191st post

This post is the 191st journal I have written to you and I am thinking I should do something extra fun for the 200th! But tonight I am inspired to write because I am a bit extra emotional. Summer is slowly ending and all the stores are advertising all of their back-to-school items. The thought of not spending all day with you is depressing, actually, but it makes me write a to do list a mile long of all the things I want to squeeze in before I have to go back to work. We have had one heck of a summer :) Our mornings have been full of cuddles, oatmeal, and music videos. You dance to the latest music on MTV while meticulously placing your cars and balls into tiny corners around the living room. In the afternoon we nap, have lunch (usually fruit, a sandwhich and a cookie), and go to the pool. You make sure to cuddle for a bit during this time too - usually when you bring a book to me and climb onto the couch so I will read it to you. In the evening, after the pool, I change you into your diaper and let you run around with nothing else on. Youtake this time to roll around on Ruby, patting her soft fur and kissing her head. We anxiously await Daddy's arrival. Any knock you hear sends you into fits of giggles and you run to me ready for him to chase and tickle you. You get so disappointed if it wasnt him at the door and you ask "Dada?" and I shake my head no and tell you "not yet". Oh, but when it IS him.......Pure.JOY. Your smile makes 3 big lines across your cheeks and your eyes disappear under their chubbiness. Your 4 teeth gleam as your laugh escapes through them. Your laugh is this deep belly laugh that escalates into a shriek that raises your eyebrows and makes your knees quiver. You try to run so fast that after a few steps you fall down and just wait for those tickles to start. I love it. I love every moment. Every smile. Every laugh. Every shriek. My most favorite laugh is the one that you share in the anticipation of the tickle. He can be 5 feet away and just make a noise that may seem like he is coming towards you and it sends you into a fit giggles so entertaining that I find myself belly laughing with lines crossing my cheeks and my eyes disappearing under their chubbiness. Your laughter is contagious. I love you.

Mom