Ellie: 12 Months

Dear Ellie,

12 Months. One. I cannot believe a year has passed since you were born but I also can't remember what our life was like without you in it (well maybe, there was a bit more sleep). Before you were born I didn't understand how I would possibly love another child like I loved your sister. I worried that your first months and first year wouldn't be as good or as intentional as Molly's had been. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to divide my attention and love in two - to be able to be a good Mom to two littles was daunting.

And then you arrived and you were perfect. A little sister for Molly. Another baby girl for Mom and Dad. We were so happy and that love I was worried about, wow did it ever pour right out of me. Over this past year I have lived through all those wonderful and hard newborn and baby days and while I didn't enjoy every minute of it (not a big newborn fan) I did relish in the sweet moments that I will try my very hardest to never forget.

From the first day, you were different than your sister...milder, calmer, more relaxed. It was like you knew what I needed, you knew that I would have to juggle between you and your sister and you just went with the flow. I was so lucky that you understood this or I might not have survived. Watching you grow, all the milestones - smile, laugh, roll over, sit up, crawl, stand up - it was just as magical the second time around. My very favorite is when you get so excited and happy that your legs kick and your entire body just kind of lights up. And that dimple...oh my goodness that dimple.

So what I am trying to say is, you are perfect in our eyes and we love you more than we ever thought possible. Our family needed you to be whole and we are so glad you are here. I look forward to this next year ahead and all of the fun we will have. 12 Months. It went by so fast.



Stats: 
20 lbs 12oz
30.5 inches tall
Teeth: 4 (2 top, 2 bottom)

Likes:
Opening and closing doors (any and all doors)
Unloading things and loading them back up
The door stop, loves to play with it
Climb...everything is something to climb on
Sliding
Balloons

Dislikes:
Being told No
Having to be still (getting dressed, diaper changes, car seat etc.)
Being removed from a dangerous climbing situation

Milestones/Firsts:
First Birthday!!
Blowing kisses
Taking a few steps (I give it 2-3 weeks until she is walking for real)
Going down the slide
Eating cake!

One More Day (second time around)...

I published a post the day before Molly, my 4 year old, turned One about the last day before her birth. It was the last day of my childless life and I had absolutely no idea how dramatically and quickly my life was about to change (in every possible way).

Now here I sit, one more day until my second baby girl, Ellie, turns One. Tomorrow morning when I wake up I will have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. It blows my mind. This last year has been amazing but its also been hard, trying, utterly exhausting and so many other things. Having a second child didn't rock my entire world the same way having our first did, but once again everything we knew about our daily life was turned upside down. My then 3 year old went through her own growth pains as a new big sister along with the rest of my family as we learned how to exist and be happy as a family of 4. But here we are. 364 days later. We survived. And my goodness how we are blessed. So blessed.

This time last year was just a normal day and we were not even close to being prepared to welcome our second baby. Her due date was 3 weeks away. My midwife had checked me and I was barely 1 centimeter dilated. We had time.

Chase and I were on the couch watching a movie. It was around midnight and I got up to go to the bathroom. When I did my water broke. I looked at Chase and started to kinda freak out. I wasn't ready. Molly wasn't ready. I thought I had a couple more weeks to soak in my first baby and plan a few more adventures. But the baby was ready and she was coming.

I called my midwife and told her. She told me to go back to bed and try to relax while we waited for things to really get started. So I went and curled up in bed and tried to really enjoy the quiet, the calm, the normal before everything would be turned upside down again.

364 days ago...

Ellie: 11 Months

We are in the final stretch...one more month (more like 2.5 weeks now) and my little baby will be ONE. Its hard to believe it has been near a year since we welcomed this little girl into our family. We are so glad you joined us Ellie Belly...our family wouldn't be the same without you!



Stats: 
21(ish) pounds
Size 4 diapers
12-18 mo and 18mo pants
Teeth: 4! They are so cute.

Likes:
Balls...loves to play catch
Pointing at things
Waving
The play kitchen
Blueberries! (just like her sister)

Dislikes:
Running out of food
Being forced to be still (diaper changes, putting clothes on)
Not being able to reach something
Being in the carseat

Milestones/Firsts:
Pointing at things
Waving hi and bye
First New Years
3rd and 4th tooth!
Says "Dada" and knows who that is

Sleep:
Decent but still waking up once at night. We are putting an end to that very very soon.

Life:
The past couple weeks Ellie got hit with a cold and then a stomach bug. Not fun. But she is healthy again now and back to her happy self! She loves to just be on the move and explore. She likes going to new places but HATES being in the carseat...just whines and cries the entire time. She really loves being outside and I can't wait for the Spring and Summer, its going to be so fun! Ellie smiles constantly and also makes this little scrunchy face that is so adorable, especially now with all of her teeth poking through. We just love this girl to pieces!

Ellie: 10 Months

10 Months! Getting so close to the big ONE. Ellie is so fun and such a goofy sweet spirited baby. I am so excited to continue to see her little personality develop. I can tell she is going to be so different from her sister, her own person. This past month has been great and before we know it we will have a 1 year old!

Stats: 
Probably around 21 lbs or so
Wearing size 4 diapers
12 mo clothes and a few 12-18 items
Teeth: 2 and quickly on her way to more

Likes:
Pulling up and cruising around furniture
Pulling tissues out of the box
Making a b-line for the dog water and food bowls...she loves them!
Bath time w/big Sister - they are so cute in the bath together

Dislikes:
Diaper changes
Getting her clothes on for the day
Putting her pajamas on at night (you would think someone was beating her, the screams and cries - oh my!)


Milestones/Firsts:
Cruising - she pulls up on everything and then just cruises around going after different objects
First Christmas
Second tooth!
Sort of saying "Mama" but sometimes its "Mamamama"

Sleep:
Hit or miss. Sometimes we get a 2hr nap, sometimes its 30 minutes. She is going to bed easy again at night but is still waking up 1x a night between 3-6. Currently we are letting her cry it out for a few min and if she doesn't go back to sleep I feed her a small bottle and she will sleep til around 8:15 or so. We are going to have to man-up and do a little more training so she will start sleeping through the night consistently.

Family:
Ellie LOVES being around her sister and often times trying to play with whatever Molly is playing with. The dynamic between the two is getting interesting but I can tell that when E gets a little bit older they are going to be the best of friends. Ellie has also gotten a tad better about her Mommy separation syndrome. She will actually let me turn the opposite direction from her without having a total breakdown. Yay!

Ellie: 9 Months

9 Months in - 9 Months out. Insane to think that she is quickly on her way to turning 1! This past month she has really gotten mobile, crawling fast and pulling herself up constantly. She laughs all the time and will give you a big ol' grin for just looking in her direction. She is feisty about certain things and hates to be still for even a second. I used to think she was going to be our more chill child but everyday I start to think that we will definitely have our hands full with two high energy girls. I can hardly remember life before Ellie now and she is so special to our family. We love you Ellie Belly!



Stats: 
20lbs 1oz, 28" long
Wearing size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night
Wearing 9-12 mo and 12 mo clothes
Teeth: 1! - her first tooth finally broke through on the bottom. yay!

Likes:
Pulling anything and everything off any surface and onto the floor
Eating (current favorites are sweet potatoes, grapes, cheese, green beans and puffs)
Playing Peek-a-Boo
Her play table

Dislikes:
Mom walking in the opposite direction (she really, really doesn't like this)
Her sister loving a little too hard
Being in the carseat for more than 5 minutes

Milestones/Firsts:
Pulling up - girl is everywhere!
First Thanksgiving. Dominated the food portion of the holiday.
First extended period staying in OKC - we went for a week.
First tooth!
Sort of saying "Mama" but sometimes its "Mamamama"

Sleep:
Ugh. We hit the dreaded 9 month regression hard. She fights naps and sometimes they only last 30 minutes, she started fighting bedtime a bit and she is back to waking up once between 4am - 6am. Fun.

Family:
Ellie soaked up all the extra family time while back in OKC and got to meet her Great Grandma Ruth which was super fun. She continues to want to be near her sister and play with all the same toys!







Molly at 9 months vs Ellie - couple of cuties!

Molly: 12 Months (aka ONE YEAR)

As many of you know by my sappy tweets, FB posts and earlier blogs Molly turned one. In the back of my mind I thought it just might not happen but alas it did. We had an amazing party which you can read about here and here.

I am going to wrap up my monthly updates and progress on Molly with this 12 month post. I will still post updates but no more official month posts.

Its hard to believe it all started way back when in December 2011 with her One Month old post. I almost can't remember her that tiny. Seems like forever ago and yesterday at the same time.

The past month has been a pretty big one around these parts. Our baby officially started walking and she hasn't looked back. I can't remember the last time I saw her crawl. And she has more of a run than a walk. She roams around the house all day carrying toys and stuffed animals. She loves to run around in the front yard. And the park is loads more fun now.

I am in awe of how much development has happened in one short year. Its amazing. She was a teeny tiny helpless baby who could barely open her eyes for more than 5 minutes at a time and now she is a goofy, smart, sassy walking little baby toddler. Wow!

This past month I feel like things have gotten a lot easier/simpler. I feel fully equipped to handle almost any situation. When we go out it feels like we are just two girls out having fun together. I no longer feel stressed, overwhelmed or anxious about anything we do. She is my little partner in crime. And we have so much fun.

To Molly, this past year has been unbelievable in every way and everyday we fall even more in love with you. I can't believe you can love someone so much but its true, its truly overwhelming. Time is flying by so fast and its all I can do to hold on to every little moment. We love you.



Stats:
 Weight- 19lbs 1oz (20%)
 Height- 28" (25%)
 Head- no more head measurements (they stop at 1)

Wearing 9-12mo clothing and some 12-18mo. Still in size 3 diapers but about to move up to 4.

Likes:
Walking (more like running!) everywhere
Picking up her stuffed animals and walking them around the house
Playing with the spoons in the dishwasher
Chatting with herself
Going to the park (and general being outdoors)
Bringing book after book to Mom to read to her

Dislikes:
Going down for naps
Getting Dressed and Diaper Changes
Not getting food when she is hungry
Not being able to reach something she wants

Firsts:
Saying Dada
Tooth! 2 little front bottoms poking through (finally)

Words: Dada was her first word. She talks all the time but not catching any real words yet.

Eating: Going strong. This kid can put the food away! It amazes me how much she eats for such a tiny little thing. We are starting to transition to milk and off of formula and also drinking out of sippy/straw cups during the day and not bottles. An entire post on this to come.

Sleeping: Naps are a little off. I think we are trying to move to 1 nap but she isn't sure what she wants yet. Night time is solid - goes down at 8 wakes up at 7:45.

Munchkin Meals: Challenges

Been awhile since I have written about Munchkin Meals but its mostly because I think we are pretty boring when it comes to meals. So, that fits this months theme...challenges! Big thanks to Brittany at A Healthy Slice of Life for hosting this linkup. And hopefully getting this Mom out of a rut.



I will admit, I am going to piggy back off of Madeline at Food, Fitness, & Family and talk about snacks.

Molly is now up to 3 meals a day and 2-3 snacks depending on how well she is napping (aka not well lately!). And I struggle so much to find good snacks for her.

She is a carb fiend! Unfortunately I know where she got that from. (shamefully pointing at myself) She loves puffs, graham crackers, mum-mums, cheerios, vanilla wafers etc. etc. etc. I like those options because they are quick and easy, portable, and she can eat them w/out making a huge mess. She is also a big fan of blueberries (woah, baby crack!) and grapes. I try to save the blueberries for her dessert with meals so those are out for snacks.

So, I need something a little less carb heavy and more nutritious. We are about to give peanut butter a try so hopefully she has no allergies and we can weave that into snacks.

In the meantime...CARB LOAD!



So help me out Moms and link up to Brittany's Munchkin Meals with snack ideas!

Molly: 11 Months

Here we are, one month away from the big 1. I am in shock, denial, awe, etc. etc. etc. It is almost unfathomable to me that my teeny tiny baby is almost a year old. Time should not move this fast. 

This last month has been relatively uneventful but we had lots of fun! With the coming of Fall brought lots of new activities to partake in. We hit up pumpkin patches and pumpkin villages galore! Molly loves to use pumpkins as drums. She thinks its hilarious.

She has adapted well at Mothers Day Out and they tell me she is so much fun the entire time she is there. I am so glad she took to it and I really enjoy those precious few hours each week to work and get stuff done.

Her favorite things to do lately are point at everything and then of course expect you to take her to whatever is pointing at. Gets exhausting. She has also learned to blow kisses which is pretty darn adorable. And we successfully taught her how to make the touchdown sign. We say touchdown and she throws her arms up in the air. Its coming in handy on game days!

We are still working on the walking thing. Just a couple hours ago she stood up on her own (no assistance from a chair or ottoman etc.) and then took off across the room. Its only a matter of days I think. So much fun to see her start walking. Makes you so proud as a parent.

Molly is a sassy little one and always keeps us on our toes. Something she likes one day she hates the next and I "think" she has started to throw tantrums (fun!) but she is also full of smiles, laughs, and squeals. I am so happy I get to be her Mom. She is an amazing little person.

As always, Happy 11 Months Molly. We love you more than you will ever ever know.




Stats: {unofficial}
Weight- 19lbs
Height- 28" or so
Head- ?

Wearing mostly 9-12mo clothing and some 12-18mo. Still in size 3 diapers.


Likes:
Cruising around the coffee tables and other furniture
Doing "touchdown!"
Playing with pumpkins
Playing patty cake
Playing catch with her soft football

Dislikes:
Naptime
Getting Dressed and Diaper Changes
General not getting her way (uh-oh)

Firsts:
Blowing kisses
Touchdown!
Walking

Words:
Sometimes she says Mama but only when she is upset. 

Eating:
Giving us some fits lately, has started spitting things out and getting picker. We suspect it might be teeth. She eats 3 main meals and has 1-2 snacks a day.

Sleeping:
Back on track with bedtime and overnight sleep. Naps are a shot in the dark. Who knows! Sometimes 1.5hrs sometimes 35 min. Still taking two a day.








Walking off the set.

Playtime

As I watched Molly play yesterday I decided to snap a few pictures. She looked so cute emptying out her toy box with her little baby hands and making her way through the toys to find exactly what she was looking for. One of her play cell phones.













Baby fingers and toes get me every time.

It was a very important phone call.