Dear Syed Brian (vol. 1 iss. 3)

Here it is, the end of month 3, and you continue to do well, in spite of your parents. Your father and I often look at one another and wonder how we haven’t completely messed you up yet...but don’t worry, we still have a lot of time to change that. Over the past month, you have become an even happier, more smiley baby. We think that your smiles are because you are so happy to have us as your mom and dad, and to have Simon and Charlie as your dogs. However, it could be that you smile because you know how crazy we are and you like to humor us. Either way, we’ll take it. The smiles help us get up with you another night, and help us change another diaper. Speaking of getting up at night, you are teasing us a bit by making us think that you’ll start sleeping through the night. During this past month, you slept through the night 3 times...consecutively! But it was just a tease because on the fourth night, you were up twice in the middle of the night. Nonetheless, it makes us hopeful that soon we will all be enjoying 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. When that happens, everyone will be a little happier and more relaxed. Your third month saw you grow tremendously – you are now wearing 6-month clothes. We have also realized that we must be careful when selecting clothing styles for you as only certain types will fit over your head. Because of that, you discovered that you prefer to go without clothes. One of your favorite things to do this month is to play on a blanket or your quilt while you are wearing nothing but your diaper. It makes you extremely happy to be able to exercise your arms and legs without the restriction of clothing. We’re perfectly okay indulging this now, but please realize that there will come a time when clothing is not optional…after all, even your Uncle Brad began wearing clothing on a regular basis. I know it’s hard to believe that society does not accept diaper-clad little boys running around, but it’s true. Anyway, I’m sure that we’ll revisit this conversation when you are 2-3 years old. Over the past month, you have adjusted to spending your days with your father. I went back to work and left you in the very capable hands of your dad, who is happy to have a sidekick. You and your dad have already had a few adventures: going to the office a couple of times, taking drives in the Camry, and surviving some life-threatening diaper changes. Now, before you get too worried, your life was never threatened by the diaper changes but your father thought his was. Your dad is quite amazed with what your little digestive system is able to produce. Even Simon and Charlie are a little taken aback with what you can produce. However, that is neither here nor there… moving on. You celebrated your first Easter a few weeks ago. The Easter Bunny was good to you, and made sure to stop at two houses this year just to make sure you know how loved you are. Yes, that’s right, the Easter Bunny found Grandma and Grandpa Fay’s house in addition to Grandma and Grandpa Azhar’s house. You were quite excited to see all of your Easter presents and thanked the Easter Bunny with a couple of rounds of “coos.” You have become more vocal this month, and the “coos” are more frequent as you communicate with us. You prefer for us to look you in the eye and talk to you. When we do that, you respond in kind. Sometimes, you respond with a coo, and other times you respond with a pouty lip. The response sort of depends on the topic of conversation. You like conversations about fishing, eating, sporting events, and your dogs. You dislike conversations about shopping, sleeping, and clothes. I think it is very safe to say that the y-chromosome is working well for you, if your preferred topics of conversation are any indication. We’ve had a lot of fun with you this month, buddy, and we can’t wait to see how much you change in the coming weeks. With the weather warming up, we’ll get to take more walks and show you more things. You and your dad will have even more adventures as I start traveling again for work this coming month. The Azhar men are sure to have many stories in the coming weeks, and I am just lucky to be an observer (and sometimes a participant). You have blessed us in more ways that you will ever know and thank you for humoring us with your sweet smile. So, keep smiling, little one, because your mom and dad need it to survive another day. And life is too short if you don’t have a smile. Until next month…
Love,
Mom