Hi sweetie pie :)
I'm sorry I haven't written you in so long but now that you're so mobile I have to keep an eye on you at all times.
You're sleeping in the mei tei at the moment and look so peaceful. We're still using the mei tei to put you to sleep although our baby wearing instructor said we should only carry you on the front until you were 20 pounds and then you'd have to move to back. Oops! Daddy and I are getting a rocking chair tonight because we can't hold you anymore...you're too heavy!
Anyhoo, you're 10 months old now which means you've been out of the womb more time than you were in the womb. I hope you're still enjoying yourself. You've changed so much in the last month or so. You can crawl really well now and you're super fast. You have 6 teeth and you're still nursing but eat a lot too. You especially like rice and sweet potatoes. What else? Oh you say Mama and Papa now. You mostly say Mama and it's so cute. You have another case of pink eye at the moment. That's bad...I think we might have to get you surgery for your eye after all because Dr. Steele said that if your blocked tear duct didn't clear up by 12 months then we'd have to poke it. Poor Mr. O. Let's see...you're also tilting your head to one side a lot which got me worried so I Googled it of course and found about torticollis. Which might be caused by a tumor in your spine! Crazyness. So we're going to your pediatrician on Monday. We're still seeing your doctor in Northampton cause mama is crazy like that.
On the mama and daddy front, we've decided to move to North Carolina in late December so Daddy can go back to UNC to finish his law degree (only 2 1/2 more years to go!). I got into a lovely Master's of Science program in International Affairs here for the fall but since I'd only get to do one semester before we'd have to leave I've decided not to enroll and instead will be applying to a master's program at Duke University. Can a tarheel and blue devil live in the same household? Hopefully we'll find out!
Daddy has been leaving early in the morning so he can study some of his law books before work. He's so committed. It'll be sad to leave your familia but hopefully Daddy can do some of his summer internships in New England so we'll be able to be close to them again.
What else? We've been going to various libraries a lot. You like the West Hartford library the best because they have lots of toys and always have lots of little infants for your to play with. I can't wait until the weather gets better so we can go for walks and you can play in the park.
Last weekend we visited the Fernandezes and Raul Jr. was there! He's so cute and so big at 3 months old. He's almost as tall as you are. You still weren't very interested in him but we were! He makes little baby sounds and always wants something in his mouth. You got to see everyone except for Toti who was in Paris (!) for the week. You ended up getting sick on Saturday night and running a fever of 102.9 so we had to give you Tylenol. It was the first time you were sick since you left daycare months ago. I don't like seeing you sick. It was so sad, you didn't really want to eat or play or do anything but cry and look miserable. Poor baby. You're better now though except for the pink eye.
Next weekend I'll be moderating a workshop at the place I used to work. The workshop is about mothering and social justice. It should be fun. The other panelists are pretty amazing and include Lynn Paltrow (yes, Gwenyth's aunt) who founded this organization that advocates for mommies who are addicted to drugs to be given rehabilitation instead of prison sentences. It'll be nice to just attend the conference and they have childcare so maybe your Daddy and I can go to a few workshops while you play with the other babies.
I'm reading a book called Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home. It's really good so far but a bit depressing. The author interviewed a bunch of women who have advanced degrees (JD, MBA, MD, etc.) and were very career driven and then had babies and quit to be stay at home mamas. It's really interesting and I relate to some of the women in the book. I never once thought about staying home with you when I was pregnant. Before I even got pregnant I never ever thought about being a stay at home mama but that completely changed the moment you were born. Crazy. The scary part of the book is that some of the women didn't leave the workforce until their children were in school and then they thought it was too hard to balance work and family life. This whole time I've been thinking that once you start going to school it'll be so much easier and then I'll be able to return to work but maybe that won't be the case. We'll see little O. Your Daddy and I love you so so much. I'll try to keep writing to you sweet pea. Mwah!
-Mama
Oh I forgot, it's March now which means it's time for Octavio's March Madness II. Hopefully Mama does better than last year but Daddy is already beating me 14-11
