Wow time flies!
You went from being a loud and energetic toddler to being a loud and energetic kid! You are a force to be reckoned with in this world my dear, just as I had predicted you would. How could someone survive through the challenges of your birth and first year without becoming a spit fire?!?!? :)
I love you. You absolutely drive me crazy most days, but I love love LOVE you. You spent 2 sessions in swimming lessons at Foss Swim school and now have moved into the Park and Rec swimming lessons with Wilder. You started them 3 weeks ago and have moved into level 1-as a BIG KID! You are in lessons by yourself, without me or daddy in the water with you! How proud of you we are! Your teacher, Miss Karen, delights over you and calls you all sorts of pet names like sweetie and darling-it's hard for people not to adore you:)
You have become quite the singer-I'm talking an AMAZING singer. I have numerous songs that you have sung in the car recorded as ring tones on my cell phone so that I can share your talent with the world when people call me. You sing into the remote/microphone during American Idol and it is something that daddy and I love. You have made up two songs of your own-we call them "Lulu Warhol original compositions"- one today in the car that sounded like random syllables to the beat, and the other from a few weeks ago called "La Lo Lo". Daddy and I sing "La Lo Lo" often now too:)
On Feb. 1st 2010 we got your ears pierced! You were good at first when they put you on the chair. Unfortunately the gal that did them took 3 attempts to line up the dots on your ears to make sure your piercings would be even which left you getting more and more anxious as time passed. By the time she went to clean your ears with a cotton ball you started getting really upset. Overall the process took about 5 minutes and the majority of your crying happened before your ears were actually pierced-the anticipatory fear was worse than the actual piercing:) Now you proudly show your multi-colored flower earrings which healed quite quickly.
You talk as well as any grade school-er now, though I still have to translate for people that don't see you often. Though you have an amazing vocabulary and can find the words to communicate any thought, you still have the mumbled toddler pronunciation:) You love to ask the question "what XXXXX do?" and it leads to lots of learning as you seek information about the world. Your curiosity is inspiring. "Mommy, what food do?", "Mommy, what people do?", "Mommy, what Michael Jackson do?". Yes- you have fallen for the (recently deceased) Michael Jackson. You watched a concert DVD of his and you went around asking to watch it over and over again for weeks afterward. When we saw commercials for his DVD on TV you would talk about "the king of pop". SO cute!
You start pre-school next week my dear! You will be going to La Petite on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings for awhile and you are so excited. I think you will really blossom being around and playing with other kids your age, and I look forward to all the new things you will learn and do there! They do art each day, have age appropriate science and math lessons, they play outside...all the things I wish that I had time to do with you but don't. It's expensive but I really want you to have the experience, you deserve to have some fun. You get so bored at home with me all day and sometimes being bored leads to some "terrible two" behavior. You can be quite sassy at times, often calling our bluff when daddy and I give you warnings, typical toddler behavior-just slightly exacerbated by the fact that you are so insanely smart:) Daddy, Nana and I often laugh about the fact that you are a 13 year old in a 3 year old's body:) You have taken to "playing" with the dogs, which in grown up speak means harassing them mercilessly, and you seem only to be interested in playing with whatever toy Wilder has in his hands:) I think preschool will offer you opportunities to be social and burn off your energy, it will feed your creativity and allow you to learn and explore things that you won't find in our living room~ I'm SO excited for you, I just know you will have fun! We went there to tour the classroom so you could meet your teacher Miss Jenny, and you were so excited to see all the things you will be able to do and play with. I just know you are going to love every minute, though I'll miss dancing with your at our daily "dance parties":)
We have started saying a nightly prayer and you are getting so good at "prayer hands" and nearly have our prayer memorized. I am so proud to hear you saying much of it along with me. Here is what we say "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Guide me through this starry night, and wake with me at morning's light. God bless Lulu and Wilder, mommy and daddy, Nana and Big Meema, Meema and Papa, Erick and Amy, Shaun and Angela and baby Audriana, our pets, all the children of the world and all the animals of the world, Amen." It's really wonderful to see you starting to learn about faith. We have a toddler Bible that daddy often reads from when he reads bedtime stories, and two days ago in the car you asked me "Mommy, what Jesus do?". I swell with pride just thinking about it now:)
You are really into TV, Dora the Explorer and The Disney Princesses are your favorites. Over the last few months we have amassed quite a collection of Disney movies so you can watch all the Princesses. We went to "Yo Gabba Gabba Live" at the Target Center a few weeks ago and you LOVED it! You LOVE to play "Snow White bites the apple" with daddy still, and are getting more and more dramatic each time you play it. I think you are starting to show some very creative and talented acting chops! Today you pretended to "faint" in daddy's arms and stayed in character that way for about 5 minute without even cracking a smile as daddy and I pretended that we didn't know how to break the spell. Wilder has learned to act the part of "prince" and pretty much automatically goes to kiss you whenever you "bite the apple". You are the most beautiful Snow White I have ever seen, which happens to be a phrase you use often. You are also quick to compliment people which I think is so sweet. You will walk up to me and say "I like your hair" or tell daddy "I like your shirt". Yesterday you told Nana that you liked her shoes- you are so delightful. You often tell me that something you like is "the best xxxx I ever seen". In fact, you tell me "mommy, you're the best mommy I ever seen" at least once a day-totally unsolicited and it absolutely makes me want to fall to my knees and cry because I feel so wonderful when you say it. You also like to say "You fill my heart with happiness" to people you love. It makes me so proud as a mom to see how freely and unabashedly offer affection to people because you have learned what you've lived. As challenging as some of our days are, I love to tell you that I love you at least 10 times a day-because no matter what, I do.
I am so in love with you. I am SO happy to be your mom. The last few months have been fraught with challenges and frustration on both our parts as you grow and seek independence, but those difficult times have been far surpassed by the fun we have, the constant laughter and delightful conversations we enjoy, the tender hugs and kisses we share and the loving bond that we have.
I adore you my precious Allura.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
My Adorable Wilder; March 17, 2010
Oh My Adorable Wilder-beast,
How I love you. I am SO happy when you smile that scrunched up cheeky smile that you flash when you know you have done something funny! You are so perceptive about things like that, and are very aware of how your actions affect others. You are such a smart boy already!
You started swimming lessons with Lulu at Foss Swim School over the winter and did a wonderful job. You were a superstar in the class and often followed the teacher's direction better than all the others. You did your 'monkey cheeks' and blew bubbles and used your feet to kick and hands to move water. You can follow all the movements from "The Wheels on the Bus"-all the verses!
You are such a large motor skills boy! You are running with wild abandon, your technique makes daddy and I laugh because you move your arms in this cute and very silly up and down motion along with your feet while you run-it has to be seen to be believed:) It is so insanely precious, just like you. You also love to climb on anything and everything, the toy box to see out the window, the kitchen table, the dining room chairs, our bed, Lulu's bed, the toilet....you can keep up with kids much older than you. It's so sweet to see you so independent now. But what I love is that you always come running back into my arms for a hug- that melts my heart and makes everything in my world good.
Did I mention you are talking??!? You are chatting up a storm, and you are even better able to communicate your feelings through verbal cues other than words too. You are quick to get frustrated these days because you are finally standing up for yourself when your big sister decides that she wants to play with the toy you have. You are good at telling her your feelings even if you don't quite have the words yet. You cry, squeal, and occasionally try to hit-so we are working on that. I know the frustration will quell once you have the communication skills but until the words come, I'm okay with you using your emotions to tell the world how you feel. So far here are the words you can say, in the order that you learned to say them:
mama
dada
bubble
ka-ka (cracker/cookie/food)
spunbah or spunbob (Spongebob Squarepants)
nana
beh-bir (Big Bird)
din (drink)
JUICE! (another word for a non-clear colored drink, only offered with an excited tone)
papa
Doooaaa (Dora)
and possibly aipane (airplane-though it may have been a fluke, we have only heard it once)
You also LOVE to sing, sometimes you offer this cute high pitched "oooohhh" when you hear us sing, and sometimes you just go "ahhhhhhh!!!!" in whatever pitch you feel like at the moment. If anyone ever hears you just yelling for no reason, it's likely that you saw a commercial or something on TV with someone singing and just decided to sing along. I LOVE to hear you sing, honestly its something that makes me swell with pride because you are so happy when you sing and you are only what, like, maybe 15 months old?!? I wonder if it will end up being a passion for you like it was for me? Just today I was singing a Beyonce song called "All the Single Ladies, Put a Ring on it" and you were mimicking me with the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" part and daddy and I were laughing SO hard!
I think it was Lulu that taught you to sing, since she loves to sing and sings to you often! It seems that anything she does these days you are sure to do, you have become quite the copycat of your big sister. Sometimes this leaves us laughing with tears of happiness pouring down our faces (like when you sing together) and sometimes it leaves me wincing (like when you both decide to make a game of screaming and yelling the same syllables). When she does any type of dance or movement, you are sure to be there trying to do it a few seconds later. It is SO sweet to see the bond you two have, it's truly one of the things in my life I am proudest of, aside from simply bringing you both into the world. I hope so desperately that you grow up to be friends and stay close. You have each other in this world and my hope is that you stand together always. So copy away my cute little guy, just try to avoid copying the terrible two behavior:)
What craziness we have endured recently! After almost 3 weeks of constant sickness (runny noses, pink eye, coughing, colds) you are feeling better but still have some lingering issues. Your noses still runs and you are having massive diarrhea that has had us very concerned the last few days. Up until today you have barely had a bite to eat, in fact, two days ago you turned away everything I offered and were only willing to eat one banana the whole day! We have been giving you Pedialite to keep you hydrated and lots of extra love. As much as my heart is wrenched when you are sick, there is a part of me that loves when you need me so much. The last few months have been all about you becoming mobile and independent. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than when you run to me from across the room (with your little hands pumping up and down alternately!) and throwing yourself on me in a huge hug. Since you haven't been feeling well the last few weeks, you have spent a LOT of time laying on my shoulder. As challenging as it can be to accomplish anything with a little boy that whines when put down, I absolutely love it and would never turn you away. In fact, I give up trying to do anything when you want to cuddle with me and lay on me, I'd rather just enjoy that time with you. Sometimes after you have laid with your head on my shoulders for a long time, to the point where I have to wonder if you are still awake, your little head will pop up and you will put your hands around my head and give me the bigges "m-wah!" kiss right on my lips. Its your way of communicating to me that you love me and since you initiate those kisses, they mean more to me than you can ever EVER know.
You have finally *chosen* something that you love and it has ended up being Elmo and Spongebob Squarepants. You also love the show Yo Gabba Gabba! along with Lulu. We ended up taking you both to Sesame Street Live! a few months ago and we took you to Yo Gabba Gabba! Live this last weekend, you were in heaven both times-totally mesmerized:) Daddy and I love opportunities to make you guys feel special and loved. I am so thankful that we have the means to do fun things like that as a family, we are very blessed-always remember that.
Tonight we went out as a family to run errands. We started out walking through Toys R Us to find you an Easter present. You excitedly shouted "Doa" every time you saw Dora and "Spabob" everytime you saw Spongebob Squarepants-both of which are very popular right now so you saw them often. You are so fun! Then we went to the Twins Pro Shop so daddy could use the gift card he won to buy you a Twins hat...something he has been wanting to do for a long time. You grew out of your infant sized one so he has wanted to get you a bigger one for months. Then we went to dinner at Eddingtons where you dipped your bread sticks in my cheese soup and attempted to use a spoon to get soup to your mouth. It was quite a mess, and you were very loud-embarrassingly loud and frustrated at first because you were hungry, all the people in the restaurant were staring at us, but once you calmed down and got some food in your tummy it turned into a fun dinner. Daddy even remarked on how cool it was to see you so casually reach into a bag to grab something, since when you were little you had a real issue with pulling things out of bags. You would stick your hand into a bag, but you never quite figured out how to or cared to pull whatever it was out of the bag-silly boy-it was just one of your quirks:)
Wild Man, I love you so completely. I'm off to bed now because it is late, and the whole time I fall asleep I will secretly be hoping that at some point overnight you wake up so you can sleep in bed with me and cuddle. You are growing so fast and my night time cuddling is on borrowed time so I relish it every chance I get:) I love you more than life my precious son.
How I love you. I am SO happy when you smile that scrunched up cheeky smile that you flash when you know you have done something funny! You are so perceptive about things like that, and are very aware of how your actions affect others. You are such a smart boy already!
You started swimming lessons with Lulu at Foss Swim School over the winter and did a wonderful job. You were a superstar in the class and often followed the teacher's direction better than all the others. You did your 'monkey cheeks' and blew bubbles and used your feet to kick and hands to move water. You can follow all the movements from "The Wheels on the Bus"-all the verses!
You are such a large motor skills boy! You are running with wild abandon, your technique makes daddy and I laugh because you move your arms in this cute and very silly up and down motion along with your feet while you run-it has to be seen to be believed:) It is so insanely precious, just like you. You also love to climb on anything and everything, the toy box to see out the window, the kitchen table, the dining room chairs, our bed, Lulu's bed, the toilet....you can keep up with kids much older than you. It's so sweet to see you so independent now. But what I love is that you always come running back into my arms for a hug- that melts my heart and makes everything in my world good.
Did I mention you are talking??!? You are chatting up a storm, and you are even better able to communicate your feelings through verbal cues other than words too. You are quick to get frustrated these days because you are finally standing up for yourself when your big sister decides that she wants to play with the toy you have. You are good at telling her your feelings even if you don't quite have the words yet. You cry, squeal, and occasionally try to hit-so we are working on that. I know the frustration will quell once you have the communication skills but until the words come, I'm okay with you using your emotions to tell the world how you feel. So far here are the words you can say, in the order that you learned to say them:
mama
dada
bubble
ka-ka (cracker/cookie/food)
spunbah or spunbob (Spongebob Squarepants)
nana
beh-bir (Big Bird)
din (drink)
JUICE! (another word for a non-clear colored drink, only offered with an excited tone)
papa
Doooaaa (Dora)
and possibly aipane (airplane-though it may have been a fluke, we have only heard it once)
You also LOVE to sing, sometimes you offer this cute high pitched "oooohhh" when you hear us sing, and sometimes you just go "ahhhhhhh!!!!" in whatever pitch you feel like at the moment. If anyone ever hears you just yelling for no reason, it's likely that you saw a commercial or something on TV with someone singing and just decided to sing along. I LOVE to hear you sing, honestly its something that makes me swell with pride because you are so happy when you sing and you are only what, like, maybe 15 months old?!? I wonder if it will end up being a passion for you like it was for me? Just today I was singing a Beyonce song called "All the Single Ladies, Put a Ring on it" and you were mimicking me with the "oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" part and daddy and I were laughing SO hard!
I think it was Lulu that taught you to sing, since she loves to sing and sings to you often! It seems that anything she does these days you are sure to do, you have become quite the copycat of your big sister. Sometimes this leaves us laughing with tears of happiness pouring down our faces (like when you sing together) and sometimes it leaves me wincing (like when you both decide to make a game of screaming and yelling the same syllables). When she does any type of dance or movement, you are sure to be there trying to do it a few seconds later. It is SO sweet to see the bond you two have, it's truly one of the things in my life I am proudest of, aside from simply bringing you both into the world. I hope so desperately that you grow up to be friends and stay close. You have each other in this world and my hope is that you stand together always. So copy away my cute little guy, just try to avoid copying the terrible two behavior:)
What craziness we have endured recently! After almost 3 weeks of constant sickness (runny noses, pink eye, coughing, colds) you are feeling better but still have some lingering issues. Your noses still runs and you are having massive diarrhea that has had us very concerned the last few days. Up until today you have barely had a bite to eat, in fact, two days ago you turned away everything I offered and were only willing to eat one banana the whole day! We have been giving you Pedialite to keep you hydrated and lots of extra love. As much as my heart is wrenched when you are sick, there is a part of me that loves when you need me so much. The last few months have been all about you becoming mobile and independent. There is nothing more enjoyable to me than when you run to me from across the room (with your little hands pumping up and down alternately!) and throwing yourself on me in a huge hug. Since you haven't been feeling well the last few weeks, you have spent a LOT of time laying on my shoulder. As challenging as it can be to accomplish anything with a little boy that whines when put down, I absolutely love it and would never turn you away. In fact, I give up trying to do anything when you want to cuddle with me and lay on me, I'd rather just enjoy that time with you. Sometimes after you have laid with your head on my shoulders for a long time, to the point where I have to wonder if you are still awake, your little head will pop up and you will put your hands around my head and give me the bigges "m-wah!" kiss right on my lips. Its your way of communicating to me that you love me and since you initiate those kisses, they mean more to me than you can ever EVER know.
You have finally *chosen* something that you love and it has ended up being Elmo and Spongebob Squarepants. You also love the show Yo Gabba Gabba! along with Lulu. We ended up taking you both to Sesame Street Live! a few months ago and we took you to Yo Gabba Gabba! Live this last weekend, you were in heaven both times-totally mesmerized:) Daddy and I love opportunities to make you guys feel special and loved. I am so thankful that we have the means to do fun things like that as a family, we are very blessed-always remember that.
Tonight we went out as a family to run errands. We started out walking through Toys R Us to find you an Easter present. You excitedly shouted "Doa" every time you saw Dora and "Spabob" everytime you saw Spongebob Squarepants-both of which are very popular right now so you saw them often. You are so fun! Then we went to the Twins Pro Shop so daddy could use the gift card he won to buy you a Twins hat...something he has been wanting to do for a long time. You grew out of your infant sized one so he has wanted to get you a bigger one for months. Then we went to dinner at Eddingtons where you dipped your bread sticks in my cheese soup and attempted to use a spoon to get soup to your mouth. It was quite a mess, and you were very loud-embarrassingly loud and frustrated at first because you were hungry, all the people in the restaurant were staring at us, but once you calmed down and got some food in your tummy it turned into a fun dinner. Daddy even remarked on how cool it was to see you so casually reach into a bag to grab something, since when you were little you had a real issue with pulling things out of bags. You would stick your hand into a bag, but you never quite figured out how to or cared to pull whatever it was out of the bag-silly boy-it was just one of your quirks:)
Wild Man, I love you so completely. I'm off to bed now because it is late, and the whole time I fall asleep I will secretly be hoping that at some point overnight you wake up so you can sleep in bed with me and cuddle. You are growing so fast and my night time cuddling is on borrowed time so I relish it every chance I get:) I love you more than life my precious son.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
My Adorable Wilder; Jan. 12, 2010
My Most Adorable Wilder,
Where do I start? How about with the most important point I have to make which is: I love you.
We celebrated your first birthday party and I have it a "sweets" theme because you are so sweet. Daddy made decorations that looked like ice cream and sundaes and candy and hung them around the room. We had streamers and balloons and after much stress about your cake, we ended up with a really cute "cupcake cake" meaning a cake made of individual cupcakes that looked like a giant cupcake. I worried endlessly for weeks beforehand on what to do for your birthday cake and though the theme seems to be easy for cake purposes, it really wasn't. I tried a recipe that I was going to make in cool cake pan shaped like a 3 layer cake, but the recipe didn't turn out. We thought about making a GIANT cupcake shaped cake in 3-D but the pan we had to do that with wasn't big enough to feel all the guests...so ultimately what we ended up with was the best option:) I shouldn't have worried so much, but I wanted it to be perfect for you.
On your actual birthday we had Nana and Meema and Boppa over for cake and more gifts...I made a simple cake in the layer cake shaped pan. You loved being the center of attention! I loved the whole week of your birthday, thinking about ways to make you feel special.
We also had a wonderful Christmas where you tore into your presents with glee. It was so fun to see your face light up when you saw what each present was. You do this insanely cute "Oh" shape with your mouth that is so cute. I simply love that look. You got a zillion toys, many "car" themed and you really seem to enjoy them. I am guessing you will be a gear head like your daddy and grandpa which is fine by me. You love to roll your cars and trucks around and are very active these days.
You seem to have an unspoken goal of turning my hair gray before I reach 32 years old. Every time I turn around it seems, there is my 11, 12,13 month old baby boy standing on top of some ridiculously high or dangerous surface. You climb EVERYTHING and anything without so much as a second's thought of how you will get down. You fell down the stairs at Meema and Papa's house 3 times on Christmas day alone! You didn't get hurt, you just fussed and started climbing right back up on them....you love to climb on to chairs, tables, walkers, the toy box, Lulu's toddler bed, the dishwasher door, the toilet...anything. I will turn my back for 40 seconds and turn and see you standing on top of a rolling toy with wheels and you just smile at me as if nothing is wrong. You are obsessed with stairs too. What a little stunt man in training you seem to be. I feel like I am getting wrinkles at warp speed thanks to you:) You are SUCH a typical little daredevil boy.
You checked out normal at your one year doctors appointment-and got 4 shots! Ouch! You are very tall, and you weigh almost as much as Lulu. At 13 months old your feet are the same size as Lulu's when she was 24 months old. You are growing like a weed! The doctor was impressed with how well you are walking and running (and climbing the steps to the exam table and playing "peekaboo" from behind the counter). He said he rarely sees kids as stable and confident on their feet at your age as you. Since you have been walking since the day you turned 8 months old you have had a lot of time to practice. You say "mama" so far and that is about it, so what you lack in words you make up for with large motor skills. The other day you started saying "da!" for dogs so I know the words are coming and I am getting very excited. You have such a cute voice and I know that you will be chattering away like your big sister in no time flat!
You are definitely starting to assert yourself a bit, but with a 2 year old sister you kind of have to if you ever want to play with a toy. She is quick to take things away from you and you are quick to screech and take the toy back. I try to let the two of you work things out on your own since the behaviors on both your parts are pretty normal for your ages, but I occasionally step in if your big sister starts to get too rough or if you are starting to get frustrated. For the most part you are really easy going and pretty calm and happy and the two of you get along pretty well. It's great that you each have a playmate. She loves you to the moon and back. She is always giving you hugs and kisses....right before taking a toy away (she is a toddler too remember).
I love having 2 toddlers, even though it can be exhausting and overwhelming at times. I am working on dealing with you both in a more calm fashion. You can be quick to tantrum some days and Lulu is in the midst of her terrible two's so I am trying to keep my calm when the storms of toddler-dom arise. It's never easy, and I'm not always very good at it but I'm working on it. I need to stay out of the toddler squabbles you two have more than I do, because I don't want to coddle you at Lulu's expense. I just tend to feel like I need to stick up for you because she is 2 and can be a bit rough for you (her behavior is normal, but that doesn't mean you enjoy it all the time).
So 2010 for me is about dealing with the fact that I am not always a perfect mom, but I need to hold myself to a higher standard and try to enjoy life with 2 toddlers even on the tired and crabby days (for all 3 of us).
No matter how difficult some days can be with my challenging little girl and my screetchy little boy, I want you to know that I am SO in love with you both that I would never change a thing. I love you so much Wilder Reagan...you life my spirits during the off times and give me a sense of calm even when I am frustrated or overwhelmed. I absolutely love to pick you up and bury my face into your neck and shoulder. You always bring a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart. I am SO thankful you are my son.
Between you and Lulu I feel like God has blessed me more than I even deserve. I lay in bed some nights and wonder what I ever could have done for God to think I deserve you, Lulu and Daddy. I still don't know, and I may never find out but perhaps its not for me to know. Perhaps I am only supposed to enjoy it and make the best of this wonderful family that I have. I love you all so much some days I think my heart is going to burst. Thankfully so far it hasn't...but still-someday it just might:)
Where do I start? How about with the most important point I have to make which is: I love you.
We celebrated your first birthday party and I have it a "sweets" theme because you are so sweet. Daddy made decorations that looked like ice cream and sundaes and candy and hung them around the room. We had streamers and balloons and after much stress about your cake, we ended up with a really cute "cupcake cake" meaning a cake made of individual cupcakes that looked like a giant cupcake. I worried endlessly for weeks beforehand on what to do for your birthday cake and though the theme seems to be easy for cake purposes, it really wasn't. I tried a recipe that I was going to make in cool cake pan shaped like a 3 layer cake, but the recipe didn't turn out. We thought about making a GIANT cupcake shaped cake in 3-D but the pan we had to do that with wasn't big enough to feel all the guests...so ultimately what we ended up with was the best option:) I shouldn't have worried so much, but I wanted it to be perfect for you.
On your actual birthday we had Nana and Meema and Boppa over for cake and more gifts...I made a simple cake in the layer cake shaped pan. You loved being the center of attention! I loved the whole week of your birthday, thinking about ways to make you feel special.
We also had a wonderful Christmas where you tore into your presents with glee. It was so fun to see your face light up when you saw what each present was. You do this insanely cute "Oh" shape with your mouth that is so cute. I simply love that look. You got a zillion toys, many "car" themed and you really seem to enjoy them. I am guessing you will be a gear head like your daddy and grandpa which is fine by me. You love to roll your cars and trucks around and are very active these days.
You seem to have an unspoken goal of turning my hair gray before I reach 32 years old. Every time I turn around it seems, there is my 11, 12,13 month old baby boy standing on top of some ridiculously high or dangerous surface. You climb EVERYTHING and anything without so much as a second's thought of how you will get down. You fell down the stairs at Meema and Papa's house 3 times on Christmas day alone! You didn't get hurt, you just fussed and started climbing right back up on them....you love to climb on to chairs, tables, walkers, the toy box, Lulu's toddler bed, the dishwasher door, the toilet...anything. I will turn my back for 40 seconds and turn and see you standing on top of a rolling toy with wheels and you just smile at me as if nothing is wrong. You are obsessed with stairs too. What a little stunt man in training you seem to be. I feel like I am getting wrinkles at warp speed thanks to you:) You are SUCH a typical little daredevil boy.
You checked out normal at your one year doctors appointment-and got 4 shots! Ouch! You are very tall, and you weigh almost as much as Lulu. At 13 months old your feet are the same size as Lulu's when she was 24 months old. You are growing like a weed! The doctor was impressed with how well you are walking and running (and climbing the steps to the exam table and playing "peekaboo" from behind the counter). He said he rarely sees kids as stable and confident on their feet at your age as you. Since you have been walking since the day you turned 8 months old you have had a lot of time to practice. You say "mama" so far and that is about it, so what you lack in words you make up for with large motor skills. The other day you started saying "da!" for dogs so I know the words are coming and I am getting very excited. You have such a cute voice and I know that you will be chattering away like your big sister in no time flat!
You are definitely starting to assert yourself a bit, but with a 2 year old sister you kind of have to if you ever want to play with a toy. She is quick to take things away from you and you are quick to screech and take the toy back. I try to let the two of you work things out on your own since the behaviors on both your parts are pretty normal for your ages, but I occasionally step in if your big sister starts to get too rough or if you are starting to get frustrated. For the most part you are really easy going and pretty calm and happy and the two of you get along pretty well. It's great that you each have a playmate. She loves you to the moon and back. She is always giving you hugs and kisses....right before taking a toy away (she is a toddler too remember).
I love having 2 toddlers, even though it can be exhausting and overwhelming at times. I am working on dealing with you both in a more calm fashion. You can be quick to tantrum some days and Lulu is in the midst of her terrible two's so I am trying to keep my calm when the storms of toddler-dom arise. It's never easy, and I'm not always very good at it but I'm working on it. I need to stay out of the toddler squabbles you two have more than I do, because I don't want to coddle you at Lulu's expense. I just tend to feel like I need to stick up for you because she is 2 and can be a bit rough for you (her behavior is normal, but that doesn't mean you enjoy it all the time).
So 2010 for me is about dealing with the fact that I am not always a perfect mom, but I need to hold myself to a higher standard and try to enjoy life with 2 toddlers even on the tired and crabby days (for all 3 of us).
No matter how difficult some days can be with my challenging little girl and my screetchy little boy, I want you to know that I am SO in love with you both that I would never change a thing. I love you so much Wilder Reagan...you life my spirits during the off times and give me a sense of calm even when I am frustrated or overwhelmed. I absolutely love to pick you up and bury my face into your neck and shoulder. You always bring a smile to my face and a warmth to my heart. I am SO thankful you are my son.
Between you and Lulu I feel like God has blessed me more than I even deserve. I lay in bed some nights and wonder what I ever could have done for God to think I deserve you, Lulu and Daddy. I still don't know, and I may never find out but perhaps its not for me to know. Perhaps I am only supposed to enjoy it and make the best of this wonderful family that I have. I love you all so much some days I think my heart is going to burst. Thankfully so far it hasn't...but still-someday it just might:)
My Precious Allura; Jan 12, 2010
My Precious Allura,
Another year has come and gone and I have much to tell you about the last two months. We had Wilder's first birthday party (Sweets themed) and you were super sweet the whole day. You were quick to offer to help him devour his smash cake and you delighted in the presents he opened. You were such a great big sister!
We had a lot of excitment building up to Christmas this year because you understood that Santa was coming to bring you presents. We listened to Christmas songs in the car non-stop and you learned the words to quite a few of them. There was nothing cuter than you singing "You better watch out, you better not cry...." I am always so amazed at how quickly you pick up the lyrics to new songs. You have an amazing memory.
We went to Nana's on Christmas Eve and both she and Shaun got you guys a bunch of gifts! You guys got a walking dinosaur robot called "Spike", you got a Disney Princess bicycle and an Ariel doll that goes in the bathtub with you amongst other things. Dad and I were SO excited to see your reaction on Christmas morning...we were certain that all the gifts from Santa would blow your mind. Unfortunately things did not go as smoothly as we had hoped for because after all, you are two. Initially you were pretty excited to open gifts but you preferred to take your time and inspect each gift and wanted to open each toy and take it out of the box and play with it before moving on to the next gift. Sadly, we had to keep you moving at a faster pace than you wanted to go with your gift opening because we had to be at Meema and Papa's and you guys had to get naps in before hand. This lead to quite a melt down on your part where you actually refused to even open your last present for quite some time. I'd be lying if I said we were not a bit disappointed in your behavior, but even so, we understood why you were frustrated. We told Meema and Papa that going forward we would do our small family present opening on another day in order to get a few more hours back for us to enjoy opening our presents without a rush. So ultimately, your tantrum helped to alleviate the stress and rush of future Christmas days! :)
You started swimming lessons about 12 weeks ago now, and 2 weeks ago Wilder started them with you. It is SO cool to see how much confidence you have gained in the water. You are such a sweet big sister showing Wilder how to do "monkey cheeks" in the pool! I hope you both stay with it and enjoy it.
Something funny that you have started doing is picking up notebooks and pens, or this magnetic writing toy and asking "you want "tay-toh" or french fry?" It's so funny to think that you have eaten in restaurants often enough to be able to mimic the servers! Daddy and I are quick to give you our "orders" and you pretend to write them down, make them and serve them. I have really enjoyed watching you start to show your creativity with pretend games. I bought you tickets to "Disney Princesses on Ice" a few weeks ago and you LOVE it of course, and came home pretending to bite into a "poison apple" and fall asleep awaiting a kiss from your "Prince Charming" aka: daddy. You also tell me to be Ursela and inform me that you are Ariel and so in my best, deepest, meanest Ursela voice I go "I want your voice...Now SING!" and you start singing "ahh-ahh-ahhh...." with the sweetest look on your face. You are such a talented singer at 2 and a half! You also love to sing "Somewhere...over A rainbow..." which warms my heart. I love to hear you sing...you sing all the time now and it will ALWAYS put a smile on my face.
I have to tell you, being at home is such a blessing. One that I try to be continually thankful for. Having a 2.5 year old, and a 13 month old can be exhausting. Throw in 4 dogs that are constantly scrounging for food and having "accidents" everywhere and I get overwhelmed from time to time. I have to admit that I yell much more than I am proud of. I lay in bed at night and feel horrible about my yelling out of frustration. I worry that I am having a negative impact on not only how you will feel about me as a mother, but on who you will grow up to be. I am seeing some aggressive behaviors from you towards Wilder and the dogs and I feel so badly that you are learning to yell by watching me. I am really working on dealing with my frustrations and stress in a more calm manner. I have gotten better, but some days are better than others and today was one of my lower days. You can be SO challenging at times...they don't call them the "terrible two's" for nothing and you have such a strong personality (like me). As a parent, when I get overwhelmed I don't always know how to deal with your tantrums or your yelling. I try to stay calm but sometimes I lose my cool and yell at you and I am SO sorry. I feel like a terrible mother sometimes. I feel so worthless as a mom when I see you yell at the dogs or boss Wilder around because I fear that you are picking up on my bad habits. Does this mean that I think you are a naughty child or a bad person? ABSOLUTELY UNEQUIVOCALLY NOT. I think you are a gloriously smart little girl that is living what she learns. Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this. It's not like I am abusive or *that* horrible. I just yell too much and I want to be the kind of mom that stays calm and leads by example. I just want you to know that I am trying to be a better mom, a mom that doesn't yell so much, a mom that can handle two tantruming toddlers in a more positive way-without tantruming myself. I'm not a perfect mom, I so wish I was because you DESERVE a perfect mom. I am divulging this, my most shameful behavior, as a way to be accountable to you and to promise you that I will be better. No matter how overwhelmed I get at times, you do not deserve to be yelled at for being a normal hyperactive and overly assertive 2 year old. All 2 year olds can be a challenge so I have no right to get so overwhelmed. I am working on it. I will be a better mom, because I love you more than life itself and can't stand the thought of making you feel bad about yourself. You have my word Allura, forever more when I get to that *terrible place* that breaking point where I don't know how to deal with my frustrations calmly, I will give myself a time out. I will think of this letter to you and strive to live up to my word and be a better mom. Maybe then I will lay in bed at night feeling like a better mom than I do now. And maybe I will sleep more peacefully.
I love you more than anything, even during the times when your behavior is hard to love. *You* are not the same as your behavior, and I will always love you no matter what. You are this shining beacon of light in my world. There is no better words than to hear "mommy I love you" which is something you offer me at least 10 times a day. That phrase, coming from that voice actually nourishes my soul. *You* nourish my soul. We will get through this challenging chaos of toddlerhood together because our bond is unimaginably strong and we both love each other more than words can ever describe.
I thank God for you every day Allura, I absolutely mean that.
Another year has come and gone and I have much to tell you about the last two months. We had Wilder's first birthday party (Sweets themed) and you were super sweet the whole day. You were quick to offer to help him devour his smash cake and you delighted in the presents he opened. You were such a great big sister!
We had a lot of excitment building up to Christmas this year because you understood that Santa was coming to bring you presents. We listened to Christmas songs in the car non-stop and you learned the words to quite a few of them. There was nothing cuter than you singing "You better watch out, you better not cry...." I am always so amazed at how quickly you pick up the lyrics to new songs. You have an amazing memory.
We went to Nana's on Christmas Eve and both she and Shaun got you guys a bunch of gifts! You guys got a walking dinosaur robot called "Spike", you got a Disney Princess bicycle and an Ariel doll that goes in the bathtub with you amongst other things. Dad and I were SO excited to see your reaction on Christmas morning...we were certain that all the gifts from Santa would blow your mind. Unfortunately things did not go as smoothly as we had hoped for because after all, you are two. Initially you were pretty excited to open gifts but you preferred to take your time and inspect each gift and wanted to open each toy and take it out of the box and play with it before moving on to the next gift. Sadly, we had to keep you moving at a faster pace than you wanted to go with your gift opening because we had to be at Meema and Papa's and you guys had to get naps in before hand. This lead to quite a melt down on your part where you actually refused to even open your last present for quite some time. I'd be lying if I said we were not a bit disappointed in your behavior, but even so, we understood why you were frustrated. We told Meema and Papa that going forward we would do our small family present opening on another day in order to get a few more hours back for us to enjoy opening our presents without a rush. So ultimately, your tantrum helped to alleviate the stress and rush of future Christmas days! :)
You started swimming lessons about 12 weeks ago now, and 2 weeks ago Wilder started them with you. It is SO cool to see how much confidence you have gained in the water. You are such a sweet big sister showing Wilder how to do "monkey cheeks" in the pool! I hope you both stay with it and enjoy it.
Something funny that you have started doing is picking up notebooks and pens, or this magnetic writing toy and asking "you want "tay-toh" or french fry?" It's so funny to think that you have eaten in restaurants often enough to be able to mimic the servers! Daddy and I are quick to give you our "orders" and you pretend to write them down, make them and serve them. I have really enjoyed watching you start to show your creativity with pretend games. I bought you tickets to "Disney Princesses on Ice" a few weeks ago and you LOVE it of course, and came home pretending to bite into a "poison apple" and fall asleep awaiting a kiss from your "Prince Charming" aka: daddy. You also tell me to be Ursela and inform me that you are Ariel and so in my best, deepest, meanest Ursela voice I go "I want your voice...Now SING!" and you start singing "ahh-ahh-ahhh...." with the sweetest look on your face. You are such a talented singer at 2 and a half! You also love to sing "Somewhere...over A rainbow..." which warms my heart. I love to hear you sing...you sing all the time now and it will ALWAYS put a smile on my face.
I have to tell you, being at home is such a blessing. One that I try to be continually thankful for. Having a 2.5 year old, and a 13 month old can be exhausting. Throw in 4 dogs that are constantly scrounging for food and having "accidents" everywhere and I get overwhelmed from time to time. I have to admit that I yell much more than I am proud of. I lay in bed at night and feel horrible about my yelling out of frustration. I worry that I am having a negative impact on not only how you will feel about me as a mother, but on who you will grow up to be. I am seeing some aggressive behaviors from you towards Wilder and the dogs and I feel so badly that you are learning to yell by watching me. I am really working on dealing with my frustrations and stress in a more calm manner. I have gotten better, but some days are better than others and today was one of my lower days. You can be SO challenging at times...they don't call them the "terrible two's" for nothing and you have such a strong personality (like me). As a parent, when I get overwhelmed I don't always know how to deal with your tantrums or your yelling. I try to stay calm but sometimes I lose my cool and yell at you and I am SO sorry. I feel like a terrible mother sometimes. I feel so worthless as a mom when I see you yell at the dogs or boss Wilder around because I fear that you are picking up on my bad habits. Does this mean that I think you are a naughty child or a bad person? ABSOLUTELY UNEQUIVOCALLY NOT. I think you are a gloriously smart little girl that is living what she learns. Maybe I shouldn't be telling you this. It's not like I am abusive or *that* horrible. I just yell too much and I want to be the kind of mom that stays calm and leads by example. I just want you to know that I am trying to be a better mom, a mom that doesn't yell so much, a mom that can handle two tantruming toddlers in a more positive way-without tantruming myself. I'm not a perfect mom, I so wish I was because you DESERVE a perfect mom. I am divulging this, my most shameful behavior, as a way to be accountable to you and to promise you that I will be better. No matter how overwhelmed I get at times, you do not deserve to be yelled at for being a normal hyperactive and overly assertive 2 year old. All 2 year olds can be a challenge so I have no right to get so overwhelmed. I am working on it. I will be a better mom, because I love you more than life itself and can't stand the thought of making you feel bad about yourself. You have my word Allura, forever more when I get to that *terrible place* that breaking point where I don't know how to deal with my frustrations calmly, I will give myself a time out. I will think of this letter to you and strive to live up to my word and be a better mom. Maybe then I will lay in bed at night feeling like a better mom than I do now. And maybe I will sleep more peacefully.
I love you more than anything, even during the times when your behavior is hard to love. *You* are not the same as your behavior, and I will always love you no matter what. You are this shining beacon of light in my world. There is no better words than to hear "mommy I love you" which is something you offer me at least 10 times a day. That phrase, coming from that voice actually nourishes my soul. *You* nourish my soul. We will get through this challenging chaos of toddlerhood together because our bond is unimaginably strong and we both love each other more than words can ever describe.
I thank God for you every day Allura, I absolutely mean that.
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