October 11, 2009

Twenty one months, my sweet Bella! It’s an awkward number to spit out but you are anything but awkward. You are absolutely, utterly amazing and adored by all who are blessed enough to cross your path.

Closer to two than one, you are growing and learning more quickly than I can keep up with. You are a very quick learner. You know your alphabet (26/26 letter recognition and 20/26 letter sounds – all but the vowels) and love to sing it and receive applause. You can count to twelve, and to twenty with a couple of errors in the teens. You know all of your colours, numbers by sight and can even read a few sight words. It took me by surprise when your big bro was watching the sight word DVD and you piped up with a few of the words before the DVD said them. There are no words you can’t say now and there’s no way I could count them. Some you have a unique way of saying, but you try everything. “Chiyapactah (chiropractor), Gadys & Tabos (Gladys & Carlos – Cecilia’s parents), Damma (Grandma), Dapa Tent (Grandpa Kent), Dapa Wodgah (Grandpa Roger), weecyking (recycling)…there are so many, and they’re all so super cute!

You are a very active little girl and love nothing more than playing with your family. You love to go for a run with Primo, which is one of his favourite hobbies. (You both did your first race a week ago – the Run for the Pumpkin 2 km. Daddy carried you for about half of it, and you loved every second of it.) You still have a bit of the bouncy run going on but it’s becoming less and less apparent. My baby is becoming a little girl. Another thing you absolutely love? Jumping! For the past 6 weeks or so you’ve been getting some great air and you are thrilled to bits about that! I think your trampoline training in the back yard really helped.

You had your first horseback riding experience in August with Auntie Cindy. Daddy, Grandma and I took you and Primo out to her parents’ farm and you rode Mandy, the little pony that Ashley rides for 4H. You weren’t so sure about being on her by yourself, but Primo got on behind you and held you and that made it much more enjoyable. The picture of the two of you riding together is the desktop background on my laptop now and you love looking at it.

You love our animal family, and are sure to let them know it on a regular basis. For some reason, you’re especially obsessed with poor Chloe who has no interest in children. The two of you have an arrangement, though, and she sometimes even lets you pet her. It’s a miracle. She runs at first sight of your brother! You say goodnight to her, and Thai & Mavi, every night, and tell them that you “huv” them. You love to lie on the dogs’ bed (especially if the dogs are in it, and you think it’s much funnier than they do).

Though you’re incredibly active and can roughhouse with the best of them, you’re also quite the girly-girl. You love to go shopping, you love your purse (& have started to say “I need money!), you love ponies, stuffed animals, baby dolls, and PINK! It’s rather hilarious. Nobody has ever told you that pink is a girlie colour and I have made an effort to buy you a lot of purple & blue, but you wake up in the morning, head to your dresser and say “I wear PINK! I need a PRETTY for my hair! A PINK one!” If you go in your room and close the door, we’re sure to find you naked minutes later trying to change into something pink. Your babies are almost an obsessions. You have never stopped loving the twins that Grandma Betty bought you for your first Christmas, which you’ve now named “Baby Pink” and “Baby Blue.” Mommy’s friend Cathy bought you “Baby Tyler” who has a soother just like her own baby Tyler whose soother you love to play with. You call him “Baby Ty-ah” and you tuck him in, feed him snacks, kiss & hug him, put lotion on his head after your bath (all of the babies get lotion, actually) and sleep with him. You also have “Sleepy Baby” which Janene, Matt, Liam & Josh got you for Christmas and you love to sleep with her too – she’s your baby that lives at your babysitters house at the moment. You also love to talk on the phone, and several times every day you cry & whine that you need to “Talka Damma Betty!” until I dial her number. You say “Hi Damma! Iss Bella!” and always sign off with “I huvva you Damma! Bye Bye!”

You and Primo started going to a wonderful dayhome mid-September (with lots of playdates there before hand and a few weeks at home with Daddy while Mommy got settled back into working). You love it there and are excited to get in the van every morning. From you, I’m lucky to get a hug and kiss before you run off to be with your friends. You just toss me an “I huvva you Mommy!” and maybe a “Seeya haytah!” and you’re off like a shot. Your brother is struggling a little more emotionally for the first few minutes of every day, and that is so very very hard on a mama who’d far rather be at home so I thank you for your adaptability and for being there for him to play and hug whenever he needs it.

I love you passionately my baby girl. I love your smile, your lively & sparkling eyes, your hugs & kisses, your love of learning & your fiery enthusiasm for life. There’s nothing I love more than being a Mommy to you & Primo. You make our world complete.

I huvva you!
Mommy
xoxo

June 11, 2009 (yeah, right)

Dear Bella,

A year and a half has passed since you were yanked out of me holding your head high and your eyes open wide, and you continue to run unabashedly ahead of the pack. (Not that I’m biased or anything – and I’d love you no less if you were…anything else.)

At eighteen months, you know your entire alphabet (except D, which about half the time you call “ABC”), most of your numbers to ten and are reading a few words (a, I, the, by…) on the “Meet The Sight Words” DVD’s before the voice on there says them. You love to sing, and your favourite songs are Twinkle Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat (to which you sing “Mewiwee, Mewiwee!” and melt the hearts of everyone around you) and The Itsy Bitsy Spider. You also love when we do “This Little Piggy” and any other rhyme or song that involves your body. Often when we touch you or reach for you, you giggle and say “No tickle Bella!” and at other times you point to your armpit and ask “Tickle Bella?” followed by “Tickle Wah Wah!”

“Wah Wah” happens to be your favourite person on the planet and the two of you are the best of friends. You won’t even take a snack or toy without ensuring “Wah Wah too?” The two of you blame each other for everything, which is completely normal but I think you’re getting started early. You are together from the moment you wake up until the moment you head off to your bedrooms at night, and if one of you is out of the line of sight of the other, it’s mere seconds before you’re looking or asking for each other. One of my favourite moments of the day is when you first see each other in the morning and run with open arms for a hug. You should “HI WAH WAH!” and he says “Hi Bella!” as you hug and he kisses your head. Just typing those words makes me tear up. You two are the best thing that ever happened to your Daddy and I, and you’re just a perfect fit for our family.

You’ve reached the lovely stage of diaper change acrobatics, which is not very entertaining. It’s particularly not entertaining when you kick poop around the room and roll away laughing. Really, really not entertaining, but normal so we’ll just hope the stage ends soon.

Whenever we’re outside, you love to run away giggling and have someone chase you and grab you in a big hug. Always toward the road, of course. It’s a great game to play as long as I’m not holding the leashes of two dogs.

You still have the biggest & brightest smile I’ve ever seen, and you don’t hesitate to share it with those you love. You literally smile all day long. Except when you’re crying. Your crying is fake about 80% of the time – you’ve inherited a dramatic gene from somewhere – and is over when you either get what you want or get distracted and start laughing. If it weren’t so cute it would surely be annoying, but we’re not there yet. It’s so darn cute. You’ve also got the “furrowed brow” thing going on and use it whenever someone talks to you and you don’t feel like answering. It reminds Daddy of the pictures of me when I was a little girl, so I guess you come by it honestly!

You are following in your brother’s footsteps and already talk like you’re a year older than you are. There’s no way I can list the words you say anymore because you’re up to four word sentences. Things like “More mango please, Mommy” and “Go see Daddy doing?” are usual for you. You pick up the phone any time you see it and say “Hi Damma! Hi Damma Betty! Go Damma house?” You adore Grandma and when we’re with her, you aren’t really very concerned with me at all. You love all of your grandparents and also your aunts & uncle & cousins, and are a very lucky little girl to have so many people who love you right back.

I love you from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the sky, and all the way around the world!
Mommy
xoxo

A few pics from the three months since her last letter:

April 11, 2009

Dear Bella,

It’s been three months since I last wrote you a letter and you have changed so much.

You’re an active little girl. You can run fast enough to keep up with Primo and his buddies (though it’s still that adorable bouncy, side-to-side baby run that I love) and you love to be chased, climb up on anything and play on the playgrounds in our back yard and in local parks. Thank God you have a little bit of fear so you don’t dive off edges (yet) and wait for me to help you down, which is nice when I’m trying to play with two children at the same time.

You’re a talker! You learn from the best as your brother and I talk all day long. I can’t even count how many words you say, so I’ll attempt to make a list:

Hi
Bye
Mommy
Daddy
Wah Wah (Primo’s name)
Thai
Mathi/Masi (Mavi)
Co-ee (Chloe)
puppy
dog
cat
ooth (earth – sooo cute!)
guy
fidz (fridge)
dis (this?)
dat (that?)
coat
soos (shoes)
sock
foot
knee
eye
nose
eeee (ear)
dzees (cheese)
muk (milk, accompanied by sign but sign is diminishing)
pees (please, accompanied by sign)
ba-ow (ball)
bath
tub
teeth
mouth
bock (block)
buk (book)
up
off (which also means on, open and close)
out
appoo (apple)
appuh (open)
audey (laundry)
dooty (dirty)
mess/messy
pitty (pretty)
You count with Mommy “uh, two, sree, fuh, fuf, sis, setee, it, nie, tie! Yaaayyyyy!” and you always clap for yourself. (In fact, you clap and cheer for me every time I count too!)
bockie (broccoli)
owie/ow
baby
pants
mo (more, with sign)
fow-ah (flower)
bwu-dah (brother)
si-tah (sister)
boy
gool (girl)
pawk (park)
walk
side (slide)
moo
cow
sit (generally when you’re telling me to sit in the lazyboy because you want to nurse)
no (or, rather, NOOOOOOOOOO!)
Nike (which you learned to read off of my t-shirt just today)
sorry – sign only

I’m sure there are more, but that’s what comes to mind for now. Well over 60 words anyway, which is stunning for a 15 month old child, and you’re learning new ones every day. Obviously, you’re completely amazing. As if there were any doubt. You recognize a few numbers (3, 8, 9) and a few letters (o, x, i) and point them out everywhere you see them. Imagine the surprise on the face of the people standing near us in the huge line at Save-On for 15% Tuesday when a baby points up to aisle nine and shouts “Nine! Mommy! Nine!” It was fantastic.

You can point to your head, hair, eyes, ears, mouth, chest, tummy, knees, back, bum, feet, toes, legs, arms, and elbows. Your neck still confuses you and you think it’s your chest, but I don’t think that’s a huge concern at this point. Perhaps there’s a rare condition called “neck displacement disorder?”

Things you love: Primo, Daddy, Mommy, our animal family, Grandma Betty (who you point to on the wall and ask “Please!” on a regular basis), brushing your teeth, climbing up on the big bathroom stool all by yourself, putting your own clothes in the laundry basket, putting your dirty diaper in the garbage, crawling up the stairs and running away so someone will chase you, being chased anytime & anywhere, walking outside, playing in the back yard, playgrounds, rolling the ball back and forth with Mommy, having Daddy all to yourself on Saturday mornings when Primo & Mommy go to his music class, when Daddy comes home from work, when Primo wakes up in the morning, jumping on Primo’s bed, sitting with Primo on the couch to roll around or read books, pretty much anything to do with Primo, and also anything to do with Daddy, cheese, broccoli, dry Nature’s Path corn flakes, dry cheerios, Lara bars, cheddar bunnies, milk, smoothies, nursing, playing peek a boo, rubbing the dogs’ backs, trying to pet Chloe without her swatting you, anything chocolate, anything Primo will share with you, cucumber, carrots, apples, mandarin oranges, mangoes, rice, noodles, feeding Mavi dog food piece by piece, dumping the dogs’ water all over the floor, having a bath, being carried, emulating anything Primo does (good or not-so-good), going to bed (when you’re healthy & your teeth don’t hurt – the rest of the time you just sleep with me)

Things you’re not so fond of: Getting new teeth, bananas (sometimes), avocados, being alone, not having full access to the boobage (you may, in face, go to kindergarten nursing), when someone leaves the house without you, when someone has something you don’t or can’t have – particularly your brother – and you generally just try to take it, being told ‘no,’ waiting, being restrained when you want to run, and not getting your own way.

Hmmm, more and more it seems like you take after your mother. I like to blame it on Grandpa Jack – he was stubborn too. It will serve you well throughout your life, but can certainly make for a parenting challenge. That’s one of many reasons why I am reading so many parenting books about raising sibling without rivalry, raising daughters in the face of worldwide early sexualization and so many more. Like Grandma Betty’s Aunt Elsie once said about me, “No man is ever going to take advantage of you.” You can hold your own with all of Primo’s friends, even when they’re all here at the same time, but you’re still very much a girlie girl who loves her babies and purses.

I can’t describe how wonderful it is to have a daughter to love – someone I can relate to in a very unique way. You are a precious, precious little girl and may you never forget it. Goodness knows you’ll hear it often enough.

Of all the little girls in the whole wide world, I got the very best one.

Love, Mommy
xoxoxo

To our sweet girl on her very first birthday,

You are truly stunning, awesomely amazing, wonderfully perfect and beautifully you. You have given a light to all of our lives that we could never have imagined before we met you. The way you light up in a huge grin from head to toe when you see me in the morning is one of the best parts of my day. That and nursing you before bed at night when we’re snuggling in the dark together – you unlatch and snuggle into my neck with a sigh and as I sing to you we rock in peace as only a mother and child can. God gave you to our family because you are perfect for us, and I am so grateful for that every day.

There will never be any doubt that you are loved and cherished more than should be humanly possible and I could go on and on. Instead, though, let’s focus on you…

You have four front teeth on top, two on the bottom and all four of your 15 month molars already – 10 teeth and you are just barely one! None of them gave you any trouble except the molars, and holy heck did they give you trouble. Weeks on end of no sleep to cut those suckers. It was just three days ago that you went back to waking only once in the night to nurse. For the month prior you were spending a lot of nights writhing in pain in my armpit and not even Advil gave you any relief.

You took your first independent steps on Christmas Day at Grandma Betty’s house and were so incredibly pleased with yourself. Your pride was tangible as you walked back and forth from Grandma to me, from Auntie Sasha to me, from Daddy to me, from couch to loveseat…you loved every second of it!

Christmas was a huge hit in your books. You were spoiled beyond belief by everyone. Grandma Betty got you your favourite gift – twin newborn dolls with a stroller, bassinet and swing/high chair. You push those babies around in the stroller day in and day out and heaven help the big brother who tries to touch your babies. You also really took to “Candy Hearts Cassidy,” the Groovy Girl that you got from Auntie Mel & Lauren. Nothing that Mommy & Daddy got you even compares to those babies of yours.

We had a celebration of your birthday yesterday with your friends & family – Grandma Betty, Grandma Jeet, Grandpa Roger and Auntie Sasha made the treacherous & snowy drive from (blah blah) to celebrate with us and in addition to Daddy & I & Primo you also had Emilie, Alex & Susan, Camdyn, Dawson, Evan & Jackie, Connor, Kaden & Glenna, Bodie, Toby & Lori, Joshua, Liam & Janene. With the way our circle of friends works, 5 of your friends equals a party of 24 because most have siblings who are Primo’s age. It was chaotic but a wonderful time and you enjoyed every minute of it. You had a little morning nap which is out of the ordinary for you, but it allowed you to be awake and happy until 2:30 when your last guests were leaving. Mommy’s friend Trena made your cake and it was fantastic. It was a stacked cake iced with white butter cream icing and covered with colourful fondant polka dots, ribbons, butterflies & flowers. The cake was organic & made with rice flour. It was a white cake with lemon zest in it and she filled it with cranberry butter cream. It was amazingly delicious and you totally agreed with me. Trena made you your very own little cupcake with a flower which you loved. You were particularly enthralled with the sparkler on top, but didn’t really care about the candle on the big cake so Primo and his buddies blew it out for you. You received some lovely gifts but were really only into the playing with the ribbon & eating the tissue & wrapping paper. It worked out well because the big kids were able to help open your presents and you were none the wiser. The one thing that thrilled you and all of your friends was the big wooden zoo thingy that Grandma Betty got you. It’s like 10 toys in one and everyone loved it. Once your party was over, though, you found your books, puzzle & Little People bus & played with them all evening.

Today your Grandma Kent & Grandma Cecilia came for a visit because they had to work yesterday so we got to have another little party for you. They gave you your very first Canada Savings Bond to get your life as an investor started young.

Today your sign language really took off. I haven’t been nearly as persistent with you as I was with your brother simply due to a combination of laziness and lack of time, but you really want to communicate so you’re sure to pick it up. You’ve been signing ‘more’ and ‘help’ all day, and actually mean what you say. You love to talk and say “Dada,” “Mama,” “Hi,” “Bye Bah,” “Tuck” (as in “tuck me in”), “Dis,” “Dat,” and “Thai.” I’m pretty sure you know what the letter “S” is too because you say “Ess” every time you pick that magnet off of the fridge, but it could just be a fluke. It wouldn’t be too shocking, though, because Primo is obsessed with the alphabet and pre-reading so you’re surrounded by it for all your waking hours.

You love to play peek-a-boo, you clap on command and say “Yay!” and you would climb stairs all day if we let you. I’ve been trying for a month to teach you to turn around and crawl down backwards but you insist that you are going to learn to walk down. You walk to the edge and grab the rail and almost independently step down before sitting on the step to clap and cheer for yourself. Unfortunately it’s only at Susan’s house that the railing has rods that go all the way to the floor for you to grab so at home you’re stuck with holding my hand. I hope you learn to turn around soon because I have visions of you taking a header, but you are much more cautious than your brother ever was so perhaps you’ll just learn to be careful. What a novelty.

You love the bathtub and even love when I put water in it and put you in there. You are happy just to play in there with your clothes on too, which is nice when I have to use the washroom because it keeps you from eating the toilet paper. You will play and splash in there for 20 minutes and always fight me when I try to get you out. You especially love to bath with Primo and I must admit that it’s pretty darn cute – but it’s dangerous since he’s not all that gentle or still in there so we don’t let it last more than a few minutes and always with one of my hands on you or hovering above you.

Tonight you pooped in the potty for the first time! It was a fluke for sure – you were actually pooping in the bathtub and I pulled you out and put you on the toilet for the rest to plop in there, but it was cool nevertheless. And kind of funny. Thank God they were solid. You haven’t done that since you were just a couple of weeks old and you pooped all over me while I was nursing you in our ensuite tub.

In the last few days you’ve started to lunge forward and do what can almost be called running. It’s pretty darn cute and you always giggle when you do it. You’ve also started the most adorable little nose wrinkle when you smile sometimes and it completely melts me. I can not get over how cute you are – it’s beyond belief, really.

I can’t believe I’m already wishing you a happy first birthday, Bella. This year hasn’t slowed down even for a second – it has flown even faster than the first year with Primo did because we’ve had more to do with a larger family. I have done my best to cherish each and every moment with you, whether it be a quick hug and kiss, watching you play with your brother or holding you in the dark of night while you nurse. I know the memories will fade but the intense love that I have for you, my baby girl, never will. I promise to always care for you as I have this first year, and though it won’t always be with breastmilk and baby carriers, it will always be with the very best of intentions and more love than you can possibly imagine.

I love you higher than numbers can count, further than the eye can see and taller than the highest stars.

Mommy
xoxo

Dear Bella,

You, my girl, are totally awesome.

I have no idea how a smile so huge fits so well on a body so small but, my goodness child, can you ever smile! You have a special little squeal, arm wave and smile that you reserve for me when I return to your sight after a brief absence, and I love it. Sometimes it’s fun to walk away just so that I can come back. You also have a special big smile just for Daddy, and you never hold back. Primo gets the coolest smiles of all – he gets the ones that happen when you’re mad at me for some unknown reason. (I probably tried to make you sleep – more on that later.) He makes silly noises and faces for you and you laugh our loud at his silliness. He adores you and you return the favour. I love watching the two of you together. We just bought you a booster seat that matches his so you can sit together at the table and it’s the highlight of your day to be right at his level. He helps you get cheerios into your mouth when you can’t quite get them in, and he entertains you with his goofy nature. You both love to hang out together, and I love the freedom to pee alone while you’re both strapped in. It’s a win-win situation.

You had your six month well-check today, a month late, and you were 17 lbs 7 oz (50%, same as your head circumference of 43 cm) and 27.5 inches long (75%). Perfect all around. But we didn’t have to see a doctor to figure that out.

In the five weeks or so that you’ve been bum scooting, you’ve progressed from rocking and sliding a little to often hopping around the room on your butt. It’s pretty darn funny, except when you’re too fast for me and you are eating dog food before I’ve noticed that you’ve gotten that far. You and your brother both inherited a taste for dog food from my infant self. Sorry about that. At this point I doubt that you’ll ever roll regularly and may not even crawl. You can jump around on your bum so fast that you may just go from that to walking. You detest being on your stomach and your back when it’s not sleep time because you can’t see everything so it’s sit or stand. Speaking of standing, a couple of weeks ago I plunked you beside the loveseat in a standing position and you held it with one hand and stood there for at least five minutes. You’re a powerhouse.

You’re loving the solid food thing and are ahead of the game in wanting to chew stuff. I have yet to find something you don’t like. You eat pears, avocado, peaches, nectarines, watermelon, cherries, apples, apricots, green beans, hummus (with garlic!), banana, prunes (to counteract the bananas’ bunging up effects), sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cucumber, cheerios, puffed kamut (just like puffed wheat, but I couldn’t find wheat in organic), mum-mum crackers and bits of Mommy’s homemade bread. Also dog food and anything that your brother shoves in your mouth. I call it “Second Child Syndrome.”

Your sleep has been changing over the past month, too, and not for the better. I can’t see a pattern yet so we’re just rolling with it. You refuse to nap in the morning unless you’re in your carseat and that nap is only 20-40 minutes, you fall asleep on your own for your afternoon nap in your crib but I have to nurse you back to sleep after 40 minutes to get you to sleep 1.5 hours and at night you sometimes go to bed in your crib just fine and come sleep with us after your first waking (you wake once or twice) and other times you act like I’m burning you alive if I so much as extend my arms with you in them and will only sleep while tucked nicely in my armpit. We’re going to work on making sure you get a good afternoon nap and no evening nap now, and try a bit more of a bedtime routine. At this point we’re just taking you downstairs after Primo goes to sleep and you hang out and have your bedtime snack while we watch tv and relax. Often you end up passing out on the couch or in Daddy’s arms so that’s probably part of the problem. It’s my only time with Daddy so I didn’t want to just stay upstairs but I may have to until we get bedtime sorted out. Eleven is not a good bedtime for a seven month old. Or for an exhausted mommy who needs some “me time” after everyone else is asleep. With that said, I do still love bringing you to bed with me. It’s pretty amazing to wake up to your big smile right beside me, and to not have to move a muscle to nurse you is cool too.

You’re still talking a lot and have added “Mamamama” to your regular repertoire. I think you’re making the connection that it might be my name because I get so excited when you say it. You said “Dadadada” for a long time before you hit the m’s regularly so it’s pretty exciting. You squeal & scream just for fun and you love to squawk and laugh at Thai & Mavi. You also love to pet them (ie. grab and pinch) but Thai is the only one who lets you get away with it. He’s a pain in the butt but he’s very patient with you and your brother. Last night you actually fell asleep on the couch downstairs draped over your nursing pillow with your head resting on Thai’s back. Daddy ran for the camera but you woke up and smiled at him as soon as he got the lenscap off. When you want to play, Mavi primarily runs away and prays for safety. He does like it when you squeak his ball in his face, and never tries to bite you to get it back which is really kind of him. Chloe loves to watch you from afar but when she’s sitting beside me and you reach for her she’s gone like a shot.

I love you to the ends of the earth, my baby girl. You’ve made life so much more fun for everyone who knows you.

Love, Mama
xoxo