good thing. I look forward to sharing world travels with you two as we roam the planet. On this trip we saw our ranch for the first time and oh how much I look forward to our times there and I am excited for the memories that will be made in the future. Here you are with some people who love you very very much and spent a good part of their time with you gushing over you ...

I also have spent a good portion of this month trying to come up with your nicknames which is a long standing family tradition from the birth of your cousin Bailey...you have your cousins B and Boo and Bo-bo...and the list goes on and on. And you see with Mack there has literally been an unlimited number of options that he has been called in the last 21 months..Mack-a-roni, Mack-enstein, Mack-a-licious, Mack-a-doodle, Sugar s-mack...you get the idea. You on the other hand....well, I am having a heck of a time settling in on ones I like. Right now I am settling on the obvious...Boo (I am sure Ashton wont mind sharing) and then I have my little "Rad-diccio" as in lettuce...not very cute, I know...Rad-man, Rad-a-muffin, Rad-a-maker...and well in a huge leap and based on your incredible size as you are still topping the charts in height and weight I call you my little "Beast-y Boy"..or maybe my Jolly Little Giant - eh - ...I cant say i completely happy with any of these options, but I am continuing to try on different ones until I find one that I like and seems to suit you. I am sure you are thrilled with that. I will keep you posted.

All in all, my precious, I am so very lucky to be your mommy. I love to watch you and your brother get to know each other. You are just the light of each day. If I am ever down, I can always count on you for an amazing smile and in a matter of moments I can't remember what was bothering me before. You make me a better person little man. There are not really adequate words for how much I love you. I hope you can feel it.

I love you,
Mommy