A Letter: Eleven Months

Mmmm, chicken.

Dear Bug,

One year ago, I told your Daddy that we probably needed to go back to the hospital. I was only 30 weeks along, but had felt a little off all day and knew things weren't right. We went, just to be safe.

Little did we know that I wouldn't get to leave until your birthday one month later.

And here we are, one month shy of your first birthday. I cannot wrap my brain around that. My baby: one year old. I put off planning your party as long as possible, the definition of denial. No! Not true! You're not turning one so soon!

But here we are.

This month, your milestones have been more subtle than they have in the past. You can now wave hello and goodbye, give high-fives, and turn pages in books. You love hats and headbands and can put them on your head by yourself. You love to play keep away, and have learned to scoot backward off the bed and couch. You mock your Daddy when he coughs or sneezes "Eh eh eh eh eh!" and by far the cutest: you understand pretending. We discovered at New Years that you love to have fake tea parties! It is crazy to me you can already understand, appreciate, and enjoy using your imagination. Just crazy.

More fun things: you carry everything like a purse. Blanket, stuffed animal, bag, paper sack - it doesn't matter - you hoist it over your shoulder and take it for a hike. You kiss every reflection you see. In fact, we can ask you to kiss specific things ("Can you give the puppy besos, Lily? What about the baby in the mirror? Can Daddy have a kiss? What about Momma?"), and you differentiate between each category. We can ask you to find your ball or your block, and you know which item is which. If I ask you, "How big is Lily?" you throw your hands in the air and smile. If we say "Oh my goodness!", you put your hands on the sides of your head like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. And my favorite? If you see a picture of a gorilla, or if we call you the "Goobie-Gorilla", you pat your belly!

You also understand how to be gentle with animals, and pet nicely when we tell you to do so. That's a big one because you love animals! Especially dogs, and not all dogs are as tolerant as yours. Izzy has warmed up to you considerably, but Reef is still your very best friend. His patience with you melts my heart. Every day, I catch the two of you doing something adorable. The other day in the car, I caught you playing peek-a-boo with him in the backseat. Then this past week, you sat on him (he didn't even flinch!) then proceeded to play with each of his paws in rotation, in between patting his belly. Grab a paw, inspect, pat the puppy. Grab a paw, inspect, pat the puppy. Repeat. You were giggling the whole time, and he finished the game by giving you a puppy bath with kisses! A few days later, you grabbed his whole head in a bear hug, pulling his nose toward your cheek over and over again, grinning at me each time.

You are becoming such a little person! A little person with large opinions (well, you've always had those) and a distinct personality. You are a very happy, but very careful and deliberate child - you seem to really contemplate and think something through before putting your mind to it. The best example? You haven't yet become interested in climbing, but last week you took a look at the stairs and just went up them! Straight up, one leg at a time, very determined, from the very bottom to very top. You are the same way with the few words you have spoken - they are thought out and then very precisely enunciated. Don't get me wrong, you still babble 99.9% of the time, but when you choose to say a word, it is very obviously a word. To promote this, we try to point, sound out, and repeat the syllables of different words for you. For example, when we say "puppy" most of the time you say "bop-bop", but out of nowhere, you will pause and say "Pup! Pee!" 

With talking around the corner, it is becoming more obvious that we need to start watching what we say to you as well. The same week as the stairs incident, I asked you if you needed a butt change. Usually you light up and say "Ba!" (your answer for everything), but this time, you very clearly said "Butt!" Emphasis on the B, emphasis on the T, big huge grin on your face. Not proud of that one, but hilarious all the same.

You are always on the go. Go go go. This month, out of pure curiosity, we did some adjustment of your schedule. You were fighting your naps and you were fighting bedtime. You were waking up at night at least every three hours, if not more often. Three am would roll around, and you'd be awake, wide-eyed. I was exhausted, you were exhausted, Daddy was exhausted. Every time I put you down, I imagined you yelling at me "No! No! No! I'm NOT tired! I'm NOT!" You would yell and yell and yell and yes, eventually you would give in, but you never slept long. In the words of a friend: you fought sleep like Batman fights crime! So I threw out what we had been doing (two naps a day, crying it out if you seemed tired but wouldn't go down) and I just let you go during the day. And go and go and go. Go like the Energizer Bunny until your batteries ran out. Guess what? You now take one long, awesome nap a day. You don't yell, you don't fight, and you wake up happy. You are my napping rockstar, baby girl. A little early to be down to one nap per day, sure, but you are sleeping so much better! And really, is it that surprising? You have been in a hurry to do everything else. So here we are, up at 8, nap around noon, nap for two to three hours (!!!!!!), and down for the night around nine. You usually wake up twice overnight, but I can handle that. You are sleeping so much better.

All in all... you are, by far, the happiest baby I know. Everything is funny to you! You laugh all day long. Literally. All day. I'm not even exaggerating. You laugh at the dogs, at me, at the ceiling. At your Dad, the mirror, the moose. Most of the time I don't even know what you're laughing at but you're giggling and squealing while you walk around. You only get upset if you hurt yourself or are exhausted, and even then your upset spells are short, easily remedied, and then you're off giggling again.

A dangerous baby, people call you. You are the baby that makes parents think it'll be a good idea to have another (don't worry, we aren't even thinking about that one yet.) You are the baby that people meet and they can't help but grin. "She's just so happy!", they say. You make them think, "Kids aren't that bad!" You are a dangerous, dangerous baby.

You are my baby. My wonderfully busy, smiling, giggling, dangerous baby.

I love you. Forever and always.

Love, 
Momma

Eleven month stats (approximate)...
Weight: ~21 pounds
Height: unknown
Head circumference: unknown
Clothing Size: 12 months
New Nicknames: Silly Goose, Goose, Goobie Gorilla
Favorites: Loves all types of balls, books, taking everything out of drawers.
Words: puff, block, momma, butt, puppy

Eleven month milestones:
Waves hello and goodbye.
Plays keep away.
Turns pages in books.
Scoots backward off the bed and couch.
Climbs stairs.
Obsessed with side-stepping, backward stepping, dancing.
1/1: First trip to LA for New Years
1/11: Said "puppy"
1/18: Climbed the stairs
1/20: Said "butt"

A Letter: Ten Months

Dear Buggie,

It's official: you are ten months old and a toddler. A toddler! You toddle everywhere! You have given up crawling and nine times out of ten, you prefer to walk everywhere you go. In reality, the only time you crawl is when we play chase around the house after your bath. You giggle and laugh hysterically while you bear crawl away from us, but even that game is gradually turning into a walking game - our only saving grace is that you can't quite go fast enough when upright, so you alternate walking and falling over to crawl-sprint like a little speed racer.

Why are you in such a hurry, little Bug? You are getting too big too fast for this Momma's liking, but I'm loving it all the same. You are currently the perfect combination of an infant and toddler. You love to snuggle and nurse when you're tired, and you bury your face when you're feeling shy, but you are also oh-so-curious and into everything. And I mean everything. You open and close every drawer, cabinet, and book you can get your little paws on. You want to feel every texture and kiss every picture. You love the hallway flashlights - any time you walk away from me, I know you're going to the hallway to get a flashlight and "explore" the dark bedrooms. Seriously. You take the flashlight out of the holster and walk straight into the dark bedroom, lighting your way like a little spelunker. You also love to look at yourself in the mirror and you still dance any time you hear music. We can even ask you to "Dance, dance!" and you bop up and down. 

By far my favorite new trick you have this month is peeking. You "peek" around everything - my shoulder, walls, doors, your legs - anything! The other night after bathtime, you toddled down the hallway to the kitchen. You knew there were people at the kitchen table, so when you got there, you stopped short of the opening to the dining room, grabbed the cabinet and peeked your little melon around the side of the cabinet. When every one looked at you and said "Hello!", you giggled and hid behind the cabinet. Awwwww.

Along with peeking, you are understanding the feeling of anticipation. When I ask if you want milk, you sign "milk" and kick your legs. We can tell you we're coming to get you, slowly work our way toward your little tush, then you squeal and run away before we can get there. Daddy can pop up his pointer fingers and act like he's coming in to tickle you, and you giggle and turn away before he touches your belly. If I start singing "Pat-a-Cake", you open your mouth wide and clap your hands - even if I don't have my hands up yet (it is, by far, your favorite song of all time.) When we ask for kisses, you alternate between exuberantly planting one on whoever asks and turning away at the last minute with a big smile. You think you are quite the comedian with that one, little Bug, but that's okay - we do too.

Speaking of smiles - you have all of your front teeth! It seems like you just had the two bottom ones, and then all of a sudden the other six just popped right through. Now that you have all eight of those chompers, you definitely like to use them. You love to take little nibbles off the front of everything before gumming them down. Your favorite foods are spinach, mushrooms, clementine oranges, and any type of meat. In fact, your Grandma and Grandpa have deemed you quite the carnivore and have renamed you "The Meat-a-tarian."

We finished out this month just shy of Christmas with your very first cold. You have been a bit of a puddle, but understandably so. Who isn't a puddle when they're miserable and full of snot? You have still been in good spirits most of the time, you have just needed some extra snuggles at night. I'm not complaining about the snuggles, but you had just started sleeping through the night before you got sick, so I'm hoping after you're feeling better that we can go back to that. Momma needs sleep too!

One more month down, Miss Lily. One more month closer to one year old. I can ask you now "How big is Lily?" and you raise your arms over your head while I sing, "SO BIG!" And yes, Buggie, you are SO big. I can't wait to watch you grow some more.

Love always, 
Momma


Ten month stats (as of appointment 12/17)...
Weight: 20 pounds, 9 ounces (75%)
Height: 28.5 inches (75%)
Head circumference: 46cm (90%)
Clothing Size: 9 months and 12 months. 12 months are a little big
New Nicknames: Goobie-cheeks, Goobie-kins, Silly Lily
Favorites: Pat-a-cake, dancing, inspecting everything, walking everywhere
Words: Says Puff, block, Momma

Ten month milestones:
Babbles constantly, loves to say "Bop-bop!"
Gives high-fives
Understands anticipation
Signs milk, dog, come here, and want
11/25: Four steps
12/3: Eight steps; walks two to three steps from item to item
12/4: Let go and walked six steps into the living room
12/14: 6th tooth, upper right lateral incisor
12/14: Walked from your room down the hallway to Daddy; stood from a bear crawl
12/15: 7th tooth, bottom right lateral incisor
12/20: 8th tooth, bottom left lateral incisor; first cold
12/20: Walks in lieu of crawling

A Letter: To Remember

Dear Bug,

Yesterday was a rough day. Edit that: it's been a rough week and yesterday was especially hard. You woke up with a start, screaming bloody murder at five. Screaming might be an understatement - you were shrieking in pain, arching your back and pushing away from me. If I tried to set you down, you screamed harder. If I tried to snuggle you close, you shoved me away. I changed you, I rocked you, Daddy walked you, I tried to nurse you - nothing worked. You just kept screaming and screaming, tears running down your beautiful blotchy face. Daddy and I finally sat on the bed with you between us, alternating trying to hold and comfort you, at a loss as to what we should do. I was getting upset, feeling like a failure. I can always calm you down quickly. Always. What on earth was wrong? What did I do? What was I not doing?

Then with a whimper, you tooted. Tooted! Even in pain, you grinned with relief. Silver lining.

We burst out laughing, you smiled with a whimper, and all was well for at least a little while. For another two hours the screaming alternated with tooting until you finally fell asleep with me around seven. I was relieved that gas was our problem. I felt terrible that you were hurting but was grateful it was something simple. You hardly ever slow down these days, so having three hours of uninterrupted snuggle-time with you as you slept was amazing. I kept waking up and just staring at you. My eyes were aching, my head hurt, my neck was sore yet I couldn't tear my eyes off of you, touching your nose, smelling your hair, kissing your forehead. You were so peaceful and still, those pursed cherry lips slack with sleep. Beautiful.

Silver lining.

You woke up with a smile and immediately stood up to crawl all over me. The morning went by uneventfully - we hung out in the living room with your toys as we usually do. You were actually in a great mood, squealing and toddling around the room. You kept stealing Reef's toys. He'd look at you confused, nose you, and you'd turn away with his ball. He would go get a new toy and you'd do the same thing again, over and over again. We had a leisurely lunch while I got Daddy's food cooking, and you were perfectly content to sit in your highchair with some puffs and squash.

Naptime. You went down around one. Not your usual time, but after how our morning started, I wasn't expecting the day to be anything but abnormal. I finally laid you down and you rolled over on your side, as always, snoozing away.

Then the doorbell rang and the rest of the day slowly went downhill.

Reef barked, you yelled. You had been asleep for thirty minutes. Thirty! And would not go back down to sleep. The rest of the day felt endless. You screamed, you laughed, you cried, you smiled. The ping-pong of emotions was draining for both of us. Finally, finally, you had your bath and went down for the night.

And slept through the night. For the first time in five months.

Silver lining.

I know you're not due for your monthly letter just yet but I wanted to write down how I'm feeling in this exact moment. Not only for you, but for me. To remember that even on the roughest of days, there is a silver lining. I love you, little Bug.

Love always,
Momma

A Letter: Nine Months

Dear Bug,

You are three-quarters of the way toward turning one. That makes you nine months old. Nine! When did that happen? I have a newfound understanding and appreciation of "Blink and you'll miss it," that's for sure.

As always, you are in quite the hurry to grow up. (FYI, if you'd like to slow down any day now, I would be okay with that decision.) As of your nine month birthday, you have five teeth and can cruise the furniture one-handed with ease. You do the sit, squat, stand combination without a second thought. You pull up on anything you can get a hand on - especially Mommy and Daddy's legs when we're in the kitchen. You are obsessed with taking toys with you, not just playing with them on the floor. You bend down, pick one up, and then stand or cruise with it, showing it to me with a huge smile on your face. You've also started "sharing" - you like to hand things to us and then take them back.

You also can walk a few steps by yourself. I'm not sure if it counts as walking because it's more like stepping - you mostly go from item to item with a step or two. But sometimes you let go and step toward me! Then you get really excited "OMYGOSH I'M WALKING!," take a few twinkle-toe steps, and then either sit down or lunge forward into my awaiting arms. We both squeal with glee and pride and celebrate with a big bear hug. It's amazingly adorable.

Speaking of adorable, little Bug, you just love to dance. Music or no, you bounce up and down to your own little Goobie-drum. If we say "Dance! Dance!" you grin and bop, cooing away. You also love to dance with Mommy. We swing and spin and bounce around the living room, and the ensuing squeals, smiles and singing melt my heart. Pure joy exudes from your tiny body when you hear music. You sing along when you like what you hear, it calms you when you're fussy, and makes you smile when you're bored. You snuggle when I sing to you, and clap along to your song. I hope this young love of music sticks with you forever.

Every new thing you do astounds me, but this month your ability to communicate with us has grown leaps and bounds. For the past few months, your Daddy and I have been signing basic things to you (please, thank you, drink, milk, etc.) in addition to using a smattering of Spanglish. Basically, if we know the word, we use the English and Spanish versions when speaking to you. Your ability to understand and comprehend all three languages has become obvious. If we ask for "besos (kisses)", you lean in and lay on a big smacker. If we sign "drink" or "water", you look and grab for your cup. You also seem to understand other people's emotions as well - if we laugh, you laugh and if you hear yelling (such as when your Daddy yells at the TV during sports), you are not a fan. You definitely prefer having happy people surround you!

Not only do you react to emotions and questions and respond in kind with body language, you have also begun to sign back. Your favorite is your version of "Come here!" You like to crawl away, turn around and tell us to come here (it's a cross of "Come" and "Want" with one hand instead of two.) We sneak over and give you a big kiss so you squeal with glee, then you crawl away to do the same thing again and again. It's a fabulous game. 

The signing is beneficial for you to express your distaste for something as well; while your Lolla was watching you at the beginning of this month, you became quite annoyed (i.e. angry as a hellcat) that she was trying to give you milk in a cup. How dare she! Apparently you screamed your little head off, cried big old crocodile tears, signed milk, pinched the nipple and FLICKED the bottle. You stinker! Were you a bit offended, Bug? Thankfully, Lolla was prepared with some water and little bites of sausage to hold you over until I got home.

Separation anxiety has arrived in full force this month as well. You aren't too bad in the morning but toward the late afternoon, you don't want to have anything to do with anyone but Mom and Dad. If you're really tired, it's Mom or nobody. Sometimes at bedtime, Daddy even has to follow me around while I get ready because you scream when I leave your sight. The only benefit to separation anxiety is that, despite your ability to get somewhere quite quickly, you are generally thrilled to stay nearby. We obviously still have to keep an eye on you (dog food and bowls are huge temptations), but even when you bear-crawl-sprint across the dining room, you only go about ten yards before checking in.  

Buggie, you are such a joy. I've said time and time again that I love watching you meet each of your milestones, but it's the little things that really make me glow. The constant babble in the background, the slap-slap as I hear you "sprint" across the room, feeling you come up behind me and hold my legs while I cook - it's all more than my heart can handle. I never thought these would be the times I cherish as a parent, but they are. Each time you bury your face in my shirt when someone leans in to give you a kiss, I swell. Each time you pants me in the kitchen, I giggle a little harder. Every time you grin and say "Bop-bop-bop-bop!", I say it right back because it never gets old. 

You are my sunshine, little Bug, my only sunshine.

Until next month,
Momma

Nine month stats...
Weight: Approximately 20 pounds
Clothing Size: Mostly 9 months
New Nicknames: Twinkle toes, sweetness, little dancer, dancing Goob. Goob and Bug have stuck like glue, thus lots of variations on both.
Favorites: "Bop-bop-bop-bop", singing, dancing


Nine Month Milestones...
10/24: Stood up from a sit, not holding on to anything
11/3: Signed milk
11/7: Third tooth, upper left front
11/8: "Dada"
11/13: Can walk holding onto one finger
11/20: Walks item to item, two steps by yourself!
11/20 (guess): Fourth tooth. upper left lateral incisor
11/23: Fifth tooth, upper right front

A Letter: Eight Months

Dear Bug,

Baby girl, you are eight months old. Eight months!

This month we finally moved you into your own room. I know some may look down upon the fact that we had you with us for so long, but the timing finally felt right. We are getting settled into our new home and the first room we finished was yours. It has a big, beautiful purple wall and all of the things your Lolla has made just for you. And you just love your room! We spend a fair amount of time in there, and you love to cruise around, checking out all of your stuff. Your favorite part? Your books. You love to read, be read to, and chew on all of your wonderful books. Once I set you down, you crawl straight for your bookshelf and start pulling them all off! You are your mother's daughter, that's for sure.

Before people think we moved you into your room and everything was hunky dory, I should add that we are still fighting nighttime. You nap like a champ (either one big morning nap and a second, hour-long nap in the afternoon or three, 45-minute to one-hour naps throughout the day), and you go down for bed like a champ, but you do not stay asleep. It shouldn't surprise me because neither your Daddy or I are good sleepers, but I keep waiting for the night you decide to sleep just a little bit longer. As of right now, you usually go to bed between seven and eight but are up to eat by midnight, sometimes later, sometimes earlier. You're up again between three and four, and at that wake-up, I bring you into bed with us. I love our snuggles for those couple of hours, and you wake up at 7 like clockwork. You are always so happy to see both of us. Minus our nighttime struggles, you are one happy little girl!

You are such a little person these days; your fiery personality is shining right through your baby-ness and giving us daily flashes of toddlerhood. I'm not going to lie, some days it scares me a little bit - like the first time you had watermelon and threw a legitimate tantrum when it was gone. A tantrum, little Bug! You were so mad and wanted MORE and had no other way of communicating that frustration than to turn red and scream. Needless to say, we haven't given you watermelon a second time. There are plenty of other foods that don't illicit screaming, so I think we'll stick to those for now.

You are a mercurial little person, little Miss. You can go from happy to mad for no apparent reason at all, and then back to happy two seconds later. You have definite likes and only a few dislikes, and it is wonderful being able to read you so easily. One thing you are insistent upon is feeding yourself. You will not let us spoon feed you whatsoever! Our approach has become to include a Lily-friendly item at each meal, set it on your tray, and let you go at it. You have a blast making a mess and eating with the family, and we don't spend hours trying to airplane food into your mouth. It's a win-win, really. Speaking of family, your puppies are your favorite thing (second maybe to Mom and Dad), and you love taking them on their walk, riding along in your stroller and enjoying the outdoors.

Oh! Speaking of walking - one of your biggest milestones this month is that you are standing and cruising! You actually did them both on the same day, you little overachiever. Now we can't keep you off of anything. You are our little spiderwoman; so focused on standing, you pull yourself up with your crib rails, with Mom and Dad's legs, the dog dish, the wall... anything, really! Your favorite item in the house is the laundry basket. Forget the toys, the laundry basket is where it's at! When it's flipped over, you can use it like a walker and push it around the house like the big girl you are, smiling the whole time. When you crash into a wall, you just cruise around to the other side and start in a new direction. Such a smart cookie!

Every day you do something new, but clapping is definitely your favorite new skill. We sing songs and you clap along. If we say "Yay!", you clap and squeal because you know you did something good. And then sometimes you just clap to clap. Why not? You play peek-a-boo with anything you can get your hands on, and if you can't find something, you play with your arms or our hands. You also wave, give hugs and kisses (love those slimy kisses!), and are very intrigued by other children. Whenever there is someone around relatively your size, you stare at them for a while and then crawl right over and pinch them, you little stinker! We'll have to work on that.

Out of all of those wonderful, adorable new things you do, little Bug, guess what my favorite new skill is of yours?

You said Momma.

With meaning.

And reached for me.

Queue: heart melting.

We are also pretty sure you say "Hi" and "Hello," but of course the Momma just melts me. It also makes it worse at night when you want me. You start to fuss and end up standing in your crib, sticking your face down the hallway and yelling "Mamamamamamama." Needless to say, you get me. Every single time.

Oh my, little Bug, I have become a softie. I tear up thinking about how far you've come since February. Every time someone comments on how big you are, or asks a second or third time "She's HOW old?!", I grin proudly and my heart just melts over and over again. Right before your eight month birthday, you stood by yourself. By yourself! You were more shocked than I was when you realized what you were doing, so you sat down. Hah! I have a feeling that walking is just around the corner and my life will never be the same.

Who am I kidding? It already won't be, now that you're in it.

All my love,
Momma

Eight month stats...
Weight: Approximately 19-20 pounds (18lbs, 11oz on October 12th)
Clothing Size: 6 months
New Nicknames: Goobie, Buggie


Eight Month Milestones...
9/29: Clapping, slept in your own room
10/2: Pulled to semi-standing on low items
10/4: Pulled to full stand in crib, started cruising
10/12: First sickness (croup)
10/18: Said Momma!
10/22: Stood by herself

A Letter: Seven Months

Dear Bug,

Wow. Just, wow. You have been so busy this month! I know I say that every month, but it has become more and more apparent to me and your Daddy how much trouble we're in with you - now that you can GO, you never stop moving. 

Ever. 

No, really. I mean it. Ever. If you're awake and not strapped down, you're rolling and crawling and scooting and squealing and talking and singing and GOING. Actually, I take that back - even in your sleep, you're still rolling and crawling and talking. Constantly. You are definitely a busy bee.

Obviously the velcro stage is officially over. I can no longer plop you down and trust you'll stay in a five-foot radius, and serves me right. I told everyone you would crawl at seven months and wouldn't you know it, you did! On your seven-month birthday, you did your first combination of a few "steps." I should have known it would come sooner rather than later - it only took you two weeks to go from barrel-rolling to planking, from hands and knees to rocking back and forth, from a belly scoot to full-on crawling. Thankfully, even though you can crawl, you haven't quite figured out that it's faster than rolling so you do a combination of the two to get around the living room. But believe me, it is definitely efficient - you get from Point A to Point B in no time flat! The dogs never saw it coming.

This month, we traveled to Kauai, Hawaii with both sets of your grandparents. You were such a trooper! For the flight over, we had to leave Kalispell at 6am, which meant a 4:15am wake-up call for a two-hour flight followed by a very, very long day. We met everyone at SeaTac and were able to fly as a group for the five-hour leg of our trip. You did amazing on the first flight, and then equally as great on our second takeoff, but by the time we were landing in Hawaii, you had only napped one hour since 4am. One hour! You graced everyone with an overtired meltdown, and passed out as the wheels hit the ground. Despite the screaming, we had a number of people approach us and commend you on how well you did on the flight. But guess what? That night, for the first time in two months, you slept for eight straight hours! Thankfully on the trip home, you were back to your napping, happy self. We landed back in Montana near midnight, and had even more people approach us about how well you had done. Good job, Bug!

The week in Hawaii was a blast. You got to spend a lot of quality time with your grandparents, and you were able to go swimming for the first time in a pool and the ocean. You are still such a water baby! I cannot wait to start swim lessons with you! You love to splash, blow bubbles, and squeal. When you accidentally got water on your face, you weren't phased one bit. You blinked a few times and then went right back to kicking!


Right after we returned from Hawaii, we finally closed on our new house and were able to settle into Kalispell as a family - dogs included. I am loving having our own space, and you are loving having your toys back. We've been trying to get back on a schedule, and you've settled into a 7pm bedtime and a 7am wake-up, with two naps during the day. You almost always go down for your morning nap quite easily between 10 and 11, but your afternoon nap is usually an argument. Soon, little Bug, I'm hoping I figure you out! It seems like as soon as I think I know what works for you, you switch it up on me! C'est la vie, I suppose.

The final and second most important milestone of your seventh month is that you got TWO TEETH! Your Daddy has been calling them "phantom teeth" for months, and telling me I couldn't blame everything on teething. Well this time I was right! On the 18th, you were a little fussier than normal and not nursing well, then had a rough night. The next day, I was holding you and thought "Hmmm, I wonder..." and decided to check. Guess what had popped through? That little stinker, your bottom right tooth. Three days later, the other front bottom tooth followed. Now you have an adorable little "Teefer" smile and love showing them off.

This was quite the month, Bug. I wasn't exaggerating last month when I said I knew our snuggles would become fewer and farther apart - now that you're on the move, you don't let me hold you unless you're super tired or sleeping. Even when you're nursing, you're climbing all over me, holding my nose, or slapping my arm. You're not content to be held without twisting and turning and looking and lunging, and even at bedtime when you're sleepy, you won't settle down to let us rock you; it's a fight until the bitter end.

Once you're asleep, little one, I always allow myself a few more extra snuggles to make up for your busy day. Some days I miss when you were content to spend hours upon hours in my arms, when being close to me was the only thing that made you happy. Now, being close to me is the only thing that calms you down, but otherwise you're much more interested in the world around you. I would never trade the newborn you were for the little person you're becoming; you are curious, intelligent, and amazing in every single way.

But tonight, when you fall asleep and I'm sneaking in those last-minute cuddles, I'll think of my Momma's favorite book and sing it quietly while we rock: 

I'll love you forever.
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living,
my Baby you'll be.

Until next month - 
All my love,
Momma

Seven Month stats... (no appointment this month)
Weight: approximately 18 pounds
Diaper Size: Size 2
Clothing Size: Six months
New Nicknames: Goober, said with a French accent "Goo-Bear"

Seven Month Milestones...
8/26 and 9/2: First long flights to and from Hawaii
9/1: Swam in the ocean!
9/5: Started planking
9/6: Balanced on knees
9/7: Started rocking on hands and knees
9/8: Crawled two steps forward, then face plant!
9/19: First tooth (bottom right) and started crawling forward
9/22: Second tooth (bottom left) and pushed to a sit
9/23: Crawled!

A Letter: Six Months

Dear Bug,

Six months old. One half of your first year, over. Downhill slide to toddlerhood. Wowza.

I don't even know where to begin, little Bug. I guess we can start with your two biggest accomplishments:

1. We started you on solid foods and you LOVE them. Cucumbers are your favorite!
2. You are completely caught up to your full-term peers and are no longer on a preemie adjusted schedule!

You have become very interested in what we are drinking and eating. At first, it was just drinks. There were a few dicey moments of spilled water at restaurants because your Momma was not paying attention - you lunged forward and grabbed the glass, sending it flying! Now we know better, and it's a good thing because you go for EVERYTHING. You want our drinks, our forks, our napkins, and especially our food. Just for kicks, I sliced an English cucumber into spears and gave you a piece - you absolutely loved it! In fact, when it was gone (or more accurately, when you dropped it and Izzy gobbled it up), you threw your very first tantrum. Ha! You love sitting at the table with the family, so we plop you in your high chair and you eat while eat. We have continued with the cucumbers and added in sweet potatoes, yellow squash, asparagus, roasted apples, and oatmeal. Oh my, baby, do you despise oatmeal. If I had any doubt about you letting us know your opinion, it's gone now. You literally shove the spoon away, turn beet red, kick your legs, and snarl! Point taken, little one, point taken.

Shortly after your five-month birthday, your Daddy and I spent some time house hunting in Kalispell. Momma's college roommate Ashley lives in Kalispell and was nice enough to take us to her parents' cabin and boating on Ashley Lake. You were our little boating baby! We slathered you up in some sunscreen, threw on your polka dot hat, strapped you into a baby lifejacket, and off we went. You loved the boat so much, you slept the whole time! I guess there is some truth to the white noise effect - every time we turned off the boat so we could swim, you were not happy. Turn it back on, and you passed right out!

The other new experience you had at Ashley's cabin was swimming. You absolutely love bath time, so I had a feeling swimming would be up your alley. Boy, was it! Once you got over the shock of the water temperature, you had a blast kicking and splashing and "swimming" in the lake. I think I had just as much fun floating around with you as you did splashing. Such a water baby. Watching you has by far become my favorite pastime - it never gets old and you're always doing new things that amaze me.

Speaking of new things, this month wasn't all sunshine and rainbows in Lily-land. You, my feisty baby, developed something of a witching hour. For about two weeks, my wonderful, happy, sunshiney baby became a hellion every night around 7. I did not know what to do with you! It didn't seem to matter what I tried, you would just scream and scream and scream and scream. I could not, for the life of me, figure out what was wrong. After some trial and error, I started putting you to bed earlier (you've been an eight to nine o'clock gal from day one). Wouldn't you know it? That was the solution! So now, instead of 8 or 9, you're in bed by 7-7:30. As a result, you're now up by 7am as well, but that gives you some time with your Daddy in the morning before he goes to work; he loves his morning "Goob" time.

Because we traveled to Hawaii and were closing on our new house, we had your six-month appointment a couple of weeks late, but your new doctor was very impressed with you! He said you are completely caught up developmentally and don't have to be adjusted to a preemie schedule anymore. You were a whopping 17 pounds, 4 ounces at your appointment - in the 75th percentile! You didn't grow much taller, but the doctor said you'll probably have a little growth spurt to stretch yourself out. Until then, I'll enjoy my little chunk. Short and stout like your Mom, you are all rolls and squishy chins and I just love them.

I just love you so much, little Bug. Every time I smooch your cheeks, you giggle and squeal. You think peek-a-boo is hilarious, and Reef is your best buddy. I love it that I'm your happy place. I love that every thing you see is so exciting and new. Even though I'm exhausted, I love snuggling you in the middle of the night. I love that you love when I snuggle you, because I know it won't be long before you won't want those snuggles. I know that some day you will sleep through the night again, you will take longer naps, and you won't be happy just sitting with me during the day. I can already see it happening as you become more mobile and explore your surroundings every day. I just hope I can continue to be that anchor you can come back to always.

All my love,
Momma

Six month stats (as of September 4th, at six and a half months)...
Weight: 17 pounds, 4 ounces
Height: 25.5 inches
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches
Diaper Size: Size 2
Clothing Size: Some 3-6 months, mostly six months
New Nicknames: The Goob

Six Month Milestones...
July 29th: First boating/swimming experience
August 6th: Rolled back to tummy
August 11th: Had your first cucumber
August 16th: Full barrel roll
August 17th: Started the "V" scoot (tush in the air, push forward on your face with your toes!)