letter to henry : 9 months

Dear Henry,

You’re already 9 1/2 months old!

I was 9 months old when I first came to America, so it has been especially fascinating and fun to watch you the past couple of weeks. Although I spent the early months of my life in the Philippines, my personal narrative really seems to begin when my mom, my brothers and I made that 15-hour flight halfway across the world.

In that same way, and like a good book that has started with a slow and steady pace, I feel as though your story is really starting to pick up.

You are learning, changing and growing so quickly now! I am afraid to blink because I don’t want to miss a thing.

You clap frequently and with fervor. At first, you clapped when I asked you to, but now you do so when we praise you for a “good job!” or when we sing, “If you’re happy and you know it…” You even clap when you want acknowledgement or attention. (It always works. We’re suckers for you.)

You also high-five, wave hello and goodbye, and play Close-Open with your fists, which you also pointed out is similar to the “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” motions. What a little smartie!

You are not crawling or walking, but you love standing. You love to lean up against the ottoman in the living room, pounding it like a bongo drum. You don’t always have to hold on, and sometimes you balance so well that you can clap at the same time (Attaway to multitask!). Everyone thinks you may just skip the crawling part and go straight to walking. That’s fine, but I hope you’ll give us some warning. We need to babyproof a bit before we set you loose!

You are trying to converse a lot more, repeating some familiar sounds, like “Dadada,” “Papapa,” “Mamama” and “Ahpppuh.” You say the “words” with such purpose that I am starting to think you have attached meaning to them. Now if only I knew what they meant. Luckily, you are good at communicating the essentials so I am able to keep up with your needs.

And you have teeth–or at least the start of them. Your first bottom tooth reared its head on Saturday, and the second poked through on Tuesday. I thought I hadn’t seen anything cuter than your smile, but I hadn’t yet seen your toothy grin. And oh boy, it’s a show stopper.

It’s fun to imagine myself at your age and see how you might be like I was then. The way your eyes disappear when you smile– that’s definitely me. And so is the way you eagerly “chat” up the people around you when we’re out. But your boisterous laugh and strong, bouncy, crazy legs, that’s all Papa.

And then there are the things that are undeniably us. Your love of music and dancing, your appreciation of food, your joy for life. Those are things we all share, and will no doubt continue to share as a family. I’m looking forward to it.

I love you, little man.

Your mama

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