A Letter to Jack-Jack on Your First Birthday

August 29, 2009
Dearest Jack –
Wow, I cannot believe that you are already 1 year old! You have grown and changed so much. You started out at a 5.1lb, little, tiny baby. Now you are 22.4lbs, a big, tall boy. I can still remember finding out that you were a boy at our second ultrasound. Daddy and I were both excited to be having a boy. And once you arrived you were so sweet. You have a special charm and smile that attracts people, especially ladies! You spent two weeks in the hospital, mostly because you were too lazy to eat, but you figured it out. Once you got the hang of eating, you never stopped! You were a sweet baby, as long as you were fed, and seemed content to wait for attention (since your sisters were demanding attention all the time).
Because you were so smooshed in my tummy, your head was a little misshapen. You had to wear a helmet for about 8 weeks when you were 5 months old. You didn’t seem to mind at all. I would decorate it with stickers and put your name on it. You LOVED your therapist, Amy. She could always make you smile and you flirted with her all the time.
Jack, you are a sensitive baby. Whenever you are teething or sick you do not suffer in silence. You usually keep me up all night with you. It is very hard to reason with a baby, but I try to explain that Mommy needs sleep, you do not care. A few times I think you have been faking so that you can stay up with me and get special time with Mommy. I know because as soon as I pick you up you stop crying and get excited. You get a devilish little grin on your face too. The past few weeks you have been VERY attached to me. You cry if I leave the room and follow me. If you catch up, you grab onto my legs. If you can’t find me, you lie down on the floor and weep. It is very dramatic!
Your favorite toy is the Animal Train that plays music and rolls across the floor. You really love to get under the kitchen table and move the chairs around the room. When you figure out how to climb onto those chairs we will be in trouble. You push anything that you can; boxes, bins, cars, and furniture. You are so tall that you can reach onto the table now. Nothing is safe from your reach, especially not the remote control.
You love your sisters and your Daddy. You like to watch Gwen rough house with Dad, I bet you can’t wait to join the ruckus. You are very sweet to Madeline, even though she swipes toys from you. You are learning to be a bit more aggressive though, yesterday you pushed her right off the slide. One of your favorite activities is when Daddy carries you in the front carrier. You go for walks, looking for golf balls in the neighborhood. You also enjoy eating! You complain about what we give you, but if you like something you will eat until there is nothing left.
Jack-Jack, Jackalope, Jackaroo, you are a sweet little boy. I am sad that you are no longer a little baby, but so excited to see you growing into a toddler. I love you very much and want to give you a big squeeze right now! Happy Birthday Jack!
Love, Mommy!

A Letter to Madeline on Your First Birthday

August 29, 2009

Madeline – today is your first birthday.  I am having a hard time believing that you are no longer a baby, but a busy toddler.  You are curious, funny, proud, detailed and pushy (with Jack).  You have changed so much in a year I can hardly believe you are the same little person. 

It was not too long ago that we brought you home from the hospital, then took you back to the hospital, then brought you home again.  For 4 weeks you were quiet, and then you turned crazy.  I never knew what “colic” was before you came along, but I shudder to think of your crying and screaming that we could do nothing about.  We desperately asked the doctor for medication, which they gave us, but it didn’t do much good.  Eventually you grew out of it, but it was a rough couple of months. 

At 4 months you finally began to sleep better.  You had been sharing a room with us, and then with Jack, but slept much better when you got your own room for a few months.  Around 6 months you were starting to crawl and then sitting up on your own.  At 7 months you started holding your own bottle, which was really great for Daddy and me.  At 9 months you were a crawling fiend.  You and Jack would hang out in the hallway upstairs, laughing and giggling at the marvel of being mobile.  You quickly learned to stand up on your own and are now cruising on the furniture and pushing things around the room.  You will be walking by the end of September for sure.

Madeline, you can say “Mama”, “Dada”, and “Ball”.  You also clap your hands, wave and point.  You are learning to communicate, looking at us when you want help.  You have 6 teeth and seem to have gotten over your urge to bite Jack.  We have a little slide in the play room and you quickly figured out how to crawl up it.  Even when you can’t make it too the top, you slide down and laugh.  You don’t seem to get frustrated, you enjoy figuring it out.  We do need to work on sharing; you are always taking toys from Jack. Even though he is bigger than you, you have no problem crawling over and swiping whatever he is playing with.  Your favorite toy is the Wiggles Guitar.  You push the buttons to make music and look at Daddy and I waiting for us to dance.  Lately, you have been cuddling with us, putting your head on our shoulder, it is very cute. 

You are a good eater.  You like to feed yourself.  You like green beans and Rudy’s turkey, but usually eat everything on your tray.  You love to drop your cup on the floor, too.  You look right at us, and if we don’t say anything you DROP it.  So silly. 

I cannot wait to see what the year ahead brings us, but I am also enjoying every day with you as a 1 year old.  I am often sad to put away your baby clothes that you have outgrown, but excited that you are growing up and doing new and exciting things.  You are an amazing little person already, Madeline.  I love you dearly – Little Mills, Mad Dog, Maddy, Sweet Madeline.

Love,

Mama

 

 

Picture Day!

We had the kids' pictures taken this weekend by Naomi at Pitter Patter Photos. It was an exhausting 90 minutes. I thought I had brilliantly scheduled it at a time after the babies had a nap, but Jr threw off my plans by sleeping in very late and not napping before we left. And, if I haven't mentioned before, Jr is... sensitive. Ok, a cry baby. G was her obstinate self. Only MadDog cooperated at all. Ah well, she got some good shots anyway, which is all I really wanted. These pics are our first preview.

July Updates

Progress:

 

49. Potty training complete! Took about 3 weeks of persistence, but she is a champ!

60. Baby proofing phase 122.  John put cabinet locks on the kitchen cabinets, which really frustrated J & M, but doesn’t keep them out of the kitchen.  All the door stoppers have been removed from the house as they love to play with them and take off the little rubber ends.  But there are still lots of little things, mostly G’s toys, that are still out and need to be hidden away for awhile.

37. Make healthy meals 4x week.  I don’t know about healthy, but I am getting better at planning meals for the week and leaving my plan out so I can prepare the night before. 

101. Something I am afraid to do?!  Looks like zip line tour it is!  Thanks to Monica for suggesting it long ago when I started this list.

63. Tracking spending.  J Sr has been giving me some crap lately about my spending.  I used to pay all the bills but transitioned that responsibility to him last summer, so I don’t see everything like I used to.  I have decided that I will report all my spending to John on a daily or weekly basis, categorize all the credit card expenses so we can track it and make a list of “Want to Buy” purchases.  Anything that I want to buy other than necessities (groceries, medicine) needs to be on the list for at least 30 days before I buy it.

93. Beat 10k PR.  I plan to run the IBM 10k in October, so I might be able to cross this off my list.  Before this week I was pretty consistent about running 4xweek, but haven’t had many weeks running over 20 miles total.  I don’t know how much earlier I can get up in the morning to add more miles!

84. See a play, so Dora and the Wiggles count?  I think so.  That Wiggles show was great!

 

 

I find myself stuck at home this week, the girls have the flu and can’t go back to school until Monday.  I have help, but it is hard to get much done.  When you’re sick, you just want MOMMY!  It is flattering and I’m glad that the babies are so bonded to me, but it is also exhausting.  I have found myself buried under a pile of kids several times this week when everyone wants a piece of me. 

 

 

A Letter to Gwendolyn, on Her 3rd Birthday

7/10/2009

Gwendolyn, Gdub, GMills,

            Tomorrow you are turning 3 years old.  I cannot believe that my baby is… well, not my baby!  You are a little preschooler now.  You tell the funniest stories and say the silliest things.  Sometimes I just listen to you talk and laugh thinking about where your imagination leads you.  A few weeks ago I told you that you were silly.  You said “that’s not silly, Mom”.  I asked “Then what is silly?”  You thought about it and said “Banana Pants.”  Well, you were right, banana pants are silly.

            We are working on potty training, after a few failed attempts.  Right now, it seems like you just don’t care.  You feel no shame and no remorse if you have an accident.  Bribes are not working, threats go unnoticed.  I guess we just have to wait for you to be ready.  I am sure that in a few months this will be a distant memory, but right now it consumes a large part of our time with you. 

            You still sleep with baby bear, a soft baby doll, and a floppy frog.  Oh, and as many blankies as you can sneak into your bed.  The floppy frog, or “Froggie”, is often kicked out of the bed, you seem to have a love-hate relationship.  A kitty has recently joined the gang as well.  Your favorite show is still Dora the Explorer, followed by Diego.  In a few weeks we are going to see Dora Live, so I hope that you enjoy it.  You like to dress up like a princess and talk on your toy phone.  Just like Mommy, you often just listen and say “uh huh”, as though you are listening to Aunt Jenna tell a long story.  You like us to read books to you.  And you are loving when Daddy rough houses with you, but it makes me nervous.  You really love candy, and get all wide eyed and wild after eating it.  You love shoes, pretty shoes, and wearing dresses.  Going shoe shopping with you entails you trying on 50 pairs of shoes, all of them too small for you.

            Madeline & Jack adore you.  They follow you and try to climb on you, which you don’t appreciate.  Now that they are crawling you are getting annoyed that they are in your toys and try to touch you.  Yesterday on the way to school Daddy said you suddenly screamed and said that Madeline pulled your hair.  I’m sure it won’t be the last time that happens.  Generally, you are very, very sweet to your brother and sister.  You talk to them, bring them toys and tell us when they are doing something they shouldn’t.  Sometimes you get jealous, but haven’t acted on it yet.

            You are still pretty shy.  It takes you awhile to warm up to new people, kids, animals and places.  Sometimes you get so nervous you lick me!  It’s a little odd.  But on our recent trip to Michigan you warmed up to your cousins, Megan and Marissa, quickly after they started playing tag – you love to chase and be chased. 

            This Fourth of July you saw your first fireworks.  You and I went to the end of our street and we could see the fireworks show a mile away.  The look on your face when you saw the first one go up was awesome, you were amazed.  A few minutes later you were using the flashlight to look for monsters in the grass.  We also had our first family road trip to Michigan last month.  You would not let me sleep in the car and cried if I tried to close my eyes!  You loved staying with Nana and Grandpa.  They have dogs, cats and a little swimming pool.  You would start out the day in your bathing suit, but would always end up running around the yard naked by the end of the day.  We went to a family reunion; my Aunt Pat brought you a bathing suit.  You wouldn’t talk to her, or smile, or anything, but when she showed you the suit, you slowly started to play with the straps of your dress, then pulled the straps down, then took your dress off, followed by your diaper and shoes.  We all laughed at your innocent way of saying “yes, I want to wear that bathing suit!”  You also made a great friend of ‘Uncle Joe Koester, one of Nana and Grandpa’s friends.  Anyone who will take you to the beach and play in the sand with you is OK in your book. 

            You are still a Mommy’s Girl.  If you ever have a choice, or even when you don’t, about who is going to help you or do something for you, it is always MOMMY!  When you cry, you weep and say “I want my Mommy!” almost like I’m an object.  At night, after I tuck you in, you always grab my hand and ask me to stay.  It is so sweet.  But, when you are playing, you still love your Daddy. 

            So tomorrow is your special day.  I hope that you enjoy your party and your gifts.  I am excited to see the day through your eyes and have fun with you.  There will be many more birthdays to share with you, each different as you get older and wiser. 

            I love you very much, Gwendolyn Lottie.  You are my little girl.

Love - Mommy

Never Shake a Baby... Even if They Totally Deserve It

This is one of those awful realizations.  Before having kids, I would hear about parents, step-parents, babysitters shaking kids and doing really terrible things in frustration.  How could anyone shake a baby?  What would be the purpose?  Obviously, it won’t make the baby stop crying!  And it’s a baby, defenseless, crying because something is wrong and needs your help.  But now, as a mother of 3, I can kinda see how in the heat of the moment, when you’ve been up for hours with a screaming kid who cannot be consoled, you would reach your limit of sanity and go to a crazy, crazy place.  I got a glimpse last night (or this morning) after being up with wee Jack until 2am. My legs were sore from leaning over the pack’n’play to pat his back, I could barely keep my eyes open.  He would get so close to singing, lulled by my singing and back rubbing and them “Waaaaaaaa!”  Just go to sleep already!!!  I know you’re teething and your mouth probably hurts like hell, but cut-it-out already!  GRRRRR….. Finally, I had to put him down and walk away for a few minutes.  He got even more pissed, but it was for his own good, and mine.  After his 4^th bottle he finally fell asleep for a few hours in my arms.  Now I just have to pray there isn’t another repeat performance tonight!!

 

For the record, I love the little bugger with my whole heart and soul, but man alive Mommy needs her sleep!

My Baby is Growing Up!

Just a few more days and she'll be THREE years old!