I didn’t mean to stop writing to (and for) you both.
It’s just that life got in the way.
We’d been told that the leap from one child to two was hard, but we didn’t know how hard it would be.
Endless sleepless nights all add up, you see. They really take their toll. That’s not to say I wasn’t paying attention, I make so many notes on my phone of the special moments and milestones, the things I want to remember but can’t seem to find time to form into a coherent narrative. But there’s nothing wrong with a list. Recorded for posterity, so you don’t think I suddenly stopped taking an interest in recording this time. I just didn’t have time.
But be in no doubt: I’m hopelessly, utterly in love with the pair of you. And always will be.
Jonah the Baby milestones and moments:
- 25th Jan 18 – front four teeth arriving at once, that was *quite* the surprise
- Your first time sitting at the table and your first bath with Z – you just want to be where he is
- Before you moved out into the spare room and then into your room with Z, after those seemingly endless nights of being up 5-6 times a night (SOB! I think I went a bit mad), I would take you into your daddy and he would get up with you. I would have wandered back to bed deliriously leaving my door open – the sound of Adam quietly shutting that door was the best sound EVER and signalled two hours sleep from 6-8am. Bliiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssss.
- Oh and those double ‘put you downs’ or ‘get back ups’. Soul destroying, when I’d either lay you back down thinking you were asleep or you weren’t, or I’d get back into bed to sleep again thinking you were asleep too. But you weren’t. Soul. Des-Troying.
- But oh those sleepy noises and sighs. Holding you so tight.
- March – learning to wave and clap. Pointing and saying Dada and Da and Ner Ner and Neh
- Starting your bum shuffling across the floorboards
- Sitting up in your pram, looking out, little hands on the bar, like a Little Prince
- Laying down and shaking your head
- May – first birthday and Naming Day. That needs a whole post in itself. What a very special occasion it was.
- June – ‘Bruvva!’ ‘Bubbells!’ ‘Fowar!’ Dededh for dogs, you love seeing dogs. And Charlie cat – your shouts and cries, waving to him, ‘ALLAR! ALLAR!’. Acar – Zach. Ba Ba – Bye Bye. Ka Ka – quack. You really love those Five Little Ducks.
ZT:
- Your reading and writing. How quickly it started – just wow. So proud.
- Your glasses, your excitementsfor them and willingness to just go with it
- How excited you are for Christmas and writing your first list
- Your ‘Mercussion’ assembly. So sweet. Such joy seeing you up there on stage, waving to us so happily. Yes I cried.
- Your 5th birthday party and BB8 cake. So much less stressful than the Sweetie Train Cake affair of 2017. Luckily.
- Dressing yourself
- ‘I like I love I adore you’
- ‘Mummy you may love me but I love you more.’ Well, that’s not true now, is it?
- Singing ‘Baby you can drive my car’ – mummy how do you know that song? Erm . . .
- Reading Roald Dahl with you. SUCH JOY.
- The kindest, sweetest big brother. ‘I love mummy, I love daddy, I love Jonah, I love myself.’
- Your Spring assembly – asking me to ask Miss England if you could be up on stage. That’s my boy. ‘Spring is here, spring is here, goodbye snow, flowers grow . . .’
- ‘I’m tricking you!’
- Your earnest voice
- ‘I’ve got my eye on you, I’ve got my love on you . . .’
- Our Minions song ‘Baaa baa, Ba Ba Baaaaaa’
- ‘I want to be a dancer and a reader of books and a rock star and a palaeontologist.’
- ‘Mummy can you not disturb my peace please?’
- ‘I’m never going to change house when I’m a grown-up because I want to be with mummy forever.’
- ‘Don’t answer anything to me!’
- ‘My favourite subjects are maths and the register because I like hearing Miss England call my name.’