2005

March 28, 2005

Precious Dylan,

I have to tell you, I was the most terrified person on the planet when I found out I was pregnant with you. I remember lying on your Granny’s living room floor, with Maryn rolling around beside me and your Daddy sitting there with me, just crying my eyes out. I hadn’t even taken a pregnancy test at that point - I just knew. We went to get a test that afternoon after house hunting in Memphis. It was so vague your Daddy wasn’t sure. But I still knew. We took another one the next day and there was not a doubt that you would soon join us. I really didn’t know what to do. Maryn was only three months old at the time and I hadn’t even figured things out with her yet. Our news was met with a “boy, did you guys goof up” attitude from most people. But, we let the news sink in and decided to get tough. You were what God had in store for us and he knew better than us what we needed.

A few months later we found out we were having a boy. We were so elated!! We pretty much knew that we were not going to have anymore children after you, so knowing we had a girl and a boy just made us so very happy. I almost cried because I knew how much your Daddy was hoping for a boy (as most men do, I think.)

Since I named Maryn, your Daddy got to name you. He wasn’t quite sure what it was going to be until almost the last moment. At one point, teasing me, he insisted he was going to name you “Frank Elvis White.” That scared me to death. He considered naming you Rex L. White, IV since it had been passed from your great-grandfather, to Pawpaw, and then to Daddy. But your Daddy wanted you to have your own name. So he, along with some help from Mommy, decided on Dylan Rex. That way you would have your own name, but could still carry on part of your great-grandfather’s name.

When you came into our lives, we were settled in Memphis and publishing a wedding magazine. We had quite the system worked out: you slept (should I even call it that) in our room in a bassinet while Daddy slept in the guest room/office to listen out for Maryn, who was basically sleeping through the night at this point. In the first few weeks of your life, it became obvious that Maryn adored you. She would reach over to hold your hand in the car. This seemed to give her so much peace, like she was protecting you or comforting you in some way. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. To this day, she dotes on you. She kisses and hugs you all the time. There are, of course, days where she pummels you to the ground, pushes you or closes you in her closet. But I know she is just trying to figure out how to play with you.

My fear of having you in my life dissipated the day I held you in my arms - I knew things were going to be okay. And man, what a smile you have on you! It simply brightens up the whole world. I live to see your smile. I don’t know what I would have done on the other side of a sleepless night if you had not been beaming at me from your crib. It really made everything okay. You have been a blessing to all of us, and I cannot imagine our lives without you here.

I knew when I found out I was having a boy that things would be interesting. I know absolutely nothing about boys. I don’t know what they like, how they play…nothing! This year has been quite the learning experience, let me just tell you. It goes far beyond your pee going in a completely different direction. It is simply… everything! The noises you make have been different, your needs are different. Not knowing what to expect, I just imagined you would be much like your sister, but you are so different it is amazing. You have a harder time when you are put down. You do fine amusing yourself for the most part, but when you want to be picked up, the whole world is aware. You have a much more apparent temper. You tackle toys, where Maryn hugs and kisses them. Your aim is to destroy everything! You tear pages out of books; you walk clear across the house just to throw a toy on the kitchen linoleum so you can hear the noise it makes. And don’t even get me started about eating. Man, what a mess you make!! You really are a funny little person! You make me laugh all the time. You make so many facial expressions. I can tell just by looking in your eyes that you are going to be such a clown. You just do the goofiest things!

The only similarity I have seen so far is that neither one of you was in a rush to sleep through the night. At 10 months, I thought you had finally made it. I was wrong! I attribute a lot of this to your constant ear infections, which thankfully taking you to the chiropractor seems to be making a difference. Just before your first birthday, things have finally started to settle down. I find I have stopped holding my breath when I lay my head down to go to sleep.

Just before your birthday this year, Daddy’s Umah, your G.G. (for Great Grandmother) passed away. We spent the Easter before your birthday driving home to Memphis to say goodbye. After her funeral, 3/28/05, we let you dive into your cake and open a few gifts – a really big mistake since it was like 7pm at that point. Needless to say you did not even think of falling asleep until after midnight!

Happy birthday my little one! I love you so much and I cannot wait to see what next year has in store for you…my little man!

Notes (Birth to 1 year):

1. Mr. Grunty

2. First bath with Maryn – you, of course peed!

3. Mommy is trying to figure out how to divide my attention to meet both of your needs.

4. Maryn sat on you while you were just chilling out in your bouncy seat. She can’t understand why you are there! Scared me to death!

5. First smile in June/04. Mommy really needed it!

6. Big move to Orlando – 7/04.

7. Babbling and making little noises all the time.

8. Gorgeous smiles and laughs. So easy to get a reaction out of you. I used to feel like a circus reject trying to get your sister to crack a smile!

9. Rolling – 3 ½ months.

10. Maryn adores you to pieces.

11. Hurricane Charley – 8/13/04 – we rode that one out. You slept for the most part. Then after it was over, we went to Jacksonville to stay with some friends since we lost power.

12. Maryn went to Memphis with Daddy. So I got to spend some alone time with you.

13. Hurricane Francis – 9/4/04 – drove back to Jacksonville!

14. Hurricane Ivan – 9/11/04. Took off to Myrtle Beach to hang out with Aunt Jamie, Uncle Ben and Payton.

15. My little ray of light. You bring me so much joy!

16. Hurricane Jeanne – 9/26/04 – the final straw. We decide to move out of Florida.

17. At 6 months old you weigh 21.6 pounds. That is the average weight of a one year old.

18. At 6 ½ months old you are sitting like a pro and holding your bottle.

19. At 7 months you are crawling and trying to lift up onto things.

20. Moving to Georgia – 10/29/04

21. Travel buddies! You and Maryn, during all of our journeys this year, have just done so great in the car. And it took us a whole 10 hours to get to Myrtle Beach because of the hurricane mad dash.

22. At 8 months, you have perfected your monkey walk (hands on the ground and legs straight – no bending) and are pulling up on everything, repeating the syllable “baba”, and still anxiously waiting for you to sleep through the night.

23. Christmas, 8 ½ months. You had to take a solo Christmas picture this year because Maryn would have absolutely nothing to do with any of it. You are getting your two front teeth, and clapping all the time.

24. At 8 ½ months, Maryn thinks you are her own private pony. She loves to “hold” you which generally results in a tackle to the ground and a very unhappy baby.

25. You are not fond of eating, especially breakfast. You are absolutely not interested in finger foods.

26. At 10 months the accidents just seemed to happen every second. You had a terrible spill in the bathroom and then off the bed at Granny’s house, which was totally my fault. Hey, we all make mistakes! :) You now love Cheerios, standing from sitting on your own and have taken a handful of steps.

27. At 10 ½ months you are a full-fledged walker!

28. At 12 months, your favorite song is “Freddie Bear” and you like to mimic the hand motions. You are a pro walker, and can now run/toddle after Maryn which she just loves to death! You love watching Garfield – you are a regular couch potato whenever it is on. You are off the bottle and have finally figured out what those little pearls are in your mouth. You are finally sleeping through the night, but are still a terrible traveler when it comes to sleeping. So far, you have said “dada”, “mama”, “quack”, and the monkey sound from a Wiggles song. You have made it very clear that you will be scaling the walls in a matter of months. You focus, with great intensity, when you are trying to crawl onto something and have so far decided that going head first off the sofa is the way to go. Never fear, though, mommy and daddy have caught you every time!!

My favorite memory from this past year: My favorite thing you do is when you scrunch up your face when you are laughing or have just thought of something. You get this extremely amused look on your face that incorporates everything from your eyes and nose to the way you cock your head to the side. It is almost like you are squealing in delight with just your face. I love it and I hope I can always remember it!

M.A.D.L.Y