Dear Family & Friends,
Greetings from Babyland! Our year has centered around young Sean Michael, naturally, and it’s been a rich experience. We’re pleased that Jules has been able to stay home as a full-time Mom, because he surely is a full-time job.
Just when we think we have our 13-month-old dynamo figured out, he pulls something new to keep us guessing. The other day, for instance, he was eating Cheerios off his tray, when he turned to me and said, “Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?”
He’s swimming every Saturday, and only pooped in the pool once. He has a long torso and short legs, just like Michael Phelps, and we’re thinking Sean “The Shark” Foley will represent the U.S. in the Butterfly in the 2028 Olympics. Not that we’re pressuring the kid. Sometimes we’ll feed him dinner even if he doesn’t swim his 50 laps.
Currently he’s working on walking and talking. He’s also a crawling maniac – he recently ascended the stairs for the first time – and can pull himself upright and walk around while using furniture for balance. He “reads” books, too, just in a language we can’t understand. Mandarin, maybe. Or perhaps Portuguese.
We’ve noticed that Sean Michael and his grandpa have quite a bit in common – nap time, activity hour, prunes, oatmeal…They were both bald for a time, but that Rogaine is really working wonders for Sean Michael – he’s even got curls.
Now we’re preparing for Christmas. Sean’s still too young to understand this holiday, of course, and Jules and I are debating about how to handle it in future years. She would like to fill his head with sugar plumb fairies and tales of Santa Claus bringing presents via the reindeer express; I’d prefer to tell him that Santa and the seven dwarfs – excuse me, the dozen elves — are nice stories, but Mom and Dad give him presents. Why set him up for later disappointment?
Jules calls me Scrooge. Bah bleeping humbug, I say. I’m a realist.
Wishing you all a wonderful 2010.
Love,
John & Jules