Dear Baby

January 31, 2012

Cute Babies in Animal Hats.

You’re welcome ;)

Love,

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October 3, 2011

The Rundown. 4 months & 20 Months

(Sorry my kids are in the same outfits for the past 4 posts - I took a lot of photos last Thursday!)

Stats:

Everly: 22lbs 8 ounces - you are such a peanut my dear! Your tiny little feet are in a size 4 but I’ve started buying all of your winter shoes in size 5 as I suspect they are finally growing.

Arlo: 15lbs 8 ounces - You are right on track sweet man! Sitting right at 50% on the growth chart except for that noggin which is in the 75% (big like your daddy’s!). You are already wearing some 6-9 month clothing too.

Teeth:

Everly: We took you to the dentist a few months back and you had a fit! You screamed the entire time and we had to hold you down for a minute so the Dr. could look in your mouth (sorry about that kiddo). Afterwards he said “She did great!” and we were like “She did?!?” and he assured us that almost every toddler reacts with such dramatics at having their teeth examined. Your 2 year molars are on their way in (1 is already through) and as usual, you are handling teething like a champ.

Arlo: Your little gums are swollen and we can feel the two little mounds where your first two bottom teeth are beginning to push through your gums. You are a drool monster and are constantly trying to chew your fingers off in an attempt to relieve your gums. So far, you’ve handled teething pretty well!

Feeding:

Everly: You recently decided you are much to grown to sit in your high chair anymore and insist on sitting in a booster seat at the dining table. You know how to use a spoon and fork (you call them both a “moon”) but you still like to dig in with your hands if the process of eating takes too long. You love all different kinds of foods although your favorites right now are Morningstar soy sausage patties, Trader Joe’s fish sticks, strawberries, green peas, and as always - macaroni and cheese. We’ve had a harder time getting you to eat your green veggies lately, so we start off each morning with a big cup of “green juice” that has kale, spinach, and green algea mixed with lots of fruit juices.

Arlo: All breastmilk for you little buddy! I’ve been doing some research and have decided that we will not be introducing any kinds of solids until you are older than six months (maybe even 7 or 8 months, we’ll see how it goes). Since you already have a sensitivity to dairy (in my diet) and we have some indication that you might have some other allergies, we’re going the “virgin gut” route (read more here and here.)

Talking:

Everly: OH MY WORD! You are quite the little chatter box and are putting two and three word sentences together. Just the other day, you hugged Arlo and buried your face in his shirt right where he had recently spitup then you said “Ewwww, Arlo dirty” and I could not stop laughing. You are starting to repeat a lot of words back to us and remember a lot of people’s names. When you wake up from your nap and are ready to get out, you like to say “OH NO!” in a very dramatic voice until someone comes to get you and when you and daddy are playing and being silly, you will wrap your arms around his neck and say “Oh daddy!” in the sweetest, most adoring way.

Arlo: You are starting to use your voice for entertainment. A lot of coos and repetitive sounds. You also like to talk to your play gym and your hands a lot.

Awesome Stuff you are doing:

Everly: You are incredibly affectionate and love to give us big hugs and kisses. I LOVE this stage in your development as you are becoming such a little girl. You have a serious love for playing dress up and have figured out how to put on larger pieces of clothing by yourself. Sometimes you will sneak off in my room and come out with one of my tank top on and your daddy’s hat. You also like to stand in my shoes and try to walk. You love to hide inside closets and will stand quietly in the dark in anticipation of one of us opening the door to find you - then you squeal with delight and take off running. You are CRAZY about books and love to point out all of the different people and things in the pictures. You are learning to count to 10 (you have 1-5 down but sometimes get the higher numbers mixed up) and you are getting pretty good at pointing to stuff that is yellow, red and blue. You also are starting to play pretend a lot- feeding and rocking your babies to sleep and playing guitar (with a pick even!) and singing into a microphone. Dancing is still your favorite thing ever and now you can put combinations of moves together when I call them out - like “Wave your hands in there, get down low, shake your booty, stomp your feet”.Oh! One last thing, you are starting to really indicate they you are ready to start potty training. You have started to tell us when you need to “boop boop” (you made that word up yourself!) and last week you took your diaper off, walked into the living room, climbed into a plastic bucket and said “pee pee” while peeing in the bucket! Next stop on the Everly train- big girl undies!

Arlo: You’ve been rolling over for some time now (your first time was at 6 weeks old, although you stopped for a bit after that) and you are such an inch worm that you can wiggle yourself clear across the floor in about 20 minutes time. Everyone comments on how strong you are. You can stand up for long periods of time with just a tiny bit of support under your arms and you have started pulling yourself up into a sitting position when I give you my hands for leverage. You have an insane grip and it sometimes takes serious effort to peel your little fingers off from around objects (or unwrap fistfuls of my hair from your fingers!). I was told to expect that a lot of your visually linked milestones could be delayed by 3-4 months, but you have hit every.single.one right on track (my heart BURSTS with pride over this Arlo!) You react to your reflection in a mirror, grab at toys that dangle from your play gym, and last week you discovered your feet and now hold on to them for dear life! You are already teaching me to never (for even a single second) underestimate you. You are quickly getting a reputation for being “the happiest baby ever” as you dole out huge (I mean gigantic!!) smiles left and right and let out bellowing belly chuckles that make everyone else laugh too. You laugh all the time, at everything and the joy your spread around is so infectious.

My darling children, you have changed the path of my life is the most wonderful way. Being your mother is the greatest thing I have ever known. To watch you grow and develop into two unique, individual little people is a daily gift. So often daddy and I will just stop what we are doing and say to one another “Aren’t they incredible? Can you believe WE made them?” I can’t imagine this awe ever wearing off.

Love,

Mama

Comments

January 19, 2010

I pulled out the camera last week to capture Brent singing Everly the first lullaby he ever wrote her - I was trying so hard not to cry but you can hear my sniffling in the background for most of it. (I’m a ball of emotions these days). She’s sure to hear this song a million times as she grows up, but this little video will always let us relive the very first time.

(If you want to hear the full version of Everly’s lullaby, you can listen to it here.)

Love,

Comments