Welcome little lady!

Oh lucky day!

The night you were born....

At our weekly doctor appointment your doctor informed us that he would be going out of town for the three days before your due date as well as the three days after. Ummmm what!???? He suggested that we could induce labor if we wanted to since your due date is only a week away. This was quite a shock for your dad and I. We felt a bit pressured to make the induction appointment because apparently the hospital has been super crowded with new babies and we may not even be able to get an appointment in the next few days. So..... We made the appointment for bright and early Wednesday morning and then went home to sleep on it (or in my case talk to everyone I know who has ever had a baby and get their opinions).

After much drama and deliberation we decided to wait. I really wanted to let you come on your own time. Just as in life I hope not to rush you into doing things if you're not quite ready.

Wednesday was a regular day for us. We took your brother to his class, came home, had lunch, took naps, I prepped food for dinner, and we spent the afternoon playing in the backyard.  I was having some cramping but I had been having that a lot so didn't really think too much of it.

As the night went on it was getting a bit worse but then would subside. I started trying to time the contractions but they were still quite irregular. Around 9:30 your dad suggested I come up to bed and try to get some sleep.  I lay down in bed but there was no sleep for me! I started timing again and this time they were getting closer together and the pain was increasing. By 11:30 I knew it was time!

We called your grandma penny to come over right away to stay with your brother and we rushed to the hospital.

We checked in around 12:45 and the nurse came in right away to start monitoring you and my contractions.  They were definitely getting stronger and closer together. I was dilated to a 5 when we got to the hospital.  The anesthesiologist was on his way to do my epidural. It seemed like we were waiting forever but it was really only a short while until he arrived.  While we were waiting your Grammy and Poppa arrived but they had to wait in the waiting room.

After the epidural G&P came back in the room and we spent the next hours or so chatting with my nurse, Cathy.  She grew up here as well so we all know a lot of the same people! Pretty soon it was time to meet you!

Dr G arrived and said it was time to push.  I asked for a mirror so I could see you when you were coming out.  The pushing was fairly quick - maybe 5 or 6 contractions and you were out!  I helped pull you up onto my chest and we snuggled immediately.  You have a very loud voice and you definitely let us know you had arrived.  When the nurse came back in to check on us and you were still crying she suggested nursing you - and you latched on right away and then you just camped out there for the next couple of hours until they took you to the nursery to get weighed and measured.

Welcome to the world sweet baby girl!  Our lucky little leprechaun!  Your daddy and I are so in love with you and we are thrilled to have you - our daughter - to make our little family complete.

Happy birthday little lady!

Little man - 26 & 27 months

Communication 

Your language has turned into full blown conversation. You use words like "probably, always, never (as in never ever ever ever), under, over and sometimes".  Your communication baffles my mind and I am shocked every day by how much you say and understand.  You love to give the play by play of everything that is happening and what everyone is doing.  You talk to your animals when you are in bed and you sing to them too.

Right now!

You want everything done - right now! And if things don't happen the way you want - boy oh boy can you throw a tantrum! You throw your little body down on the floor in less than 2 seconds.

You are singing more and more songs and the words are getting clearer and clearer. You sing Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy bitsy spider, the hokey pokey and If You're Happy and you know it. You also sing the ABCs.

You can count to 9- and higher sort of :) but you always skip 10 and 11. Haha!

You've started counting before you do everything - 12345 it's quite funny.

You love playing in the yard more than anything and you will dig in the dirt for hours.  You like to dig with your dad and pull up worms from the dirt. You also spent lots of time this month digging up these gigantic roots in the dirt.

We have been talking more and more about Sis coming - and you seem very excited! You love to help me do her laundry and organize in her room.

Your truck obsession is still in full force.  You now know the names for most of your trucks including excavator and backhoe.  You would rather watch garbage truck videos than anything else on TV. 

Eating

You are trying more new foods.  You would live on "snacks" if we let you.  Your favorite thing lately is your snack cup - which we fill up with a mixture of Cheerios, cranberries, raisins, cheese bunnies, almonds, pretzels or other items you request.  You still love milk and fruits and vegetables :)

Sleep

You have remained consistent the past couple months with your one long afternoon nap and bedtime around 8.  You are a pretty good sleeper.  Lately at naptime you don't want songs anymore or even books - you say "get in bed right now momma.  Open the door, close the door, go downstairs momma."  Such a big boy.  At bedtime your dad sings you songs and sometimes you will call for him to come back for one more song.  So sweet.

Love you more every day kiddo!

Little man - 25 months

I know I say every month that your language is exploding but this month I feel like you learn 20 new words every day!! It's amazing to see the changes.  You have started putting together 4,5 and 6 words and making sentences! You say "mama in the kitchen" "dada go up the stairs" and you repeat EVERYTHING we say!

We went to Disneyland for your birthday! It was really fun and we all had an awesome time. We stayed at the Disneyland hotel so we were already down there in the morning and also to come back for nap time.

You are loving your class at school and you really look forward to going.  You were sick the week after Disneyland so we couldn't go and you kept asking for "friends? Friends?" It's very sweet.

Right before you got sick you started taking these really short naps in the afternoon and I was worried that you could possibly be done with napping?! But thank goodness after you were feeling better we are back to your two hour naps.

You still sleep great at night and this month we added a pillow to your crib which you love.

You are becoming super independent and you want to do everything yourself. "Johnny do it" you say very adamantly when you want to do something.

You started a sports class with your dad and the first week you played soccer.  You scored 3 out of 4 goals for your team. You threw a couple goals in - but still pretty awesome!

Little man - 2 years old!

Well kiddo I can't believe you're already two years old!!!!

What a whirlwind these first two years of your life have been.

You are the funniest, sweetest and smartest little guy - and I feel so proud every day to be your mama.

Play

You are really into imaginative play - you will play with pots and pans and pretend to cook for the longest time! You like to give everyone a "taste" of what you're making and recently you like to pretend to use spices just like mommy does.

You are also super into trucks - especially garbage trucks - and you like to watch garbage truck videos on YouTube. We don't let you watch very much tv or videos but when you do that is always your first request. Or Mickey Mouse! You love Mickey and I hope you are excited to see him in person at Disneyland next month.

Talking

The past month you have had a talking explosion.  You will try to say pretty much anything and you copy everything we say. You also like to give the play by play of what's happening. Dylan - down. Mommy -eat. Jon - shoes. You are putting together a couple of words at a time and you are making connections that amaze us! You are starting to remember things and we can ask you questions about what you did or who you saw and you will tell us.

This month we realized that you know the words to a lot of the songs that we sing together. If we stop singing you will fill in the missing word or phrase. You do this for Wheels on the Bus, Row your Boat, some of our nap/nighttime songs and the one that blew me away was the ABCs!!

You also know some of your letters! You know D for dada, J for Jon, G for gram and M for mama. Such a smartie!

And you can count! To 5 for sure and sometimes higher.

You said your name at carpet time at school for the first time this month. We had been practicing and when we asked "what's your name?" You would say "you" and then finally you started to say "Jon" 

Eating

You have some days where I can't give you enough food and other days where you only take a few bites - even of your favorite foods. You are trying more new foods and you like to eat the "same" food as mommy and daddy.

You like chicken strips, chili beans and hot dogs but you would eat preztels, veggies and fruit for every meal if we let you. You still love your milk and pouches of any kind.

You recently discovered that you like sweets - just like the rest of your family - and now you ask for a "treat" much more often. If we are eating anything sweet you will always ask for a bite and then you always ask for "one more" even before you've finished the first bite. Ah yes - a true sweet tooth just like your mama!

Sleep

Your sleep has been consistent this month with one long nap in the late afternoon around 1-1:30 and bedtime around 8. Over the past several months your daddy has started putting you to bed and you love this new bedtime routine.

You love to be in your bed and often don't want to get out in the mornings. You like to talk and sing and snuggle with your animals - you sleep with your Ellie and a stuffed hippo aptly named Hippo.

You are a great helper around the house - you love to unload the dishwasher, help to put clothes in the laundry basket and of course "clean up" - your favorite thing is to use the DustBuster or vacuum to clean up messes.

This past month we have watched you turn into such a little boy! You are asserting your independence every day and always want to do things yourself with no help. 

Can't wait to see the changes over the months to come! 

Love you sweet boy

Xo

Little man - 23 months

Hard to believe that you are almost 2 years old! Your personality is so funny and you have a great sense of humor. You like to tease us when we ask you silly questions (who loves you the most? You'll say Duke or Dylan the dogs) and you definitely know just how cute you are. You are the sweetest kid and you give big squeeze hugs and of course big kisses too.

We've had some big changes this month and you've handled it like a champ. We moved to a bigger house at the beginning of the month. You love your new room and bathroom and you especially love your play area and the yard!!!! You could stay out there all day looking at leaves and pretending to water all the plants with a hose.

Play

You recently discovered play dough and you love it. We roll it out and make cookie cutter shapes. You also like to color with crayons - for a short time. Your favorite thing is cooking with my pots and pans and using your Pom poms to cook. 

You like to pretend to clean by sweeping, using the DustBuster and vacuuming.

In the middle of playing you will stop and walk to the door like you're leaving. When we ask where you are going you always say "poppa" - sometimes you will carry something with you to the door like you're going to work like daddy :)

Eating

You are expanding your eating choices - finally! You like scrambled eggs and you are back to eating spaghetti and turkey meatballs again. You tried taquitos (Annie's organic black bean and cheese) and you liked them! It's nice to see you trying new things, even just a taste. You are still obsessed with pretzels and pretty much all fruits and veggies.

Sleeping 

You go to bed around 8 and sleep until 630/7. You take one afternoon nap - anywhere from one hour to 2 1/2 hours depending on the day! It's been colder this month so you are sleeping with heavier blankets in your crib but you mostly like to cuddle with them rather than actually use them as covers.

Talking

You mimic everything we say! We have to be careful about our choice of words. You have started saying "you" or "me" when you want to do something yourself. You are very clear about what you want - you will take our hand and say "up" and "walk" and then take us to where you want to go. You understand EVERYTHING! It's amazing. We can give you two step directions and you totally get it. Following them is another story..... No actually you are a pretty good listener and you are very helpful around the house.

Pumpkin patch and Halloween!

Picking pumpkins at underwood farms. You would have stayed here all day if we could :)

Trick or treating at your school

Halloween night - we went trick or treating with Makoa and you guys had a blast! Your favorite part was after you got the candy saying "bye byyyyyyyyyy" to the people at each house. Hilarious.

Little man - 22 months

Play 

You are obsessed with cooking! You take out all the pots and pans and you pour and stir beans or your Pom poms in them. You also shake your spices into the pot.

You love to sing and dance and you have started doing hand motions when we sing Twinkle Twinkle and Wheels on the Bus.

Behavior

You are such a big kid now. It's amazing to see the changes in your personality as you discover the world. You are becoming more independent every day. You have started throwing tantrums when you don't get what you want - when you want it. However you also understand when we say "first we need to do ----, and then you can have ----." Sometimes this appeases you for a short time.

Eating

You are starting to try more "regular" food - meaning you will eat what mommy and daddy are eating. You love chili beans, and you like my homemade pizza - yay!

You have started trying sweets too. You like vanilla ice cream.

You like bacon too!

Sleeping

You are an amazing sleeper. You sleep with a lightweight cotton blanket now.  You take one nap in the afternoon from about 1-3 and you go to bed around 745/8:00.

Talking

I started a list of words you can say last month - and we got up to about 50. Now the list is so long I can't keep track. You try to copy everything we say! And you've started carrying on these long conversations of jibberish that I'm sure will make sense very soon.