{the good}
Des uses his ever-expanding vocabulary to communicate with us and can say over fifty words, including a few in Chinese! He's also learning the alphabet and can recognize his favorite letters like D for Desmond. He's a sponge soaking up everything around him including our facial expressions. He's so intuitive and can sense the slightest disturbance of emotions in the people around him. If I'm tense, I'll see worry in his eyes. If I'm excited or happy, he starts screaming and mirroring my glee. He loves to play with planes, trains, and automobiles but flexes his domestic muscles "cooking" in his new mini kitchen. He'd always been shy and slow to warm up to new people but since starting school a few months ago, he's been so much more outgoing and loves saying "hi" and flirting with pretty girls, particularly blondes!
We've been on a few trips, including a recent road trip to Lake Arrowhead taking our new Cybex Sirona M convertible carseat for a spin. It features SensorSafe 2.0 technology which monitors the well-being of the baby while the vehicle is in motion via the chest clip. If anything happens to the chest clip, an alert goes off to both the car receiver and my cellphone. I drove Des by myself to Lake Arrowhead so it definitely gave me an extra peace of mind knowing that he was safe in his carseat.
{the bad}
Des was sick and miserable for almost a month! What started as a cold slowly but surely progressed into a fever and strep throat. After a round of antibiotics, we assumed the worst was over only to discover his cold strengthened into an upper respiratory and ear infection requiring a second round of antibiotics. It was heartbreaking watching him go through so much discomfort without being able to adequately express how he was feeling. I felt so helpless and at times completely defeated. He's finally back to his happy cheerful self but now I've become the ultimate germaphobe, washing and sanitizing his little hands at least ten times a day.
{the fab}
We have this bedtime ritual where every night at 7:30pm, I put him in his crib and zip him up in his sleep sack. He then hugs his teddy and asks to picked back up so he can sit on my lap for a few more minutes of cuddles. Sometimes he'd softly say "mama" over and over again while I respond with "baby." Other times he'd point to my facial features while naming and giggling over each one. "Eyes, hair, nose, mouth, teeth, ears, chin..." Then, he leans into my chest and gives me a great big "mama, I love you" hug. I squeeze him gently, he giggles, squeezes back, and we lay there for a few more seconds taking in the warmth and love. Then, he points to his bed, says "bed," and I put him down. This is our nightly ritual and it's undoubtedly the favorite and most fabulous part of my day, of any day.
Thank you Cybex for partnering on this story!