Saturday, August 23, 2014

12 months

salsa, today is your 1st birthday!
we have had so much fun celebrating you today!  i will save the details (and oodles of pictures) of your party for another post because i want to talk about all the ways you have changed in the past month.  you have been so fun lately!  i really feel like you are understanding more and more and even communicating back to us a few things.

you love puppy dogs (and really all animals) and when we ask you, "did you hear the puppy dog?" you always look out the window in the direction of our neighbor's dog.  you also love looking at animal books and when we say "the cow says moo," you moo back.  it is so cute.  you still babble a bunch and you will try and imitate the sounds we make.

your favorite things right now are books, your farm, and balls.  you will pull a book off your shelf and fuss until we sit there and open it to read to you.  when you see us do this you get so excited and you love looking at the pictures and turning the pages.  you have been playing with your farm set a lot, feeding the horse apples and the cow hay.  you also love playing with balls.  you will bounce them on the floor and roll them to me.  you also love to walk around holding our hands and kick the ball across the room.  i am amazed that you have the coordination to do this already.

you are FINALLY sleeping better.  there are MAJOR hallelujahs going on in this house over this!  there have been a handful of days where you don't make a peep all night and then a few others where you wake up crying but eventually soothe yourself back to sleep.  and in just the past few days you've been taking longer naps.  like 1.5 hour naps.  i was worried something was wrong but your dad just reminded that THIS is normal...you finally sleeping.  i feel like a new woman, ha, ha!

you are eating a ton of food.  your appetite has really increased but your openness to trying new things has not.  you love to eat yogurt for breakfast and then will snack on a blueberry muffin or cheerios.  for lunch, you eat bananas mixed with some other secret food that you would not eat by itself (like a meat or green veggie) or sweet potatoes or avocados.  for dinner you still prefer a BIG bowl of oatmeal mixed with a fruit and usually some cheerios too.  you are still nursing 4 times a day and i am so proud that we have made it for a whole year!

our daily routine now that your brothers are back to school is something like this:  wake up and nurse, breakfast with the boys before they leave with dad in the morning, play time, go for a walk in the neighborhood, play time, naptime, wake up and nurse, run our errands, come back and eat lunch, go down for an afternoon nap, wake and nurse, go get the boys at school, playtime, dinner, bathtime, nurse and bedtime.

you love walking and have taken a few steps on your own on numerous occasions.  your first steps were on august 8.  you still love being outside and you like to walk in the grass and swing on our new swingset.  you have quickly figured out how to climb up our steps so we have to be very diligent in watching you because you are fast!  you still love taking baths, going to the waterpark and getting splashed.  you have no fear of the water!  you stick your feet up on the table and on the tray of your stroller every time without fail.  you do not like being in your carseat when your brothers are not in the backseat with you.  you will play peek a boo and lay down in the floor to pretend you are asleep.  you rub your eyes when i turn on your sound machine and you will snuggle up to me for one last hug before i put you in your crib.  you love to brush your teeth and you will sit still and let me brush. then you will take your turn and i eventually have to take the toothbrush away because you would never give it up.  your 6 little teeth are so cute. 

i'm not sure if i will continue documenting all your new accomplishments each month but i have surely enjoyed doing it for your first year.  you are such a gift to our family and we are so thankful for your life (and cute little smile!).

Friday, August 22, 2014

dear salsa...

dear salsa,

it is the eve of your first birthday and i wanted to write you a love letter.  it was this time at night one year ago that i first felt a tiny contraction and i knew you were on your way.  we were so eager to meet you, especially since you were well past due. 

salsa, you are my miracle baby.  let me tell you a secret.  i never thought i would have a third baby, so when i found out i was pregnant i was so happy despite the morning sickness.  then we received the phone call that took my breath away.  the ultrasound revealed something funny and we needed to see a special doctor.  i was so scared that the baby i had always dreamed of was going to be taken away.  but the Lord made you special and protected your life.

salsa, you have made so many of my dreams come true.  i dreamed of having a baby outside of the hospital with a midwife and despite your health complications, that dream came true. 

i dreamed of successfully breastfeeding a baby since this did not go so well with your brothers.  i knew from experience that you would be great regardless of our success, but we did it!  you are turning one and you have been exclusively breastfeeding since you were 4 months old.  you were taking a bottle of formula at night for the extra calories but then one day you decided you would not take a bottle anymore.  snuggling with you while you nurse is one of my favorite things ever.  my breastfeeding dream came true. 

i dreamed of having a baby naturally without the use of drugs and while this was not easy, your dad was a great support and we did it.  your birth was the most amazing experience of our lives.  you were born into the water and you were so calm.  we couldn't believe how content and alert you were.

i've learned so much having you as my third baby and as an older and hopefully wiser mom.  i've learned that there is no such thing as spoiling a baby.  it's okay (and good!) to carry you around in my boba baby carrier.  it has not made you a baby that never wants to be put down.  i am not your pacifier...i am your comforter, your nurturer, your safe and secure place.  and i love that.  even if it's not convenient.  i know how fleeting each stage is so with the Lord's help, i've looked at each stage with different eyes this time around, especially the hard stuff because i know from experience that it is only a season and will be gone in a flash.  i've learned it's okay to nurse in public and we have nursed just about everywhere.  and it's not weird or inappropriate. 

salsa, you remind me of the simple joys in life as you discover and marvel at new things.  you challenge me to evaluate and reevaluate my parenting.  your health reminds me to be thankful to God for all things.  salsa, i am so glad you have launched me onto this road of parenting a little one yet again.  you have completed our family, grown our faith and keep us on our toes. 

i love you.
mom

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

1st day of school 2014




here we come 5th and 3rd grades!


summer 2014 is over and we are on to another school year.  burrito is now in logic school and in a different building than noodle.  he is getting so grown up! ugh!  i love, love, love noodle's teacher and am so excited for his year in 3rd grade.  he is such a good student and a sweet spirit.  i'm thinking 5th grade will be a pivotal year for burrito.  school gets pretty serious so i'm expecting some growing pains and praying for grace.  walking them to school today reminded me of how grateful and thankful i am (or should be!) that they have this opportunity to attend a private, Christian and classical school where i really do feel i am able to partner with their teachers in the education of my boys.  it is a gift.

and just for fun and because i love being nostalgic, i thought i would include past pictures of the first days of school.
Pre-K
Kindergarten
1st and Pre-K
2nd and Kindergarten
3rd and 1st grades

4th and 2nd grades
5th and 3rd grades