16 Months

Dear Gracie,

In the first fifteen months of your life, outside of scheduled check-ups, you only visited the doctor once for a weird rash on your face.  In the sixteenth month of your life, you saw three different doctors in one week.  So not fun.

For about 10 days of this month, you were a hot mess.  First, you got a chest cold that you just couldn't shake.  Then, your eyes turned red and your nose became a faucet.  Once you started running a low fever, we decided to take you to the doctor.  Upon entering the waiting room, you threw up all over me and yourself.  Daddy and I both just stood there in shock for a good 60 seconds before the wonderful ladies at the front desk jumped into action and were cleaning things up and rushing us into a restroom.  My poor little baby, you were absolutely miserable.  One look at the doctor entering the room, and you started wailing and did not stop for about the next hour.  It was brutal.  Finally, they sent us home with directions to start some allergy meds.  As Daddy pulled you out of the car in our garage, you threw up again, this time all over him.  You've probably been wanting to do that for awhile now.  A few days later, and you were miserable again.  You were sleeping in 30 minute spurts at night, and I was functioning like a zombie during the day.  So, back to the doctor we went.  One breathing treatment and a double ear infection diagnosis later, and we were off to the drugstore to fill your antibiotic prescription.  While I was in the store, you threw up all over yourself in your car seat.  Man oh man.  We cuddled a lot that week, on the couch and in bed, something you normally would never put up with.  I guess that was the silver lining in this awful storm cloud.  I got to hold you like my little baby again.  Oh, and I almost forgot, you also had four teeth pop through during this time.  Once again, you were a hot mess.  Guess what?  You survived.  We all survived.

Up until this point, it feels like most of your big milestones have been physical - rolling over, walking, running, climbing Mt. Everest, etc.  This month, your brain seriously exploded (seriously - cleaning brain out of your ears every night after bath time), and Gracie, you are sooo smart!  I mean I knew you would be, but the things you are doing and SAYING are blowing me away.  You have added the following words to your vocabulary - cracker, sticker, cheese, keys, and shoes.  You say everything with such enthusiasm - like every word has at least four syllables and takes you 20 seconds to say.  Cheese is cheeeeeeeeeeese?  Everything pretty much ends with a question mark.  Sticker is hands down my favorite - stchxxxxxxer?  That's exactly how it would be spelled the way you say it.  Your favorite word is probably, more.  You want more of everything.  I've been singing a lot of Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell" to you because of that, but I change up the words.  "You loved my pot-roast and peas, you cried, more, more, more!"  There are a few words that you say over and over that we just can't quite make out.  The other night, at the dinner table, Daddy and I spent a good fifteen minutes trying to figure it out. 
Grace: phire?
Daddy:  fire?
Grace:  oh (shakes head no)
Momma:  fly?
Grace:  oh (shakes head no)
Daddy:  fine:
Grace:  oh (shakes head no)
This went on for awhile, until you deemed us too stupid to converse with, and left the room to talk to your dolls.

Your personality is really starting to shine through, and honey, you are such a little lover!  You've started to give CLOSED mouth kisses (hallelujah!), and make a little mwah sound.  We get kisses, your dolls all get kisses, and Daisy gets A LOT of kisses.  Sometimes, if you really want to get your point across, you drag out the mwah sound so it's more like this...mmmmmmmwwwwwwaaaahhhhh.  Those are the best kisses - sometimes your lips don't even make contact because you are so concerned about the length of the sound.  Also, you started hugging us.  You've never been a cuddly baby, so it's been fun to finally get some affection from you.  You can be pretty judgy about when and to whom you distribute said affection though.  Sometimes in the morning you wake up on the wrong side of the crib, and Daisy is the only one who gets a good morning kiss.  Sometimes friends of ours are relegated to high five only status while you lay a long one on some random kid at the playground.  Fickle, much?

School is FINALLY over, which means I'm home with you full time again until August/Septemberish.  It also means that we went on our annual 4th of July vacation to the Fleming Cottage in Caseville, MI.  This year, you spent the first few days of vacay with Gramma and Papa Jack ALONE, while Daddy and I did adult stuff by ourselves.  This was the first time I've ever been away from you overnight since you were born.  I think I handled it well.  You handled it a little too well.  When we finally showed up at the cottage, you barely registered a smile when we walked through the door.  I was expecting you to throw yourself at us, but I reminded myself that this was a sign that you did just fine without us, which was important to me.  I wanted you and your grandparents to enjoy some alone time together.  We had so much fun during those days Up North.  You attended your very first parade, and sat on Daddy and I's shoulders clapping and waving your little American flag the entire time.  Your little hands had to hurt from so much waving.  Each tractor or fire truck that went by elicited a very enthusiastic "wooooow" from you.  The wows were my favorite part.  You whispered them under your breathe like you really could not believe there was a big tractor rolling right down the middle of Main Street!  I wish I could see the world through your eyes for a day and be amazed again by small town parades and fireworks.  Never lose that sense of wonder and joy - it is so charming!

Last month you were barely walking barefoot on grass, and this month you were getting down and dirty planting a garden with me on our back patio.  There was a raised bed up for grabs out back, so we decided to plant some green beans, cherry and grape tomatoes, and some herbs and marigolds.  Armed with a child sized garden spade and watering can, you were the best helper ever.  You especially loved to pull weeds which actually is now problematic now that the plants have sprouted and you think we should pull those too!  We usually garden for a little bit every morning, and I've started just throwing you in your bathing suit so I can hose you down when we're finished...that's how dirty you are getting!  As a born and raised farm child, watching you run your little John Deere tractor over the dirt makes me so happy.  I take a million pictures of you every morning while you move dirt and pour buckets of water all over the place.  Of course, you often do this while wearing several necklaces and a bow in your hair.  I love how well rounded you are!

I hear you babbling in your room right now, and I can't wait to go pick you up and (hopefully) get my post-nap smooch and hug!  Crossing my fingers that your dreams were full of all the fun we had this morning, and you will grant them to me!

xoxo
Momma

p.s.  You hate having your picture taken all of the sudden.

15 Months

Dear Gracie,

Month fifteen was full of parties and celebrations, and you were always the belle of the ball!  Some of that attitude disappeared, and you were that sweet little girl again giving wet open mouthed kisses to anyone you could grab.

The month started off with your cousin Carolyn's baptism and Mother's Day all packed into one day.  We made the drive to Michigan again, and again, you decided to only sleep for about an hour of that long car ride.  You never wake up drowsily from a nap.  Your eyes just pop open and you say "Hi" to whatever your eyes land on.  You definitely inherited that from your Momma, and Daddy is not all that excited about that.  He's always telling you to be quiet in the morning, and you just run all "I LOVE MORNINGS - WHEEEE!".  I love that about you.  So happy to be alive and surrounded by all of your favorite things and people every morning.  You had absolutely no interest in seeing Carolyn be baptised, and instead ran around the church the entire time with Daddy close behind.  You were a champ going on no naps and survived the whole service and meal afterwards.  Your little eyes were so heavy, but you would just not give in to sleep.  I always see parents carrying sleeping kids around your age and I envy them.  You rarely slow down long enough to put your head down on my shoulder, and I don't think you have fallen asleep somewhere other than a crib or your car seat since you were six months old.  I long to feel the heavy weight of your sleeping body in my lap and arms, but I also love how you just can't bear to miss out on one second of anything.  The world is your oyster, my dear.

Not long after our trip to Michigan, you attended your friend Connor's 2nd birthday party.  You all seemed so grown up jumping around in Connor's new bounce house and eating cupcakes by yourself while us parents sat on the outskirts and had a glass of wine.  You were a little apprehensive of the bounce house at first, but once the other kids were in there and screaming in delight, you just couldn't resist.  You were jumping all over the place (I use the word jump very loosely), and laughing so hard you were out of breath.  For the first time, when something funny happened, you were looking at the other kids to see if they noticed instead of Daddy and I.  You were making friends!  The night ended with you curled up in a chair with the birthday boy reading The Bible.  Awesome choice there, kid.  You were looking at Connor like he was the best thing in the world, and Daddy looked at me and mouthed "oh, shit."  It's too early to be looking that content snuggled up with a boy in a chair!  You were practically batting your eyelashes at him!  Oh boy, are we in for it.  You received a blow up elephant from the part as a parting gift, and now you throw your arm up in the air like a trunk and make a noise similar to what an elephant would make.  I love that your first animal noise after dog was elephant.  Forget those barnyard animals - let's get exotic!

Near the end of the month we made one more trip, this time to see Grandma and Grandpa H on their farm in Indiana.  Your cousin Emma graduated from high school, and we arrived in time to help set up the party.  During this trip, you discovered something that stopped you in your little tracks.  Grass on your bare feet.  It literally was a wall between you and all of the wonders the yard held - the swing, the sprinkler, balls, the sand pile, and Daisy and Wendall.  You absolutely refused to walk on the grass without shoes on for the first 24 hours that we were there.  You ran back and forth on the sidewalk staring out at all the fun like a trapped dog.  We finally put shoes on you so that you could go out and play, but I could not stop laughing.  This little girl who was climbing on furniture and walking into a strange church daycare without a look over your shoulder at me leaving finally found something that flustered her.....grass.  It's just so funny!  You finally warmed up to barefoot grass walking, and even graduated to running on the gravel (that's my little country girl), but for one moment it was nice to see you sitting back and not just diving straight into something you weren't so sure about.

This is the month when I realized something about myself as a mother - I had relaxed.  While I was pregnant with you, and in the early months of your life, I was obsessed with you being this perfect little preppy city baby who had monogrammed clothes and listened to hip music instead of Baby Einstein.  I don't know why I felt the need for us to be so cool and collected.  My favorite moments with you this month involved you being in dirty clothes and messy hair just being Grace.  You cried putting your hands in finger paint for the first time, and instead of being disappointed, I laughed and kissed your tears.  When you decided you didn't want to wear bows in your hair anymore, I just pulled back what I could and sent you off to play.  When you picked to eat a cupcake first instead of your fresh and healthy meal I put together for you at a party, I grinned.....until you wiped your chocolate covered hands on my linen J.Crew skirt.  Oh well, that's what dry cleaners are for, right?  When I dropped my skirt off to be cleaned, the lady behind the counter smiled and said it looked like I'd had a good time.  You know what, she was right, I did have a good time.  What's even better is that you, my darling, had a GREAT time.  Grace, you just keep being you.

xoxo
Momma

p.s.  Here's you and Carolyn during a Mother's Day photo shoot for Gramma F.  You guys are going to be trouble once C is mobile.  I can tell you're already scheming.

14 Months

Dear Gracie,

Remember how I ended last month's letter by mentioning your "spark"?  Oh yeah, that spark turned into a red hot flame of whiny, clingy, screaming toddler mess.  I'm sorry for saying "no" so much to you.  It was pretty unreasonable for me to worry about you pulling bookcases and televisions over on yourself, wasn't it?  Hello, fourteen months!

You entered into a daredevil phase (I hope it's a phase) that is going to give your poor Daddy a heart attack.  You have a small child size table and chairs set that I inherited from my Granny.  So far, it was just a place for you to store books and bowls of snacks and such.  Then, one day, I walked into the kitchen and you were sitting in one of the chairs.  Daddy was working in his office, and unless Daisy gave you a boost up there, you had crawled up into that chair all by yourself for the first time.  You were so proud of yourself until you realized you couldn't get down.  Crap.  We taught you how to turn  around and slip down safely, and you conquered it pretty quickly.  So, for the next oh, two weeks of your life, you crawled up and down off that chair for a solid two hours a day.  Your legs and arms were covered in bruises, and every time you made it up and down, you grinned just like it was the first time.  Check me out, I'm climbing, yo! Cue your parents freaking out that everything in our apartment was almost fair game for you chubby little hands to grab now.

See those necklaces around your neck?  You became unreasonably obsessed with wearing multiple necklaces at all times.  You constantly were taking them off and putting them back on - over and over and over again.  Now, don't get me wrong, it was adorable, except for the times when these necklaces got caught on something you couldn't free yourself from.  Remember the two weeks of chair climbing?  Yeah, you were wearing necklaces during a lot of those climbs, and they got caught on legs and chair backs and your feet and pretty much everything within a twelve inch radias of your neck. Once finding yourself caught, you would instantly melt down and jerk and flop around like a fish caught on a hook.  Heaven forbid that you were forced to slow down for two seconds and try to solve the problem.  Sometimes we would just stand there and be mean parents and try to force you to figure out the snag yourself.  Of course, we always gave in.  You also had a handful of bracelets that you forced all of our guests to put on and take off several times.  Daisy didn't even escape the wonderful jewelry stylings of Gracie.  I would often find bracelets around her paws while she was sound asleep in her bed.  If you become a famous stylist or designer some day, I will be able to say that I knew this was in your future way back when.

So, as of now, Daddy is still watching you during the day while I am away at work.  Now, he is amazing at juggling both you and excelling at his extremely demanding job, but I started to worry that you were a little too isolated in our little apartment.  I love Daisy, but she's not much of a conversationalist.  So, I started setting up more play dates with your friend Connor, and we also started attending a music class.  You absolutely thrived being around other kids.  It made me feel awful that I hadn't pushed this before.  You just light up when you see little humans your own size.  Maybe you didn't know they existed?  You thought you were stuck on this planet with only big people who wouldn't let you play with knives that you found in the dishwasher.  You LOVE music class.  You stand right in the middle of the room and sway to the music, clap, and stomp your little feet while Mr. Dave plays his guitar and sings.  Every time a song ends, you clap, and then you look around the room to make sure everyone else is clapping as well.  If you see someone who made the mistake of not clapping upon completion of the little ditty, you walk over and stand right in front of them continuing to clap.  I laugh so much during those 40 minutes each week.  You love Mr. Dave, you are such a fan girl.  Your favorite part of class is when Mr. Dave brings out a bag of musical instruments for everyone to play along with.  You always grab a maraca, and with some coaxing help pass out instruments to the wee ones who can't fight for one themselves.  Now, there is a good amount of "sharing" going on (i.e. kids grabbing instruments away from each other), but you are usually a good sport about it.  Music class is the one place that you have yet to melt down in.  I wish we had a 24 hour Mr. Dave channel on tv.

You mastered some funny little things this month.  For some reason, you decided to start walking backwards.  You always have this look on your face like "whoa, this is seriously blowing my mind" every single time you do it.  You also sometimes stand with your hands clasped behind your back like you're pondering the meaning of an abstract painting or waiting patiently for your bus to arrive.  It's such a grown up action that it just cracks us up.  You also are mastering scribbling with crayons and playing with play-doh.  Both of which usually end up in your mouth after a few minutes, but I love seeing your little creative juices flowing.  I pulled out some old dishes that I used to play with as a little girl, and we make all kinds of muffins and cakes for our pretend tea parties.  Just please stop sneaking bites of play-doh.  Daddy is convinced that it is making you sick, and even though that is impossible since it's non-toxic, he doesn't need anything else to worry about!

Even though you were a little tough to handle this month at times, every time I walked into the room and saw you swaying your hips to the Hot Dog Dance on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, I prayed for time to stop for just a few days.  I never want to forget the joy that jumps on your face when you hear that song playing.  Whatever is in your hands gets dropped immediately, and you celebrate Mickey and the gang's success by clapping and walking in circles with your arms in the air.  Sometimes I join you.

xoxo
Momma

p.s.  Here you are contemplating your next stroke of creative genius.

13 Months

Dear Gracie,

13 months on this crazy planet with us, and you finally said MaMa - or something that closely resembled that.  After responding "yes, dear" after every utterance of your new word, I realized that you were actually asking for a Mum Mum (a rice cracker you can not eat enough of), and are not referring to me at all.  Bummer.  You're still cute, though.

 

 

This month two really important things happened.  #1.  Your hair finally grew long enough to wrangle into pigtails, and  #2.  You crawled up a flight of stairs for the first time.  The first achievement is important to me because whenever I pictured having a little girl when I was pregnant, that little girl always had pigtails.  Even though I have to bribe you with cartoons to get you to stay still long enough to achieve the style, it's worth it.  Between the dimples, the space between your top teeth, and now your spiky little palm tree pigtails, I could just eat you up with a spoon.  Cutie-patootie!  Now, the second achievement is important in a different way.  While visiting your Gramma and Papa Jack, you walked right over to their basement stairs, and started making your way up all by yourself.  Natural progression right?  Sure, except you'd never in your life had access to stairs to practice your technique before showing it off to the word.  We live in a one level apartment where the closest thing you have to stairs to practice on is a step stool.  While you are quite the independent woman (throw your hands up at me), this is the first physical feat you have accomplished without some sort of coaching or coaxing from Daddy or I.  I was just amazed, as you climbed that mountain of stairs all "no biggie" like.  My thoughts during those three minutes veered back and forth from "yay, you're doing it all by yourself!" to "sniff, sniff, you're doing it all by yourself without me" several times.  By the time your little pigtailed head made it all the way to the top, and you turned around and smiled that sweet gap toothed smile, I was firmly on Team Gracie Master Stair Climber. 

 

I was looking forward to this month since January when I went back to work because I would be home with you for a whole week during my Spring Break!  I had so many plans for us.  We were going to bake cookies, finger paint, visit the library, and wrap up the week spending a long weekend in Michigan with your grandparents.  I had visions of this being the absolute best mother/daughter week ever.  Well, you know what they say about best laid plans, right?  So, of course you got sick, and of course none of our fun activities (except for the visit to Michigan) took place.  You were hot and achy and uncomfortable.  All you wanted to do was lay in my arms on the couch or in bed and watch cartoons or read books.  And, Gracie, that's what we did.  Although I was sad that we didn't create a finger paint masterpiece worthy of filling that blank space on the living room wall, I was so thankful to have the time that I did to spend with you.  I was thankful that I was able to spend hours rocking you and singing to you until you were able to find a few moments of restful sleep.  I was thankful that I was able to get a few tired giggles out of you by balancing various toys on my head.  I was thankful to just be there in that moment with you - sick or not.  I have always had a problem with creating impossibly high standards for myself.  Every night out with my girlfriends needs to create a new inside joke.  Every concert I attend needs to have the best set list ever.  Every run I finish needs to leave me feeling energized like I can conquer the world.  Every lesson plan I put together needs to include something completely out of the box and innovative.  This has spilled over into how I approach motherhood, just ask Daddy, but I like to think I've got it under control a little bit better now.  I've felt disappointed more than I probably should have in my life, but as our spring break to do list laid on the counter with nothing checked off on it, what I felt was completely opposite from disappointment.

 

I mentioned earlier that we made a trip to Michigan to see your Gramma and Papa Jack.  You always have such a good time at their house.  There are always a million people stopping by and a million things to do, and you just play and show off until you physically can not play and show off any longer.  During this visit, you had butter on your toast for the first time, which I admit I totally overreacted about.  Gramma was nice enough to make you breakfast and manage your morning routine while Daddy and I got some much needed extra sleep.  I am a mean mom and make you eat dry toast at home, but I'm pretty sure that small amount of butter did not put you on the road to childhood obesity that I've always obsessed about.  That doesn't mean I started buttering your toast at home, but I'm cutting Gramma a break.  The extended weekend included Easter which meant you got all dolled up in a beautiful pink dress and behaved wonderfully at church.  Well, the first part of that statement is true.  This is the trip when you also decided to give up sleeping in the car.  So, guess who got to sit in the back and entertain you for five hours both ways?  If you guessed Daisy, you are wrong.  She was very comfortable napping in the front passenger seat like the princess that she is.  We read books, we played with finger puppets, I dreamed about the glass of wine that was waiting for me at the end of the trip, and finally I gave in and let you watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my laptop.  I'm loving this age where you have no idea you watch the same 20 minute show three times in a row.  I'm sure this era will die a horrible death just like the era of moving cars make you sleep for hours and hours upon end.

 

This month a little spark come out in you.  You started to make your opinion known a little more and you made it known a lot louder.  I'm nervous to see where this leads.  Thirteen months going on thirteen years it seems like.  You're probably already thinking in your little brain, "Ugh, you don't know everything, Mooooom."  You're right, honey, I don't.  I just know that I continue to be amazed by everything little thing that you do. 

 

xoxo

Momma

 

p.s.  We did manage to make some homemade biscuits during the Spring Break from hell.  Look at how excited you were!

 



12 Months

Dear Gracie,

I am quite late in writing this letter to you.  I think I've avoided the task because I'm still in denial that you are one year old, or as your cousin across the pond, Kitty, would say, "no longer zero."

 

 

I could go on and on about how fast this year went, and how you will be going off to Prom before we know it.  I could also list all of the cute things that you've grown out of, like stopping mid crawl to lay on your side with your little hand up like it's holding a waitress' tray.  I won't though.  I will tell you about all of the new wonderful things you are doing.  How you continuously amaze us and how if you would have lived back in the 1400s, you probably would've discovered America.  In other words, girl, we dig you.  You turning one is a celebration of all of the things we have gained by having you in our lives!

 

In your twelve month, we celebrated the last of your "first" holidays.  There was your First President's Day when we dressed you up as a tiny Barack Obama.  Ok, we didn't actually do that, but I wrote that idea down on my calendar for next year.  I'm drawing a blank on what we actually did on that day, but I think I sang "You're a Grand Old Flag" to you in the morning.  You threw your diaper on the floor.  Not impressed.  More importantly, we also celebrated your First Valentine's Day!  Now, that was a fun day.  Earlier in the week, I helped you make Valentines for all of your friends and family.  You only ate the tip off of one crayon, so it was a success.  We celebrated our love for hot dogs (only the best food evah!!!!) by visiting Hot Diggity Dog for our annual Valentine's Dinner.  Your father and I started this tradition a few years back when we first moved to Chicago. Instead of going somewhere fancy for dinner (mostly because we were broke), we decided to pick the place that made us the happiest.  Nothing makes us happier than Hot Diggity Dog!  We used to frequent this fine establishment so often that the owner, Joe, became our friend.  He knew our regular orders and loved that we found that place romantic.  Daddy and I also celebrated my birthday there last year only a few weeks before you were born.  So, we already knew you were a fan.  You ate dinner before we left, but I could not resist giving you your very first french fry.  You loved it - of course - you'd never had salt added to your food before.  It was like heaven was shining down on you after that first bite.  You just kept licking your lips!

 

Only a few days after writing your 11 month letter, your few tentative steps turned into flow blown strolling around the apartment on your own.  I really think you were spending nap time practicing while we weren't watching.  It was like a switch just flipped, and boom, you were walking.  Unfortunately, it seems you have inherited your Momma's extreme clumsiness.  Sometimes it seems like the walls, furniture, and floor are just out to get you.  I seriously think Daisy has made a deal with them to make your life just a little miserable - they just pop out at your all the time and trip you up.  It is not unusual for you to have several bruises and/or scratches on your face and body at all times.  I'm sure no famous adventurer went unscathed.  There are dangers that must be faced during explorations!  You want to explore everything, touch everything, figure out how everything works, and then usually put almost everything in your mouth.  You will spend long periods of time touching all of the screws in your tricycle tuning it up or taking all of your books off your bookcase and then (trying to) put them back.  Everything fascinates you.

 

You've become quite the loving little girl.  Everyone of your dolls and stuffed animals gets a huge hug at least once a day.  Lately you've been also covering them up with little blankets and giving them little bottles.  Sometimes you give them the bottle in their arm or leg instead of their mouth, but I don't think they mind.  You're already a little caretaker and mommy.  Sometimes these dolls get roped into dance parties with you where you spin in circles until you get dizzy.  You also loving shaking your hips and your little booty whenever you hear music.  Loosen up a little bit though - I'm really hoping you didn't inherit Daddy's rhythm. 

 

Your vocabulary is starting to expand.  We have added hi, oh wow, wowee, and Daisy to the list of words we're pretty sure you are saying on purpose.  Other than that, you speak your own language all day long - loudly.  Daddy is trying to get you to say his name.  He looks at you and repeats, "Dada" over and over while patting his chest.  So, whenever we ask you were Dada is, you just pat your chest.  Between you and me, kid, just humor him and mutter Dada every once in a while.  He changes 95% of your dirty diapers, so he deserves something. 

 

I've decided there is something I have to share with you.  Something bad happened in our country today.  I wasn't sure if I was going to address or not, but I promised myself that when I became a mother that I would never pander to my children.  So, like I said, something bad happened.  When I got home from work, we kept the news on in the background while you played with your Lego's on the ottoman.  You didn't have a care in the world.  You were hitting two Lego's together and giggling nonstop, and I was sitting on the floor with tears in my eyes.  How would I ever explain these things to you?  Someday you will have questions that I probably won't be able to answer to your satisfaction.  Things won't make sense.  I can't stop bad things from happening (and believe me, I would if I could), but I can be there to hug you and provide whatever I can.  Always.  A friend of my mine posted a quote on Twitter that has helped me through this tough afternoon, and I want to share it with you. 

 

 “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”  Fred Rogers

 

Now, you probably won't ever know who Mr. Rogers is, but he was important to my childhood, and these words will always be true.  No matter what scary thing you are facing, there will always be people who are helping, and I will always be one of them.

 

I love you my beautiful child.  This past year has been a crazy roller coaster ride, and it's just beginning.  I can't wait to experience the whole stomach dropping and smile like crazy inducing ride with you.  Gracie, you are a delight.

 

xoxo

Momma

 

p.s.  You were quite the ham at your birthday party.  You look good in green!

 

 

 

 



11 Months

Dear Gracie,

Little girl, you are a not so little 11 months old.  Your smile and giggle light up the room.  I think you are becoming aware of how charming you are, and are using that to your advantage…already. 

 

You learned how to clap your hands this month, and the first few days were hilarious because more often than not, your little chubby hands would miss each other and hit your face or some other body part.  You thought this was absolutely hilarious, and we agreed.  One morning while clapping along to your favorite show “Yo Gabba Gabba”, Daisy decided to come lay down near you.  Your clapping got super aggressive, and poor Daisy ended up with an open palm slap to the cheek.  Of course, you thought this was the funniest thing ever.  Basically, you think EVERYTHING that you do is the funniest thing ever.  You are quite the comedian, and while Daddy and I think you are humorous, you are definitely your biggest fan.  Throwing your sippy cup off your high chair at dinner elicits a belly laugh from you every time – as does sitting through our meal time prayers, but that’s a totally different story.  I love that you think this world you live makes you so happy.  I never tire of hearing your giggles – except when it’s 5 AM and you are awake and laughing at who knows what in your room.  You must already have imaginary friends.

You’ve loved being read to since you were a tiny tiny little thing.  We read before naps, at bedtime, during bath time, and pretty much any other time.  Every morning after breakfast, I always grab a few of your favorite books and sit down on the living floor with you.  It’s easy to tell which books you like because the ones that don’t hold your attention get slammed shut and shoved to the floor.  One morning as I was collecting a few of your favorites and getting comfortable on the carpet, you crawled over to your book basket, selected one more book, and crawled over to me.  Then, you handed me the book, and without any help from me, crawled up into my lap.  I know in the grand scheme of your life that the first time you crawled up into my lap to be read to doesn’t seem like much, but tears quickly sprang into my eyes, and I had to blink furiously to keep them from spilling over onto my cheeks.  I remember how it felt to be curled up with my mom reading a book, and now here you were, patting my arm with your little hand ready to hear about that silly catepillar’s adventures again.  We must’ve read 15 books that morning with my head stacked on top of yours, sneaking kisses and tickles, and it will be a memory that I never forget.

There is something that was very difficult for me this month.  I found a teaching job and went to work, leaving you at home with Daddy for part of the day.  We still spend mornings together eating breakfast, catching up on the local news, and saying good morning to every single one of your stuffed animals.  Then, when you start to get sleepy, I put you down for your morning nap, and I slip off to work.  When you wake up, Daddy takes care of you until your afternoon nap.  When you wake from that, I’m usually home to pick you up out of your crib and we tackle the rest of the day together.  I hope that you are proud of me for moving forward with my career/life goals.  I  do everything for you.  Each time I put together a lesson plan, read an article on a new teaching technique, or sit in on a school meeting, I think about how this can help you.  Will this help you learn?  Will this help the educational system that you will be entering in a few years?  I don’t think that you even notice that I’m gone for those few hours every day.  Daddy is a pretty fun guy to hang out with, and we’re so lucky to have him.  Everyday I come home to stories of how well you ate and slept that day.  It’s like you know you need to help us out, and that we’re all in this together, and for that, I think you my darling girl.  I know that we can accomplish anything together as a family.

You are becoming more and more independent each day.  You stand alone for several moments without any support and have taken a few tiny and very tentative steps.  Daddy and I always try to stay in the shadows and encourage you quietly so as not to startle you, but we really want to grab you and spin you around in our arms.  When you fall down, you just pull yourself back up and try again – jabbering and laughing the entire time.  There is rarely a time that there is not a smile on your face, and you beam confidence.  You’re like “hey, guys, I got this.”  And you do.  You’ve got it, kid.  You’ll be walking soon, and then probably running circles around us all. 

Your love for life and all other living creatures is infectious.  We could all learn something from you and your little dimple.

xoxo,

Momma

p.s. Here are some behind the scenes shots from your photo shoot.  Daddy is the official "Grace Wrangler" for all monthly shoots.  He makes sure that all of your demands are met and that you are on your marks for all of the poses.  His job is hard, and we don't pay him much, but he loves it!

 



Dog Hair

Dear Gracie,

I constantly worry about you having dog hair on your clothes or face.  All of your toys are made out of materials that have crazy dog hair attracting properties.  I vaccuum and dust like crazy, but guess what?

 

 

I really don't think you mind.

 

 

xoxo

Momma

10 Months

Dear Gracie,

You are ten months old, lovebug.  Where has the time gone? 

 

 

It took me almost 15 minutes to take ONE picture of you lying (sort of) on your back this month.  That's a pretty typical expression you've got on your face.  "Mom.  Just stop." 

 

Daddy and I decided that you said your first official word this month.  You've been babbling "momma" and "dada" for a while now, but you defintely don't know what you're saying.  They're just fun sounds that we smile and clap for when you say them.  When you say this first word, you absolutely know what you're saying, and you use it in the correct situations and context.  I am just really nervous that this word might be providing us with a little bit of foreshadowing of what we can expect from you.  Your first word, my darling, is "uh-oh".  Your favorite use of the word is when your are sitting in your high chair while Daddy and I eat dinner.  You raise your sippy cup way over your head, make total eye contact with one of us, drop the sippy cup to the floor, and whisper "uh-oh".....all without breaking eye contact.  You. Little. Stinker.  Uh-oh, indeed.

 

During this month, you graduated from army crawling down on both or sometimes just one of your elbows, to crawling up on both hands, to crawling to the middle of the floor and attempting to stand up by yourself.  Sometimes you make it and stay errect for a while, balancing with a Little People in your hand or a mum-mum wrapper, and sometimes you end up in a small heap of little arms and legs on the floor.  The latter has led to an awesome collection of bruises in varying shades of color all over your body.  To say you inherited my clumsiness is an enormous understatement.  There's usually some delayed crying after you fall, and Gracie, you look absolutely pitiful when you cry.  You push out that bottom lip and hold your breathe for what seems like forever with your face growing extremely red until the wails finally start coming.  I have to admit that the whole thing makes me giggle sometimes.  The best part is that you make sure someone is watching before you launch into 100% beast mode.  It makes me ponder - If Gracie falls in a room without anyone to see her, does she make a sound?

 

While we're on the subject of crying, I must tell the story of your eye appointment earlier this month.  Due to your (now ex) pediatrician thinking she may have possibly saw something not completely totally cool in one or possibly both of your eyes (can you tell how happy I was about this yet?), we made an appointment for you to see a pediatric optamalogist for a full eye exam.  This was an awful experience from start to finish that I'm glad you will have no recollection of, but you won an award that day!  You were the MVP of not opening your eyes for eye drops!  We were forced to hold down your little arms so that the nurse could pry open your eyes and get the drops in there.  She said, "I have NEVER had this much trouble with a baby before.  She has strong eyelids!."  I think it's more that you have a strong will to not doing anything you don't want to, and that you were hungry, but we'll go with strong eyelids.  The award for the strongest baby eyelids goes to, Grace Fleming!!  The crowd goes wild!  My poor baby.  I wanted to swat that nurse's arm away and rock you in my arms, but you made it through.

 

Oh my, how could I forget?  This month was your first Christmas.  We love Christmas, and we put you through a lot of travel and four seperate family functions, but you made the rounds like a champ.  You ripped wrapping paper, played in boxes for hours, smiled for pictures, and made 150 laps around Grandma and Grandpa H's island in their kitchen with your hippo walking toy.  You got a wagon, your first set of pearls, a bike, and more toys than you know what to do with.  You ate ham, beef, kielbasa, noodles, and a bite of cookie that I totally regretted later that night.  My favorite moment was when you put Little People Jesus from your Nativity Scene on the toilet in your Little People Dollhouse and flushed.  Everybody has to go, right? 

 

You spent New Years Eve with Grandma and Grandpa F because we were at the hospital visiting YOUR NEW BABY COUSIN!  Yes, Gracie, you are officially the older and wiser cousin on The Fleming side.  You love baby Carolyn, even though you cried the first time you met her and kind of punched her in the face (on accident...I think).  You love to touch her little hands and pet her head.  After spending most of your days with Daisy, you pet everything.  I can't wait to watch you two grow up together and get into all kinds of trouble (that doesn't involve the police).  I think if you had one piece of advice for baby Carolyn right now, it would be, "let Mommy and Daddy sleep so that they are nice - no sleep = mean Mommy and Daddy."

 

Eleven months will be here before you know it.  You've officially been outside in the big bright world longer than you were taking up residencny in my stomach.  I'd like to say you've already moved mountains in that time.  I love you, little lady!

 

xoxo

Momma

 

p.s.  After months of loving hats, bows, headbands, and anything else we stuck on your head, you've jumped ship.  Nothing is allowed to touch your head for longer than 60 seconds anymore....even if it is adorable.  Believe me, Momma would never make you wear something ugly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



My dreams for you

Dear Gracie,

This freezing cold Monday morning, we are snuggled up in the living room watching the build up to President Obama's inauguration.  You are just a tiny bit more interested in hitting the bathtub button in your Little People Dollhouse (over and over and over) than actually watching the coverage, but I'm sure the importance of this event taking place, and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, does not escape you. 

President Obama will address our country shortly with sweeping ideas of what is to come - his hopes and dreams, and what he wants to tackle in the next four years.  Four years ago on his first inauguration, Daddy and I were still a few months away from being married.  We lived in Texas, and you were only a tiny idea floating around in the back of our minds.  Our world was a very different place than the one we live in now.  I will listen to the President's speech today with a different agenda than I had four years ago because this country that he speaks about now includes you. 

The world you will grow up in is vastly different than the one I grew up in.  You probably will not understand the importance of President Obama being elected as the first African American President of the United States.  He will just be another President to you.  You will never know a time without security threat levels and armed guards in schools.  You will grow up with information (and misinformation) from the media available at all times, and will have to learn to navigate that.  Oh yes, Gracie girl, your world will be different.

Here is what I wish for the President to say to us today, what he wants the country to look like for you.  Here is what I wish for you to know and grow up in, a country that I would be proud for you to call your own.

Let us move away from "red" and "blue" states and back towards the United States of America.
Let Congress soften their hearts and work towards true bipartisanship.  We elect you to do great things for us that we are unable to do alone.
Let everyone be free to love whomever they want and to shout it from the rooftops without fear!
Let us remember that we are all created equal, and that we all flourish together.   
Find the good, and praise it!
Pursue happiness - take risks - move onward and upward never satisfied with the status quo.

All of this and more is what I dream of for you, my dear girl.  I know that just writing down these words will not force these ideas into being.  It is up to me, and my generation to work together to create this country and world for you.  I promise you that I will do my absolute best.

xoxo
Momma

Sneezes and Cuddles

Dear Gracie,

This past week, you have been experiencing the second cold of your existence.  You woke up one morning barely able to breathe with a face frosted with glistening snot you had wiped all over your face and into your hair.  That first day was awful.  You were whiny, grumpy, and cried for hours while I scrambled to find something that would make you smile.  You totally skipped your second nap and did not want a Boogie Wipe within five feet of your face.  By 5 o'clock, I was exhausted and not looking forward to what was sure to be a sleepless night.

Then, something strange happened.  You stopped rolling around on the carpet crafting a dog hair beard on your face and looked up at me.  It was like something in your little brain clicked, and you crawled over to me and lifted up your arms, demanding to be picked up.  So, of course, I picked you up, and you laid your little head down on my shoulder and for those five wonderful seconds that you left it there, the world was ok again.

And then it was over, and you threw yourself down on the carpet and stuffed a sheep from your Little People Nativity set into your mouth.  Thank you for those five seconds when you let me play the role of nurturing mother.  I was re energized for the next three days.  Ha!  Yeah right.  We spent three hours together that night in your room where I attempted to rock you to sleep, and you waved to the stuffed animals on your bookcase and tried to jump out of my arms.

I still love ya, kid.

xoxo
Momma

Banana Back

Dear Gracie,

You have mastered the art of sharing your meals with your partner in crime, Daisy.  When you've finished eating whatever is on your tray, you peek down to see where she is and with one sweep of your arm, the scraps are on the floor and quickly eaten.  The only problem is that sometimes Daisy is not in the best position to receive your leftovers.  Like this morning, she was standing up and your mushed banana landed square on her back instead of in her drooling mouth.  Of course, she couldn't reach the mush, and you and I laughed at her while she ran in circles trying to get it off.  Silly puppy.  But, seriously, she requested that we work on your aim.

xoxo
Momma

p.s.  Next year at Daisy's vet appointment when they tell us for the third year in a row that she is overweight, I'm just going to silently point at you.

Nine Months

Dear Gracie,

It's hard to believe that nine months ago you were still just a crazy alien baby in my tummy.  You make me laugh and smile more than anything on this earth.  Some days when we just sit and play together, my cheeks hurt from all the smiling!

You are such a little lover!  This month you started kissing things.  Yes, things, not just people.  You love kissing Daddy and I, and even Daisy, but you also love kissing the mirror (vain, much?), your dolls, and pretty much anything that you hold in your hands.  Of course, that has nothing to do with us constantly saying, "awww, give it a kiss!"  Isn't that why people have kids?  So they can tell them to do funny things? 

The first few weeks of this month, I was busy finishing up my student teaching, and you were busy causing havoc at our apartment while Daddy was trying to work.  So, to help us out, we brought in the Grandmas.  Each Grandma stayed with you during the day for a week so that we could wrap this crazy chapter of our life up and remain sane.  During one of these weeks, while I was at school, you decided to pull yourself up for the first time on our footstool.  Again, I missed a milestone, but again, I was so happy and excited that you had Daddy and Grandma there to cheer you on, I didn't mind much.  Besides, I was the one who walked into your room a few days later to find a smiling baby standing up inside her crib begging for me to pick her up.  That might've been one of my favorite moments with you ever.  You were soooo proud of yourself standing there all wobbly and slobbery.  You were all like, look out world - here I come....once Mommy gets me out of here.  Now, you pull yourself up on everything, but it's more like look out Daisy - here I come.  Poor Daisy.

Not only did you start pulling yourself up, but you started walking behind push toys without any help from us old people.  While visiting the farm for Thanksgiving, you even created your own push toy by standing behind an overturned laundry basket and pushing it across the floor.  Who needs fancy toys when you're got an old household item and a big imagination.  It's so fun watching your brain work.  Sometimes it looks like maybe you are sitting there solving quadratic equations or finding the square root of pi before you make a move.  While visiting your little buddy Austin, somehow between the two of you, you unscrewed two door stoppers and were having a little sword fight with them.  While crawling at the speed of light across the wood floors of our apartment, you will stop suddenly and become lost in the pattern or irregularities of our old wood floors.  I'm just waiting for the day for you to sit up and tell me it's time that I do a little better job dusting.

Thanksgiving was probably the favorite day of your life so far.  You got dressed in a lovely fall ensemble, played with other kids, and ate a lot of yummy food.  Those are probably your three favorite things to do.  You are just in absolute awe when you see other kids.  Maybe it's because you're not around them often, or maybe you're just going to be a social butterfly like me.  Whatever the reason, you just totally light up when you see other human beings close to your size.  You even love the creepy toddler sized doll, Crystal, that lives on the farm.  You guys have some sort of connection because whenever she's in the room you just can't keep your eyes off her.  After playing for an hour in a toy tugboat, you sat down to eat a Thanksgiving feast of sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, turkey, and rolls.  You were in heaven.  Somehow a piece of watermelon made it onto your plate which led to a complete meltdown midbite (so dramatic), but other than that, it was a good day.  It was so strange for me to sit at the adult table with you and Daddy after sitting at the "kids" table for so many years.  I guess you finally made me grow up...a little.

Not every meal this month was so pleasant though.  You're started to recognize food by color or smell or some other keen baby sense and have learned to intercept any spoon carrying unpleasing bites on it.  Your put your hands out and grunt like "no way - no how, mister!"  You mean serious business.  Your eyebrows get all frowny and you scrunch your nose up.  I know I sometimes throw you curve balls by serving up strange things like kiwi and whole grain pasta, but why after three months of loving green beans are you suddenly denying them entrance to your mouth?  I wish you could just tell me that you're in the mood for Mexican and that's why you tossed the green beans to Daisy.  I would be on board with that because 99.9% of the time I'm also in the mood for Mexican.  Also, you were with me at the animal clinic when the vet told Daisy she had to lose some lbs.  Quit feeding her so much or you will have to get up and take her on those extra long morning exercise walks in the nice cold January mornings.  I don't think you were really paying attention to anything other than how much the other dogs perked up when you squeaked Sophie the Giraffe in the waiting room.  Remind me to never bring that toy within twenty feet of an animal clinic again.

Sometimes I watch you sleeping and search your face for the tiny infant we brought home from the hospital so many weeks ago.  You may not need me every 20 minutes like back then to feed you or change you or swaddle you tightly, but I realize now that I need you every minute of every day.  I love you, sweetie.

xoxo,
Momma

p.s.  Obviously, I am not a world class photographer, but these outtakes from your photo session make my heart happy.  So much sunshine - so many smiles.  You are my sunshine, Gracie!

 

 

 

Eight Months

Dear Gracie,

You are eight months old!  I feel like one night this month I put a little baby to sleep, and in the morning, I walked into your room to find a little girl.  You are growing so fast!

 

 

This month you perfected your army crawl, and girl, you are fast!  Before we realized we can't leave you alone (even for a few minutes) in a room anymore, you got into a few funny places.  You washed your hands in Daisy's water bowl, played in the fireplace, and crawled up on the bottom shelf of our tv stand.  No matter how many toys we place in front of you, you would rather crawl over to the edge of the living room and play with the crown molding.  Living in an apartment with all hardwood floors and a dog, you are often covered with dog hair and dustbunnies that escaped our daily swiffer runs.  We need to attach a mop to your stomach and knees and let you do the cleaning!  Your favorite thing to do is crawl through the tiny space between the couch and the footstool in the living room.  You think it is hilarious crawling through that little tunnel, and probably make the trip twenty times a day.  If someone's feet happen to be in the space, you just keep pushing through until they move.  Get outta Gracie's way!

This was a month full of traditions.  Daddy grew up going to apple orchards every Fall in Michigan, and this is a tradition we are going to pass on to you.  On a warm sunny Fall day in October, we made the hour and a half trip outside of the city to an apple orchard.  With you snugly strapped to Daddy's chest in your Baby Bjorn, we walked through the orchard, selecting several apples from their bins (the trees were empty due to a bad growing season).  You loved the apples!  We would takes bites and let you suck on the juice that ran out and gnaw a little bit on the inside.  You looked like a little vampire with apple juice dripping out of your mouth.  We also visited all of the animals at the orchard.  Your favorite was a little goat that stuck its' head through the fence and begged to be petted.  You were more than happy to help him out!  We took a small break for coffee and apple cider doughnuts (milk and mum mums for you!), and finished the day at the pumpkin patch.  You picked out a little pumpkin which Daddy helped you paint your name and handprints on that night.  I can't wait to go back next year and watch you toddle around by yourself!

The last weekend in October, our family all gathered in Chicago to celebrate your baptism.  It was a wonderful weekend, and you loved all of the attention.  You started off the weekend by dressing up in your first Halloween costume, a cute little elephant, and showing off your favorite neighborhood park for Boopalooza!  There was bobbing for apples, corn mazes, and a costume parade for kids and dogs.  You mainly smiled for a million pictures and checked out the other kids' costumes - we even saw another little girl elephant (you looked cuter!).  The next day was the main event, your baptism.  We dressed you in a beautiful long white dress and met all of your proud relatives at the church.  This was only your second time ever attending church, and the experience really moved you.  It moved you so much, that you had the biggest diaper blowout EVER two seconds before you were called to the altar for your starring role.  I was absolutely frozen in horror and quickly wrapped your lower body in a blanket hoping nothing would leak through.  The next ten minutes were the longest of my life as we handed you over to the pastor.  I don't think I heard a word of the blessing because I was just praying that you wouldn't leave anything on the pastor's all white robe.  Luckily, he was all clean when he handed you back to us, and I rushed to the bathroom to clean you up.  If anyone would've have walked in on us, they probably would have had a big laugh.  I had you stripped down and soaking in one sink and your dress in another.  We finally got out of there in time to hear the last song of the service and take some pictures which strategically hid the large brown stain on the back of your dress and your bare feet.  I can't wait to embarrass you with this story for the rest of your life!

You finally said mama, and in typical Gracie fashion, with a smile on your face, it came out in a devil voice.  You are just the most silly amazing little girl, and you make my cheeks hurt from laughing at you so much!  We've started having dance parties in your room everynight when it time for pajamas, and you love to be dipped and thrown up in the air to "You'll Accompany Me" by Bob Seger.  You always want to turn the lightswitch off, but haven't mastered turning it back on yet.  You get so absolutely excited at times that your arms and legs move at the speed of light and you just giggle and smile (and occasionally growl).  After a month of sleepless teething nights, you are back to your usual sleepy self and nap twice a day for two hours.  I'm so jealous of your life!

You've been extremely lucky to spend lots of time with your grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  We've had lots of visitors, and we even made the trip to Michigan for Auntie Ses' baby shower.  You're going to be a big cousin in about a month!  I can't wait to see you show their little one the ropes, and I can only imagine the trouble you two are going to get into.  You have so much love in that little heart to share.  We  love you, Gracie girl!

xoxo
Momma

p.s. I couldn't resist posting these outtakes from your photo shoot.  I just love to sit back and watch you get into trouble!

 



 



 



Seven Months

Dear Gracie,

You are seven months old!  So, you probably noticed that this month's letter is late again.  Remind me to tell you someday about how this time in our young family's lives is the omghardesttimeever.  Spoiler alert, we make it through ok!

 

 

Look at those chubby little legs!  At your doctor's appointment around the beginning of this month, we found out that you were not gaining weight as quickly as doctor would like, so we put you on a milkshake diet.  No, really we just started you on formula, and cut back on my breastfeeding.  This was tough on me, but you seem to love the formula even though it is gross looking and foul smelling (not to mention what it has done to the presents you leave for us in your diaper!)  After just a week on formula and all of the solids we could get down your throat, you gained an entire pound and were right back on track.  Whew.  In Daddy and I's defense, you weren't complaining when you weren't gaining weight.  We weren't trying to starve you on purpose or anything.  Promise.

 

In month seven, the growling took a backseat to your new favorite pasttime....screaming.  You weren't screaming because something was wrong or because you needed something, you screamed just for fun with a huge smile on your face.  Just like growling, you started screaming everywhere.  You screamed in your highchair when I was feeding you breakfast, you screamed in your jumparoo when Daddy was on a conference call, you screamed in restaurants and coffee shops.  Your grandparents all refered to this high pitched noise as "singing".  If that is the extent of your singing talent, then we don't need to worry about having to sit through choir concerts or school musicals.  You favorite thing to do while screaming is bang your feet on the ground as hard as you can.  We've already established how much of a morning person you are, so I'm sure that the twenty something guys that live below us really love your 5:30 AM vocal and percussion performances.

 

Screaming is not the only thing you were doing with your mouth this month, you also started constantly babbling things like dadadadadada or blablablablabla and you sprouted two teeth!  So many new and exciting things coming out of that tiny little mouth!  I have to say that I thought I would be sad when you inevitably (like a majority of kids) said dada before mama.  I was completely wrong though.  Watching you say that over and over again with a huge drooly smile on your face makes my heart so happy.  You are Daddy's mini-me (we've nicknamed you Brace), so it's only fair that you uttered his name first.  I'm sure mama is not far behind. 

 

The two teeth that made themselves at home in your mouth were not as happy of an occasion.  It took several long weeks for the little guys to make their appearance through your gums, and you were not a happy camper.  You started waking up several times a night, and there was nothing we could really do to help you other than feed your Tylenot every four hours and provide lots of cold chew toys.  I've never felt so helpless in my life....oh wait, yes I have...just a week later, you got your first cold.  Not only were your teeth hurting, you also couldn't breathe.  You learned really quickly that you hates having your nose wiped and that the bulb syringe was the worst thing in the world.  Now, if you would just learn to blow your own nose already things would be fine!  The first night of your cold was the worst.  I sat with you in the bathroom with the shower running for a long time rocking you back and forth praying that it would help your congestion.  You just kept looking up at me like "help me, please!"  Luckily, we all made it through the teething and the cold, although I'm pretty sure there are like twenty more teeth to go.  Is it too much to ask that they all magically come in at the same time?

 

Your have started to overcome your awful stranger danger anxiety and let people other than myself and Daddy hold you for extended periods of time.  You even let Uncle Bri Bri look at you for a few minutes.  Last month the sight of his face sent you into a total meltdown.  It's nice for people to finally meet the sweet and smily girl that I post all of the pictures of.  We spent a weekend at Grandma and Pop-Pop H's house and you finally met the last of your cousins and Aunts and Uncles.  As usual, you were the main attraction, and you defintely put on a show.  Your Great Grandma loved holding you, and I've never seen her smile so big before.  While we were there, you took your first bath in a big tub sitting up all by yourself.  You loved splashing the water with your hands and giggling.  You looked so grown up in there!

 

You started waving goodbye, and Daddy has been working so hard on getting you to do the signal for touchdown.  You are a pretty good student even though Daddy tickles you a lot during your lessons.  You and Daddy are getting along pretty good at home during the day.  I love walking in the door each night to see what you are wearing.  If I forget to lay out clothes for you, Daddy dresses you himself, and he makes some bold choices.  That man is not afraid of color and does not shy away from mixing prints!  He is such a good daddy!  He took a week off from work, and you two did so many things together.  You went for long walks, rode in a taxi for your first time, and did some home improvement tasks around the apartment.  You're a pretty good team.  Being away from you during the day is still hard, but that huge smile you greet me with when I walk in the door every single night is pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

 

I'm sitting here writing this letter with your monitor propped up next to my computer.  You just rolled over halfway and snuggled up to your favorite stuffed animal, Ducky.  I wonder what you are dreaming about.  I hope it's something wonderful!

 

xoxo

Momma

 

p.s.  You love shoes and feet.  Here you are in action after setting your sights on my Chucks.  Pretty much nothing gets in your way!