Letters To My Children | April 2018
Letters To My Children | April 2018
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wednesday, april 18th, 2018
dearest babies,
mama is breathing a little easier this month as you both get a little older. both of you are getting more and more independent each day, allowing mama little spurts of time to unload the dishwasher or get dinner started…before resuming cuddling. it’s getting easier and easier each day to be outnumbered! 🙂 we are finally taking outings together during the week while daddy is working…mama has braved juggling it all in public. and to be honest, i don’t know what i was so worried about. with a toddler who loves to shop and a baby who loves to sleep in her carseat, we really have an easy time out and about! plus, starbucks drive thru is always good fuel for mama!
to my oldest:
you are two! happy birthday, sweet baby! i love that when we ask you how old you are, you say, “two!” with such enthusiasm. it is so so sweet! everyone is talking about the “terrible twos” but honestly, daddy and i were talking last night about how two looks real good on you! you are patient and calm, and oh so sweet. we have decided to rename this age the “terrific twos” because you aren’t terrible at all. sure, you have your moments of fussiness…but they are few and far between. and we are all allowed to have our moments.
we kept up our tradition of having ice cream on your birthday eve! and this year we had two babies to take to the ice cream parlor! you had a tiny cup of vanilla ice cream and after about 7 bites…you were done. you aren’t much for sugar and definitely only want a little bit before you are over it. daddy had vanilla too, mama had chocolate, and your baby sister slept through the entire outing. i love that we have started this ice cream tradition on your birthday eve, to remember that night two years ago when daddy and i went out for ice cream the night before you were born. little did we know that we would be parents in less than 24 hours and now we have years and years ahead of ice cream outings with you!
on your birthday, daddy and i woke you up singing “happy birthday!” a few weeks ago, mommy asked daddy if he could take the day off for your birthday so we could have a special family day and he did. we started off the day singing happy birthday in our pajamas and then got you and your sister dressed up for our first birthday surprise! we took you to the american girl store to pick out your very own doll and we got reservations to have brunch with your new doll too! you had so much fun looking at the dolls and walking around the store, pushing the babies in their strollers. we helped you pick out a new bitty baby and during lunch, you and daddy named her betty. when it came time to have lunch with your doll, she sat right beside you in her own high chair while you ate a grilled cheese sandwich and we sang happy birthday again over a cupcake! again, your little sister slept through the entire outing… 🙂 now, you love playing with your new baby and putting her in your new doll high chair that you got for your birthday!
your birthday party was a hit! we had over 30 friends come over to celebrate you and to meet your baby sister…and there is still a pile of presents in the corner of the living room that are waiting to be opened. every once in awhile you will walk past a gift and grab one to open…we may be celebrating your birthday a little longer. 🙂 just like with the ice cream, you didn’t want your birthday cupcake. mommy and daddy helped you blow out your birthday candles on your birthday cake and you loved eating the popcorn that we served as a party munchie. you really loved having a tea party with your friends and your new tea set, as you put on dress up hats and crowns and sat at your little play table. your friends really love your new playroom and you did a great job inviting them into your space and sharing all of your things!
this morning we hosted a fun playdate at our house and you were the sweetest hostess. you greeted each one of your friends at the door with an enthusiastic “hi!” and played so sweetly with your friends while they were here. once it was time for everyone to go home, you walked towards the door with them, repeating “bye bye!” you are just too sweet.
at lunch yesterday, mama noticed that your bottom two molars are coming in at the same time! your doctor said they would come in when you turned two and, having only been two for 5 days…you are already cutting your teeth! we called daddy at work to share the excitement and he was just as surprised as mama…because, just like with all your teeth, you are perfectly normal and pleasant when you are teething. you just wake up with new teeth, with no fussing.
you know how to say over 100 words now, and we have honestly lost count of the total number. you are starting to sing along to songs and you really love saying “happy happy” to elmo’s happy dance song and “never never” to the greatest showman song. dancing has also become a favorite of yours and we finally found a ballet school that we may join together!
as for swim, you have really taken a huge leap in your underwater ability! you are now under the water for at least 5 seconds at a time, which is amazing! we got you some new goggles and played with them in the bath a few times before taking them to swim class and you love them! you put them on and leave them alone…you must like to see underwater! your love for your goggles gives us hope that you may love your potential new glasses that you might be getting in the fall, so this is wonderful practice.
here’s to two years of loving you! daddy and i couldn’t be prouder of everything you are and everything you are going to be. you amaze us daily and constantly show us how smart you are. just last night, you opened a gift from that pile in the corner and it was a new puzzle. we took one look at it and thought, “oh, this is hard! i am not sure she is ready for it.” but, we unwrapped it anyways and set it on the table. a couple minutes later, you took all the pieces off the puzzle and then put them all back together…perfectly…on.your.first.try. ON YOUR FIRST TRY! then you looked up at us with a “well, that was easy, wasn’t it?” look and we burst out laughing! you are so smart, sweet pea! and then you proceeded to do the puzzle a few more times before bedtime. we just love you!
to our youngest:
oh my goodness, three months looks good on you! we lovingly call you “ham” because you smile so much, so often. anytime we make eye contact with you, you give the biggest grin. and your smile is so pretty! you put your whole body into your smile and everything about you lights up. you love smiling, especially when your sister is near. you love to watch her and smile when she looks over to you. your daddy is absolutely crazy about your eyes! they are a navy blue and we know that you are going to be a stunner! your eyes are just perfection, just as you are.
you have become very vocal now and love to coo, especially with mama. you are experimenting with a variety of sounds and really love it when i mimic you. you get a huge smile on your face when i copy your sounds and we go back and forth for awhile, making sweet noises. as for sleep, you are doing really good! we still do a couple night feeds, but you are giving us a longer stretch in the beginning of the night. you will usually sleep from 9:45pm to around 2am, wake for a feed, and then sleep for a couple more hours before wanting to eat again. your spit up has definitely slowed down, so you are finding it easier to sleep flat instead of at an incline now. you still spit up, as you should at this age, but you don’t spit up as much as you initially did so our laundry is slowing just a tad.
you are definitely becoming more and more independent and are content laying on your playmat or bouncing in your bouncer for longer periods of time before wanting to be cuddled again. and when it comes to breastfeeding, you are finally getting great at it. you always were great at actually breastfeeding, but you just don’t really love to eat. you are a speedy feeder and only eat for a few minutes before you are full. you like to get on there and get the job done, whereas your sister would take her time doing 45 minute feeds. but your weight gain is amazing, so you are definitely getting what you need! even the doctor double checked your weight and kept saying, “you are only breastfeeding and she is gaining this great weight!?” yep! daddy always says, “mama makes some real good milk and knows how to grow perfect babies.” he’s so sweet! you just hit 13lbs 2 oz and are staying right around the 60th percentile for weight, so we are rocking breastfeeding! yay! you should be right on track to double your birth weight by four months, which is when you should double.
right now you are snoozing on me, while your sister sleeps upstairs and i am enjoying my 4 hour old cold coffee in peace while i finish up this letter. i love listening to you snore and, while talking to daddy on the phone just now, he could even hear it over the phone! growing is tiring and you love your naps!
it amazes me daily at how the two of you are best friends already. i prayed that you both would love one another and get used to one another quickly and you have. when i look back on the last few months, there was honestly not an adjustment period…you both just became sisters one day and never looked back. it is like you have always had one another by your side and you both just perfectly assumed the roles of big and little sister. daddy and i know how blessed we are and we talk daily about how happy we are that you two are such sweet girls to one another. you are making this parenthood thing a dream come true.
we love you so much and are so excited for a summer of fun ahead for our family! we can’t wait to go on our first vacation together and daddy and i are going to make a summer bucket list of all the things we want to do with you girls this summer! get excited!
love, mama