My Super Sweet Little Wilder,
You are almost a year old! Your birthday is almost here-where has the time gone?!?! I couldn't possibly be more proud of you, the little boy you are growing up to be just warms my heart!
I have been planning your first birthday party for weeks, we are going with a "sweets" theme because you are simply the most sweet and adorable child on earth. The theme suits you perfectly well. You have been walking for 3-4 months now and are practically starting to run. You have a really good arm and have learned to throw a ball with quite a bit of precision for such a little guy. You find great joy in throwing a ball, either to me or daddy or even just out in front of you and then going after it yourself. You will throw it, chase after it and pick it up and then throw it again...it is simply adorable to watch. You throw with wild laughter that is such an intoxicating sound. Daddy and I both stop in our footsteps each time we hear that big growly laughter that you exude when you are happily throwing your ball around.
You are such an easy going little guy, you are so patient with your big sister which is a very good thing since she is in full toddler mode and often wants to play with whatever you happen to have in your hands. For the most part you are flexible and just find other things to play with but more and more lately you are starting to vocalize frustration and take the toy back from her. I am proud to see you stick up for yourself as you gain confidence and it teaches Lulu to wait her turn, which is a hard lesson for any 2 year old:)
We just celebrated your first Halloween and you were the cutest little (not-so) Cowardly Lion on earth. Though you couldn't really eat the candy you had fun trick or treating and daddy enjoyed the haul that your cute little face earned:) Next year you will be old enough to eat candy so daddy will have to dress up and trick or treat for his own candy:)
Your car seat is now forward facing and that has really helped to bring you past your fears of being in the car after dark, though to be totally fair, you were starting to come past it on your own before we turned your car seat around. I knew you would grow out of that sooner or later and indeed you have-it's just another sign that you are growing up.
We moved your crib into our room since Lulu and you were not doing very well going to sleep at night in the same room. You guys were staying up so late playing peek-a-boo and chatting with each other in your baby-talk ways. It was cute but neither of you were getting enough sleep. Now that you are in our room you are getting more sleep but you still wake up at night wanting a bottle so we are working to get past that. You go down to sleep very well now, at night and for naps. You have become a really good sleeper for the most part, much to our relief:)
Your two upper eye teeth have come through so you look like a cute little baby vampire. You also have your two lower middle teeth. You give these huge open mouth kisses on our cheeks/noses/legs/wherever and the sound you make when giving a kiss is adorable. It's almost a "mwa-ah" sound that melts my heart.
Wilder, you are such a sweet, easy going and happy little boy. Each night when I go to bed and look over at your angelic little sleeping face, I secretly hope you wake up so I have an excuse to cuddle with you in your sleep. Daddy will tell you, I miss you after only an hour or two of you being asleep. A few weeks ago I even threw a few rogue Cheerios that Lulu had left in our bed into your crib hoping to wake up just to have you sleep in my arms. While I missed and ended up throwing the Cheerios to the floor behind your crib, daddy was nice enough to get you and put you in my arms. Those nights are rare but I love them because I know that you are growing up so fast and probably won't want to sleep in my arms much longer. Even if you do grow up, always remember that no matter how old or big you get, my arms will always be open waiting for you and I will always be secretly yearning to hold you...
I adore you more than you could ever know~
Thursday, November 12, 2009
My Precious Allura; Nov. 12th, 2009
My so very precious Allura,
You are such a delight in our lives. The speed at which you learn and absorb the world around you is amazing and SO FUN to be a part of! You are talking so much, your vocabulary is almost as extensive as any adults~there is nothing you can't figure out how to say. You know the words to a ton of songs-we even went to see Disney's Imagination Movers (your favorite show) in concert and Mover Rich climbed into the balcony where we were sitting and gave you two high-fives! You were SO elated! You know all the words to the songs on their CD that we listen to often.
You have really been into watching certain TV shows that you love, such as the Imagination Movers, Sesame Street, Yo Gabba Gabba and Spongebob Squarepants. You have been obsessed with Snow White and The Wizard of Oz for the last 6 weeks or so...you were even Dorothy for Halloween and Wilder dressed up as the (not-so) Cowardly Lion. There is nothing more beautiful to hear than you singing "SomeWHERE-over-a-rainbow!" you are so extremely precious when you sing....
Speaking of Halloween, what a fun day it was! For weeks leading up to it we had to walk through the Halloween section of any store we happened to be at. Anytime you saw anything even remotely related to the holiday you would exclaim "Halloween!" loudly and with such excitement...its so much fun now that you are old enough to understand holidays. As for the day itself, we went to Nana's house and she answered the door with a green face dressed as the Wicked Witch from Oz..and then we went to the Halloween party at the Plymouth Creek Center (where daddy and I got married) along with Wilder, Carter & baby Camryn Blake and Chase and Abby Oxborough. After the party all three of our families (us, the Blakes and the Oxborough's) went trick or treating for the first time and you had a blast. It wasn't too cold out so we were able to canvas a whole neighborhood and get quite a haul of candy.
You have been potty training and there is no better motivation than a Dum-Dum sucker. You will go a few days being really successful and getting to the potty each time, then you will suddenly start having accidents for a few days. The accidents tend to happen on days when your friends come over to play so I assume you are just so busy and excited that you forget to get to the bathroom on time. I know you "get it" as far as the concept of going on the toilet, it's just a matter of whether or not you are in the mood to concentrate on getting to the bathroom and getting rewarded with M&Ms or a sucker, or if you just don't want to work that hard and are in the mood to just go in your diaper. We will get there in time~ I'm not worried.
You started swimming lessons last week~ in fact tonight was your second lesson and you were 100% more confident this week than last so I am sure you are going to take to the water like a fish. You absolutely HATE having your hair washed in the tub because you don't like water in your face so the swimming lessons offer games and songs and activities that make it easier and fun for you to get used to putting your face under water. In a few weeks Wilder will be starting them and attending the same class with you~ what fun we will all have!
So I have to tell you...I am SO proud to be your mom. Daddy and I are constantly amazed at the way you see the world and the things you say. The other day I was taking a bath and you and daddy were hanging out in the bathroom chatting with me while Wilder was sleeping and you told us that you were a doctor. Daddy had mentioned that he had a headache and you immediatly kissed his forehead and told him he was all better because you were a doctor. I mean, what 2 year old is that smart? You are starting to pretend now which is so cute...you will bring me cookies that you "baked" in the kitchen. What fun we will have pretending and playing as you get older~
Lastly, I will leave you with our new "parade song" that we sing as we march in circles around the kitchen and living room as a way to burn off some energy. It goes like this:
We are the Warhol's
And were a fam-i-ly
Our home is filled with love cuz
We support our family tree!
Yaaaaayyyy Warhols!
You often start chanting it out of nowhere and I love to hear it! I made it us as a way to create a "family brand" and to serve as a reminder that we are all for one and one for all:)
I adore you my precious girl. I am so head over heals in love with you. It is SO fun to watch you grow into the beautiful and smart little girl you are becoming:)
I love you SO unbelievably much~
You are such a delight in our lives. The speed at which you learn and absorb the world around you is amazing and SO FUN to be a part of! You are talking so much, your vocabulary is almost as extensive as any adults~there is nothing you can't figure out how to say. You know the words to a ton of songs-we even went to see Disney's Imagination Movers (your favorite show) in concert and Mover Rich climbed into the balcony where we were sitting and gave you two high-fives! You were SO elated! You know all the words to the songs on their CD that we listen to often.
You have really been into watching certain TV shows that you love, such as the Imagination Movers, Sesame Street, Yo Gabba Gabba and Spongebob Squarepants. You have been obsessed with Snow White and The Wizard of Oz for the last 6 weeks or so...you were even Dorothy for Halloween and Wilder dressed up as the (not-so) Cowardly Lion. There is nothing more beautiful to hear than you singing "SomeWHERE-over-a-rainbow!" you are so extremely precious when you sing....
Speaking of Halloween, what a fun day it was! For weeks leading up to it we had to walk through the Halloween section of any store we happened to be at. Anytime you saw anything even remotely related to the holiday you would exclaim "Halloween!" loudly and with such excitement...its so much fun now that you are old enough to understand holidays. As for the day itself, we went to Nana's house and she answered the door with a green face dressed as the Wicked Witch from Oz..and then we went to the Halloween party at the Plymouth Creek Center (where daddy and I got married) along with Wilder, Carter & baby Camryn Blake and Chase and Abby Oxborough. After the party all three of our families (us, the Blakes and the Oxborough's) went trick or treating for the first time and you had a blast. It wasn't too cold out so we were able to canvas a whole neighborhood and get quite a haul of candy.
You have been potty training and there is no better motivation than a Dum-Dum sucker. You will go a few days being really successful and getting to the potty each time, then you will suddenly start having accidents for a few days. The accidents tend to happen on days when your friends come over to play so I assume you are just so busy and excited that you forget to get to the bathroom on time. I know you "get it" as far as the concept of going on the toilet, it's just a matter of whether or not you are in the mood to concentrate on getting to the bathroom and getting rewarded with M&Ms or a sucker, or if you just don't want to work that hard and are in the mood to just go in your diaper. We will get there in time~ I'm not worried.
You started swimming lessons last week~ in fact tonight was your second lesson and you were 100% more confident this week than last so I am sure you are going to take to the water like a fish. You absolutely HATE having your hair washed in the tub because you don't like water in your face so the swimming lessons offer games and songs and activities that make it easier and fun for you to get used to putting your face under water. In a few weeks Wilder will be starting them and attending the same class with you~ what fun we will all have!
So I have to tell you...I am SO proud to be your mom. Daddy and I are constantly amazed at the way you see the world and the things you say. The other day I was taking a bath and you and daddy were hanging out in the bathroom chatting with me while Wilder was sleeping and you told us that you were a doctor. Daddy had mentioned that he had a headache and you immediatly kissed his forehead and told him he was all better because you were a doctor. I mean, what 2 year old is that smart? You are starting to pretend now which is so cute...you will bring me cookies that you "baked" in the kitchen. What fun we will have pretending and playing as you get older~
Lastly, I will leave you with our new "parade song" that we sing as we march in circles around the kitchen and living room as a way to burn off some energy. It goes like this:
We are the Warhol's
And were a fam-i-ly
Our home is filled with love cuz
We support our family tree!
Yaaaaayyyy Warhols!
You often start chanting it out of nowhere and I love to hear it! I made it us as a way to create a "family brand" and to serve as a reminder that we are all for one and one for all:)
I adore you my precious girl. I am so head over heals in love with you. It is SO fun to watch you grow into the beautiful and smart little girl you are becoming:)
I love you SO unbelievably much~
Saturday, September 26, 2009
My Precious Allura; Sept. 26, 2009
My beautiful and precious Allura,
You have grown leaps and bounds in the last few months. You are a source of constant amazement and laughter now that you are saying full sentences. I love hearing you speak your mind...it's absolutely amazing to hear some of the things that come out of your mouth! The other day we were driving in Nana's car out in the country and she drove on the side of the road where the pavement is indented to make a noise that wakes up drivers if they nod off and weave. You asked what the noise was and we explained that the noise keeps people awake when driving, we didn't go into too much detail assuming it was not something you would understand anyways. Within moments you were back to talking about seeing farms and cows. About 30 minutes later she drove on the side of the road again and you heard that same sound and said "Wake UP Nana!". We were both so amazed that you not only remembered something like that after one quick non-detailed explanation, but that you correlated it to Nana possibly sleeping as she drove (she wasn't of course) but it was amazing to see another example of how smart you are.
As you get more vocal you also seek more independence. This results in the "terrible 2's" type behavior from time to time and sometimes you can be very difficult. I love you no matter what of course, but suddenly you refuse to let me comb and style your hair and you toss and turn during diaper changes. The other day in the car you didn't want to sit in your car seat and started having a massive screaming fit in the back seat as daddy drove and he asked you why you were screaming and you replied in your most dramatic/screaming voice possible "I DON"T KNOW!!" which dissolved us into laughter because it was so cute that you were screaming but then admitted that you didn't remember why. At least you are honest:) You have also learned to be quite rough with Wilder and the dogs recently. I'm not sure if you just have a ton of energy that we are not burning or if you are just testing boundaries. I have to constantly remind you to be soft as you tend to play a bit too rough. We are working on that:)
You are working so well with potty training! I am SO proud of you! Now we can let you go all day at home with no diaper and you either grab your potty chair and use it or you tell one of us so we can help you use the toilet in the bathroom. It is adorable to see how proud you are when you use your potty. You immediately stand up and say "Look! I went potty!" and we come over and praise you. We have learned to keep the praise to a high five or a thumbs up along with verbal praise, because you get incredibly embarrassed and upset when we scream or jump up and down and make too big of a deal of it. We started by offering you 2 M&M's each time you went and that really motivated you. So far to date, you have only had 2 accidents in the last month, and one was in the beginning when you were still learning to pick up on cues from your body, and the other was a long time ago when you were fastened in Wilder's baby swing and couldn't get out quickly enough. Other than that you have been perfect and I am so excited for you to be growing up! You never cease to amaze me with how quickly you learn something new. I have no doubt that soon you won't even need to wear diapers during naps or over night.
The saddest thing that has happened recently (and the reason I missed the letter to you from last month) is because great grandpa Warhol passed away. In the weeks before his death he went downhill quickly and we spent almost every day at their home helping out and spending time with him and family. You were SUCH a trooper. It absolutely broke my heart when (early on before he was near death) you went into the kitchen cupboard by yourself, got the bag of goldfish crackers that Big Meema always keeps for you two to share, and brought them over to his hospital bed and put them by his side. The look of sadness, a little hurt, and a shocked understanding that he was just too sick to share them with you will haunt me forever. You walked away with such a sad and forlorn look that I knew you had just realized how sick he was. You asked me one morning about him and I told you that Big Boppa was sick in his tummy so that you would at least have some understanding of why he was wilting away and forever more you would tell everyone that he was sick in his tummy. Two days before he died, in one of the last periods of time that I saw him awake and fairly lucid, you were standing beside his bed with your hands on his bed rail and he reached up and grabbed your hand and I am confident that he was saying good bye to you. You were so sweet and held his hand for a few moments though I'm sure it was scary for you to see him so thin and weak. Thank you for being so flexible as we spend the majority of our time that summer in their hot home with few, if any toys to play with surrounded by people who were dealing with emotions and sadness and all the other variables that the situation presented. You were always SO good and patient and well behaved. Your strength through it all was amazing.
It's been almost a month now since his passing and just yesterday as we went to meet the family for pizza when I told you Big Meema was coming you reminded me that Big Boppa was sick. I reminded you that he had gone to be with Jesus because at 2, you are not able to understand the finality of it all. Just like when we went to Big Meema's house the day that Big Bopppa passed away and you saw that he was gone and that his bed was gone and you asked where he was. You asked in such a tender way that I wondered if somehow in your heart you sensed what had happened though you just didn't fully grasp it yet. You are an amazing heart Allura, your kindness and empathy for others overwhelms me. Just today at the petting zoo..other kids pet the animals, you kiss and hug them. Big Boppa would be so proud of the little girl that you are. He knew how vigilant you were during his illness and how he can watch you from heaven as you ask "are you okay?" three times any time someone coughs or sneezes. You are so caring and I am SO proud to be your mother.
I love you so much LuLu, you are the most amazing little girl. You make my life so fun (and frustrating at times-but hey, you are TWO!) and you make me laugh each day. I am amazed at the little girl you are growing up to be, I see great things for you in your future. I love love love you my precious girl! :)
You have grown leaps and bounds in the last few months. You are a source of constant amazement and laughter now that you are saying full sentences. I love hearing you speak your mind...it's absolutely amazing to hear some of the things that come out of your mouth! The other day we were driving in Nana's car out in the country and she drove on the side of the road where the pavement is indented to make a noise that wakes up drivers if they nod off and weave. You asked what the noise was and we explained that the noise keeps people awake when driving, we didn't go into too much detail assuming it was not something you would understand anyways. Within moments you were back to talking about seeing farms and cows. About 30 minutes later she drove on the side of the road again and you heard that same sound and said "Wake UP Nana!". We were both so amazed that you not only remembered something like that after one quick non-detailed explanation, but that you correlated it to Nana possibly sleeping as she drove (she wasn't of course) but it was amazing to see another example of how smart you are.
As you get more vocal you also seek more independence. This results in the "terrible 2's" type behavior from time to time and sometimes you can be very difficult. I love you no matter what of course, but suddenly you refuse to let me comb and style your hair and you toss and turn during diaper changes. The other day in the car you didn't want to sit in your car seat and started having a massive screaming fit in the back seat as daddy drove and he asked you why you were screaming and you replied in your most dramatic/screaming voice possible "I DON"T KNOW!!" which dissolved us into laughter because it was so cute that you were screaming but then admitted that you didn't remember why. At least you are honest:) You have also learned to be quite rough with Wilder and the dogs recently. I'm not sure if you just have a ton of energy that we are not burning or if you are just testing boundaries. I have to constantly remind you to be soft as you tend to play a bit too rough. We are working on that:)
You are working so well with potty training! I am SO proud of you! Now we can let you go all day at home with no diaper and you either grab your potty chair and use it or you tell one of us so we can help you use the toilet in the bathroom. It is adorable to see how proud you are when you use your potty. You immediately stand up and say "Look! I went potty!" and we come over and praise you. We have learned to keep the praise to a high five or a thumbs up along with verbal praise, because you get incredibly embarrassed and upset when we scream or jump up and down and make too big of a deal of it. We started by offering you 2 M&M's each time you went and that really motivated you. So far to date, you have only had 2 accidents in the last month, and one was in the beginning when you were still learning to pick up on cues from your body, and the other was a long time ago when you were fastened in Wilder's baby swing and couldn't get out quickly enough. Other than that you have been perfect and I am so excited for you to be growing up! You never cease to amaze me with how quickly you learn something new. I have no doubt that soon you won't even need to wear diapers during naps or over night.
The saddest thing that has happened recently (and the reason I missed the letter to you from last month) is because great grandpa Warhol passed away. In the weeks before his death he went downhill quickly and we spent almost every day at their home helping out and spending time with him and family. You were SUCH a trooper. It absolutely broke my heart when (early on before he was near death) you went into the kitchen cupboard by yourself, got the bag of goldfish crackers that Big Meema always keeps for you two to share, and brought them over to his hospital bed and put them by his side. The look of sadness, a little hurt, and a shocked understanding that he was just too sick to share them with you will haunt me forever. You walked away with such a sad and forlorn look that I knew you had just realized how sick he was. You asked me one morning about him and I told you that Big Boppa was sick in his tummy so that you would at least have some understanding of why he was wilting away and forever more you would tell everyone that he was sick in his tummy. Two days before he died, in one of the last periods of time that I saw him awake and fairly lucid, you were standing beside his bed with your hands on his bed rail and he reached up and grabbed your hand and I am confident that he was saying good bye to you. You were so sweet and held his hand for a few moments though I'm sure it was scary for you to see him so thin and weak. Thank you for being so flexible as we spend the majority of our time that summer in their hot home with few, if any toys to play with surrounded by people who were dealing with emotions and sadness and all the other variables that the situation presented. You were always SO good and patient and well behaved. Your strength through it all was amazing.
It's been almost a month now since his passing and just yesterday as we went to meet the family for pizza when I told you Big Meema was coming you reminded me that Big Boppa was sick. I reminded you that he had gone to be with Jesus because at 2, you are not able to understand the finality of it all. Just like when we went to Big Meema's house the day that Big Bopppa passed away and you saw that he was gone and that his bed was gone and you asked where he was. You asked in such a tender way that I wondered if somehow in your heart you sensed what had happened though you just didn't fully grasp it yet. You are an amazing heart Allura, your kindness and empathy for others overwhelms me. Just today at the petting zoo..other kids pet the animals, you kiss and hug them. Big Boppa would be so proud of the little girl that you are. He knew how vigilant you were during his illness and how he can watch you from heaven as you ask "are you okay?" three times any time someone coughs or sneezes. You are so caring and I am SO proud to be your mother.
I love you so much LuLu, you are the most amazing little girl. You make my life so fun (and frustrating at times-but hey, you are TWO!) and you make me laugh each day. I am amazed at the little girl you are growing up to be, I see great things for you in your future. I love love love you my precious girl! :)
Friday, September 25, 2009
My Adorable Wilder; Sept. 25th, 2009
My Overwhelmingly Adorable Wilder,
Where to begin?!!? You are practically a whole new boy from the last time I wrote to you.
I feel terrible that it has been two months, but lots has happened recently and things are just now starting to slow down. We have spent much of the last few months at great grandma and grandpa Warhol's house as great grandpa went downhill quickly from his cancer. He passed away just about a month ago. It was very sad but I am so thankful that he got a chance to know you. I know that you won't have any memories of him but we have lots of pictures and stories to share with you.
I want you to know that up until his very last days he loved you. While he was very weak and sick he would still reach out and touch your foot as you sat in daddy's lap next to his bed. He made sure to touch your hand or your foot as often as he could and I think it was his way of telling you that he loved you before he passed. He was a good man, you come from a long line of good men and I know you will carry that torch as well. I can't wait to know the man that you will be someday. I know that you will have honor and integrity, I believe deeply that you will be a great man. Until then though, I am enjoying you each day as the sweet baby that you are.
You took your first steps at 8 months, literally ON the day you turned 8 months...and from there you were unstoppable. You are 10 months old today and walk very well, though you still find it quicker and easier to get down and crawl when you think the distance is long. You are also an incredible dancer...any time music plays you start bopping to it with such a big smile. I love that you love music!
You are becoming a better sleeper, for awhile it seemed you were finally willing to sleep through the night, but in the last 2 weeks suddenly you are waking a time or two again. It started when you caught a cold and I think you were so stuffed up that it woke you at night and you would get so upset and wanting to sleep with us that...well...who could turn down such a sweet thing like you? :)
You are eating so many new things now. I am pretty willing to let you eat anything as long as it is cut up into small enough pieces to be safe. You got your second tooth (bottom) and you have a third coming through on top now. You eat lots of fruits and vegetables, you have even had tiny pieces of pasta and pizza. I have let you try ice cream and it is quite a funny sight. You LOVE ice cream...you get very impatient when eating it. You get furious at me when I dare take a bite for myself:) I give you a bite of ice cream and as soon as you swallow you start crying for more, literally crying. If that next bite doesn't come fast enough you dissolve into a tantrum and it is hilarious~
You are such a patient and easy going guy..which is wonderful because you have this crazy big sister that can be a bit rough and overbearing for you at times. The two of you interact well together and are often making each other laugh hysterically~its SO wonderful to see the two of you together. Just this week Lulu finally called you "Wi-Der" as opposed to "Wah-wah" which she has called you up till now. She is growing up as fast as you are~ you are both such blessings to me.
Wilder, I love you SO much. I have no words for the powerful love that I feel for you. I was hoping to have something profound to say about how much I love you but I just don't have anything quite as poetic as I'd hoped for...I simply love you. Truly. Madly. Deeply. You are love.
Where to begin?!!? You are practically a whole new boy from the last time I wrote to you.
I feel terrible that it has been two months, but lots has happened recently and things are just now starting to slow down. We have spent much of the last few months at great grandma and grandpa Warhol's house as great grandpa went downhill quickly from his cancer. He passed away just about a month ago. It was very sad but I am so thankful that he got a chance to know you. I know that you won't have any memories of him but we have lots of pictures and stories to share with you.
I want you to know that up until his very last days he loved you. While he was very weak and sick he would still reach out and touch your foot as you sat in daddy's lap next to his bed. He made sure to touch your hand or your foot as often as he could and I think it was his way of telling you that he loved you before he passed. He was a good man, you come from a long line of good men and I know you will carry that torch as well. I can't wait to know the man that you will be someday. I know that you will have honor and integrity, I believe deeply that you will be a great man. Until then though, I am enjoying you each day as the sweet baby that you are.
You took your first steps at 8 months, literally ON the day you turned 8 months...and from there you were unstoppable. You are 10 months old today and walk very well, though you still find it quicker and easier to get down and crawl when you think the distance is long. You are also an incredible dancer...any time music plays you start bopping to it with such a big smile. I love that you love music!
You are becoming a better sleeper, for awhile it seemed you were finally willing to sleep through the night, but in the last 2 weeks suddenly you are waking a time or two again. It started when you caught a cold and I think you were so stuffed up that it woke you at night and you would get so upset and wanting to sleep with us that...well...who could turn down such a sweet thing like you? :)
You are eating so many new things now. I am pretty willing to let you eat anything as long as it is cut up into small enough pieces to be safe. You got your second tooth (bottom) and you have a third coming through on top now. You eat lots of fruits and vegetables, you have even had tiny pieces of pasta and pizza. I have let you try ice cream and it is quite a funny sight. You LOVE ice cream...you get very impatient when eating it. You get furious at me when I dare take a bite for myself:) I give you a bite of ice cream and as soon as you swallow you start crying for more, literally crying. If that next bite doesn't come fast enough you dissolve into a tantrum and it is hilarious~
You are such a patient and easy going guy..which is wonderful because you have this crazy big sister that can be a bit rough and overbearing for you at times. The two of you interact well together and are often making each other laugh hysterically~its SO wonderful to see the two of you together. Just this week Lulu finally called you "Wi-Der" as opposed to "Wah-wah" which she has called you up till now. She is growing up as fast as you are~ you are both such blessings to me.
Wilder, I love you SO much. I have no words for the powerful love that I feel for you. I was hoping to have something profound to say about how much I love you but I just don't have anything quite as poetic as I'd hoped for...I simply love you. Truly. Madly. Deeply. You are love.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
My Precious Allura; July 28 2009
My Precious Darling,
What a ball of fun and energy you are! You are growing leaps and bounds and I am so proud of you and excited for you.
The other day I was thinking about how just a few months ago you had to reach up to open the bathroom drawer and then stand on your very tippy toes to put your hand up, way over your head, to root around in the contents. You had no idea what was in that drawer but you would feel around until you found something of use. This week I teared up because I watched you open the bathroom drawer, then you stood up on your tippy toes to peer down into it and select an item that you wanted to play with. You are getting SO tall! Never mind the fact that you chose my expensive makeup brushes and then proceded to use them to "paint" on the toilet and the dogs while I wasn't looking:)
We went to TN to visit Lori, Tony, AJ and Ryan. It was 14 hours there and Lori sent some wrapped little gifts for you to open and play with along the way when being in the car seat got tough. You were so tolerant and well behaved even though the drive was long. You sang songs with us, watched "The Doodlebops" on DVD (until you broke the DVD player) and then read books and colored. You did a wonderful job on a long car trip that would have driven any 2 year old crazy.
In TN you made fast friends with Ryan, who lavished attention on you non-stop. You two romped and wrestled and played and had a blast. Everyone there was so head over heels for you because you are such a smart and sweet little girl. Lori couldn't believe how polite you were (you ARE really good with please and thank you and I am really proud of you for that) and she spoiled you rotten! :) You took the changes in your schedule with a grain of salt and really bonded to Lori as sort of a "stand in Nana" ...to the degree that you fell asleep in her arms almost each night. I loved watching you bond with her because she is special to me as well~ what a great thing for me to watch.
In the last week or so you have completely surprised us with your verbal skills. Both Nana and Meema and Boppa, as well as dad and I have mentioned how much better you seem to be speaking. You are offering complete sentences now and you are able to articulate your thoughts so easily and fully-it's truely awesome to see! You have all of the sudden moved beyond the 3 word sentences of other 2 year olds and moved into complete thoughts. No more "Lulu need cheese" because now you would say "Mama, I need cheese please". My heart flutters with love because I am now able to hear your thoughts so clearly and it allows me to see your heart. Your personality is so beautiful and I love hearing you speak.
You are quite the little mommy to the dogs, to the extent that you give them orders and try to hand feel them and direct them where to go. It's quite funny though I do at times, have to tell you to be nice or to leave them alone since you can be a tad bossy~it's the age:)
You are so good about letting me do your hair now, and it is getting so long! You even bring me bows to put in your hair. You can be quite helpful, bringing me diapers or wipes and even putting things in the garbage for me to help out. You and I have been baking together often in the last few weeks as well...you are a wonderful little helper. You love to pour the ingredients into bowls and hold the mixer or stir with a spoon...you are a wonderful pal to keep me company when Wilder is napping. I like being your friend and I love being your mom.
Lulu, I wish you could see how often dad and I look at eachothe and exclaim "how does she know that?!? She is SO smart!" You constantly amaze us. We are SO proud of you. Daddy and I are deep in love with you. You are love. Simple as that. You ARE love.
What a ball of fun and energy you are! You are growing leaps and bounds and I am so proud of you and excited for you.
The other day I was thinking about how just a few months ago you had to reach up to open the bathroom drawer and then stand on your very tippy toes to put your hand up, way over your head, to root around in the contents. You had no idea what was in that drawer but you would feel around until you found something of use. This week I teared up because I watched you open the bathroom drawer, then you stood up on your tippy toes to peer down into it and select an item that you wanted to play with. You are getting SO tall! Never mind the fact that you chose my expensive makeup brushes and then proceded to use them to "paint" on the toilet and the dogs while I wasn't looking:)
We went to TN to visit Lori, Tony, AJ and Ryan. It was 14 hours there and Lori sent some wrapped little gifts for you to open and play with along the way when being in the car seat got tough. You were so tolerant and well behaved even though the drive was long. You sang songs with us, watched "The Doodlebops" on DVD (until you broke the DVD player) and then read books and colored. You did a wonderful job on a long car trip that would have driven any 2 year old crazy.
In TN you made fast friends with Ryan, who lavished attention on you non-stop. You two romped and wrestled and played and had a blast. Everyone there was so head over heels for you because you are such a smart and sweet little girl. Lori couldn't believe how polite you were (you ARE really good with please and thank you and I am really proud of you for that) and she spoiled you rotten! :) You took the changes in your schedule with a grain of salt and really bonded to Lori as sort of a "stand in Nana" ...to the degree that you fell asleep in her arms almost each night. I loved watching you bond with her because she is special to me as well~ what a great thing for me to watch.
In the last week or so you have completely surprised us with your verbal skills. Both Nana and Meema and Boppa, as well as dad and I have mentioned how much better you seem to be speaking. You are offering complete sentences now and you are able to articulate your thoughts so easily and fully-it's truely awesome to see! You have all of the sudden moved beyond the 3 word sentences of other 2 year olds and moved into complete thoughts. No more "Lulu need cheese" because now you would say "Mama, I need cheese please". My heart flutters with love because I am now able to hear your thoughts so clearly and it allows me to see your heart. Your personality is so beautiful and I love hearing you speak.
You are quite the little mommy to the dogs, to the extent that you give them orders and try to hand feel them and direct them where to go. It's quite funny though I do at times, have to tell you to be nice or to leave them alone since you can be a tad bossy~it's the age:)
You are so good about letting me do your hair now, and it is getting so long! You even bring me bows to put in your hair. You can be quite helpful, bringing me diapers or wipes and even putting things in the garbage for me to help out. You and I have been baking together often in the last few weeks as well...you are a wonderful little helper. You love to pour the ingredients into bowls and hold the mixer or stir with a spoon...you are a wonderful pal to keep me company when Wilder is napping. I like being your friend and I love being your mom.
Lulu, I wish you could see how often dad and I look at eachothe and exclaim "how does she know that?!? She is SO smart!" You constantly amaze us. We are SO proud of you. Daddy and I are deep in love with you. You are love. Simple as that. You ARE love.
My Adorable Wilder; July 28 2009
My Most Adorable Wilder,
What an amazing few weeks we have had together! You started eating Cheereos 2 weeks ago and you LOVE to use your hands to pick up food and feed yourself. The look of pride on your face is unmistakeable and it lifts my heart to the heavens above. I offer them each day now and it helps me because I can put you in your high chair to snack and it keeps you happy and busy for enough time to allow me to accomplish tasks. Win-win!
We also went to Tennessee to visit my aunt Lori and Tony and the kids AJ and Ryan. AJ was absolutely taken with you. It was hard to get you away from him, Lori was always teasing him about how he never shared you:) You fell asleep on Ryan's chest one night at it was so sweet, he was so enamoured with you! Lori was all over you too..she spoiled you senseless and I hve sweet pictures of her kissing and hugging on you. Family is so wonderful! We drove 14 hours each way to get there and you were incredibly tolerant of being in the car seat for most of the day during our trips there and back. You were so sweet and smiley on the way there, nary a fuss. The way back had a few bumps, but those were more our fault. We left at 8pm hoping to get started before the sun set so you could fall asleep in the light, but we misjudged and ended up pulling out of their driveway about 10 minutes before sundown and you hate to be in your car seat in the dark so you cried for about an hour while we tried to sing and soothe you. We even pulled over to a gas station hoping to buy a flashlight to help you but they didn't sell them. Finally we just accepted that we were on your schedule and not our own so we stopped at a fast food place, parked you right under the parking lot light and waited for you to fall asleep:) Success!
We have been home from TN for almost a week now and you have suddenly noticed that you have a voice! You scream with Lulu and giggle, both with the understanding that you are streetching for fun. You lay on the couch yelling in short bursts to avoid nap time:) You are SO funny. Babbling with more known sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". I was rocking you to sleep the other night humming to you and all the sudden you started humming along with me in this sweet high pitched voice. I wanted to cry it was such a beautiful sound, though I didn't because I didn't want to distract you from your song.
You are also seeminly teething some more, though we cannot find the culprit tooth. You are clearly miserable on some days. I use Oragel and it seems to help, but you still pull on your ear and whine a lot, you tend to want to be held almost all day every day. We'll get through it darling...it is no fun to have sore gums but it will all be worthwhile when you finally have enough teeth to try new foods;)
The best part of the last few weeks?!?!? YOU ARE MOBILE! You started doing this commando style crawling a week or two ago, you pull yourself around on your belly and can move very quickly! You have been trying to pull yourself up into a standing position onto things and you can now pull up into a sitting position from laying on your belly. And for the grand finale of this letter to you...the most exciting thing yet...last night you took your first steps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daddy and I were on the rug in you and Lulu's room and you walked (or tried to walk) back and forth between us for over 30 minutes! You were SO determined. You were sweating and so proud of yourself as you either hobbled 4-6 steps across or tried to and ended up diving head first toward the parent you were walking to...it was SO amazing to see your determination and will. I am so proud of you. No matter how tired we thought you were, you continued to try, through a few successes and even more falls you persisted and dad and I were overwhelmed with love for you. You will be walking soon enough my darling, you desire it so. I am proud to have a son that puts his mind to a task and won't stop until he accomplishes it. Just remember my precious dear...sometimes it is okay to stop and rest in mommy's arms. I will always be a step behind you to catch you when you fall, and once I do, I will hug you and tell you how proud of you I am (no matter what the outcome) because you gave it your all and that is all I will ever ask of you.
I love you SO much kid. SO MUCH. There simply are no words to explain how much I love you...
What an amazing few weeks we have had together! You started eating Cheereos 2 weeks ago and you LOVE to use your hands to pick up food and feed yourself. The look of pride on your face is unmistakeable and it lifts my heart to the heavens above. I offer them each day now and it helps me because I can put you in your high chair to snack and it keeps you happy and busy for enough time to allow me to accomplish tasks. Win-win!
We also went to Tennessee to visit my aunt Lori and Tony and the kids AJ and Ryan. AJ was absolutely taken with you. It was hard to get you away from him, Lori was always teasing him about how he never shared you:) You fell asleep on Ryan's chest one night at it was so sweet, he was so enamoured with you! Lori was all over you too..she spoiled you senseless and I hve sweet pictures of her kissing and hugging on you. Family is so wonderful! We drove 14 hours each way to get there and you were incredibly tolerant of being in the car seat for most of the day during our trips there and back. You were so sweet and smiley on the way there, nary a fuss. The way back had a few bumps, but those were more our fault. We left at 8pm hoping to get started before the sun set so you could fall asleep in the light, but we misjudged and ended up pulling out of their driveway about 10 minutes before sundown and you hate to be in your car seat in the dark so you cried for about an hour while we tried to sing and soothe you. We even pulled over to a gas station hoping to buy a flashlight to help you but they didn't sell them. Finally we just accepted that we were on your schedule and not our own so we stopped at a fast food place, parked you right under the parking lot light and waited for you to fall asleep:) Success!
We have been home from TN for almost a week now and you have suddenly noticed that you have a voice! You scream with Lulu and giggle, both with the understanding that you are streetching for fun. You lay on the couch yelling in short bursts to avoid nap time:) You are SO funny. Babbling with more known sounds like "ba-ba-ba-ba". I was rocking you to sleep the other night humming to you and all the sudden you started humming along with me in this sweet high pitched voice. I wanted to cry it was such a beautiful sound, though I didn't because I didn't want to distract you from your song.
You are also seeminly teething some more, though we cannot find the culprit tooth. You are clearly miserable on some days. I use Oragel and it seems to help, but you still pull on your ear and whine a lot, you tend to want to be held almost all day every day. We'll get through it darling...it is no fun to have sore gums but it will all be worthwhile when you finally have enough teeth to try new foods;)
The best part of the last few weeks?!?!? YOU ARE MOBILE! You started doing this commando style crawling a week or two ago, you pull yourself around on your belly and can move very quickly! You have been trying to pull yourself up into a standing position onto things and you can now pull up into a sitting position from laying on your belly. And for the grand finale of this letter to you...the most exciting thing yet...last night you took your first steps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Daddy and I were on the rug in you and Lulu's room and you walked (or tried to walk) back and forth between us for over 30 minutes! You were SO determined. You were sweating and so proud of yourself as you either hobbled 4-6 steps across or tried to and ended up diving head first toward the parent you were walking to...it was SO amazing to see your determination and will. I am so proud of you. No matter how tired we thought you were, you continued to try, through a few successes and even more falls you persisted and dad and I were overwhelmed with love for you. You will be walking soon enough my darling, you desire it so. I am proud to have a son that puts his mind to a task and won't stop until he accomplishes it. Just remember my precious dear...sometimes it is okay to stop and rest in mommy's arms. I will always be a step behind you to catch you when you fall, and once I do, I will hug you and tell you how proud of you I am (no matter what the outcome) because you gave it your all and that is all I will ever ask of you.
I love you SO much kid. SO MUCH. There simply are no words to explain how much I love you...
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My Adorable Wilder; July 2nd 2009
My Simply ADORABLE Wilder,
Guess what?! After weeks of having you stare excitedly at our food when we eat, and after weeks of feeling bad that we were eating meals in front of you, given your extreme interest in real food...your first tooth finally popped! On June 27, daddy was putting Lulu to bed and I was playing with you and you started to bite on my hands "Ouch!" I felt it! I called to daddy and we rushed you into the bathroom (the light was brighter since it was night) and we did our best to get pictures. You smiled cheerily but our camera didn't get a good picture, there is one shot where we can "sort of" see it. Your first tooth was the bottom left middle. Soon you will have more teeth and will be able to try solid foods...just a little more patience is required on your part.
I love you! You are growing so fast. I am happy to see you grow into a precious little boy but I will forever miss the smiley, joyful baby that you have been! Your smile is the most gorgeous sight I could even imagine!
I love you!
HHST (Happy, Healthy, Safe & Together)
Mom
Guess what?! After weeks of having you stare excitedly at our food when we eat, and after weeks of feeling bad that we were eating meals in front of you, given your extreme interest in real food...your first tooth finally popped! On June 27, daddy was putting Lulu to bed and I was playing with you and you started to bite on my hands "Ouch!" I felt it! I called to daddy and we rushed you into the bathroom (the light was brighter since it was night) and we did our best to get pictures. You smiled cheerily but our camera didn't get a good picture, there is one shot where we can "sort of" see it. Your first tooth was the bottom left middle. Soon you will have more teeth and will be able to try solid foods...just a little more patience is required on your part.
I love you! You are growing so fast. I am happy to see you grow into a precious little boy but I will forever miss the smiley, joyful baby that you have been! Your smile is the most gorgeous sight I could even imagine!
I love you!
HHST (Happy, Healthy, Safe & Together)
Mom
Monday, June 22, 2009
My Precious Allura; June 22, 2009
My Precious Allura,
You are TWO!!!! So far the two's have been anything but terrible. You are blossoming.
We took you two your two year old well child check and you amazed the doctor with your vocabulary. She told us that you are "quite a bit smarter than average" -what a proud set of parents we are! Your height is 34.5 inches (50-75%), your weight is 26.5 lbs (50%), and your head size is 48 cm (50-75%). You know all of your colors, can get through most of the ABC song, the Barney "I Love You" song that we sing together as a family each night when you go to bed, and you can follow directions for the songs "If You're Happy and You Know it" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". You ask me "s'at" a million times a day in your quest to learn words for everything. Your sense of curiosity is wonderful. You LOVE to find airplanes in the sky and your are putting together really good sentances. "I see a red car!" and "I want to dance" and "I need dada home" and "dada, mommy has oowie" are some that I have heard recently.
We took you to the Ferrian's wedding last weekend and you were the bell of the ball! You stole the show with your adorable dancing on the dance floor. All the adults were pointing at you and giggling and telling us how cute you are. You are fearless! Totally comfortable out there on the dance floor in the front of the room, in front of everyone! You danced with Brian Oxborough, with Carter and with some other little girls that were there. You also ran around in the halls with Carter and you two giggled non-stop the whole time.
Lulu, you are such a friendly and outgoing little girl. You amaze me with your sweetness and confidence. You are exactly the little girl I have always dreamed of having. You are so good with people and other kids. You are a bright and colorful light in a sometimes dreary world. You shine.
I am babysitting a little boy the same age as Wilder and you are so sweet to him, you love to pet his head and give him hugs and kisses. You show such sweet affection for anyone and everyone. You love Wilder with all your heart and you are so good to him. You are always quick with a huge and a kiss, you bring him toys when he accidentally pushes them all out of his range, you try to hold his bottle for him, you bring me diapers and wipes to help me. You are such a wonderfully mommy in the making!
You and I have so much fun spending our days together. I love eating a meal with you at the table and listening to all you have to say about the world. You love to point out the colors of things and I love to chat with you. I am so thankful that I get to be home with you and spend so much time with you, I could ask for a better best friend. You still love Elmo, and now thankfully you have expanded your horizons a bit to include all the Sesame Street characters. Ernie is also a favorite. We took you to meet Bert and Ernie at the Children's Museum...they has a special B&E themed party and we drove you to St. Paul to go to it. I love finding things like that to make your day special. You marched right up to them and hugged their legs and took a picture with them, there is not a shy bone in your body:)
Your second birthday was wonderful. We had a party for the grandparents on your actual birthday. I made you an Elmo cake which took me hours and multiple trips to the grocery store to complete. I was up until 2am the night before perfecting that cake just to make you smile...and you did and it was worth every minute of sleeplessness:) Amy also brought you an Elmo ice cream cake so you were very sugared out that day!
On the 30th we hosted about 40 friends and family members for your sesame street themed party. You had a WONDERFUL time seeing your friends and playing outside with them. We got you an Elmo cupcake cake and with all your friends around you were more interested in playing than eating so we didn't push it. It was a really enjoyable day and I'm glad you had so much fun.
I'm already thinking of ideas to make your 3rd birthday even more fun...you will finally be old enough for games and party activites so we will make sure you have a blast!
We are leaving for TN to visit the Lipinskis in a few weeks, and in August we are going to SD to visit great grandma and grandpa Harris. Both trips are 10+ hours so I have been scouring stores and websites looking for toys and activities for you to do in the car to keep you entertained. I am hoping to make the trip as enjoyable as possible for a 2 year old that would rather not spend a day in the car seat. We will make frequent stops to stretch and we are going to leave very early in the morning so that you will sleep through the beginning and the middle for a nap. My fingers are crossed for the trip, I know you will have a blast playing with AJ and Ryan once we get there, and Lori told me the whole family is looking forward to see you and meeting Wilder. I am counting down the days!
Lulu, dad's friend Dan K. really summed up the last few weeks for us when he stopped at the wedding and said "Adam, she's really cute". It was a very sweet compliment coming from a single guy in his late 20's. He's right though, you are in a very cute stage. Yes, you have 40 tantrums a day (hey, you ARE two!) but those pale in comparison to how sweet and loving and curious and upbeat you are the rest of the day. Dad and I look at each other in amazement AT LEAST once a day when you say something profoundly smart that we didn't even know you could say. It's a fun time, watching you absorb so much information and process it in your special way. You brighten my whole world. Your smile is etched in my heart. I love you more than any combination of words could ever communicate. I would do anything for you, anything.
You shine.
mom
You are TWO!!!! So far the two's have been anything but terrible. You are blossoming.
We took you two your two year old well child check and you amazed the doctor with your vocabulary. She told us that you are "quite a bit smarter than average" -what a proud set of parents we are! Your height is 34.5 inches (50-75%), your weight is 26.5 lbs (50%), and your head size is 48 cm (50-75%). You know all of your colors, can get through most of the ABC song, the Barney "I Love You" song that we sing together as a family each night when you go to bed, and you can follow directions for the songs "If You're Happy and You Know it" and "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes". You ask me "s'at" a million times a day in your quest to learn words for everything. Your sense of curiosity is wonderful. You LOVE to find airplanes in the sky and your are putting together really good sentances. "I see a red car!" and "I want to dance" and "I need dada home" and "dada, mommy has oowie" are some that I have heard recently.
We took you to the Ferrian's wedding last weekend and you were the bell of the ball! You stole the show with your adorable dancing on the dance floor. All the adults were pointing at you and giggling and telling us how cute you are. You are fearless! Totally comfortable out there on the dance floor in the front of the room, in front of everyone! You danced with Brian Oxborough, with Carter and with some other little girls that were there. You also ran around in the halls with Carter and you two giggled non-stop the whole time.
Lulu, you are such a friendly and outgoing little girl. You amaze me with your sweetness and confidence. You are exactly the little girl I have always dreamed of having. You are so good with people and other kids. You are a bright and colorful light in a sometimes dreary world. You shine.
I am babysitting a little boy the same age as Wilder and you are so sweet to him, you love to pet his head and give him hugs and kisses. You show such sweet affection for anyone and everyone. You love Wilder with all your heart and you are so good to him. You are always quick with a huge and a kiss, you bring him toys when he accidentally pushes them all out of his range, you try to hold his bottle for him, you bring me diapers and wipes to help me. You are such a wonderfully mommy in the making!
You and I have so much fun spending our days together. I love eating a meal with you at the table and listening to all you have to say about the world. You love to point out the colors of things and I love to chat with you. I am so thankful that I get to be home with you and spend so much time with you, I could ask for a better best friend. You still love Elmo, and now thankfully you have expanded your horizons a bit to include all the Sesame Street characters. Ernie is also a favorite. We took you to meet Bert and Ernie at the Children's Museum...they has a special B&E themed party and we drove you to St. Paul to go to it. I love finding things like that to make your day special. You marched right up to them and hugged their legs and took a picture with them, there is not a shy bone in your body:)
Your second birthday was wonderful. We had a party for the grandparents on your actual birthday. I made you an Elmo cake which took me hours and multiple trips to the grocery store to complete. I was up until 2am the night before perfecting that cake just to make you smile...and you did and it was worth every minute of sleeplessness:) Amy also brought you an Elmo ice cream cake so you were very sugared out that day!
On the 30th we hosted about 40 friends and family members for your sesame street themed party. You had a WONDERFUL time seeing your friends and playing outside with them. We got you an Elmo cupcake cake and with all your friends around you were more interested in playing than eating so we didn't push it. It was a really enjoyable day and I'm glad you had so much fun.
I'm already thinking of ideas to make your 3rd birthday even more fun...you will finally be old enough for games and party activites so we will make sure you have a blast!
We are leaving for TN to visit the Lipinskis in a few weeks, and in August we are going to SD to visit great grandma and grandpa Harris. Both trips are 10+ hours so I have been scouring stores and websites looking for toys and activities for you to do in the car to keep you entertained. I am hoping to make the trip as enjoyable as possible for a 2 year old that would rather not spend a day in the car seat. We will make frequent stops to stretch and we are going to leave very early in the morning so that you will sleep through the beginning and the middle for a nap. My fingers are crossed for the trip, I know you will have a blast playing with AJ and Ryan once we get there, and Lori told me the whole family is looking forward to see you and meeting Wilder. I am counting down the days!
Lulu, dad's friend Dan K. really summed up the last few weeks for us when he stopped at the wedding and said "Adam, she's really cute". It was a very sweet compliment coming from a single guy in his late 20's. He's right though, you are in a very cute stage. Yes, you have 40 tantrums a day (hey, you ARE two!) but those pale in comparison to how sweet and loving and curious and upbeat you are the rest of the day. Dad and I look at each other in amazement AT LEAST once a day when you say something profoundly smart that we didn't even know you could say. It's a fun time, watching you absorb so much information and process it in your special way. You brighten my whole world. Your smile is etched in my heart. I love you more than any combination of words could ever communicate. I would do anything for you, anything.
You shine.
mom
My Adorable Wilder; June 22, 2009
My Adorable Wilder,
You are almost 7 months old! I cannot believe how big you are getting! Your 6 month doctor appointment had you at 28 inches long (90-95%), your weight at 20lbs & 4 oz (90%), and your head size...well, you take after your dad with 46.3 cm (97%)!
You are starting to show such a personality and you have learned to communicate your likes and dislikes quite well. You LOVE baby food...bananas in particular, though you enjoy pears, apples, carrots, squash and sweet potatos. You sort of like peas and green beans, some days more than others. You are starting to be more difficult to nurse as you like to turn away and look at any noise or sounds you hear so it takes quite a bit longer to get a smaller amount now. Plus, it is easier to take formula and breast milk from a bottle so you do that about half the time. I am adament on continuing to nurse you until at least a year old. People always ask how long I want to nurse for and when I tell them, they ask why I would want to nurse for so long. They think it would just be easier to give you formula, and it would, but they don't understand that it is for me just as much as it is for you. It goes well beyond the nutritional benefits-it is that bond with you that I love. I adore our time each day where we get to steal away and just focus on each other. I adore our family, but those few minutes, a few times a day are like meditation for me. You and I can stare into each other's eyes while you nurse and we can communicate our love for each other the way words can never express. It's my time to just focus on you. To love you, to think about you, to smile at you.,..it's wonderful. That time with you, in peace and calm, is precious to me.
I have been monitoring your, umm..."poo" situation often since you have very stubborn bowels and only tend to go once or twice a week. This leaves us with a crampy and very upset baby many nights..one that is inconsolable and my heart breaks for you when you are upset. I have tapered back the amount of cereal that I mix into your baby food now to avoid causing more constipation issues than we would already have. I know you are probably much older when you are reading this and thinking "why is she typing all these gross details?!?!" and the answer is that nothing about you is gross to me. I want you to know as much about your life as a child as possible and these are details that I will want to remember because I love everything about you.
You also REALLY dislike being in your car seat in the car after dark. Were unsure if it is the dark you are fearful of, or being strapped into the seat and not having as much visibility as you would during the day. Either way, you are fine in the dark when you can see one of us, so being in the house at night isn't an issue...but you cry and scream and sob the whole time we are in a car after dark. It is a heart wretching experience to drive you home at night and I find myself singing as loundly as possible in the hopes that you will hear me over your crying and feel more secure. So far, it hasn't worked but I will forever keep trying. Sometimes I even try to squeeze into the middle seat between you and Lulu's car seats so that I can hold your hand and soothe you-you love that but it is a really tight and uncomfortable fit for me and I am terrified that I am pushing on your car seats and loosening them, which is a safety issue so I won't be able to do that too often. I pray you grow out of this phase soon, I feel terrible hearing you cry and not being able to swoop you up into my arms to lavish kisses on you. As you mom, I want to be able to fix everything for you-your cries break my heart into a million pieces and I hate feeling powerless to help you.
You are starting to be a total stinker at night in general. Somehow you have decided to live like a rock star...you want to stay up until 4 am and sleep until noon each day which really doesn't work well for the rest of the family. Lately it has been impossible to get you to go to sleep at a decent hour and I find myself laying in bed with you as you sit up and watch TV while I snooze. You sit right between dad and I, in our bed, and zone out watching whatever boring show we can find and eventually your eyelids start to get heavy and you get sleepy:) This week I am going to start waking you up at 8am so that you are nice and tired in time for 2 planned nap times, and that way you will have your last nap of the day in the early afternoon and will hopefully be tired in time for a normal bed time. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.... this week commences "Operation Change Wilder's Sleep Schedule" and I am totally ready for whatever tantrums and crying jags you can offer me. I will meet them with love and patience and hope that it will all end up with you on a more human schedule. :)
You have started something new that is SO overwhelmingly adorable...everytime we try to take a picture of you and you see the little orange flash light go on, you give this huge beaming smile that I just love. It is a smile filled with pride and beauty and the understanding on your part that camera=smile=attention:) You love to pose for the camera and your wrinkled nose smile is one truely worth capturing forever! You have also found your voice! You love to sit on the floor with toys and just jibber jabber away...sometimes it even sounds like you are yelling. Dad and I call it "screlling" since it sounds like you are screaming and yelling at the same time. You don't screll with any particular sense of anger...you just sound like you are very passionate about whatever it is you happen to be saying. I hope to catch it on video because we lapse into fits of laughter whenever you do it. You have also started forming more sounds that are part of language development. You have started moving your lips and tongue in a way that has you making "dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada" sounds. You haven't connected the sound to "dad" yet...but you are well on your way to developing your language skills and I am eager to hear all that you have to say when you can talk.
You still love to zip around wildly and with great athleticism in your walker. You have actually started to hold yourself up into a standing position quite well. Between your standing, strong balance skills and your expert use of the walker your dad and I are convinced that you will walk before you crawl. You run around in that walker...actually running...and I think that since you see Lulu and us walking around, that crawling has just never been an option you have considered as of yet. Either way, walk or crawl, you are getting stronger and more balanced and one of them is a skill that I think you will have soon enough.
I love you so much Wild. You are this beautiful (okay..handsome) all-American type boy. You are growing up so fast and everyday I must say to myself "I love him so much" a million times if not more. Even at your worst I love you. Even at my worst, I love you. I love our special bond and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. I feel this overwhelming need to protect you from the world, so hopefully the future has you living with me and dad forever (and Lulu!) because I never want to part from you, even for a day. You and your sister have brough unimaginable happiness and love to my world and I am reminded of that love and happiness hundreds of times a day. Thank you.
mom
You are almost 7 months old! I cannot believe how big you are getting! Your 6 month doctor appointment had you at 28 inches long (90-95%), your weight at 20lbs & 4 oz (90%), and your head size...well, you take after your dad with 46.3 cm (97%)!
You are starting to show such a personality and you have learned to communicate your likes and dislikes quite well. You LOVE baby food...bananas in particular, though you enjoy pears, apples, carrots, squash and sweet potatos. You sort of like peas and green beans, some days more than others. You are starting to be more difficult to nurse as you like to turn away and look at any noise or sounds you hear so it takes quite a bit longer to get a smaller amount now. Plus, it is easier to take formula and breast milk from a bottle so you do that about half the time. I am adament on continuing to nurse you until at least a year old. People always ask how long I want to nurse for and when I tell them, they ask why I would want to nurse for so long. They think it would just be easier to give you formula, and it would, but they don't understand that it is for me just as much as it is for you. It goes well beyond the nutritional benefits-it is that bond with you that I love. I adore our time each day where we get to steal away and just focus on each other. I adore our family, but those few minutes, a few times a day are like meditation for me. You and I can stare into each other's eyes while you nurse and we can communicate our love for each other the way words can never express. It's my time to just focus on you. To love you, to think about you, to smile at you.,..it's wonderful. That time with you, in peace and calm, is precious to me.
I have been monitoring your, umm..."poo" situation often since you have very stubborn bowels and only tend to go once or twice a week. This leaves us with a crampy and very upset baby many nights..one that is inconsolable and my heart breaks for you when you are upset. I have tapered back the amount of cereal that I mix into your baby food now to avoid causing more constipation issues than we would already have. I know you are probably much older when you are reading this and thinking "why is she typing all these gross details?!?!" and the answer is that nothing about you is gross to me. I want you to know as much about your life as a child as possible and these are details that I will want to remember because I love everything about you.
You also REALLY dislike being in your car seat in the car after dark. Were unsure if it is the dark you are fearful of, or being strapped into the seat and not having as much visibility as you would during the day. Either way, you are fine in the dark when you can see one of us, so being in the house at night isn't an issue...but you cry and scream and sob the whole time we are in a car after dark. It is a heart wretching experience to drive you home at night and I find myself singing as loundly as possible in the hopes that you will hear me over your crying and feel more secure. So far, it hasn't worked but I will forever keep trying. Sometimes I even try to squeeze into the middle seat between you and Lulu's car seats so that I can hold your hand and soothe you-you love that but it is a really tight and uncomfortable fit for me and I am terrified that I am pushing on your car seats and loosening them, which is a safety issue so I won't be able to do that too often. I pray you grow out of this phase soon, I feel terrible hearing you cry and not being able to swoop you up into my arms to lavish kisses on you. As you mom, I want to be able to fix everything for you-your cries break my heart into a million pieces and I hate feeling powerless to help you.
You are starting to be a total stinker at night in general. Somehow you have decided to live like a rock star...you want to stay up until 4 am and sleep until noon each day which really doesn't work well for the rest of the family. Lately it has been impossible to get you to go to sleep at a decent hour and I find myself laying in bed with you as you sit up and watch TV while I snooze. You sit right between dad and I, in our bed, and zone out watching whatever boring show we can find and eventually your eyelids start to get heavy and you get sleepy:) This week I am going to start waking you up at 8am so that you are nice and tired in time for 2 planned nap times, and that way you will have your last nap of the day in the early afternoon and will hopefully be tired in time for a normal bed time. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do.... this week commences "Operation Change Wilder's Sleep Schedule" and I am totally ready for whatever tantrums and crying jags you can offer me. I will meet them with love and patience and hope that it will all end up with you on a more human schedule. :)
You have started something new that is SO overwhelmingly adorable...everytime we try to take a picture of you and you see the little orange flash light go on, you give this huge beaming smile that I just love. It is a smile filled with pride and beauty and the understanding on your part that camera=smile=attention:) You love to pose for the camera and your wrinkled nose smile is one truely worth capturing forever! You have also found your voice! You love to sit on the floor with toys and just jibber jabber away...sometimes it even sounds like you are yelling. Dad and I call it "screlling" since it sounds like you are screaming and yelling at the same time. You don't screll with any particular sense of anger...you just sound like you are very passionate about whatever it is you happen to be saying. I hope to catch it on video because we lapse into fits of laughter whenever you do it. You have also started forming more sounds that are part of language development. You have started moving your lips and tongue in a way that has you making "dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada" sounds. You haven't connected the sound to "dad" yet...but you are well on your way to developing your language skills and I am eager to hear all that you have to say when you can talk.
You still love to zip around wildly and with great athleticism in your walker. You have actually started to hold yourself up into a standing position quite well. Between your standing, strong balance skills and your expert use of the walker your dad and I are convinced that you will walk before you crawl. You run around in that walker...actually running...and I think that since you see Lulu and us walking around, that crawling has just never been an option you have considered as of yet. Either way, walk or crawl, you are getting stronger and more balanced and one of them is a skill that I think you will have soon enough.
I love you so much Wild. You are this beautiful (okay..handsome) all-American type boy. You are growing up so fast and everyday I must say to myself "I love him so much" a million times if not more. Even at your worst I love you. Even at my worst, I love you. I love our special bond and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you. I feel this overwhelming need to protect you from the world, so hopefully the future has you living with me and dad forever (and Lulu!) because I never want to part from you, even for a day. You and your sister have brough unimaginable happiness and love to my world and I am reminded of that love and happiness hundreds of times a day. Thank you.
mom
Friday, May 8, 2009
My Adorable Wilder; May 8, 2009
My adorable little one,
You are growing leaps and bounds! I am amazed that you are almost 6 months old..it feels like just yesterday we were strapping you into your car seat to take you home from the hospital. The other night I went through and watched some of our videos from that first few weeks of your life and couldn't believe how different you are and how much time has passed. We went to visit Camryn Blake (who is a month old) and Jess was so shocked at how much you have grown in the last few weeks. She said you look so much like a baby and not at all like a newborn. You are incredibly handsome to all who meet you:)
In the last week and a half you have started to do something that is so precious, and so profound to me. You do this silly little facial expression with this hurried breathing...think Mick Jagger lips while huffing and doing a little fake cough at the same time. It is SO adorable. The amazing thing about it is that you have realized that doing it garners a big reaction from the adults around-since they all gush at you and laugh when they see you do it. It is really THAT cute. You seem to have learned that you can get positive attention with it so you now do it purposely for that very reason. It is crazy that at 6 months old, you are smart enough to manipulate a room full of people. I even think that you do it to make people laugh, almost like one would tell a joke. You have come to expect my laughter so it seems like you use this little action/look/sound to be comical...I think this means that you will have a great sense of humor as you grow up and will look to laughter to help get through each day.
Having a sense of humor is so helpful in trying times. There is nothing better than to try and find a reason to laugh when the going gets tough...it quickly dissolves any tension you may feel. Laughing is a great coping mechanism when you get frustrated. I am hopeful that you will take after your dad and I, and use humor to add joy to your life. With your new found talent, I think you have this comedy thing down already and that makes me really happy. Just one of many silly little life lessons:)
You are getting so strong. You sat up for the first time on May 1st, and each day since then you have been able to sit up by yourself for longer periods of time as your trunk muscles get stronger. The look of absolute look of pride on your face when you sit up by yourself is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I am so proud of you. You have been rolling over for about a month but you are such a big and solid guy that you don't do it often, usually just when you are sick of the position you are lying in and need a change. You are strong, healthy and incredibly happy. You are eager to follow in your sister's active footsteps and with your laid back attitude and sunny disposition. I love to watch her wiggle around in a silly and energetic manner while you laugh hysterically at her...she is a comedian just as you are:)
I have no doubt that you are well on your way to growing into the kind of young man that would make any parent proud. Your smile is so gorgeous, you make my heart smile 100 times a day when your eyes sparkle and you flash me that gorgeous grin. I am so happy that God chose me to be your mother. I adore you so much it overwhelms me.
You are growing leaps and bounds! I am amazed that you are almost 6 months old..it feels like just yesterday we were strapping you into your car seat to take you home from the hospital. The other night I went through and watched some of our videos from that first few weeks of your life and couldn't believe how different you are and how much time has passed. We went to visit Camryn Blake (who is a month old) and Jess was so shocked at how much you have grown in the last few weeks. She said you look so much like a baby and not at all like a newborn. You are incredibly handsome to all who meet you:)
In the last week and a half you have started to do something that is so precious, and so profound to me. You do this silly little facial expression with this hurried breathing...think Mick Jagger lips while huffing and doing a little fake cough at the same time. It is SO adorable. The amazing thing about it is that you have realized that doing it garners a big reaction from the adults around-since they all gush at you and laugh when they see you do it. It is really THAT cute. You seem to have learned that you can get positive attention with it so you now do it purposely for that very reason. It is crazy that at 6 months old, you are smart enough to manipulate a room full of people. I even think that you do it to make people laugh, almost like one would tell a joke. You have come to expect my laughter so it seems like you use this little action/look/sound to be comical...I think this means that you will have a great sense of humor as you grow up and will look to laughter to help get through each day.
Having a sense of humor is so helpful in trying times. There is nothing better than to try and find a reason to laugh when the going gets tough...it quickly dissolves any tension you may feel. Laughing is a great coping mechanism when you get frustrated. I am hopeful that you will take after your dad and I, and use humor to add joy to your life. With your new found talent, I think you have this comedy thing down already and that makes me really happy. Just one of many silly little life lessons:)
You are getting so strong. You sat up for the first time on May 1st, and each day since then you have been able to sit up by yourself for longer periods of time as your trunk muscles get stronger. The look of absolute look of pride on your face when you sit up by yourself is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I am so proud of you. You have been rolling over for about a month but you are such a big and solid guy that you don't do it often, usually just when you are sick of the position you are lying in and need a change. You are strong, healthy and incredibly happy. You are eager to follow in your sister's active footsteps and with your laid back attitude and sunny disposition. I love to watch her wiggle around in a silly and energetic manner while you laugh hysterically at her...she is a comedian just as you are:)
I have no doubt that you are well on your way to growing into the kind of young man that would make any parent proud. Your smile is so gorgeous, you make my heart smile 100 times a day when your eyes sparkle and you flash me that gorgeous grin. I am so happy that God chose me to be your mother. I adore you so much it overwhelms me.
My Precious Allura; May 8, 2009
My darling,
You are almost 2! I can't believe how time flies! I have honestly loved every moment. I have to tell you about something you did that positively warmed my heart...
You are a daddy's girl. You always have been. I am used to it and fine with it because I am glad that you have such a loving and fantastic daddy to adore. This means that normally you go to him first for things like boo-boos, nightmares and little randoms conversations. You happily come to me if daddy isn't around, but when he is you typically show me things second which is not a problem for me...honestly.
The other night, literally at 3am I was in a deep sleep and I felt a tickle on my foot. It actually woke me up with quite a startle as you can imagine. I sit up in our room, dark except for the light of the fish tank, and I see you at the foot of the bed holding a mass of teddy bears. You drop everything in your arms on the floor and silently put your finger up to your mouth to "shush" me, and then you pointed to daddy and Wilder (who was sleeping in a cradle next to our bed) as if to tell me not to wake them. You then silently handed me one teddy bear at a time...until I had all FOUR that you carry with you on the bed next to me. After that you handed me your taggy and plucked the pacifier out of your mouth and handed that to me. I was having a hard time trying to stifle my giggles at the cuteness of the whole situation. You put out your arms to motion for me to pick you up, so I brought you into our bed assuming you would go cuddle up do daddy as usual.
I was a bit surprised that you didn't use the little stool to help yourself up onto our bed as you normally do... a few times a week. I also thought it was incredibly cute that you felt the need to hand me your pacifier, as though for some reason you couldn't be lifted into bed with it in your mouth~
Once I had you in bed the most wonderful and amazing thing happened...you crawled up and laid up against me. Not to sound competative, but I am so used to the daddy's girl thing, that this took me totally by surprise, albeit a wonderful one. So there we were, laying tummy to tummy, with your head on my pillow looking into my eyes as we fell asleep without a word to each other. I was so overwhelmed with love for you. I was choking back tears to prevent waking you as we laid cheek to cheek, with your hot breath warming my chin. I was the happiest at that moment that I had been in a long time-100% full of pure joy because you did something you don't normally do; you chose me.
We laid like that for about an hour, until daddy noticed you were in bed with us and decided to be the better parent and enforce our rule that you sleep in your own bed like a big girl. Still, you were so precious-when he whispered that you needed to sleep in your room and picked you up to carry you there you didn't say a word, just sort of laid your cheek against his chest as he carried you. It was a beautiful sight to see your sleepy eyes as daddy took you to bed.
It was a wonderful night for me, I was so proud that you came to me. Funny enough the next night you woke up crying in bed and daddy went to you and you cried out for me again. Daddy actually had to carry you in our room to see me (I pretended to be asleep to encourage you to go back to sleep) and daddy said "mommy is sleeping Lu, just like you need to be" and once you saw me you were willing to go back to sleep in your bed. I guess something woke you up and you needed to see me-perhaps it was a bad dream? But it reinforced my understanding that even though you are an unabashed daddy's girl, I can rest assured that you still love and need me to be a soft place for you to lay your head from time to time.
I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be your soft, safe place to come home to.
You are almost 2! I can't believe how time flies! I have honestly loved every moment. I have to tell you about something you did that positively warmed my heart...
You are a daddy's girl. You always have been. I am used to it and fine with it because I am glad that you have such a loving and fantastic daddy to adore. This means that normally you go to him first for things like boo-boos, nightmares and little randoms conversations. You happily come to me if daddy isn't around, but when he is you typically show me things second which is not a problem for me...honestly.
The other night, literally at 3am I was in a deep sleep and I felt a tickle on my foot. It actually woke me up with quite a startle as you can imagine. I sit up in our room, dark except for the light of the fish tank, and I see you at the foot of the bed holding a mass of teddy bears. You drop everything in your arms on the floor and silently put your finger up to your mouth to "shush" me, and then you pointed to daddy and Wilder (who was sleeping in a cradle next to our bed) as if to tell me not to wake them. You then silently handed me one teddy bear at a time...until I had all FOUR that you carry with you on the bed next to me. After that you handed me your taggy and plucked the pacifier out of your mouth and handed that to me. I was having a hard time trying to stifle my giggles at the cuteness of the whole situation. You put out your arms to motion for me to pick you up, so I brought you into our bed assuming you would go cuddle up do daddy as usual.
I was a bit surprised that you didn't use the little stool to help yourself up onto our bed as you normally do... a few times a week. I also thought it was incredibly cute that you felt the need to hand me your pacifier, as though for some reason you couldn't be lifted into bed with it in your mouth~
Once I had you in bed the most wonderful and amazing thing happened...you crawled up and laid up against me. Not to sound competative, but I am so used to the daddy's girl thing, that this took me totally by surprise, albeit a wonderful one. So there we were, laying tummy to tummy, with your head on my pillow looking into my eyes as we fell asleep without a word to each other. I was so overwhelmed with love for you. I was choking back tears to prevent waking you as we laid cheek to cheek, with your hot breath warming my chin. I was the happiest at that moment that I had been in a long time-100% full of pure joy because you did something you don't normally do; you chose me.
We laid like that for about an hour, until daddy noticed you were in bed with us and decided to be the better parent and enforce our rule that you sleep in your own bed like a big girl. Still, you were so precious-when he whispered that you needed to sleep in your room and picked you up to carry you there you didn't say a word, just sort of laid your cheek against his chest as he carried you. It was a beautiful sight to see your sleepy eyes as daddy took you to bed.
It was a wonderful night for me, I was so proud that you came to me. Funny enough the next night you woke up crying in bed and daddy went to you and you cried out for me again. Daddy actually had to carry you in our room to see me (I pretended to be asleep to encourage you to go back to sleep) and daddy said "mommy is sleeping Lu, just like you need to be" and once you saw me you were willing to go back to sleep in your bed. I guess something woke you up and you needed to see me-perhaps it was a bad dream? But it reinforced my understanding that even though you are an unabashed daddy's girl, I can rest assured that you still love and need me to be a soft place for you to lay your head from time to time.
I want you to know that I will ALWAYS be your soft, safe place to come home to.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
My Precious Allura; April 20, 2009
My Precious Lulu,
As I plan your second birthday party I am astounded at how amazing you are! I love you SO much! Your toddlerhood has been a wonderful journey full of excitement, pride and exhaustion for dad and I.
Each day I am amazed at the new phrases and words that you surprise me with. You are in full "what's that?" mode in your quest for knowledge about the world, so we spend must of our day with me telling you words for things you see. Today we have already discussed words for "gift", "earth" and "sign'. You are starting to put sentences together on your own such as "Eat Ray!" and "I need more". Some new words you can say are "pee-pa" for pizza, "innere" for come here, "toot" for cute, you know all of your colors really well, "bi-min" for vitamin, "ice-eem" for ice cream and "s'at" for what's that and "mah-ee" for money and you can say "sit".
We spend our evenings playing and wrestling you on the floor and you love to chase and be chased around the kitchen. Your laughter is infectious and your brother Wilder has fast become your best friend. At almost 5 months old he is totally in love with you, as you are with him, and he loves to laugh as you sing and dance and animatedly tease the dogs with food.
I still cannot believe you are almost 2. You are still my tiny, precious little gift from God. I am SO proud of the little girl you have become. You have overcome such amazing feats! You are a bright, smart and loving force in this world and I just know you are destined to do something great in your life. I am so proud that you are assertive, friendly and loving. You delight in playing with other kids and love nothing more than to read books with your daddy before bed each night. I enjoyed watching your do the egg hunts a few days back on Easter, you LOVED getting your picture taken with the Easter Bunny and you LOVE going to eat at Red Robin when the Robin comes around handing out balloons. Rather than being shy you are so cute! You call to them and say Hi to them as though you were talking to a baby. You are so confident and vivacious and I LOVE that about you!
My hope for you is that you retain this level of confidence throughout your life. I want you to understand that you are so beautiful, precious, smart and are totally perfect as you are. Never let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. Who you are inside is SO much more important than what anyone else thinks of you. In my life I have to accept that my political views give me an unfair stigma. I refuse, however, to be embarrassed about them and hide them. I believe that I have every right to believe what I do, just as those on the other side are able to say their views. While many conservatives keep their opinions and beliefs a secret to protect themselves, I have stood up to the unfair stigmas and many people have condemned me for that. But guess what? Even more people have sent me messages and emails and thanked me for saying things that they WISH they had the courage to say. They tell me that they appreciate my willingness to stand up and to speak for them, even if it makes me very unpopular in the eyes of those that disagree. I'm telling you this to make my point, which is that sometimes you have to be willing to stand up- even if you know you will be shot down, because if you don't stand up nobody else will either. I want you to be proud of whoever you grow up to be, and I want you to unabashedly be yourself and never hide who you are to appease others. Be courageous and proud of yourself. Don't worry about what others think, you simply cannot please everyone, nor should you waste your time trying. You are such an amazing little girl, I just cannot wait to watch you grow into a wonderful adult, though I will cherish each moment of your childhood along the way.
I am SO thankful to your dad for being the provider for our family so that I can stay home with you each day. I have longed to be an at home mommy since I was a little girl. I enjoy my days with you and your brother so much. You are such a bright light in my world. You are my best friend, I look forward to the moment you wake up each morning just to be able to hug you and spend more time with you.
I so so so love you, my precious girl. I am SO overwhelmingly proud of the little girl that you are. There is nothing I would change about you. You are my perfect child and I am so happy and proud to be your mom.
As I plan your second birthday party I am astounded at how amazing you are! I love you SO much! Your toddlerhood has been a wonderful journey full of excitement, pride and exhaustion for dad and I.
Each day I am amazed at the new phrases and words that you surprise me with. You are in full "what's that?" mode in your quest for knowledge about the world, so we spend must of our day with me telling you words for things you see. Today we have already discussed words for "gift", "earth" and "sign'. You are starting to put sentences together on your own such as "Eat Ray!" and "I need more". Some new words you can say are "pee-pa" for pizza, "innere" for come here, "toot" for cute, you know all of your colors really well, "bi-min" for vitamin, "ice-eem" for ice cream and "s'at" for what's that and "mah-ee" for money and you can say "sit".
We spend our evenings playing and wrestling you on the floor and you love to chase and be chased around the kitchen. Your laughter is infectious and your brother Wilder has fast become your best friend. At almost 5 months old he is totally in love with you, as you are with him, and he loves to laugh as you sing and dance and animatedly tease the dogs with food.
I still cannot believe you are almost 2. You are still my tiny, precious little gift from God. I am SO proud of the little girl you have become. You have overcome such amazing feats! You are a bright, smart and loving force in this world and I just know you are destined to do something great in your life. I am so proud that you are assertive, friendly and loving. You delight in playing with other kids and love nothing more than to read books with your daddy before bed each night. I enjoyed watching your do the egg hunts a few days back on Easter, you LOVED getting your picture taken with the Easter Bunny and you LOVE going to eat at Red Robin when the Robin comes around handing out balloons. Rather than being shy you are so cute! You call to them and say Hi to them as though you were talking to a baby. You are so confident and vivacious and I LOVE that about you!
My hope for you is that you retain this level of confidence throughout your life. I want you to understand that you are so beautiful, precious, smart and are totally perfect as you are. Never let anyone make you feel bad about yourself. Who you are inside is SO much more important than what anyone else thinks of you. In my life I have to accept that my political views give me an unfair stigma. I refuse, however, to be embarrassed about them and hide them. I believe that I have every right to believe what I do, just as those on the other side are able to say their views. While many conservatives keep their opinions and beliefs a secret to protect themselves, I have stood up to the unfair stigmas and many people have condemned me for that. But guess what? Even more people have sent me messages and emails and thanked me for saying things that they WISH they had the courage to say. They tell me that they appreciate my willingness to stand up and to speak for them, even if it makes me very unpopular in the eyes of those that disagree. I'm telling you this to make my point, which is that sometimes you have to be willing to stand up- even if you know you will be shot down, because if you don't stand up nobody else will either. I want you to be proud of whoever you grow up to be, and I want you to unabashedly be yourself and never hide who you are to appease others. Be courageous and proud of yourself. Don't worry about what others think, you simply cannot please everyone, nor should you waste your time trying. You are such an amazing little girl, I just cannot wait to watch you grow into a wonderful adult, though I will cherish each moment of your childhood along the way.
I am SO thankful to your dad for being the provider for our family so that I can stay home with you each day. I have longed to be an at home mommy since I was a little girl. I enjoy my days with you and your brother so much. You are such a bright light in my world. You are my best friend, I look forward to the moment you wake up each morning just to be able to hug you and spend more time with you.
I so so so love you, my precious girl. I am SO overwhelmingly proud of the little girl that you are. There is nothing I would change about you. You are my perfect child and I am so happy and proud to be your mom.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
My Adorable Wilder, April 18, 2009
You are so precious to me! Your bashful smile melts my heart. I LOVE how you expose your exuberence with a huge grin and then tuck your cheek down into your shoulder in a bashful manner. You are so easy going. You have to be with such a boisterous big sister:)
You have been rolling from tummy to back, though it takes a lot to get you to do it. The best motivation is your desire to get off of your tummy! :) You have been "tripodding" but are not quite ready to sit on your own yet. We put you in the walker we bought when Lulu was 8 months old. You started in it when you were 4.5 months old and within a very short time you were slowly "hopping" your way slowly across the room. You are coordinating your feel well for such a young age and the pride on your face makes your dad and I both so happy.
You are using your arms and hands really well too! You grab at everything, including my hair;)
Sometimes you stop and just stare at your hand in front of you, as though you have never seen them before. The wonder on your face is adorable. You also move your arms back and forth urgently at times and I know that you are eager to grow and learn. You are such an adorable little boy.
At Easter everyone wanted to hold you and fawn over you! Linda thought you were so precious and Jodi loved to cuddle with you. You *ARE* a most comfortable little one to cuddle! You fit so well into my lap.
I simply adore you. I love the first moments of our day when you wake up against my chest and look up into my eyes and have the natural instinct to flash the biggest and most happy smile. You start my day in the best way possible. You are so sweet when Lulu hugs you and grabs your hand and gets in your face to coo at you. She adores you as well. You are so quick to offer huge belly laughs any time she dances or plays energetically with the dogs.
You are growing up way too fast! At almost 5 months old I feel like you have been a part of my life forever. You actually have, you are the exact little boy that I have always dreamt I would have, just as Lulu is the little girl I have always wanted. You are both the reason I love to be alive. I LOVE being a mommy because of you. I love being YOUR mommy!
You have been rolling from tummy to back, though it takes a lot to get you to do it. The best motivation is your desire to get off of your tummy! :) You have been "tripodding" but are not quite ready to sit on your own yet. We put you in the walker we bought when Lulu was 8 months old. You started in it when you were 4.5 months old and within a very short time you were slowly "hopping" your way slowly across the room. You are coordinating your feel well for such a young age and the pride on your face makes your dad and I both so happy.
You are using your arms and hands really well too! You grab at everything, including my hair;)
Sometimes you stop and just stare at your hand in front of you, as though you have never seen them before. The wonder on your face is adorable. You also move your arms back and forth urgently at times and I know that you are eager to grow and learn. You are such an adorable little boy.
At Easter everyone wanted to hold you and fawn over you! Linda thought you were so precious and Jodi loved to cuddle with you. You *ARE* a most comfortable little one to cuddle! You fit so well into my lap.
I simply adore you. I love the first moments of our day when you wake up against my chest and look up into my eyes and have the natural instinct to flash the biggest and most happy smile. You start my day in the best way possible. You are so sweet when Lulu hugs you and grabs your hand and gets in your face to coo at you. She adores you as well. You are so quick to offer huge belly laughs any time she dances or plays energetically with the dogs.
You are growing up way too fast! At almost 5 months old I feel like you have been a part of my life forever. You actually have, you are the exact little boy that I have always dreamt I would have, just as Lulu is the little girl I have always wanted. You are both the reason I love to be alive. I LOVE being a mommy because of you. I love being YOUR mommy!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
My Adorable Wilder; March 12 2009
My Adorable Wilder,
You are three and a half months old now and I wanted to find a peaceful moment to let you know that I am amazingly, overwhelmingly, absolutely, wholeheartedly in love with you. I mean totally head over heels for you!
Your smile is the most precious sight I can even imagine, and you use it often to melt my heart. The connection I feel with you when I nurse you is one of the most powerful forces, if not the most powerful force of love I have ever experienced. We fought together to figure out the nursing thing, it took a week or two and a lot of frustration but then we "clicked" and I am so glad to have those times throughout the day where I get to nurse you. Those moments are such peaceful beacons of calm and happiness for me. We get to steal away a few times each day to enjoy those moments together, and when you look up at me in stare into my eyes while nursing, it sends volts of love and energy down my spine and makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. Those are moments when I feel absolute love.
You are growing so fast! At three months old you are 14 lbs and so cute. I look at your smile and it reminds me of Lulu when she was your age, those infinately happy eyes, those cute lips that turn up at the corners...you are so overwhlemingly sweet and adorable that it can't be put into words. I feel such a desire to protect you and love you and I love spending my days staring at you. I feel a swell of pride when you catch me staring at you and when our eyes meet and you flash that brilliant smile at me. I made you. I am SO proud of that.
I am so proud to be your mom. I have to admit that I am really happy that you seem to favor me a bit. At first it was hard because when you were tiny you nursed all day every day so I never felt like I got to replenish myself with time to rest and relax. But even through the exhaustion I was always secretly excited and proud that you chose me. Each time someone else was holding you and you looked over and saw me and cried for me, I was proud that you chose me. I am proud that you love me. I love to love you. I am excited to have you and this special bond that only we share. I can't even describe our bond, there are no words. Just this unspoken truth that we love each other more than any two people could possibly love each other. We both know it, you convey that to me each time you smile at me. I love cuddling up to you each day. I love to smell your sweet baby skin. I love to kiss your full cheeks. I love to hear your belly laugh...that joy reminds me of how fantastic my world is.
I am so thankful to have you and to be your mom. I am so in love with you. I know I sound like a blabbering idiot, but I am. That's what you do to me. I can't even compose myself because I love you THAT much. I can't wait to enjoy each day with you and I look forward to watching you grow up to be a man of strength, love, integrity and pride.
You will be such a great man some day, I feel it in every cell of my body.
You are three and a half months old now and I wanted to find a peaceful moment to let you know that I am amazingly, overwhelmingly, absolutely, wholeheartedly in love with you. I mean totally head over heels for you!
Your smile is the most precious sight I can even imagine, and you use it often to melt my heart. The connection I feel with you when I nurse you is one of the most powerful forces, if not the most powerful force of love I have ever experienced. We fought together to figure out the nursing thing, it took a week or two and a lot of frustration but then we "clicked" and I am so glad to have those times throughout the day where I get to nurse you. Those moments are such peaceful beacons of calm and happiness for me. We get to steal away a few times each day to enjoy those moments together, and when you look up at me in stare into my eyes while nursing, it sends volts of love and energy down my spine and makes the hairs on the back of my neck tingle. Those are moments when I feel absolute love.
You are growing so fast! At three months old you are 14 lbs and so cute. I look at your smile and it reminds me of Lulu when she was your age, those infinately happy eyes, those cute lips that turn up at the corners...you are so overwhlemingly sweet and adorable that it can't be put into words. I feel such a desire to protect you and love you and I love spending my days staring at you. I feel a swell of pride when you catch me staring at you and when our eyes meet and you flash that brilliant smile at me. I made you. I am SO proud of that.
I am so proud to be your mom. I have to admit that I am really happy that you seem to favor me a bit. At first it was hard because when you were tiny you nursed all day every day so I never felt like I got to replenish myself with time to rest and relax. But even through the exhaustion I was always secretly excited and proud that you chose me. Each time someone else was holding you and you looked over and saw me and cried for me, I was proud that you chose me. I am proud that you love me. I love to love you. I am excited to have you and this special bond that only we share. I can't even describe our bond, there are no words. Just this unspoken truth that we love each other more than any two people could possibly love each other. We both know it, you convey that to me each time you smile at me. I love cuddling up to you each day. I love to smell your sweet baby skin. I love to kiss your full cheeks. I love to hear your belly laugh...that joy reminds me of how fantastic my world is.
I am so thankful to have you and to be your mom. I am so in love with you. I know I sound like a blabbering idiot, but I am. That's what you do to me. I can't even compose myself because I love you THAT much. I can't wait to enjoy each day with you and I look forward to watching you grow up to be a man of strength, love, integrity and pride.
You will be such a great man some day, I feel it in every cell of my body.
My Precious Allura; March 12, 2009
My Precious Allura,
How time has flown! You are now 21, almost 22 months old! I have relished the opportunity to watch you grown from an infant with insurmountable strength and will, to a precious baby with a smile that could melt the Artic, to the adorable toddler that you are with an amazing curiousity and zest to learn. You have an amazing vocabulary and you enjoy going through a "roll call" and naming everyone in the room multiple times a day. When we are home you start pointing and naming, "Nana, Mama, Dada, Re-rah (Roxy), Ree Ree (Reo), Ray, Sasha, Wah-wah (Wilder)...I think it gives you a sense of security and pride to name everyone in the room as a way to remind yourself of the people that love you and love to lavish attention on you.
You have grown into such an amazing child. You run wildly, you dance often and you speak well. You love to ask "wasssah?" and point to things so that I can give you the term/name for it and help to expand your world.
You have welcomed your beautiful little brother with an overwhelming abundance of grace, positivity and love and I never doubted for a moment that you would see him as a fantastic addition to your life. He is 3 months old now and loves to stare at you while you play and dance and move thoroughout the room like a beautiful tornado. You bring a smile to his face hundreds of times a day. You love to lean on him and hug him and get in his face to kiss him...you also love to scream and startle him (silly girl!) but it is so clear to me that you love your brother and I am so happy for that. I hope that you grow up to be his closest friend so that you both can face the world with each other's strength and support.
I am so thankful to be able to enjoy each day with both of you. Now that I am no longer working things have been very different. No more daycare, it's just me and you and Wilder and I couldn't be more thankful for every day as your mom.
Being a mom to both of you is a more joyfilled, and pride-filled job than any I have ever worked before. I am SO proud of the little girl that you are. SO PROUD. You are this precious little mass of blonde hair, assertiveness, curiousity, love and energy. I am eager to watch you continue to grow and gain even stronger speaking skills so that we experience this big and crazy workld together.
Some of the words you use often:
ce-ro (cereal)
juice
no!
down Ray!
num-num
nigh-night
tee-tee (cookie)
ta-dee (taggy, your special lovey/blanket thing)
uppy (up)
Meema (Grandma W)
Boppa (Grandpa W)
Amy
ho-ho-eh-ya (Elmo's Christmas DVD)
I nee num-num (I'm hungry)
ice seem (ice cream)
pee-ya (pizza)
nana (banana)
appa (apple)
0h (orange food/color)
puh-pow (purple)
re (red)
white
booh (book)
These are just the words you use most often (off the top of my head). Your vocabulary goes well beyond these newer words. You are recognizing colors like orange, purple and white. You can count (1,2,3,8,9,10) and you can do your ABC's (a,b,c,d,e). You can CLIMB and do you ever! You love to climb the chair to access the computer desk. You love to climb on the furniture. You climb everywhere~ you love to go to playgroups and indoor playgrounds to run and play with balls and climb on play structures. You have been wonderful about allowing me to style your hair now, though you don't particularily enjoy it. You enjoy painting and using crayons. You grab pens that we leave out and color on every piece of paper you can find. You love to interact with the dogs (who have become your pseudo play friends) and you love to dump your toys out of the baskets.
You are growing up so fast, hopefully I can update this with the amazing things you learn and do as a way to keep record of your amazing life.
I love you so much Miss Lulu. You and your brother are such amazing and powerful forces in my life. You make me wish I could fix the world and give you a utopia to make your way within. You both offer me such joy and elation and I am so proud to be your mom and happy to have you both in my life. I feel ferocious amounts of love for you both~
How time has flown! You are now 21, almost 22 months old! I have relished the opportunity to watch you grown from an infant with insurmountable strength and will, to a precious baby with a smile that could melt the Artic, to the adorable toddler that you are with an amazing curiousity and zest to learn. You have an amazing vocabulary and you enjoy going through a "roll call" and naming everyone in the room multiple times a day. When we are home you start pointing and naming, "Nana, Mama, Dada, Re-rah (Roxy), Ree Ree (Reo), Ray, Sasha, Wah-wah (Wilder)...I think it gives you a sense of security and pride to name everyone in the room as a way to remind yourself of the people that love you and love to lavish attention on you.
You have grown into such an amazing child. You run wildly, you dance often and you speak well. You love to ask "wasssah?" and point to things so that I can give you the term/name for it and help to expand your world.
You have welcomed your beautiful little brother with an overwhelming abundance of grace, positivity and love and I never doubted for a moment that you would see him as a fantastic addition to your life. He is 3 months old now and loves to stare at you while you play and dance and move thoroughout the room like a beautiful tornado. You bring a smile to his face hundreds of times a day. You love to lean on him and hug him and get in his face to kiss him...you also love to scream and startle him (silly girl!) but it is so clear to me that you love your brother and I am so happy for that. I hope that you grow up to be his closest friend so that you both can face the world with each other's strength and support.
I am so thankful to be able to enjoy each day with both of you. Now that I am no longer working things have been very different. No more daycare, it's just me and you and Wilder and I couldn't be more thankful for every day as your mom.
Being a mom to both of you is a more joyfilled, and pride-filled job than any I have ever worked before. I am SO proud of the little girl that you are. SO PROUD. You are this precious little mass of blonde hair, assertiveness, curiousity, love and energy. I am eager to watch you continue to grow and gain even stronger speaking skills so that we experience this big and crazy workld together.
Some of the words you use often:
ce-ro (cereal)
juice
no!
down Ray!
num-num
nigh-night
tee-tee (cookie)
ta-dee (taggy, your special lovey/blanket thing)
uppy (up)
Meema (Grandma W)
Boppa (Grandpa W)
Amy
ho-ho-eh-ya (Elmo's Christmas DVD)
I nee num-num (I'm hungry)
ice seem (ice cream)
pee-ya (pizza)
nana (banana)
appa (apple)
0h (orange food/color)
puh-pow (purple)
re (red)
white
booh (book)
These are just the words you use most often (off the top of my head). Your vocabulary goes well beyond these newer words. You are recognizing colors like orange, purple and white. You can count (1,2,3,8,9,10) and you can do your ABC's (a,b,c,d,e). You can CLIMB and do you ever! You love to climb the chair to access the computer desk. You love to climb on the furniture. You climb everywhere~ you love to go to playgroups and indoor playgrounds to run and play with balls and climb on play structures. You have been wonderful about allowing me to style your hair now, though you don't particularily enjoy it. You enjoy painting and using crayons. You grab pens that we leave out and color on every piece of paper you can find. You love to interact with the dogs (who have become your pseudo play friends) and you love to dump your toys out of the baskets.
You are growing up so fast, hopefully I can update this with the amazing things you learn and do as a way to keep record of your amazing life.
I love you so much Miss Lulu. You and your brother are such amazing and powerful forces in my life. You make me wish I could fix the world and give you a utopia to make your way within. You both offer me such joy and elation and I am so proud to be your mom and happy to have you both in my life. I feel ferocious amounts of love for you both~
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