Twelve Months: A Letter

May 28, 2015

Dear sweet Molly,

You are one year old!  I can't believe it:)  That seems so little, but you also seem so big to me.  I remember bringing you home from the hospital that day and thinking our lives would forever be different and my goodness, they are!  You bring so much life and energy into our home and we absolutely love it…and you:)

You are now the cruising queen!  You move all over the place with ease and you barely hold on sometimes.  You let go with both hands and lean into furniture sometimes to eat a snack or drink your  milk, but you immediately sit down if you let go completely.  You are just not ready to step out on your own yet and that's okay.  Brother was a late walker (14 months) and I imagine you'll follow in his path. However, I think you might be the kind to just take off one day…no first few steps…just start walking full-blown!  We'll see; you always surprise us!

You got your fourth tooth on the bottom, so you've been eating everything we eat!  You love anything we give you and you will eat until we stop feeding.  You get so messy!  You love to rub your hands in your hair and smear everything on the tray, but you love to eat and you're not picky so I'm happy about that!  You also transitioned so easily to cow's milk!  We actually think you love it more than formula.  You drink it so good!  It took you what seemed like forever to figure out how to tip your cup, but you eventually learned and haven't looked back.  You haven't mastered a straw yet, but that's alright.  You don't have a typical schedule for your drinking, you just drink all day!  We fill your cup in the morning and it's pretty much gone once breakfast is over.  I fill it up again and you drink til your morning nap (which is typically 1-2 hours) and you drink more when you wake up.  You drink during lunch and until your afternoon nap (which is typically 1-1.5 hours) and you keep drinking through the evening, through dinner, and more before you go to bed!  You love that milk:)

You are all over the place and we really have to watch you…you love getting into things you shouldn't be getting into!  You put anything and everything in your mouth (most recently Jovie's food and poop, legos, money, and kleenex).  When we spank your little hand, you slap the tray or the table or the floor just to show your frustration.  You definitely keep us on our toes!

You had an appointment with the ENT this month and they did a hearing test and decided you were a great candidate for tubes.  You couldn't hear some sounds on your left side and they said there was fluid in your ears.  We made the appointment for May 19 and you did absolutely awesome!

When they got in there, they said you were just days away from having another ear infection and you had a lot of fluid, they said you probably have had a constant ear ache:(  So glad we got this taken care of now!  As soon as we got home, you started talking…pointing to things and saying "this, this" and you started saying "daddy" and "mama" a lot more.  You started reacting to sounds and you were just a lot more aware of everything!  It was amazing to witness…just that first day!  You now say "outside" and "doggy" and "dudas" for Lucas:)

We ended the week of your surgery with a low and a high!  The low was that we had (we thought) some issues with your bowel movements.  It scared us really bad for about 18 hours before we finally got you into the doctor and he reassured us you were fine and it was just a result of your surgery and the medication you had.

The high was your birthday party!  It was so much fun…everything I had hoped for:)  Almost all our family was able to come and our friends too and the weather held off and you did perfect!  I'll have to do another post just about it!  It was so fun:)

The week leading up to your birthday was my last week of school and you came with me 3 of those days!  You just went from teacher to teacher all over different classrooms and you had a blast:)  They loved seeing you and Lucas and I loved having you with me!  We celebrated your birthday with a picnic in my classroom with my students and their parents for the last day of school!  Then we gave you a cupcake after dinner with a candle:)  You had so much fun smashing it!

The next day Daddy took you to the doctor and you got 3 shots (which he said you cried really hard for about 10 seconds) and you weighed 19.6 lbs (26%) and you were 30.5 in long (90%)!   I couldn't believe it…to me you look short and chubby but according to your measurements you're long and skinny:)  Oh well, you are perfect and we just couldn't be happier with the little lady you are becoming!

You are funny, silly, a little bit of a stinker, cuddly (when you want to be), and happy!  You hardly ever cry and get upset and you just go with the flow!  We love this about you:)

We just love you, Molly Ann!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Eleven Months: A Letter

April 28, 2015

Dear Molly,

I cannot believe you are eleven months old!  It is just crazy to me!  I remember this time last year…we had only been in our new house for a few weeks and we were anxiously awaiting your arrival.  We were having baby showers and painting your room and getting everything ready for you!  This year has just flown by!  You are here and you are almost 1!!!

You are so much fun!  You started to wrinkle your nose when you grin and it's so cute!  You are silly and sneaky:)  You cry when things are taken away from you (like when I take my pen from you at the grocery store because I need to mark something off my list!), you love to play in Jovie's water bowl, you love to slide your hands across your tray and knock food on the floor (and when I give you a little slap on the hand and tell you "no", you slap the tray as if to tell me "no"), and you crawl faster when you know you're going somewhere you shouldn't be.  But, you always smile and reach for us when you see us, you give great kisses, you pat our backs when we are patting yours, you love to be rocked to sleep, you always want to see us in the house so you follow us wherever we go, and you will let us hold you for a long time without wanting to get down!  Like I said before, you are so much fun!

Your big events this month were Easter, staying the night with Mimi and Poppy, two big family events (with each of Mama's side of the family), your 4th double ear-infection, and going to several of Daddy's baseball games.  You were a little doll at Easter, it was fun having you and a lot of your second-cousins together and you have loved watching Daddy at his games:)  With this ear-infection, we had a harder time deciding to take you to the doctor.  You had a lot of the signs, but they are also the same signs as the common cold.  We didn't take you until you had a high fever.  In a few days we are taking you to an ENT to talk about our options.  I think one of the big events of your 12th month will be tubes?!

When we went to the doctor for your ear infection, you weighed 19 lbs 6 oz.  You are no longer eating baby food!  You love anything and everything that's put in front of you, even eating more than your brother sometimes!  One big surprise is that you love coleslaw!  I couldn't believe when you took it off my plate at Raising Cane's, but you loved it!  We are going to start transitioning to cow's milk this week, but we are still having a hard time with a cup.  I've tried cups with straws, but you only chew on the straw.  There are a few sippy cups you like, but you still won't tip them by yourself.  Only if we help you lay back will you drink out of them.  Hopefully we'll get there soon!

You are still sleeping great and taking 2 naps during the day.  You are still in 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers and you still have 3 teeth.  Your hair is growing a little in the back, but still not long enough for any kind of pony tail.  You absolutely love being outside and laughing at your brother.  The older you get, the more he interacts with you.  It's so fun to watch you together.  He absolutely loves to make you laugh!  I think he gets you to laugh the hardest!  You love to climb over us when we are on the floor.  You love crawling across the couch and up into Lucas' chair.  Don't worry, you're getting one for your birthday!  You have started saying "mamamama" recently and you consistently say "daddy".  Sometimes when you see him and sometimes when you are looking at the table:) 

Each month you get more fun!  You interact more, laugh more, grow more, learn more and, I don't know how, but we love you more and more!  You are special and such a gift.  We are thankful for you and your life and we are thrilled to be a part of it:)

 
We love you!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Ten Months: A Letter

March 28, 2015

Dear Molly Ann,

Wow!  10 months!  You are getting so big!  You are growing and learning so fast; we can hardly keep up with you.  You are funny, silly and a little bit of a stinker:)

You started the month with another ear infection, which made your third!  This was your hardest one yet...throwing up, crying in pain, and not eating very much at all!  It made Mama really nervous, but we finally got you to drink from your sippy cup, which you got pretty good at.  One more, little one, and we'll have to get tubes:(

Speaking of eating, you eat anything and everything we put in front of you!  You have eaten sausage, pizza, fish sticks, carrots, potatoes, green beans, corn, strawberries, chicken, etc!  You love all of it:)  You still eat your baby food pretty good, for the most part, so we just mix and match.  You aren't total people food, but it won't take long:)  You drink from your sippy cup every night before bed, but you don't hold it very well.  We'll have to work on that.

Your typical schedule is:
-Wake at 6:45a (on a school day) and eat 4oz oatmeal (with formula) and yogurt/fruit
-Nap at 9a
-Wake at 11a and play
-Eat Step 2 veggies and 6-7oz bottle; then snack on the lunch served at Mrs. Kelly's or home
-Nap at 1:30p
-Wake at 3:30p and play
-Eat 7oz bottle at 4:30p
-Play
-Eat veggies and fruit at 6p; then snack on the dinner
-Drink 4-5oz formula from your cup at 7:15p
-Go to sleep at 7:30p

You like to be rocked now, but you don't have to be.  But I'll take it when you let us:)

You are on the go all the time now!  You are officially crawling and pulling up and you don't like to just sit.  You have gone from crawling to sitting a few times, but not on a regular basis.  You don't want to sit still!  You are content to play on your belly:)  Even in the bathtub!  It's hard to keep you on your bottom, so we can't put much water in there.  You want to be on your belly!  Two of your favorite places to be on in Jovie's dog bed and in brother's chair.  You love to crawl in there and you laugh so hard and bury your head in there when we come to get you out:)

You had your first Spring Break and we got to do a lot of fun stuff with family!  You went on the swing and slide for the first time at the park (with our help), you went on your first horse ride (with Mama), went to the zoo again, met Aunt Jana for the first time, and met the Easter Bunny!  We had a great time:)

You are officially in 12 month clothes and still in size 3 diapers.  You babble a lot, but still don't say anything officially.  You clap every time we say "Yea" and you wrinkle your nose now when you smile and show your top 2 teeth (you have 3 now!).  You smile when we tell you know and just start crawling faster and you want to watch your brother at all times!

We are so excited to celebrate Spring with you.  We've almost lived in this house for a year and we can't wait to really enjoy this beautiful weather with you:)

We love you so much!

Love,
Mama and Daddy

Nine Months: A Letter

February 28, 2014

Dear Sweet Molly,

I can't believe you are nine months old!  You have officially been out of my belly as long as you were in.  You are 3/4 of a year old and this year is just flying by!

You had another exciting month!  We started this month going to Grandpa Doug's wrestling tournament!  It was your first trip and everyone just loved seeing you:)  We go every year to honor him and a lot of our family was there too!  We always take a picture of your brother on the 1st place podium and this year we got one of the two of you;)  Oh, how he would've loved you!  He had a special place in his heart for little girls:)

You also started to scoot that weekend.  Your great-grandpa Dennis says that the best way to teach babies to crawl is to use keys:)  It worked!  Uncle Callen jingled his keys and you took off after them!  You look like a little inch bug when you crawl, so I guess it's not technically "crawling", but you get where you want to go and you get there fast!  

You also experienced your first little stomach bug:(  You threw up a few times and wouldn't drink your bottle, but we got you to drink some Pedialyte out of your sippy cup and you did great!  We laid you down on the floor (which is how we taught your brother) and you did really well:)  It didn't last long, thank goodness and you bounced back, but then you got your second double ear infection.  You started coughing and your cough was pretty deep, so we took you in and that's what it was.  You'd think we'd start to figure these things out by now.  

Your second tooth appeared the very next day (on top!) and it's so cute:)  You'd been so drooly.  We can start to see it when you smile now.  I miss your little gummy grin, though! 

We celebrated Valentine's Day at Shogun.  We go there every year with the Rials to celebrate your cousin Megan's birthday!  You looked so cute and you even got to exchange Valentine cards with your friends at Mrs. Kelly's:)

Another big thing this month was your clapping!  We had been working on this for awhile, but you would just stare at us like we were crazy and you refused to even move your arms.  But then one day when you were in your highchair, I started clapping and so did you!  It was so exciting;)  Lucas was watching you and cheering you on and he was so happy for you!  It's so cute when you clap; because every time you clap, you look at your hands like you can't believe they just made that sound.  I love it and want to remember this:)

You also got to experience your first big snow.  It had dusted a few times, but it snowed a lot and we took you out to feel and see it:)  You don't have any gloves or very good clothes, so we didn't keep you out for long and your mix of clothes we put on you looked so silly, but you didn't seem to mind!

You are still sleeping so good at night and one thing that's changed a little this month is you falling asleep on us.  We absolutely love this and capture it whenever we can!  I don't know if it's because of your little stomach bug or your ear infections, but when we get you in the right position, you snuggle up and start snoozing;)  It's the sweetest!

You are now eating bits of real food now...so far you've tried spaghetti noodles with no sauce, cheese, green beans, corn, pancakes, waffles, bagels, baked potato, and any kind of bread.  You also love yogurt melts and anything that's banana-flavored; banana yogurt, banana puffs and banana yogurt melts!  I think we are going to move you to Level 2 fruits and some foods with meat in them.  You devour your supper, so I think we need to bump it up a little.  You are really good at pinching foods and you have loved everything you've tried:)  Maybe you won't be as picky as your brother!  One thing you do that your brother never did is put your hands in your hair when you're doing eating, which results in some very nasty hair!  I hope this stops before your hair gets too long.

You love giving high 5s, especially to daddy, say "dadadadada" and you still laugh at everything your brother does.  Now that you can move around more, he's starting to interact with you more and it's so fun to watch:)  Your relationship is my favorite and I cannot wait to see it unfold!  

We are so looking forward to this coming spring!  You are going to love being outside more, going to Daddy's baseball games, meeting some new family over Spring Break, and experiencing some more fun holidays:)  You are growing so fast and it's so fun to watch your little personality break through!  

We love you so much and are just so blessed to be your parents:)  We pray for your little heart that it would come to know Jesus and love your family!  

Love,

Mama and Daddy