Happy Nine Months Aberdeen!

Dear Abby,

Let's start with the most important thing: THANK YOU! Thank you for letting me sleep through the night. It took eight and a half months, but we are finally there. By the night, I mean you still wake up at four am but you sleep from 6:30 until then so we are all much happier people. The renewed energy

We have moved into our new house, and it has been wonderful for you. You love to crawl and explore everywhere. You are trying to get up all the time. You put your hands in front of you put your feet on the ground and try to get up. You also cruise around the furniture. We don't think it's going to be long now.

You are also a champion babbler. You are definitely saying momma and dada and it's directed at us. When daddy gets home from work, you immediately start yelling at him and waving your little arms like you are trying to fly until he gives you his attention.

Speaking of the arm thing, it's hilarious. Whenever you want anything, you turn into a bonafide windmill. It happens when you want out of your crib, when you want me, when you want a ball, when you see your sister getting off the bus or when ANYBODY has food.

You loove to eat. You manage almost half an avocado, and do a funny little song where you hold up whatever you eat. You also really love to plant your mouth on an apple and suck the juice out of it. It also makes for a hilarious sight.

I can't even stand how much I love you most days.

Love,
Mommy

Zoe, My Little Kindergartner

The dreaded day has come. You have started kindergarten. I tried to tell you the day before that I wasn't going to let you go, and you should have seen the indignant look that you gave me. You tried to tell me that I didn't have the authority to do that and I told you that I wouldn't let you go. You told me you would go anyway, so I asked who would drive you. You then said you would walk, and I told you that you didn't know where to go. So then you told me that you would get a map. This exchange quieted any doubts I had that you were absolutely ready for a kindergarten adventure.

The first week was a little bit strange, because we didn't close on our new house until the 5th day of school. So the three of us drove an hour out to school each day. The first day we decided to have lunch before school but out in Port Orchard. I told you that you could choose anything you wanted, and you decided that you wanted to go to the grocery store and get a cheese block and a mixed berry cup. I got sushi and we shared everything. It was a pretty perfect meal.

And yes, I was that mom. The one who cried dropping you off and again waiting anxiously in the hallway for you at the end of the day. You ran into the classroom and didn't look back. You had learned the ways to sign in at open house and you quickly executed everything and basically kicked me out of the room. You were thrilled to have a friend named Abby.

At the end of the day, I tried to drill you about everything that had happened, but you were shockingly quiet. We have gotten a lot more out of you since then.

You are now ten days in, and you absolutely love school. We have been getting work home, and you are writing "stories" with sketches and writing your name and the date on everything. Today was popcorn day, and all the kids bring a quarter and get a bag of popcorn. You told me that your friend Shea didn't have any, so you shared with him because nobody else would. I have to admit, I also got a bit teary eyed in that moment. I am very proud of your emerging empathy.

Your stories are hilarious. You keep telling us about the "graders", who are anyone who isn't a kindergartner. You seem to hold them with a certain reverence and actually came home one day and said that a grader had spoken to you at recess and you didn't know what to say. But then a grader hit you on the bunch and you hit him straight back, so I guess you weren't all that intimidated. That was a tough parenting moment, where I was caught between telling you not to do that and being proud that you had stood up to a fifth grader.

You are all YOU, zoe. I don't know a better way to explain it than that. You have our hearts. Totally and completely.

Love,
Mommy

Seven Months...

Dear Abby,

So I am a few day's late with this update but life has been kind of throwing a lot at us these days! You are a mover and a shaker now. By mover, I mean that you are scooting, climbing, wiggling, army crawling and just generally antsy. By shaker I mean that you are starting to dance and sway to music, an absolutely adorable talent!

You are talking and babbling incessantly, it looks like you are going to give your big sister a run for her money someday. You can say hi and kind of wave. You smile and everyone and burst into a smile that looks like it's too big for your tiny face to contain. You then burrow your way into the chest of whoever is holding you at the time.

You try so hard to keep up with the big kids. Zoe loves to make you laugh by playing peekaboo and you come alive with excitement upon seeing her in the morning. Your big cousin Dominic loves to make you laugh by essentially hurting himself. He will throw himself on the ground for hours if he thinks it's entertaining for you!

You and the dog are the best of friends. You are still feeding her everything you eat, especially your cheerios and mum mums. The dog ate apart your net feeder, where you love to have frozen bananas. You two play, crawl around each other, and last night you both fell asleep cuddled into daddy's lap. It was a scene so cute I very nearly died!

You will finally take a bottle and are slowly weaning away from mommy. I am highly conflicted about this. I am enjoying the greater independence, but miss that feeling that I am providing all the nutrition for you and the bonding that comes along with it. The weirdest thing about you taking a bottle is that you insist on sticking  your fingers inside of my mouth when I feed it to you. It's like you have to give me something since I am giving it to you.

Sleeping was getting a tad bit better until the last two nights when you decided it was party time all night. You love to YANK on my hair, so hard that it hurts while you are going to sleep. Makes for a rough night sometimes.

Mostly, I love you. It's just that simple. I love slowing down and appreciating every little thing about your baby days. I am in absolutely no hurry for you to do anything or go anywhere. I know you are our last little baby and I know that I want to remember the way you sound when you are eating and the pretend cries and the way you get your feet out of the most complicated blanket sleepers.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Six Months Abby!

Dear Abby/Ab/Abber/Aberdeen/Aberdeenia/BabyButt/etc,

You have made it a whole half of a year! You are sititng up all on your own and are standing up while holding onto things for the most part. You still really aren't a roller-overer, though you will do it when pressed, or more likely when going for Mommy's hair.

You took your first vacation, to Florida to see Nana and Pop. You had a wonderful time and reached for Nana just as soon as we walked off the plane. And Pop got you to giggle and laugh the most I have ever seen while playing peek a boo with you and a blanket. In Florida you also took your very first swim and you predictably loved it.

Bella, our dog, is your new best friend. You love to share your food with her and start looking around all excited whenever you hear her collar clanking. It's so funny to watch, because the two of you are the exact same size.

You still HATE to sleep. You don't nap, you don't sleep the night, the only time you sleep peacefully is in the Moby wrap with mommy or in mine or Daddy's arms. I have to say that it's an incredible feeling to be holding  a baby while they totally relax and fall asleep. A few times now, you have giggled in your sleep and I take this to mean that you are a very happy girl.

You talk and squeal unendingly and we think you are going to talk as much as your sister. By the way, you guys really bonded on the trip to Florida. You also got to meet your cousins Annalisa and Gage, who adored you!

It's been a busy summer already. Dominic is spending his summer days with us and just last week we have been to the movies and to a park and you love to go all over! You are just now starting to be okay with hanging out in the stroller and really seem to enjoy people watching. Music makes you kind of shake now, and everything gets you to blow raspberries!
Watching you and your dad play makes me just love both of you more all the time. You beam and beam at him to get his attention, then you look away all shy and do the same thing over and over. You like to reach out and pat him all the time, it's hilarious.

You weigh almost 15 pounds at this point and are about 25 inches long, and you just keep getting bigger! You are eating lots of solid foods, but you love your baby Mum Mums the most (they are a weird rice cracker dissolvable thing). I think you love them so much because you can do them yourself.

You are a big fan of the Lazy Boys and can often be found lounging in one with the dog, or possible with the dog AND a parent. Depends on your mood. :)

Love you,
Mommy

Yum...

Canadian coke, made with real sugar! No high fructose corn syrup. Definitely a treat!




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I am grateful...

For Canadian coke! It is made with no high fructose corn syrup, and is so delicious!



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