Fletcher Augustus DeRouen

A diary for our son, by Joe and Andrea DeRouen

Thursday, October 31, 2002

Here it is, Fletcher's second Halloween. On his first he was only a week old, but we still dressed him in a peapod outfit (pictures are on the website) and stood outside. Last year, it was fairly warm on Halloween. This year, it's already promising to be a nippy night. We have a great bear suit for Fletcher and I'm sure will stuff him in it and perhaps trick-or-treat a block or so in our neighborhood, or we'll find a local mall to parade him around in. I'm not sure he cares one way or another but we certainly want people to see our cute little bear. Look for pictures coming soon of him in his outfit.

.: posted by Andee 6:52 AM

Monday, October 28, 2002

On Saturday, we had a small party for Fletcher at an Italian restaurant we frequent. It had the room for a big table and Fletcher got to entertain all of the nice adults who attended. Grandmommy Judy came and brought Fletcher more Discovery toys - a soft set of animals that fit inside each other, stacking cups that Fletcher has already strewn about the living room, stacking rings on a pole that are different textures, three cute little books, and some pajamas, a jacket, and socks. Amy Fuhrmann from my office gave him a personalized folding chair, just his size. He thinks he's pretty important using it.

Fletcher's great-aunt Cissy brought him the best wooden puzzle that lets him match shapes to their slots. He stuck some of the pieces in his mouth. Brad Landsbaum and Courtney Jordan brought a giggly yellow smiley guy that Fletcher hugged many times. Fletcher's Uncle William gave him a stuffed Ryoki from Tenchi Muyo. It's really huggable and made Fletcher smile. Fran and Matt Ellis gave Fletcher the cutest outfit with a fox on the shirt. We put that on over his other clothes after the party and I think he thought he was pretty cool.

Bruce Diamond came and brought Fletcher a handful of great books. Betty and Bill McCue sent an adorable Happy Birthday bib, which I promptly put on Fletcher. Pan Sticksel sent a fairly scary dancing skeleton. We'll probably have to wait until he's older before he can appreciate it. He gave it some very nervous looks and crawled away. We gave Fletcher some more books and an Elmo that talks about daily topics and sings Elmo's World. Fletcher really enjoyed the presents and he really loved his cake. When Joe gets the pictures up on the site you will see that Fletcher ended up with a beard of green frosting.

.: posted by Andee 11:06 AM

Wednesday, October 23, 2002

Today was Fletcher's birthday. Boy, it's hard to believe he's a whole year old! As Andee said in the post below this one, we kept shouting "Happy Birthday, Fletcher!" all day long. I'm sure he wonders what's going on, but he seemed happy, which makes us happy.

His Grandmother Judy sent him a neat Giraffe that runs around when you push it, his Grandmother Barbara sent him an outfit, a birthday plate, and a stuffed puppy dog toy, his Great-Grandmother Tillie sent him a check (which went into his piggy bank, which was given to him by his Great-great Auntie Mac and Great-great Uncle Fred), and his Aunt Becky sent him a nice card. We'll have his birthday party Saturday, so I'm sure I'll have more gifts to report.

As for us, we gave him this neat little chair that's just like an adult lounging chair but, well, smaller. And some books, and a rattle thingee from Discovery Toys. More gifts will come from us on Saturday as well!

.: posted by Joe 7:52 PM

Today is Fletcher's first birthday. One year ago at this point in the day, I was lying uncomfortably in the hospital bed waiting for the Pitocin drip to work. I'm not sure exactly when I was given a narcotic shot, but once that happened the rest of the time was a pleasant blur. I was pushed around like a rag doll when they inserted my epidural and though I could feel the contractions once it was time to push, I wasn't in any pain. Joe was right by my side holding my leg and helping (a nurse took the other side) and Fletcher was born pretty quickly after the big contractions started. Joe watched him enter the world with one hand poking out first. He was mischievous even then.

Today, we have said "Happy Birthday, Fletcher" many times in excited voices and Fletcher has grinned. I'm not sure what he thinks is going on but he always likes it when we try to entertain him. He's enjoying the presents that have already arrived and I'm sure will be thrilled with all those to come.

Happy Birthday, Fletcher!

.: posted by Andee 8:42 AM

Saturday, October 19, 2002

Today, as we have done every Saturday for the last month, we took Fletcher to his Kinder Musik class. It's always fun to see him interact with the other babies and dance around to the music. He was a little cranky today, though, probably because it had stormed the night before and was gloomy and he hadn't gotten much sleep. He was pretty clingy through the 45 minute class, but did seem to have a little fun here and there. Right now, he's downstairs asleep on Andee, who's also asleep sitting in a chair in the living. We joke that there's some sort of baby drug that makes whoever is holding Fletcher sleepy because it never fails that we manage to "catch" his sleepiness whenever we're holding him. Perhaps pharmacies should stop dispensing sleeping pills and instead hand out babies?

.: posted by Joe 10:42 PM

Wednesday, October 16, 2002

In just a little less than a week, our son will turn one year old. I can still remember with crystal clear clarity the moment he was born. Up until that point, having a baby was just a concept. A nice concept, to be sure, but a concept never-the-less. But when I first saw him, expectations and concepts flew out the window. As the doctor held him and waited for me to cut the umbilical cord, I felt my legs almost buckle beneath me as tears sprang unbidden from my eyes. It was an incredibly powerful and moving experience, one I'll never forget no matter how many birthdays we celebrate with Fletcher. He's a beautiful, intelligent, charming, mischievous little boy, and a great blessing to my life. I love him with every bit of my heart.

.: posted by Joe 10:26 PM

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

Fletcher can be very focused when he plays. He will sit and with great intensity spin the wheels on his Little Tikes scooter or repeatedly put a block in a bowl. His favorite toys of late are a measuring tape, some Mardi Gras beads and a little bulldozer. His favorite books the last few days are "Polar Bear, Polar Bear," "Miss Spider's Tea Party," and "Good Night, Gorilla."

He hoots when he sees the cats and then waves furiously at them. I'm sure he thinks they will wave back. He also waves to me or to Joe as a regular communication. He is still dancing to most musical commercials. And now every time he sees any sort of weather map, he starts to dance expecting the jazz music on the weather channel.

It's hard to believe he will turn one next week. But I can certainly see the personality of the little boy he is becoming.

.: posted by Andee 7:36 AM

Thursday, October 10, 2002

This is what Fletcher had to say today:

hj .n nhv jjfxd tgmm nigc u ,u u 6t7yyu gbvdfrssi

.: posted by Joe 8:52 AM

Tuesday, October 08, 2002

This is my first attempt to add to Fletcher's ongoing diary that Joe has done such a good job of keeping. It seems like Fletch changes a bit each day. Today, like many days before, he wants us to read to him. He digs through his box of books and pulls out the one he wants, brings it to one of us and wants to be in our laps as we read. He frequently wants a book read over and over. Both Joe and I have "Goodnight Moon" and "Big Red Barn" memorized. This morning I read Sandra Boynton's "Doggies" to him twice. This is a counting book with dogs barking in various ways.

Fletcher also watches the TV carefully for images of cats and dogs. He dances to commercial jingles and hoots with delight when the "Local Weather on the 8's" comes on weather channel so he can dance to the jazz music that accompanies the temperatures and weather maps. He crawls very fast, cruises around the furniture and can climb anything. He desparately wants to chew on the Neosporin tube. He is teething still. He has two bottom teeth and one top tooth with another visibly straining to come in. He drools a lot.

He loves our three cats and seems so happy to see them. He crawls up to them and puts his head on their sides and tries to hug them. Two of the three cats are rarely happy about this but Gabriel (our old white cat) will endure Fletcher's love. Fletcher can be sweet and huggy. We are encouraging that aspect of his personality.

.: posted by Andee 11:24 AM

Sunday, October 06, 2002

Yesterday, we took Fletcher to a KinderMusic class. At the class, Fletcher interacted with other babies, beat on drums, and danced around while the teacher (and adults) sang songs. He seemed to have a lot of fun, and so did we. We'll be taking him to the class every Saturday for lot's of drum-beating fun and excitement! :)