A Letter: Two Years

Dear Bug,

Well, here we are. You are two years old, or as you like to tell us, "I'm almost two!" Insert: big, cheesy toddler grin. I keep reminding you that you ARE two, not almost two anymore, and you just laugh and say it again and again. "I'm almost two!" You silly goose.

I have sat down so many times to write your letters, and as we have creeped closer and closer to two, I have found it harder to put our days into words. I feel like listing your accomplishments isn't adequate; it doesn't capture you, the person you are becoming, or your funny little attitude. It doesn't capture the way you roll your eyes and repeat yourself when I ask you to use your manners, "Please in a noooormal voice," or how you beam when you figure out how to do something by yourself. Written words don't capture the way you say "That. Is. Beautiful!" or "Here you go Mommy, that's for you! Need to share!" How you give us a running commentary of your day, not only in summary but as a play-by-play as well. "I'm digging in the dirt! Using my thumb! I'm SO DIRTY!" "Need to garden." "I'm riding my tricycle!" Better yet, words can't capture your insane sense of style. How you insist on matching, even if what you think matches doesn't quite work. "Need a headband, be riiiiiight back!" "This one matches my outfit! Need shoes to match my outfit." I want to remember that every day when your Daddy comes home from work and changes out of his work clothes, you insist on changing too. Not just because he's changing, but because you need to match him. How if I wear purple shoes, you need purple shoes. How if one of your friends has a bow in, you need a bow too. How if you're wearing a tutu, Ellie needs a tutu. "Need to match Dada! Dada has blue sweatshirt, Lily has a blue sweatshirt!"

A letter isn't eloquent enough, exciting enough - thorough enough - to let you know how much joy you bring to our lives each and every day. You can't hear your little voice insisting that your rain boots are not rain boots, they are "reindeer boots." That all bread products are muffins, all babies are Baby Wyatt or Baby Gage, or how you say, "Excuse me, puppies!" when the dogs are in your way. A letter can't truly capture how you screech "Princess ANNA! Princess ELSA!" every time you hear a song from Frozen come onto the radio. It can't recreate the image of you sprinting into the living room when "Let It Go" starts playing, how you stomped your foot and acted out the castle-building scene, complete with slow arm-raises and fake snowflakes bursting out of your hands. How you sing to yourself all of the time, but you only know a verse or two, so you just trill the same lines over and over to a different tune.

Most important to me, a letter isn't going to remind us how every night, we hear you close your door and pitter patter down the hall some time after midnight. How you try to sneak into our room, tiptoe up to the bed, and whisper, "Hi Mama... Snuggle you? Need to snuggle you." It's not going to remind us how you scream and cry when we take you back to your bed, insisting repeatedly, "Need to snuggle yooooouuuu!" How when we crawl in with you, you grab on for dear life and snuggle in, falling almost immediately back into a deep sleep. How you just want company. A letter isn't going to remind us that at the end of every day, all you want is to be near us. To snuggle. To hug. To love on your Mommy and Daddy. A letter just isn't enough. It's not.

I say it every month, every day - every minute it seems like - but the last few months have flown by. Our days are busier yet also more structured. Our weekends are just as crazy as always, but also seem to be a bit more laid-back now that you are older and more flexible. You have turned into a little person overnight. A little talking, running, screaming, laughing, joke-playing person. You are independent yet also still so dependent. You are insanely busy, but also seem to finally enjoy "relaxing" (albeit sporadically.) You still hate to sleep. You know your shapes, colors, and can (sometimes) count to 20. You can count to ten in Spanish! You love to take care of your babies, giving them baths, feeding them, rocking them, or taking them for walks in your doll stroller. You love to cook in your kitchen - your favorite thing is to make me "chocolate broccoli soup." Where you came up with that, I have no idea, but you're a big fan of all sorts of soup, pretend and real. You love princesses and castles, building lego towers, and playing outside. You love to help, you love to eat, and you love to color. You absolutely love going to Tyke Town (the childcare at the gym), and you love your friends. Ellie "Jo Jo" is your "very best friend." You have almost all of your books memorized and your favorite thing to do is "read" by yourself in your bed or teepee. The fact that you have the correct words memorized to the appropriate pages amazes me - I can walk by while you're "reading" and you usually are on the right page for what story you're reciting. You have a crazy attention span when it comes to books - we could read for hours and hours, and you wouldn't get sick of it. In fact, when you don't want to take a nap, you will happily read in bed for over an hour by yourself! It is so nice to be able to give you that break during the day. Mommy's not the only one who needs to recharge, you do too!

Your biggest pre-turning two accomplishment? You are mostly daytime potty-trained! For safety's sake, you still get a diaper overnight, but you have had very few accidents and are so proud to be such a big girl. Interestingly enough, the potty-training actually coincided with you weaning yourself. About a month before your birthday, you started asking Daddy to do bedtime. Sometimes you would ask for "Mommy milk" after books and snuggle time with Dada, but then you just kind of stopped. A few days went by and you stopped asking for me and only wanted Daddy. We have had a few instances where you've randomly asked for it and had a meltdown, but I have reminded you that it's all gone, and you calm down and snuggle with me instead. A part of me is sad to see that part of our relationship end, but I'm not complaining about the extra snuggles. Plus your Daddy is so happy to be wanted more - in fact, you've pretty much rejected me completely for bed time! After almost two years of Mom-or-bust, he is loving being such an important part of your day. Even if he's exhausted, I think he smiles to himself every time you holler, "No! DADDY do bedtime!"

Oh sweet girl, you are a daily lesson in opposites, as any Mom of a toddler can tell you. I know in the next few months, I'm going to learn more about you, about me, and about our relationship. While two is hardly a piece of cake, it's definitely easier in it's own way. You can walk, you can talk, you can communicate. You are full of love and laughter, sharing and giving, obstinacy and determination, caution and bravery; best of all, you are chock full of absolute silliness. I can only hope that you pass some of those wonderful personality traits on to your new brother or sister come fall. I know it'll be our next big adventure, and you'll be an amazing big sister - you're already so excited. You have a Big Sister book and every time we read it, you interrupt whomever is reading to remind them repeatedly, "Daddy! Daddy! I'm going to be a big sister!" Yes, yes you are, little Bug - but you'll always be my first baby.

Love always,
Momma

Two-year stats...
Weight: 28 pounds, 4 ounces (75%)
Height: 35.5 inches (90-95%)
Head Circumference: 19.75 inches (>95-100%)
Clothing Size: 2T and 3T, size 8/9 shoe (depending on the shoe)
New Nicknames: Toots McGee, Little Monkey, Goose
Favorites: Being outside, Tyke Town, "playing with my friends", climbing - especially rock walls, going to the park, singing, dancing, spinning, jumping.
Milestones: Fully potty-trained, pigtails!, being promoted to Big Sister this fall

{Take Two} 18 weeks

First "official" post, so here's the deal. Like last time, I'm going to do a list each week with a photo, that way we can see the progress! This first one will be a bit more involved info-wise then we'll try and to keep it shorter from here on out. 

A little bit of background: I have been labeled high-risk for this pregnancy due to my complications with Lily. The first trimester was already a little bit dramatic - I had low progesterone levels and was put on an oral supplement to help prevent miscarriage. During a trip to Seattle in my 12th week, I had some spotting and ended up in the ER. The spotting was attributed to placenta previa, which has since resolved (thank goodness!) I then met with a perinatologist (specialist in high-risk pregnancies) in Missoula during my 13th week, and he put together a plan for my doctors here in Kalispell. Right now the plan is to have weekly ultrasounds from week 18 until week 26 to check my cervical length. If it were to shorten at all, I will be given an emergency cerclage. I also started intramuscular progesterone shots during week 16, and will continue those until week 36, God-willing we get there. At 26 weeks, we will back off to appointments every two weeks and hope for the best. If I were to deliver before 32ish weeks, or if it appears that delivery is imminent, the baby and I will go to Missoula. At 32 weeks forward, we will be in Kalispell.

It's all a little stressful, to say the least, so we've been relatively quiet on sharing the news. We are hoping for the best situation possible and hope that this wee one wants to stay put longer than his/her sister! Now on to the fun stuff...

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: The "bump" sure changes a lot between morning and night, and also seems to depend on where baby is hanging out. Like last time, most days I just look like I had too much to eat, although my friends swear it's obvious that it's a baby bump. Mike says I look "lumpy."

Marination Time: 18(ish) weeks.

Weight Gain: +10 pounds as of appointment yesterday (5/27). I weigh the same now as I did at 18 weeks with Lily.

Maternity Clothes: I can wear most of my regular clothes but prefer dresses and leggings. I have two pairs of jeans that still button comfortably, but the rest are too tight through the hip. My shirts are also getting too tight, another reason I gravitate toward dresses.

Fruit of the Week: Grapefruit!

Name: We haven't really discussed it, but we do have a list we've been keeping since Lily was born.

Gender: Unknown, and hopefully staying that way. With weekly ultrasounds, we are hoping this kid isn't an exhibitionist!

Movement: Sometimes. My placenta is now anterior (in the front), so I feel more rolls than kicks or punches. I've had a few nights when I've woken up because the baby has rolled into a ball really far forward and it feels like s/he is trying to escape out the front of my stomach! I also look like I have a softball-sized tumor when s/he does that.

Cravings: Thai food! Fruit in general, but pineapple and watermelon are always delicious. Lemonade. Everything bagels and bread/carbs with a lot of garlic. I can eat a salad any day. The first trimester, nothing sounded good and everything made me sick. I actually was on Zofran up until 14 weeks or so because the only foods that didn't put me in extreme pain were pineapple and crackers.

Annoyances: I am craving protein, but meat is hit or miss. Eggs usually help, but I want a lot of caramelized onions to go with it, and there's only one place in town that makes it right! Haha. This baby also hates tacos. Emotions-wise, I'm much more volatile than I was with Lily. Mike and I both think that's due to a combination of the progesterone (extra hormones are always a good thing to blame) and the fact that I'm more tired, since Lily still only sporadically sleeps all night. I tend to get a little more weepy over things that usually don't bother me, and I also have a shorter temper. I then get frustrated that I don't have any patience, and that compounds the problem. Hopefully I get used to the hormones and it eases up a bit!

Highlights of the Week: Lily is very excited to be a big sister! Yesterday out of nowhere she said, "Do you have a baby in your tummy, Mommy? That's exciting!" She also has a Big Sister book and interrupts you repeatedly when reading it to tell us that she is going to be a big sister. I hope that excitement sticks! 

A Letter: Seventeen & Eighteen Months

Family Photos by Sara Brennan-Harrell, July 24th (17 months old)

Dear Bug,

One and a half. You are one and a half! That is just insane to me. Insane, I tell you. I can hardly believe it most days, but then you remind me that you are a "big kid" and I'm brought back down to reality. You are nothing less than a toddler these days, Bug. An independent, opinionated, terrible, hilarious learning sponge of toddler. You are my daily dose of fun and frustration rolled into one big, giant smiley ball and I am loving every minute of it. (Well, almost every minute!)

For example:

You love to run. You run everywhere. You say "Run! Want run!" when you want to run, or "Running!" when you are, in fact, running. We had our first public tantrum regarding said running - you wanted to run, yet when I put you down, you suddenly had noodle legs and became a speed bump in the middle of the mall. Needless to say, you were hauled out of there like a football and promptly taken home for a nap!

You have to do everything your self. "NO! Self! Lily!" (Pointing at yourself and emphatically taking whatever it is you want, usually shoes, a spoon or a fork, meanwhile shoving our hands away.)

You are a parrot and are repeating everything we say. ("Do you want me to pat your butt to sleep?" "Yesh, pat butt!" and now you yell "butt" as part of your nap/bedtime routine. Oops.)

You still are only stringing two or three words together to create simple sentences, but those sentences are almost always in reference to something you do or do not want to do. Your first long sentence? In between gulps of air, at bedtime, "I don't want to!" Geez, fancy that.

You are recognizing the urge to use the restroom and ask to "potty" most days, but get gunshy when on the toilet. When you have an accident on the floor, you get very upset. When the weather gets colder, I plan on keeping you home for a week and knocking this out. The interest is there, and so are your communication skills, so we are going to bite the bullet!

All of your teeth have finally broken through the gums! Now that they are not sore, you are obsessed with brushing your teeth. Every morning while I get ready, you climb up on your footstool and say "Teef! Brush. Toof-pase, pwease." You don't really brush them, but you sure are excited to try.

You climbed out of your crib and the pack 'n play this month, so you are now in a big kid bed on the floor of your room. I was sad to see the crib go, but it is nice that you can get out of bed when you are ready to be up. It's even nicer at 1am when you can come to me instead of me coming to you; you can wake up and wander down the hallway to us instead of screaming from your crib. This has actually meant that you go back down much faster than before, as you're not all worked up.

You love your girlfriends and their siblings. I can ask you who your friend is, and you sweetly say "Fwiend. Eh-Yee! Lola! (Ellie and Lola)" In fact, if you are being cranky, I can tell you we are going to go play with your friends and you will immediately say "Fwiend!" and run around the house happy. It is so sweet to see you interact more with children your age. I can't wait to see how your relationships with these girls grow as you get older.

You are such a girl! Despite my attempts at keeping the frilliness at bay for now, you definitely gravitate toward all things pink, purple, and girly. You love your dresses, tutus, princess truck, bracelets, and having your hair in a "bow" aka ponytail. If we don't do your hair in the morning, midday you will suddenly touch your hair and ask "bow?" then run to your room to get your bag of bows! You are also obsessed with Minnie Mouse. Obsessed. In fact, that is what you are going to be for Halloween this year!

The neatest thing for me to see at this age is how quickly you learn. It is amazing! While I have always been able to see your brain whirling away as you observed your surroundings, now your ability to learn, catalog, and apply what you are learning is much more obvious. You have definitely hit your 18-month learning leap and the difference is amazing! You never stop talking at home - ever. If we are reading and you don't know what something is, you point at it and say "Dis?" then repeat the word when I describe it. You know some of your colors, and are starting to use them to describe things. You are also bossy - you know what you do and don't want to do, or what you want us (or the dogs) to do, and have no trouble telling us now that you have the words. "Izzy, DOWN! Reesy, dumb (come). Puppies catch it! NO! Momma do (grabbing my hand to do something.)" You didn't say "No" for a very long time, but it is now your favorite word. I guess you wouldn't be a toddler without knowing that one!

I know I say amazing a lot when I talk about you, but the most amazing thing about you this month? You are recognizing your letters! It seemed to come out of nowhere; one day you were playing with your alphabet letters on the fridge saying "S! T! U!" and I was grinning, listening to you, and then you ran over to me with an S, T, and a U in your hands! Out of curiosity, I took you to the fridge and started pointing out different letters and you surprisingly knew a lot of them. I can also ask you "What word starts with the letter N?" and you say "Nana!" You also do A-Apple, C-Kitty, D-Dada, Dog, Down, Done; E-Elephant, G-Do (go), H-Hat, Hand, Hop, I-Izzy, L-Lily, M-Momma, N-Nana, P-Papa, S-Sock, and W-Water (wa-wa). You know the sounds of some of your letters, and can find almost all of the correct ones if I ask you to grab them. You are astounding! And before anyone says I should "let kids be kids," I want you to know that you love it. LOVE it. It is, by far, one of your favorite games - you hate the ABC song, but doing "yett-uhs" is a blast.

Oh little Bug, little Bug. You are still the happiest kid I know, but you still don't like to sleep! The doctor thinks it's because your brain development is moving a mile a minute and just can't slow down enough to take a long break - and I have to say, not only does that make me feel better, I can see what he means. Every day, especially after a nap, you do or say something new. When you wake up between 12-1am, you run down the hallway to me and when I take you back to bed, you nurse and take breaks to talk to me. It's almost like you need a couple of hours to get the pistons firing, and then you have to wake up right then to try it out. Thankfully, I think my body has finally gotten to a point where I'm used to it. If you sleep longer than a three hour stretch, I wake up thinking I got the best night of sleep in my life! Someday you will sleep, and then I will to, but for now I am enjoying that you want to snuggle with me.

Sweet baby, I love you more each and every day. I am so grateful to be your Momma. You are a blessing, a joy, and a challenge. I cannot wait to see what the latter road to two looks like.

All my love,
Momma


Seventeen & Eighteen month stats (as of appointment 9/4)...
Weight: 25 pounds, 4 ounces (75%)
Height: 33.5 inches (90-95%)
Head Circumference: 19.5 inches (>95-100%)
Clothing Size: 18 or 24 month "big kid" jammies, 18/24 month and 2T shirts, 18 month pants, 18 month dresses, size 6-7 shoe (depending on the shoe)
New Nicknames: Terrible Toddler, little miss
Favorites: Reading, shapes, "helping" in the kitchen, being outside, doing your letters
Milestones: Too many words to count, saying longer words and simple sentences, knows many letters and can count "1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10", only up twice a night (usually)
Signs: daddy, more, milk, thirsty, yes, up, dog, all done, music, please, thank you, wash hands, hot, sleepy, bird, food, eat, moose, elephant, want, help me, down, I don't know, diaper, drink, outside, potty

A Letter: Fifteen & Sixteen Months

Bubble fun with your Reefy.

Dear Bug,

The summer has finally started, the weather has been phenomenal, and we are officially on the go! Between playdates, dog-walking, hiking with friends, and traveling, this summer is shaping up to be insanely busy! Forgive me for lumping two of your letters into one but I made an executive decision that outside play time trumps computer time. In fact, the only reason that I'm getting your letter done today is that it is raining cats and dogs and you, my little sleep-fighter, are finally napping. Yes, you - you still don't like to sleep! In fact, one of the biggest changes since my last letter is that we have embarked upon our night-weaning journey. You have fought it tooth and nail, and there have been nights when your Daddy and I haven't been sure it was our best decision. It has been hard. Really, really hard. Parenting, it turns out, can be hard.

You screamed. 
You cried. 
You hit. 
You flung yourself around in your crib.
You signed "Please! More milk please!"
You signed it, over and over again.
You screamed.
You told your Daddy "No no no!"
And you screamed some more.

It took over a week of really terrible nights. And I mean really terrible, horrible nights. Fifteen minute intervals creeped into hours of screaming. I couldn't show my face or an ear-splitting tantrum would ensue. But if Daddy came in? Daddy was okay. Daddy could pat your tush or rub your belly and you would calm down. But if Momma tried to come in? All hell would break loose. Momma was a no-go. 

Did I mention that it was hard?

But night by seemingly never ending night, there was a little less screaming, a little less crying, and a little less hitting. Tearful nights dawned, exhausting days waned, and you got through it. Then about the time we got you sleeping (mostly) through the night with no milk, we had to travel.

Oops. 

Needless to say, we have had a bit of a regression. You've had good nights and bad nights. You've had even worse nights. We would get you down to one wake up, and then we were off somewhere else. First Missoula, then Phoenix, then home. Back to Missoula, back home. Then camping, then home. Then Laughlin, then home. But this week? This week we are committing to you, little Bug. Despite our attempts to keep your schedule the same no matter where we go, that routine hasn't been enough for you to sleep well. So we are going to forego the next trip planned and stay home to get you back in a groove. It may be too soon to be hopeful but lately we have seen a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully being home for a few weeks instead of days will be the trick. You are one stubborn little miss, that's for sure.

Funny enough, looking back, I didn't think you had changed that much in the past two months but reading my notes, I realize you have learned so much in sixty days! You are talking a lot - you seem to learn a new word every day, although you are still very shy about speaking in front of anyone but Momma and Daddy. You are copying everything we do - when we went camping, you saw Papa sweeping the travel trailer deck and then later that morning, we caught you picking up the broom and sweeping just like him! You were so proud of yourself. You love to find birds - whenever we read a book with birds, or are outside, you point them out and say and sign "Bird!" You are also super duper silly - you love to hide behind your hands or the couch, then pop out and say "Boo!" You are trying very hard to jump - during our camping trip, you saw Atticus jumping and now you are obsessed with trying. You bend down into a deep squat, then throw your hands up and say "JUMP!" You are so close! You get all the way up on your tippy toes and almost make it off the ground.

Speaking of tippy toes, you love to walk around on them. Backward, forward, spinning in circles, you love your tippy toes. You also love to kick your soccer ball, dance to all types of music, and climb. Oh boy do you love to climb. You're a little monkey! Your favorite thing to do is climb up the ottoman to stand and dance, giving your Momma a heart attack. Thankfully you are adept at getting off the ottoman safely, either by sitting down and scooting off, or by waiting to jump into my arms. I am dreading the day you figure out that you can jump off by yourself!

You have figured out how to do simple puzzles, and with direction can pick out shapes or animals and put away the correct puzzle piece. You stack four blocks without assistance. You are a total love bug and spontaneously hug and kiss not only your parents, but also your puppies, dollies, and stuffed animals. You know the sounds for a dog, cat, owl, cow, sheep, duck, monkey (complete with arm motions!), gorilla, pig, elephant, bear, lion, tiger, bird, and snake (you hop for frogs and rabbits.) You can point out your head, hair, ears, eyes, nose, tongue, lips, teeth, hands, fingers, toes, feet, knees, arms, legs, neck, knees, and belly button. You can point out our noses, ears, hair, necks, and belly buttons, and love to lift my shirt to show me whenever you have the opportunity, appropriate timing or not. Ha!

You are also a major helper - you know where shoes go, and will put them away if we ask (you also retrieve them when we are getting ready to go somewhere.) When we do laundry or unload the dishwasher, you like to "help" with the chores. You follow Daddy into the laundry room and say "laundry" while moving one item at a time from the washer to the dryer. Whenever I bake, you drag out an apron for each of us and insist that we wear them while I'm in the kitchen. You have your apron and your whisk, and you sit on the floor and mix up some imaginary cookies while I cook. And God forbid I try to take off my apron - you are quite insistent upon us wearing aprons in the kitchen! Of course! That's what they are there for! Where you learned that, I do not know, but it's adorable. Simply adorable.

I could go on and on about all the fun stuff you are doing these days, but I'll end with my two favorite things: I can ask you how old you are, and you smile really big and say "One!" with your pointer finger sticking up! Any time you hear the number one, you show me "one!" with a big grin. You love to hear me count or say the ABCs, and sometimes I can get a two out of you ("Tuh!"), and you love the number ten - when we count, every time we get to nine, you always beat me to ten and say "Teh!"

But my favorite? My favorite is that you are still obsessed with sharing. I keep waiting for the day that you no longer want to share, but for now I will relish in your unabashed love of giving. We were in the airport last month and there was a little girl a few months older than you that was very upset. She was crying and you kept looking at her, then looking at me concerned, signing "I don't know." We ended up in line in front of them to board the plane. You were in my arms and looking at this sad little girl, and you leaned over and handed her your puppy! Your favorite stuffed puppy! The one who looks just like your Reefy. You handed him right over like "Here! He makes me happy, maybe he will make you happy too." I melted. You are such a sweet, sweet girl. (Don't worry, we got him back.)

Oh Bug. Bug, bug, bug. You are the sweetest thing. I don't know how I got so lucky to have such a stubborn yet easy-going baby, but I'm grateful you're mine. You are a feisty, shy, loving, brilliant, hilarious, and conscientious little girl. I am loving the little person you are becoming.

Until next month (with a potty training update)...

All my love,
Momma

Fifteen & Sixteen month stats (as of appointment 5/29)...
Weight: 24 pounds, 3 ounces (85-90%)
Height: 31.5 inches (90-95%)
Head Circumference: 19 inches (95-100%)
Clothing Size: 18 month sleepers, 18-24 month "big kid" jammies, 18/24 month shirts, 12 month pants, some 18 month pants if they're tight fitting, 12 month dresses, size 6 shoe.
New Nicknames: Sweetness
Favorites: Playing games, reading - always the reading!, puzzles, being outside.
Words: Too many to count, simple sentences.
Signs: daddy, more, milk, thirsty, yes, up, dog, all done, music, please, thank you, wash hands, hot, sleepy, bird, food, eat, moose, elephant, want, help me, down, I don't know, diaper, drink, outside, potty

Fifteen & Sixteen month milestones...
4/25: started our night weaning journey
4/27: said Lola and home
5/1: signed "drink"
5/8: signed "diaper"
5/11: says night night, signed "down"
5/13: cut upper left canine
5/20ish: cut upper right canine5/23: said and signed "want"
5/24: signed "help me"
5/27: said down, lily, nana (grandma) and papa (grandpa) in context
5/27: said "my puppy"
5/28: tells the dogs to lay down when I do
5/28: said doggie
5/29: said doctor
5/29: We can ask how old you are, and you say "one!" and put up your pointer finger!
6/14: started bringing a diaper and wipes to us when you need a change
6/18: started some soft potty-training
6/18: signed "potty"
6/20: peed in the potty!
Can open the doors in the house.
Has figured out simple puzzles, knows almost all of the sounds for her animal puzzle.
Stacks four blocks.
Is obsessed with sharing!
Climbs down the stairs the correct way (butt scoot.)
Points out tons of body parts on herself and others.
Climbing everything, loves to climb up on top of things and stand, especially the ottoman.
Trying really hard to jump!
Hides behind her hands or pieces of furniture, then pops out and says "boo!"
Is copying everything we do.
Definitely testing rules and boundaries.

A Letter: Fourteen Months

Dear Bug,

Oh poor, poor Buggie. We've spent the majority of this month sick or cutting molars, so it's been a little rough around these parts. You poor thing! I swear your other teeth were nothing compared to these monsters. You are downright miserable! You don't have much of an appetite, are prone to meltdowns over the littlest things, and to top all of that off, you caught a nasty cold mid-month that you gave to me as well. Needless to say after a few very fussy days, we ended up at the doctor last week to double check that you didn't have an ear infection. Dr. Graham said your ears are pristine, but not only are you cutting all four of those darn molars at the same time, you are starting on your canines as well. Poor, poor buggie! No wonder you're so sad! He gave us the green light to give you the full dose of Children's Motrin at night, and that seems to be helping a little bit. If you're being extra cranky, I can ask you if you need medicine, and you'll walk right over to the kitchen. We're also trying a handful of other remedies from some of my Mom friends, so hopefully we can find something that gives you a bit of relief. Thus far your favorites are frozen sugar snap peas! I'm just glad to find something that perks you up a bit. I miss my happy girl!

Minus all the teething, you're still pretty happy most of the time. I hate not being able to take the pain away, so I've gotten very good at distracting you when you get cranky. Whether it be by playing outside or taking the dogs for a walk, the surefire way toward an attitude adjustment is to leave the house. When I ask you if you want to go for a walk, you say "Walk?" and go get your shoes. I can ask you if you want to go grocery shopping and you'll say "Shop?!" and get a reusable tote from the drawer. You love people-watching! When we roll through the grocery store, you lean around me to get a good look at everyone saying "Whoa!" and "Wow!" when something interests you, especially little boys. Boy, oh boy, do you love little boys! This month we had our first playdate with Zeb (the little boy Auntie B nannies for, he is one month older than you), and what was the first thing you did to him? Walked up and gave him a smooch! He had just woken up from his nap and was a bit taken aback, but after he warmed up, you guys got along famously. You definitely interact more with kids who are a little older than you; I think it may be because they're more your size. You are so tall, little Bug! You tower over other little girls your age. Maybe you prefer the boys because you can't knock them over as easily! Stand tall, little one, stand tall like your Daddy.

This month you've become much more focused on tasks. I love watching your little brow furrow while you intently study something! Every morning you take books off your bookcase and "read" them quietly in your corner of the living room. Your favorites are any that have pictures of animals; you bring them to me, sit on my lap and point out each animal asking "What's this? What's that?" You turn the pages slowly, examining each item. You skip the pages that don't have animals, moving on to the pictures that interest you the most. Your eyes flit from sea otter to baby chick, taking them all in. You always love to look at the puppies and dogs in your books, saying "Puppa! Woof woof!," but you are also obsessed with birds! You like to point out the bird, signing it and saying "Buh!," especially in your Baby Einstein "See and Touch Farm Animals." If you know the sound or action of an animal, you point at it and do the sound/action. You pound your belly for gorilla, put your arm on your nose for elephant, and my favorite: you stick your hands on your head for moose! You are also starting to recognize the images from your books in real life - while shopping with Grandma a few weeks ago, you guys came and found me and you kept signing "Moose! Moose!" repeatedly. I was laughing because I thought you were being silly until Grandma said "Oh, we were just looking at the mounted moose in the hunting department!" You saw one on the wall and had to tell me all about it!

You are a crazy ball of energy these days, little miss. You hardly slow down for a minute! One minute you're in the kitchen "making" us some dinner, and the next you're trying to stand on your rocking chair. Give it another five minutes, and you're sitting in your car honking the horn, hollering at me that you're ready to go for a ride; two minutes later, you're reading books in the corner! Give it a second and you're across the room blowing me kisses and then suddenly you're sprinting toward me, wanting a hug. Then you slide off the couch and run toward the iPod dock, pointing, looking at me and signing music. Oh how you love music! If you're awake, we're having a music party! Whenever it stops playing, you will march right over to the dock, point, and sign "more music please." I cannot believe you can put sentences together with signs. Simply amazing.

You also are slowly putting words together verbally as well. You are definitely more comfortable with signing as your primary form of communication - you point a lot and sign please - but you babble constantly and are starting to say "Bye Dada" and "My Momma." You have a pretty big vocabulary for someone so little, but a lot of it we have to cue you to say. You are very methodical and careful as you learn new words; I sound them out for you and you very closely watch my lips. As I repeat them, you will move your mouth to sound them out, but always in a whisper. You don't say them confidently out loud until you have sounded them out many times before. It is so interesting! A lot of your words are approximations (as they should be at this age), but once in a blue moon, you'll very clearly pronounce a word once and then go right back to your approximation (puppy versus "puppa" for example). Your nerdy Mom finds it all so fascinating! I love watching you figure this communication thing out. It is amazing. Simply amazing.

Oh, little Bug, one more month in the books. One more month of memories, one more month of babyhood down. You are the light of our lives, Bug. Corny as it may sound, it is true. I cannot imagine what we did without you to make us laugh and cry. Seriously - what did we do every day? I'll never know, and I don't want to. Until next month, little one.

All my love,
Momma

Fourteen month stats...
Weight: 23 pounds, 5 ounces (appointment 4/16)
Clothing Size: 18 month sleepers, 18/24 month shirts, 12 month pants, some 18 month pants if they're tight fitting.
New Nicknames: Miss Sweetness, Booger, Booger-butt
Favorites: Running! Reading, going outside, music, climbing, harassing Reef
Words: dada, nana (banana), yes, yeah, book, ball, bath, puff, block, momma, butt, puppy, hi, hello, chex, snack, cat, shop, shoe, backpack, bye, duck, what's that, what's this, kids, fish (shhhh), WOW!, baby, socks, bubbles, bird, whoa, more, walk, giraffe (guh-laff), bye dada, my momma, "woof woof"
Signs: daddy, more/mas, milk, thirsty, yes, up, dog, all done, music, please, thank you, wash hands, hot, sleepy, bird, food, moose, elephant

Fourteen month milestones...
4/5: Said "bye bye"
4/8: Two upper molars broke through, still descending
Running everywhere.
Points all of the time, asking "What's this? What's that?"
Blows kisses.
Points out belly button, toes, fingers, nose, ears, hair, head, tongue, lips (smacks them), hands (waves them), feet (stomps them).
Starting to climb things, loves to sit in "your" chair, or any chair for that matter.
Points at what you want and sign "please."
Loves to kiss boys!

A Letter: Thirteen Months

Dear Bug,

I'm a little late getting your letter done this month, so I'll try not to jump too far ahead of myself with your accomplishments. It seems like you turned one and the next day something clicked. Even though your new skills are not as recognizable as the biggies (i.e. crawling, walking, etc.), when I look back on what you've learned this month, you astound me! It is true when they say that babies learn something new every day at this age. You are such a little sponge, soaking up your surroundings.

You've always been pretty clear at expressing what you do and do not want, making our lives relatively easy thus far, but now I can really see the gears turning when it comes to your receptive language. You understand so much! As a result, your communication skills have shot through the roof. As of your 13-month birthday, you still don't point very often, but you will reach for what you want with your whole hand and sign "more." I can ask what you want more of (listing things: water, milk, food, my phone, etc.) and you will nod when I acknowledge the correct item. If I'm wrong, you just keep reaching for whatever it is you want until I figure it out. You are following direction extremely well - I can ask you to find a specific toy and then ask you to put it in something (basket, toy box, drawer) and you will do it. I can ask you questions and you'll say "Yeah" or "Yes." You can successfully point out your fingers, toes, ears, head, and tongue. You also love to pretend to take care of your baby doll, giving her kisses and hugs, and rocking her to sleep - it is the sweetest thing!

You also initiate systems you know - when you're done eating, you emphatically sign "wash hands" because you know that's what comes next. Then you have to dry your hands, because that's what you do after you wash your hands (duh, Mom!) When you want to ride in the backpack, you will go find the Ergo or wrap, say "backpack" and bring it to me. If I point and ask if you want to ride on the front or back, you will nod when I point to that day's preferred riding location. You know your bedtime routine down pat and if we skip something, you get very upset. One night you were being extra testy, so we decided to put you down early and forgot to kiss Daddy good night! The horror! You kept pushing against me while I tried to nurse you, flailing your arms and signing "Daddy." I finally realized what we had skipped and asked if you needed to kiss Daddy goodnight. You nodded and walked down the hallway to him! Then we went back and you went right to bed with no more fuss. Apparently you like your schedule. Noted, little one, noted.

Contrary to the bedtime fiasco, thankfully you reserve most of your mini-tantrums for when we take something away, not when you can't tell us what you want. The #1 fit producer? At bedtime when we take away your toothbrush. You melt into a puddle of emotion on the floor like the world is ending. How dare we take away that beloved tooth brush! "I was chewing on it! It's pink! I love it! Oh how will I ever go on?"

Mean Mommy alert: it's pretty funny. You are quickly distracted by diaper and jammie time and life does, in fact, go on. Although some nights you are equally as upset that we make you wear clothes. "Why can't I just sleep in the nude, Momma? I don't need a diaper! No, no, no! Oh my goodness, how will I ever go on?" ... And then you fall asleep.

Speaking of sleep, guess who finally is periodically sleeping through the night? That's right, you! Around your first birthday, your Daddy and I were covertly discussing night weaning, hoping that you'd start sleeping a little longer at night. The night before your 12-month pediatrician's appointment, you slept a full 12 hours for the first time ever! We chalked it up to a fluke and prepared a night-weaning plan for the coming weeks, but you did it again! And then again! There were a couple of nights with one wake-up, and a few with more than two, but you still did it often enough to give me hope and some much-needed sleep. You can put yourself down at bedtime and naptime, so when you do wake at night, it always seems to be for a legitimate reason. Because of your ability to do that, our decision (as of right now) is to let you call the shots regarding nighttime. We shall see. I have a feeling you will never be a great sleeper, but I can always hope for the best.

Little Bug, you are such a ham. I think my favorite part of this month has been seeing your personality emerge a bit more each day. Sure, the uptick in communication is a plus, but that's just an added bonus to seeing you shine. You are so funny! I am a little biased of course, but my smiley baby is turning into a full-blown funny kid with a crazy sense of humor. Besides waddling like a duck around the living room, chasing your puppies, and hiding behind pieces of furniture to play peek-a-boo, your favorite thing is to perform. All of a sudden you will stop in the middle of a room, look at us with a cheese grin, pop your hands out and say "Ta-da!" Of course, this always makes your Daddy and I giggle uncontrollably, so you do it over and over again, cracking yourself up. You even laugh in your sleep! The other night while you and I were snuggling in bed, you started smiling like you were having an awesome dream. Then, very slowly, you whispered "Taaaa-daaaaa." I melted! You are the sweetest, sweetest little thing.

Silly Lily-bug, you are a hambone, a love bug, and a crazy emotional roller coaster all rolled into one. I love you so much! I can't wait to see what next month brings.

(Spoiler alert: You still rock.)

All my love,
Momma

Thirteen month stats...
Weight: Approximately 24 pounds
Clothing Size: 18 month sleepers, 18/24 month shirts, 12 month pants
New Nicknames: Hambone
Favorites: "Ta-da!", pretending to take care of your baby, pretending to cook, going outside, still loves reading books
Words: dada, nana (banana), yes, yeah, book, ball, bath, puff, block, momma, butt, puppy, hi, hello, chex, snack, cat, shop, shoe, backpack, bye, duck, what's that, what's this, kids
Signs: daddy, more/mas, milk, thirsty, yes, up, dog, all done, music, please, thank you, wash hands, hot, sleepy
Thirteen month milestones...
3/3: signed sleepy
3/9: signed thank you
3/21: signed please
Understands systems and schedules
Stacks one block on top of another
Puts on Mom's clothes correctly (likes to wear my shirts!)
Can point out five body parts
Periodically sleeping through the night
Feeds herself with a fork, with help loading it

A Letter: One Year

Dear Bug,

I was a little more emotional about your 1st birthday than I thought I would be. There's something you might have noticed about me, depending on your age as you read these, but your Momma is pretty even-keeled. I tend to be annoyingly logical, I don't cry at sappy movies, and I most definitely do not dwell on things that make me unhappy. Yes, I can be a tad too empathetic, but I am not what one would call an overly emotional woman. Sensitive? Sometimes. Emotional wreck? Not usually.

And then you turned one.

In the week leading up to your birthday, I found myself spending hours (yes, hours) losing myself in photos of the past year. My eyes welled up every time I scrolled through your time in the NICU, I choked down tears watching old videos of you "talking" to us, and I could not bring myself to delete even the most horrible, out-of-focus, unflattering images I have of you. Any time someone asked your current size, I would frown and wipe my eyes when I realized that you had, in fact, gotten too big for your 12-month jammies this week. Sniff.

Okay... I may have been acting a wee bit melodramatic.

Not much has changed. Everyone assures me that you are still a baby. A walking, semi-talking, communicating baby - but a baby all the same - and you bet your bottom dollar that I soaked in lots of extra "baby" time this week. I sang to you and played with you. We hiked, we read, and we walked the dogs. The TV was off and the music was on. We danced, rocked, and snuggled. And at 2, 4, and 6am? I tried not to be frustrated. I tried to take deep breaths. I tried to relish that at this time in your little life, you still want your Momma. I drank in that glorious baby shampoo smell and realized deep down that you are still a baby - my baby. And I was finally able to relax.

(Plus there is always coffee. There is always, always more coffee.)

You have become quite the dynamo this month, little Bug. You have added a few more words to your verbal repertoire, the most significant being "Dada." Your Daddy just glows when you ask for him by name! He glows even more when you lunge for him, which you now do without prompting. You even say "Dada?" when you see my phone, so we Facetime Daddy while he's at work and you grin the whole time. I just love how much you love him!

You have become so much better at communicating with us. I feel like every day you figure out another way to tell us what you want or need. When you get frustrated, it's obviously communication frustration, so we've been trying to find signs and signals that help you get your point across. The most effective? "More" and "thirsty." I've been trying to work on "drink" and "water" with you for a few months, but they just didn't seem to be clicking. Then one day I looked up "thirsty" and tried it just for kicks - guess who picked it up that day? It is a much easier sign, and you definitely love to use it! You also have started consistently using "more" and like to use it for everything: more milk, more water, more food, more bath. More, more, more.

In addition to your signs, you have added a few more consonants to your daily babble and are talking up a storm. Your favorite consonant is still B, and it seems that you use "BOW!" in reference to a lot of different things. When we ask if it's time for your bath, you say "Ba! (bath)", hold your Daddy's hand and lead him to the bathtub from the living room. You love to pick out books "Buh?" and bring them to us, proceeding to either sit in our laps or signal "up!" to get on the couch with us to read. You even sit through a book or three when the mood strikes you! When asked, you can also buzz like a bee and growl like a tiger. You do "happy feet" and follow directions, such as "close/open the cabinet." You can point out your head and your ear, and will stick out your tongue or open your mouth on cue. The funniest? You aren't quite running, but you are definitely trying. You stick your arms out behind you and yell "uuuuuuuuuhhh" while speed-walking in circles around the house!

You are also currently obsessed with sharing. I know you don't know what that truly means yet, but it's adorable to watch you "share" with everyone. When you eat, you have to hand us a bite, then when we hand it back to you, you smile and eat it. When we're at play group, you walk over and hand toys to other kids. You even share with the dogs! If you have a ball, you hand it to one of them, and they even give it back to you in a never-ending game of trade.

You are a busy, busy bee little one. You are still the happiest baby I know. People are constantly asking me if you're always so smiley, and I can honestly answer "Most of the time!" You are a total ham, a snuggle-bug, a reader, a dog-lover, an easy-going little lady, and a toddler. But you are still a baby - my baby.

Deep down, I know a line has been crossed. You are no longer an infant. You are one year old. One! When did that happen? Where did the time go?

But you are still my baby. All the time in the world can pass and you will always, always be my baby.

All my love,
Momma

Twelve month stats (as of appointment 2/27)...
Weight: 23 pounds, 7 ounces (94%)
Height: 30.5 inches (97%)
Head circumference: 19 inches (off the charts!)
Clothing Size: 12 months, moving into 18 months
New Nicknames: Buggie Boo, snuggle bug
Favorites: Putting on your coat, your stuffed puppy, reading books, closing doors
Words: dada, nana (banana), yes, book, ball, bath, puff, block, momma, butt, puppy, hi, hello
Signs: daddy, more/mas, milk, thirsty, yes, up, dog

Twelve month milestones...
1/26: First Griz basketball game
2/4: Signed "more", now does it all the time for everything
2/6: Said Dada with meaning!
2/16: Said "nana" for banana
2/19: Signs "thirsty"
Brings books to you to read, then sits in your lap to do so, turns the pages.
Starting to point at things.
Can point out your head and your ear, open your mouth when asked, and shows you your tongue when asked.
Understands direction (open/close the cabinet).
Tries to put on your coat and hat.