The Akin Addition: Dear Norah, Month Eight

Dear Norah,

I’ll start with my favorite development for the month: you give kisses. And not just any kisses, huge, open mouth aimed straight-for-the-cheek kisses. They are sloppy, slimy and oh-so-wonderful. Your kisses are one more way for your sweet personality to present itself and I can’t get enough of those open mouthed kisses.

With summer weather upon us, we have been spending more time in the pool and have enjoyed a couple of trips to the beach. Your first few trips were fairly easy, as you would stay in one spot. Now, you scoot and roll and reach and twist and pretty much do anything but stay in one spot. It’s made keeping you on a sand-free blanket under an umbrella a little more challenging. You love the water and enjoy being held in both the pool or the gulf. While we put the same baby sunscreen (60 SPF) as we do on your brother, you began to sport quite the tan. Apparently you have skin like your daddy that tans very easily.

You are also big enough to be able to swing on the infant swings at the park. While I have to repeatedly explain to your brother why you can’t go “high” yet, you love the gentle pushes and have a huge smile plastered to your face the entire time you swing.

I haven’t mentioned in a while the fact that you are a pacifier baby. And you finally figured out how to put your pacifier back in your mouth in the middle of the night. While it hasn’t stopped your twice nightly wakings, it has provided you with some self-soothing techniques that I can only hope will soon transition into meaning more sleep. As a result of your newfound skill, your crib features no less than four pacifiers to guarantee one is within your arm’s reach at all times. Also this month you have started doing a new "trick" where you simply lean forward from a sitting position to sleep. While I'm happy you're so flexible, I'm pretty sure there has to be a more comfortable way for you to sleep.

You have become more vocal this month, probably because you are beginning to realize that it’s the only way to compete with your brother, who talks all the time. Your squeals, screeches, coos and aahs are now more frequent and at a higher decibel.