three is a magic number

Happy three months D$!!

So far I like 3 months. You are chock full of smiles and giggles. We play this game with your legs where you start out walking, walking, then bump up to jogging, and eventually end up RUNNING, RUNNING, RUNNING. You think it is pure hilarity. Before we even start moving your legs you have already dissolved into a fit of giggles.

You are still really kicky and wiggly, but your kicking has a bit more purpose these days. You seem to be laying the foundation for rolling over. You kick your feet up really high and throw them over to one side...you get a little lost after that though.

You aren't sleeping through the night, not even close really. Grrrrr. Mostly I don't really mind though because I actually kind of like our little middle of the night dates. You are all warm and you smell like sleep. You are much more asleep than awake. You are just awake enough to chow down your snack and then pass out cold again from the effort. I just sit there rocking you, breathing you in, and rubbing my face on your fuzzy head.

Very different than what my 3:00 am wake-ups use to look like, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Or maybe I have officially gone crazy from sleep deprivation.

clicky

everybody wants to rule the world

So a while ago you discovered your hands. It's really a funny thing to think about. I mean, your hands were there all along, but one day you just found them.

So now your hands are in constant motion. You scratch things, you wave them around, and you do this really funny thing where you clasp them together in front of your face and sort of wring them. Ummm, it sort of makes you look like an evil mastermind. Like you are plotting your world domination. I can practically hear the evil Mr. Smithers like voice in your head...."damn you woman, I want milk, now!"

I hope you will use your powers for good.

nothing compares 2 u

Milky, you are two months old. Ack! Stop growing up. I command you! Before I know it you are going to be chewing steak and filling out college applications. Me no likey.

You are knocking 2 months out of the park though. On top of smiling you now coo and gurgle and have very intense conversations with anyone who will listen. It is so. damn. cute. I mean you literally say "goo". And you are much more aware of what's going on around you as well. You follow people and objects now, and often turn your head to find me and your dad when you hear our voices. You love to lay on your back and kick your legs, and my favorite time with you is in the morning on your changing table, when you just smile and squirm and are such a happy guy. When you are fussy or tired you loved to shusshed, a lot. Loudly. Right in your ear. Some days I think I am going to pass out from all the shusshing I do. So worth it though, because I love when you fall asleep all warm and soft in my arms. Often with your mouth open.

And every once in awhile, while you are fast asleep, I look down at you and you are smiling. Love.

my buddy, my buddy, my buddy and me

Dylan, today your buddy, the second generation, was born! Chandra and Jonathan had their baby boy, Charles Dashiell Fredrick. And he is soooo cute!

You will get to meet him when we go to LA in January, and I know, I for one, can't wait to snuggle him. I am sure the two of you will get along famously.

Happy Birthday Charlie, and welcome to this crazy world!

smile like you mean it

All of sudden Dylan, you are all smiles. I love, love, love it. Half the time I have no idea what is so funny and I'm clearly not in on the joke, but who cares. I laugh right along with you. You seem to have a particular love of "Itsy Bitsy Spider" so needless to say I have sung it 1 billion times to you. I have gotten a little bored with the song though (it's really not that complex or deep) so I have taken to mixing it up a little. This morning I sang it to you in a British accent, you liked that. You did NOT like it the other day when I sang it to you in a Jamaican accent though. So sorry sir.

I have decided that trying to capture these smiles on camera is as difficult as trying to capture a picture of the Loch Ness Monster. The second I pull out the camera you clam up and go back to your brow furrowing. And the more I talk about the "supposed smiles" the crazier I sound.

I managed to capture a couple half smiles (and one half shriek) though. They are not the greatest, but at least they are proof that I don't need to be committed.

I am going to keep trying though. Don't be surprised if I start donning camouflage, hiding behind bushes, and popping out at you with a camera when you least expect it. That ought to make you smile (snort).

I will triumph!!

turning japanese, i really think so

Happy 1st Halloween D-money! Not sure how much you really enjoyed it, but we made sure you got the full Halloween experience. We went over to Hud and Cam's house, like we do every year, only this year we got to march you around in your costume.

Of course, in true mid-western fashion it was cold out so you were all bundled up. People probably thought you were dressed as an eskimo or a burrito or something, but really you were

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a spicy tuna roll! Complete with ginger and wasabi. Totally yummy.

my one and only you

Dylan today you are one month old.

How did that happen?! These four weeks have flown by. Your dad and I have been oh so busy just drinking you in, in all your yummy baby-ness. I have covered the top of your head with 1,000,000 kisses, stroked those adorable cheeks too many times to count, and buried my face in your soft, soft hair....I told you I love baby hair!

You look like your dad already. Damn those Derhake genes are strong. And you do have big feet, just like your ultrasound showed. You are mellow too. Just a happy, chill baby. A happy chill baby who freaking loves his pacifier. And you have this funny face you make all the time, where you sort of furrow your brow and look all thoughtful/worried. Your dad calls it the Kate face. Um, you sort of have a wonky ear. Your right ear. It is all folded down on the top, maybe you were snoozing on it those last couple of crowded months in utero? Oh and you have dimples, actually on your right side you have two dimples. Best. thing. ever.

This last month has been surreal.

And it is going too fast already. I don't want you to keep getting bigger, selfish, I know, but I love how small and squeezable you are right now. If I could I would spend all day every day with you curled up, asleep on my chest. All ensconced in your warm snuffly baby goodness.

So perfect.

So one month into the lifetime we will share together, thank you Dylan, for being you. All this is better than I could have ever imagined....really hard too...but still better. You are more amazing to us than we could ever hope to put into words. And while I would love to keep you small and close, I am so excited to see all that you are and all that you will be.

xxoo

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