Alyssa Update-9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 months

Oh my, where has the time gone? I was really hoping to post every month and get a good snapshot of Alyssa's first year, but here we are and I am 9 posts behind. So, I am going to try and catch up, maybe give you a couple sentences and a picture for each month. So, here goes...

9 months-Alyssa has been crawling for about a month and a half and pulling up and letting go for about a month, so I wasn't surprised when I looked over at the ottoman where she was standing, saw her let go, and take a couple of shuffle steps. She has also figured out how to navigate the single step from our kitchen to our family room. By the end of the month she was able to walk about 7-8 steps on her own. She also has started pulling everything out, she got a little purse and she empties it, her diapers all come out, she pulls Zachary's trains out of the box. It's a great game! She's still very smiley. She takes 2 good naps a day and we try to fit them in around the boys' school schedules. It's a fun time!

(November '09)

10 months-Alyssa has learned how to stand up from just the floor--not needing to pull up first. Once she figured that out, there was no stopping her. About a day later, she has chosen to walk exclusively. She now only crawls if it is absolutely necessary! I feel as if she is going to talk any day now, but we'll see. She wasn't as interested in Christmas as I thought she would be, she was just happy to walk around looking at everything. She is starting to roll over in her swaddle during her naps, so I know it's time soon to get rid of it. 10 months--I didn't even know it was possible to swaddle that long. She's doing better at night, but is still often up a couple times for a pacifier or who knows what. I am hoping that still gets better!

(December '09)

11 months--As you can see, we are still working on getting hair. I can't believe that she has stayed bald for so long! Zachary had so much hair, and even the boys had their first haircut at 11 months. She got this rocking horse for Christmas and she loves it! She can really get it rocking and she loves the song it sings when you push its ear. Her other new fascination is scarves. She is always reaching for mine on my coat. She loves to put it around her neck and walk around with it. She comes over to me with this amazingly proud look on her face. We also got rid of the swaddle and she is actually napping very well. She will nap for at least two hours in the morning and I will often have to wake her up to take Zachary to school. It's fun because then I get to spend all the time Zachary is at school with her and she is awake for all of it. Sometimes, she will take another nap before everyone is done with school and I have a neighbor who is in middle school come over off the bus and watch her (translation-sit in my quiet house while she sleeps) until I get everyone picked up. It's great!

(January '10)

(January '10)

12 months--Oh my, a whole year has gone by already. As you can see, we still have no hair, and we still are not saying any words, but just recently, she has really started to understand what we are saying. It's fo fun to ask her, "Where's your pink blankie?" and to have her start searching the room for it. She is still sleeping really well for her naps. She still wakes up at night, but maybe seems to be getting a little bit better. All in all, she is such a joy. She is still a peanut. She weighed in at 19 lbs. at her one year check up. We hope to hit 20 lbs. soon!

(February '10)

13 months--Ah, the weather finally warmed up enough to get outside a little. As you can see, we still have snow, but Alyssa got her first real pair of shoes and she wanted to get outside in them! She is loving walking around with her new "pink" push toy that Grandma just thought she had to have for Christmas!

(March '10)

14 months--As we start to head into the warmer months, Alyssa just keeps on growing. She is now pretty much eating everything that we do. As you can see in this picture, she especially loves chocolate chip cookies (or maybe this was an oreo--this is the problem with doing this so much later). Anyway, she eats most everything that we put in front of her. She likes spicy chicken a lot and lots of veggies as well. She has all 8 teeth in the front and by the way she is chomping on her fingers, I would gather that we will be getting some molars soon!

(April '10)

15 months--We finally got into May. That's always one of my favorite months. School is getting ready to get out so the kids are excited and we get to go to Pella for Tulip Time. Alyssa wore the same top she wore last year. However, this year she needed a skirt to go with it. She looked just darling and loved looking and touching and smelling all the tulips. I love this picture because I think it's hilarious that the tulips are taller than she is. She is getting ready to wean down to one nap, but with Zachary starting preschool at 12:45, I just can't give that to her yet, so she will take one big long nap from 10:30-12:30, and then I try to put her down again when the boys get home from school, but with soccer it makes it really hard, so she has been a little tired this month. She has been sleeping pretty good at night. I'd say about half the nights we don't hear from her at all and the other half she will cry out, but we don't often have to get up with her anymore. Hopefully we're getting there!

(May '10)

16 months--Wow! This is when things really start to get fun! I love this age. When my children get to this age, this is when I start thinking, "Gosh, I'd like to have another one!" However, we won't! :) Did I mention we are addicted to the pacifier still. I guess I'll try to start taking it away around 2. She is really good for the most part and we keep them in the bed. As you can see, she still can manage to sneak one on me every once in awhile. In the picture, I had been drying my hair, so she went in her room, grabbed a pacifier, and climbed up in her recliner to read! She loves books (the teacher in me is so proud!) and loves to be read to as well as read them on her own (even if they are upside down!). Her hair has started to fill in and it's been fun to put little pigtails in them. She has become a climber as well. I don't remember any of the boys being able or wanting to get up on things like she does. We'll just have to see where that gets us! She has transitioned seamlessly to one nap. Really, she has been the easiest of the four. She will sleep for about 2.5-3 hours each afternoon, but I'm not sure where I'm going to get all that time once school starts again! She has now gotten three of her four molars and seems to be working on the fourth one. I love watching her little brain work and I'm still waiting for the day when words just pour out of her mouth. So far, we have mama and dada--I think.

(June '10)

17 months--And that brings us to where we are! Here you can see my little fish up at the lake! She is loving summer! She aches to be outside and I can't keep her still once we are. She loves to put her suit on and seems to think that swimming diapers are for pooping in (if only they weren't so expensive, potty training-done!). She loves to interact with her brothers and all of the sudden we are starting to get some real words! She says, mama, dada, no, I don't know, uh-huh, ball, book, bug, bee, and sometimes Cassie (Grandma's dog). There are other things that she will say on occasion, but I wouldn't call them words yet. Although I can do pigtails in the back, I am still waiting for some hair to grow in on top. I want to do ponys on top of her head! Hey, she's my only girl, let me have my fun! :) Anyway, she is a very bold and brave little girl. Just yesterday I found her sitting on top of the kitchen table. I wish I had run for my camera! I'm sure it will happen again. She gets knocked down often, but only lets it bother her when she is tired. As I pass through each of these stages for the last time as a mom, I am trying to treasure each one and hope that I have enough pictures to help me remember each of them. Each child has been different, but fun in so many ways!

(July '10)

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Busy Social Calendar

We went out to dinner last week Friday, as per our usual custom since school has started. On the way there we were discussing what we were going to do the next day. Zachary has learned how to ride a two wheeler, but doesn't really want to do it. I wanted him to see that if he keeps going, he can go on a bike ride, just like his brothers. So, I started talking about all the places they could go Saturday, the bike path, the park, etc. It was supposed to be beautiful so I thought it was a good day to be outside.

Kyle takes in all the conversation, and then says, very boldly, "That sounds like fun Mom, but I don't think I can go. I have a playdate with Reece tomorrow."

Excuse me, what?

I have not been informed of this playdate, so I say to him, "Honey, I haven't talked to Reece's mom to see if he can come over."

Kyle says, "That's okay Mom, I'm going over to Reece's. I just need you to tell me how to get there."

Well, at that point, Kyle and I had to have a serious talk about how playdates work and how I have to talk the the other child's mom and so on. Anyway, fortunately, the next day was beautiful and all his friends were outside playing and he kind of forgot about it. However, I did talk to Reece's mom and she said that Reece woke up saying, "What time is Kyle coming over?" So it was definitely planned between the two of them.

I'm having trouble adjusting to him getting so big and being so social and I'm starting to feel left out. Reece's mom said that she would love to find a day to have Kyle over (that was just not a good one) and if/when that happens, I won't be staying and that will just be another part of his life that I don't know everything that happens. Letting go is getting harder and harder and while I'm ready in some ways, I'm definitely not in others. I want to make sure I can still guide him, we all know he still needs it. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it altogether, both physically and emotionally. What a big boy he is!

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I'm Thankful For...

Yesterday in school, Zachary had to color a turkey and on it his teacher wrote all the things that Zachary told her he was thankful for. He turkey read like this:

"I am thankful for my trains, my cars, Kyle, my mom, my dad, and my baby Alyssa."

When I talked to him later, I said, "I think you forgot someone."

He replied, "No, Jacob is not my friend."

A little sad, but I found it funny too because every day after school Zachary just can't wait to play with Kyle while Jacob is usually throwing fits because he is so tired. Jacob usually wants to play with a grown up or gets mad at Zachary for every little thing they do together. I can understand why, at this point in time Zachary might not consider him a friend.

Little does he know that he has three friends for life, and I am so grateful for all of them!
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The Sweetest Thing

I was telling Alyssa's birth story the other night to some friends and I had a memory that I had forgotten about. I wanted to write it down so that I don't forget about it again because I think it is just about the sweetest thing that my mom has ever said to me--not that there haven't been other sweet things, but this has stuck with me.

My mom was supposed to be with me for the birth of Alyssa--my only daughter, my last child, I wanted my mom in there. However, due to the speed of her birth, my mom didn't make it. She arrived about 10 minutes or so after Alyssa was born, around 10:00 or so. She stayed with us and hung out through my recovery time and through the move to the postpartum room. My mom has this intense fear of being over-present in our lives so she tends to go a little too far in the opposite direction and I wish she was around a bit more.

So I kept waiting for her to feel like she was intruding and say she was going home to get some sleep, it was after 1:00 in the morning by now. However, she stayed, and I don't remember exactly what I said, but it was something like, "You don't have to stay if you don't want to, but you are welcome to." Her response was something that just struck me and I don't think I'll ever forget it. She replied,

"I'm not ready to go yet."

I don't know why I love her so much for saying those words, but it makes me tear up just thinking about it and picturing that night. It just reminded me how much Alyssa and I are connected to her and how much I want my daughter to grow up to be just like her. She is so strong and seems to need no one, but at that brief moment in time, I saw that she needs us, maybe not as much as we need her, but some, and that meant all the world to me.

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Sleep

Okay, so those of you that know me know that when it comes to sleep, I am a bit of a fanatic. The one thing I cannot stand is an overtired child, especially my own. I find that this is when a lot of behavior problems occur and my children especially struggle when they are tired. Now, this doesn't mean that I won't occasionally skip a nap or stay out late for something special, but in general, I protect my kids sleep with my life.

When my children are napping, my house is generally quiet. There is often the general noise of a household, but I don't let the bigger kids play upstairs, I usually send them to the basement. Zachary often gets to watch a movie during Alyssa's naptime.

Today I am stressing out big time! I have repairmen here who I desperately need here. I have not had a washing machine for over a week and a half and they are here to fix it. However, I know that Alyssa is not going to get the nap she needs. Add on that I can feel a tooth getting ready to pop through, so she hasn't been sleeping as well, and I am preparing myself for one cranky child for the next couple of days. This makes me so sad because Alyssa has always been such a happy girl and I find myself just wanting to cuddle her so that she isn't so cranky. Well, that's not working so well. Did I forget to mention that she pulls up and is constantly letting go and standing on her own for 5-6 seconds at a time? This means that even cranky she wants down and wants me to sit by her while she does this and then cries when she falls.

Last night she was up three times crying. One time she cried for 10 minutes, but the other two times, it was a couple of cries and she went back to sleep. I know that this is not helping her situation either.

Ah, this too shall pass!
B

Alyssa Update-8 Months

Since our beautiful baby girl is going to be eight months old tomorrow, I think I will skip seven months and go right to eight. So much has happened these last few weeks, I don't even know where to start! I guess that the big milestone is crawling. The video that I posted below shows the progression over the last month of her getting to crawling. She has been crawling for about the last two weeks. Then just a few days ago, I found her like this:

She still can't pull up on the couch or things like that, but I know that it is not far away. Her crawling is very purposeful. She doesn't just crawl to explore, she only crawls if she thinks it will get her somewhere that she can stand up. I don't know if this means she will be a early walker or not, but she definitely knows what she wants. She often crawls to me and reaches for my hands so that she can pull up. She does it pretty easily with me compensating for her balance! You can also see in the video that she has started to bang toys together as well. Soon she'll be clapping! If you listen closely (not to me of course-yuck!) you can hear her babble some too. She likes the gutteral sounds--you'll hear guh, guh, guh.
She is a very good eater. She especially loves finger food. Here she is starting to hold her own sippy cup as well. She still has cereal for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, and fruits & vegetables for dinner. Someday she will start to grow hair, although she leaves hats on her head and lets me put cute headbands in, so I am hopeful that she will leave bows and barettes in as well!

Alyssa continues to be a very go with the flow kind of girl. However, my hubby has agreed to work from home Mondays and Fridays so that I don't have to wake her from her afternoon nap at 2:45 to go get all the boys. I also have a neighbor who is in 6th grade who comes on Tuesdays and Thursdays when she gets off the bus from middle school at 3:20 so that I don't have to wake her then either. Both situations have helped me be more at peace with everything. I was feeling so cruel constantly waking her up. This photo is from Wednesday when I have to wake her up twice, once for gymnastics in the morning and then to get everyone from school in the afternoon. I still swaddle her for naps and here I even took the swaddle off and she was still sleeping. She is so peaceful, I hate to have to wake her, even if it is just one day a week.

The video is about three minutes long. I tried to keep it short. I am hoping to post another video soon of Zachary making her laugh. It makes me laugh to watch it. I hope you get the same reaction.

Alyssa still loves her pacifier. We are getting better about not having to go in at night and give it to her, but we still do if we have to. I am already dreading th day that we have to take it away from her. She also still loves her little pink blanket. For those of you who know what I am talking about, we haven't lost it yet! I was given some fabric to make more, but just haven't called the right people yet.

All in all, I continue to be in disbelief at what a good baby she is. She is still a peanut, but developmentally is right where she needs to be. I said to my hubby the other day that it is all going too fast. She is no longer an infant, now she is just a baby. While is some respects, that's great, some parts of babyhood can't go fast enough, others I would like to linger around for a bit. It just seems like we are always in a rush. For example, on Wednesdays, her day literally goes like this: wake up, nurse, play while mommy dresses, high chair for breakfast, dress her, stroller, bed, car seat, maybe play for a little while, nurse, car seat, lunch, car seat, drop Zachary at school, car seat, bed, car seat, pick Zachary up, car seat, pick boys up, car seat, bottle, play a little, dinner, nurse, bed. For the most part, she just does it, but I always feel for her. I know that she will get her time, but I guess these are the pitfalls of being a youngest!

I love you Alyssa Diane!

B

Happy Birthday Zachary!

Well, here it is, a whole nother year has gone by. The little boy who at this time last year was my "baby," has now been replaced and has become a big boy four year old! Happy Birthday Zachary!

ZACHARY

Age: 4

Personality: Lovable, Happy, Independent, Stubborn-When you have your heart set on something, you have to get it, everyone else, beware!

Favorites:

Food: Anything that you consider a snack--even PB&J can be a snack if we eat it at a different time or away from the table, chocolate milk, ice cream, cake, peas, bananas, pasta, meatballs

These are pictures from Zachary's birthday dinner at the train restaurant. There are two sort of close to us-he really doesn't care which one we go to, so long as we go!

TV Shows: Dinosaur Train, Thomas, Sid the Science Kid

Movies: Awesome Trains, ABC Trains

Toys: Thomas trains, GeoTrax, Matchbox cars, Big Wheel

Games: Hi Ho Cherrio, The Number Game, I Spy

Dear Zachary,

You seem so grown up to me. I can hardly believe that you are four already. You have learned so many new things this year. You can count to 20 without skipping any numbers, you are starting to learn all the sounds that go with your letters, and you can almost ride your bike by yourself! You are as stubborn as your mom, so it's no wonder that we butt heads sometimes (er, often!). You continually surprise me at how fast you can learn something. You recently moved to a booster seat in the car and you can already buckle your own seat belt. You really didn't know hardly any letter sounds and now that you have been in school for a month you are not only learning them quickly, but you can remember them when I ask you about them. You are starting to have friends and it is a joy to watch you play with them. You can be so considerate in making sure that your friend has enough toys to play with (however, as long as they are not the ones you want!). You have a very special relationship with your brothers-I can tell you love them very much. I love how you always want to hug and kiss Alyssa before she goes to bed. I love to hear you say, "Good night! I love you!" She really loves you too. You have become the brother that can really make her laugh. You two will be very close as you grow up. You still love trains-not sure how long it will last, but for now other interests are few. I can't wait to see what happens in the next year--just know I'll be watching and loving you every minute of it!

Love,
Mommy

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