Our little bitty boy....
What a treasure this past year has been. Egan first arrived full of surprises and left us shocked. But his nature turns out to be quite opposite of his entrance style. Egan is universally described as a 'happy' boy. He's very much a people person and loves to interact with other people. He adores his big sister and her tribe of friends - always looking up to the other kids like Xander, Zeb, and Elena.
His early months were notably calm. For the most part he was content to observe and listen carefully the world. This earned him the nickname our 'little lemur' because his eyes were always bright and watching. He has more of a relaxed independence and a welcoming personality. Everyone comments that he is a 'happy boy' always smiling and engaging other people. He is relaxed around groups of people and likes to watch interactions. While calm, his personality is also very independent. He has a fearless attitude - his natural caution tempered by the fact that he's always watching bigger kids do things.
Now our little bitty baby is on his way to a bitty boy. He started to crawl this July and the world has opened up. Egan love to climb, into the dishwasher, up the stairs, onto stools. He seems to always quietly be working on getting higher and higher. His other favorite toys include a metal bowl and wooden spoon, pretend food (which he will pretend to eat), fridge magnets, and pretty much anything his sister has. He will climb the stairs dragging a wooden spoon and then turn around and smile at you. Egan is very adventurous. He will climb all over the big kids playscape at Elena's school. He will take off across the yard to try and reach the big kids before you notice.
One of Egan's little quarks is that he loves to head butt you. We call it baby bulldozering. He crawls up, leans against you and presses his head hard against you. Sometimes it is to be picked up or in anger (usually complimented with a bite on the calf - the little cannibal). But sometimes it is just to get your attention and give you a smile or show you something he's drug up (usually something really really interesting, like a huge dust bunny from under the couch).
Egan doesn't sign as much as Elena did -- it's hard to tell if that is his personality or that we haven't been as good about signing with him. He can sign milk (which he uses for want, more, milk, food - mostly a generic I want) and occassionally 'more' and 'bird.' He chirps but isn't forming words either. He will say mamamama - but it's more out of anger than 'momma.'
Egan had a slow start with solid foods. He seemed to really be 'ready' but after a few bites wouldn't continue and looked angry. Once we started pureeing our table food, he really took of with his eating. The first big hit was risotto. And it has just grown from there. Egan loves all kinds of foods, as long as they have a lot of flavor or texture. He likes fruits of all kinds; his favorite cooked veggie is broccoli. But he's also a meat and carbs boy - he will pack away biscuits and sausage like you wouldn't believe. He has 6 teeth and loves to use them on anything crunchy - like carrot sticks, apples, baked bread sticks, crackers, teething biscuits.
Bottles didn't used to be a problem (unlike his sister), Egan always took a bottle very well. But this summer during the big transition we didn't have much opportunity for a bottle (mistake) and he's adamant that he won't have any milk unless straight from the source. So, he is still nursing several times a day.
Everyone says this before you have your second child, but you don't really believe it until it actually happens - they are really different. I think one of the most amazing things about Egan is his relationship with his sister. Elena was mostly surrounded by adults as she was a baby and toddler. Egan has had his sister since day one. He loves her very much and will crawl up and give her cuddles and pets. She gives him hugs and kisses (sometimes these look like tackles, but in any case...). Of course they are a bit after each others things. Egan wants nothing more than whatever small object (ie choking hazard) that Elena has. And Egan can grab a fist full of Elena's hair very quickly. It amazes me the joy they find in each other. No one can make Egan laugh like his sister.
Jake and I were reflecting on this past year, Egan's first year. It seems that when Elena was born, our whole universe shifted and then paused. We were very stable and could spend that year focused on becoming parents and her. This year we had a whirlwind of job interviews, major life decisions and moving. Plus we had an older sister. So sometimes it feels like this year slipped a bit away from us. We treasure every moment with our bitty boy. And if we haven't spent as much time 'recording' our lives, we've spend even more time living. Jake and I were able to arrange our work so that one of us was home every morning with Egan - we could take walks around Brown's Farm, cuddle in the sun, take naps, and just be together. We know we are so lucky to both have had that time together with just him.
Physically, Egan is still literally a bitty boy. We don't have a local dr., so I can't give official stats - but he's still wearing 9 mo clothes and doesn't even top the bathroom scale at 20 lbs. Guess he needs some Dutch kaas. It appears that one way Egan Russell will live up to his name is with red hair. His hair appears to be my color and I'm quite happy about that! Jake thinks that except for his chin (obviously Sewall) that his checks, nose eyes, eyebrows (or lack there of) and hair are all Kraal.
Egan has a little twinkle in his eye and can raise his left eyebrow. He gives you this knowing looks that says, 'you don't know what you are in for!' This year has truly been joyful with our little bitty boy. We love you very much.
