Kid #3

I'm fairly certain that I gush about Witten more than about the other two. He's a baby, his newness has not worn off. Plus he cannot talk back yet. I did not imagine that I would love this boy as much as I do. But here I am, head over heels for this dude. He is a stinky little guy, that's for sure, but he is my stinky little guy and I think I'll keep him.

Every parent knows that kids, especially babies, grow too freakishly fast. That is just as true for my boy, he's already 8 months. His handsomeness is only paralleled by his ability to keep learning new tricks to amaze and wow and charm us. His personality comes through and he just smiles up at me with those two sharp little teeth sticking right out. Right now Witten's bag of tricks includes:

• Clapping for anything that deserves it, whether big or small. My personal favorite is when I come home from taking Alana to school and he sees me and starts clapping. More things that I do should be applauded.
• His disappearing act. He could go pro with his peek-a-boo skills. His favorite time to "disappear" is at the store, riding around in the cart.
• Smiles for kisses. He will exchange them evenly, they are the newest form of currency.
• Nonstop toy eating. We sit him on the floor, tip over his container of toys, and he will chew on them for a solid 30 minutes. He is endlessly entertained by his toy chewing.
• Sock Houdini: there is no sock, big or small, striped or solid, that he cannot remove from his feet without even getting help from his hands. Socks have no power over him, warm feet in winter are overrated.

This boy is the cutest and squishiest of boys. He is 18 lbs of pure joy and everyone's life is happier with him in it. I could squeeze his cheeks all day everyday, but I don't because at some point I have to get up and eat and wash dishes and crap like that. If not for those things, cheek squeezing would be my main activity.