Holden is the sweetest thing. He’s very similar in disposition as Hutch as a baby, except maybe slightly fussier and more dramatic. I guess he has a right to be that way because look at what he has to put up with on a daily basis (note the shovelful of sand on his head):
Hutch loves his baby brother and also loves to terrorize him. Never having a baby brother myself, I can only imagine the secret joy he takes in causing Holden grief. But Holden takes it mostly in stride, and I maintain great hope that they will be best friends throughout their lives, despite it all. Nobody makes Holden laugh as hard as Hutchy can. And he doesn’t even have to try, really. All he does is look at his baby brother and the kid cracks up.
Hutch just LOVES to stand behind Holden’s high chair at dinner, despite constantly being told not to…the appeal of hiding from—and subsequently surprising—his baby brother is just too great to pass up. I love how Holden will twist almost completely around to see where Hutchy is.
If Hutch is built like me, Holden is very much like Kyle. Hutch’s legs were always long and lean, and Holden’s got these adorable little thunder thighs that are just. so. squeezable. He’s like the little teapot—short and stout. His cheeks are droopy and huge and all kinds of awesome. He’s got six teeth (two little chiclets on the bottom and four giant chompers on the top), of which he’s very proud. He eats almost everything, baby-led weaning style, which means that I don’t have to sit and spoon feed him at mealtimes. (It also means his high chair and the floor surrounding it is a complete and utter disaster three times a day, because this kid is messy. But it’s worth it.)
He’s been a solid crawler since about 6 months old, and as of this week is *starting* to dabble in standing unassisted. A lot of people bemoan the fact when their infants start crawling and walking, but to me it’s a very joyful thing. I think the older Holden gets, the more he and Hutch will play together and the less I will have to be the song-and-dance around this joint.
Some things I want to remember about this beautiful baby boy:
1) The chubby squishy joyfulness of him.
2) How he is ENTIRELY squishy, even his knees and his back and his forehead.
3) How when I nurse him, whichever side he’s laying on, he uses his top leg to kick me and grab at stuff with his toes. It’s so adorable. He’s like a little monkey baby.
4) Whenever music starts to play, no matter where he is he stops what he’s doing and starts to twerk.
5) His clumsy attempts to cover his own face (or mine) with a blanket for peek-a-boo. Babies doing things clumsily is probably the cutest thing of all time.
6) His clumsy attempts to clap.
7) He will catch strangers’ eyes and smile at them but then nuzzle into my shoulder and get shy…but peek at them and grin some more. He makes everyone melt.
It’s so hard having a toddler and a baby but I know that in a few years I will miss these days and I’m constantly striving to enjoy it. I think I’m doing pretty well.
Love you Hody!
