WDP: 12 Months (1 year)

Wren,
Happy Birthday sweet girl.

One year ago right this moment, I though I was in labor.  They sent me home, only for my water to break the next morning.  When you are a Mom, if that's what you choose to do, you will realize how wild it is to look back over the first year of your child's life.  You went from tiny being in my stomach to this walking bundle of personality. I am so glad you quit crying all the time too!

Wrenny, you are such a fun little girl.  You are happy and curious.  You love to try to figure things out.  You are strong-willed and like to get your way.  You refuse to sign even though you know how, because you know I already know what you want.  We, you and me, and very tight.  I don't ever let you cry or whine or be without.  I like to jump to your every whim and usually it's okay.

You did fall back into a crummy sleeping patter for FOUR MONTHS.  I simply could not listen to you cry.  Daddy agreed that it was terrible.  You cried like someone was trying to hurt you.  No one was.  Finally I was tired enough to listen to it and I let you cry for HOURS on end.  That lasted four nights.  Now you sleep.  You are a smart girl.

You are also fun to take out.  You love to be outside and you love music.  If we can find a patio with music (and a playscape for brother), you are golden.

You also love to eat.  We aren't sure if lactose is a problem yet, but we just feed you until we are concerned that you might pop. You love fruit, meat, and carbs.  You LOVE macaroni and cheese, cottage cheese, and yogurt.

Oh, and WE MADE IT.  I successfully nursed you for a year (As a side, I have been either pregnant or nursing for 4 years!).  I have slowly started weaning you, but am in no hurry.

You are so close to walking that it is silly.  You take 8-10 steps at the most, but are scared.  I bet you will be walking by Christmas though.

Sissy (that's what we call you 85% of the time), you have changed our family in so many way.  We now have pink and ruffles everywhere.  We have another little person to entertain, who also entertains us.  We care and dream and love even more.  We absolutely love you.

Love,
Mom

NAP: 34 Months

Dear Nash,

What a fun month it has been.  Well, beside the illness, that is.  You have had a language explosion!  You are also finding things you really love, which is fun to be a part of.

So, you had croup a few weeks ago and then a secondary infection.  But, you are much better.  You are super into Legos and dinosaurs, though right now, everything is about Legos.  I cannot believe that you are not even three and these tiny pieces are everywhere!  You love them.  You sit at your table and play with them for long stretches.  We bring a bucket of them to dinner and you just hang out and play with them.  Legos are the greatest, except when I step on them!

You are very busy still.  You love to play outside and go to school.  You like to climb the most, but kicking the soccer ball, and running around come in close.

You sleep awesome at night, but not so much for naps.  I get about 3 naps a week, despite how hard I run you.  If you don't nap, you almost always sleep later in the day and that never goes well.  Today, I caved and gave you cake after a late nap just to cheer you up!  Great parenting.

You love your friends and family.  You love "Daddy Kevin" and sissy and I know you love "Mom".  You constantly talk about Luke and Davis   In fact, today you told me you wanted them for Christmas.  You chat about Mimi and Buddy, Grammy and Grampy, SueSue and Mikey, and Midge and Uncle Matt too. You LOVE your peeps.  You are also into your friends.  You seem to like sweet-hearted friends and click well with a few boys and all of our co-op girls.  You are not into playing with aggressive boys so much (though you have your days).

Right now, you say thinks like "Mom, please" and "Please Stop doing that".  You are also speaking in similes   That really gets me. Your memory is really good.  You have started singing as well.  Rudolph and Jingle Bells are faves.

Nashy, I so love you.  You entertain me like crazy.  You crack us up and keep us on our toes.  I wish you would nap more.

Love,

Mom

WDP: 11 Months

Wrenny,

Little girl, you are so beautiful and cuddly, and yummy.  Several times each day Daddy and I just squeeze on you.  It's a good thing you love it!

These days your number one priority is being with your family.  Cruising (walking while holding on to anything) comes in a close second. Eating is totally third.  You are specific about what you like: puffs, ham, yogurt, fruit, cheerios, and pouch vegetables. That's pretty much it.  Occasionally, we can get you to try what we are having for dinner, but you mostly just refuse to eat it. I am still nursing you several times a day and have not really begun the weaning process.  I just don't have the drive to stop and neither do you.  I know I will start giving you cow's milk soon, and that should help us both.

Developmentally, you say Mama and Dada.  Mostly Mama.  You sign more, all done, dog, and bye bye.  You turn off lights and give high fives.  You copy lots of things that we do like trying to build blocks, talk toys out and put them back in, and fins things when we hide them.

You absolutely love your brother and light up when you see him.  You also really love the pugs.

Your sleeping is not so great.  A couple of months ago you started waking up at 4 am to eat.  You haven't stopped.  I feed you and then let you sleep in my bed.  Needless to say, I am tired.  But, your crying is so incredibly sad.  You full on bawl and I can't stand it.  Soon enough I will be tired enough to handle it though.

You have been crawling some, though you much prefer to cruise or be taken places.  Crawling is for the birds, oh wait.

Your birthday is in two weeks.  I simply cannot believe one year ago I was preparing for my little girl's birth. Today, you are a bright-eyed, little round-faced baby.  I had no idea what wonder you would bring into our lives.

I love you,
Mom

Thanksgiving 2012

Nash absolutely had croup in these pictures, so he got to hold Sissy for about 30 seconds.  My little turkeys.

Halloween 2012: Sick Kids Edition

NAP: 33 Months

Dear Nash,
Mommy is very late again.  Son, this has been a very long and exhausting month. First, the entire family had one form or another of a nasty stomach virus.  You and Daddy had it the worst.  You were the first to go down and when you would vomit, you say, "I spit it out."  Poor little guy.  Then we had a week or so of decent health when croup came on like a freight train.  After an exhausting night of trying to decide whether or not to take you to the hospital, my gut kicked in and I drove your sweet, gasping little self to the Children's Hospital at 2 am.  After a few breathing treatments and a steroid, we got to go home.  That was a tough little time for you and I was so proud of how brave you were. I do have to tell you though that you resisted your breathing treatments with all of your might.  You are very strong-willed.  Now, you have a secondary infection and are on antibiotics.  I pray you feel much better soon.

This month we also visited Houston, where you played with your best friends and cousins, Luke and Davis.  You really love those guys.  You got to stay in their room and have a sleepover.  You played like such a big boy.  Then we spent a couple of days at Mimi and Buddy's where you hung out with your grandparents and Mikey and SueSue.  You sure know how to make your way around their property and all of the things to do.  Don't tell Buddy, but you threw every pine cone on the property into the pond.

You also spent some time with Grammy and Grampy.  Your new favorite thing to do at their house is yard work.  You love pulling weeds,  wearing gloves, and helping Grampy.  They say they work you like a little Polack.  See, they can say that because you and Grampy and Daddy are Polacks.  Wrenny too.

You are loving school.  You remember your rules: "No hitting, no kicking, no throwing toys."  Most of all though: you love dinosaurs.  You know so many.  You carry them around with you.  You work on the dinosaur puzzle multiple times a day. You pretend like you are a dinosaur sometimes too.

Oh and behaviorally, you are all two right now.  You are testing everything. When I ask you to stop something and you keep doing it, I usually threaten to take something away or send you to time out.  You then offer me the thing or offer to go to time out.  Then when I say okay, you freak out!  Or when I put you in the stroller, you say you want to walk.  Then when I say okay, you say,"no, stroller!"  Oh, to be two.

Nashy, tonight you came searching for me to give me a hug and a kiss.  I know this will not last forever, but I relish your love and sweet side.  I also know how much you are learning by testing us.  You are growing into such a big, little guy.

I love you son,
Mom

One Trick Wonder

Sweet Berry Farms

We went to Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls to take pumpkin pictures.  We went in the corn maze, jumped on the giant pillows, painted pumpkins, rode in a barrel train, took a hay ride with scare crows, and fed the goats.  And wouldn't you know, we got NO good pictures of both kids in the pumpkins? 

NAP: 32 Months

Dear Nash,

Busy boy.  Have I been writing that on your posts for two years now?  It sure feels like it.  If you had it your way, I would only refer to you as Triceratops, T-Rex, Stegosaurus  or one of the other twenty or so dinosaurs that you can name and I cannot. You are dinosaur crazy.  So dinosaur crazy that you sleep with hard plastic dinosaurs.  You will watch only Dino Dan on TV. You can tell us which dinosaurs eat what.  You mimic their sounds and even play with your little dinos.  Obsessed.

To fuel this obsession, we also got you a dinosaur quilt for your big boy bed (twin mattress on the ground).  That's right, the crib is gone.  You climbed out of it about a month ago.  I put you back in, but you were back over faster than I could turn around.  Uncle.  You go to sleep at night with no problem. You do usually wake up at least once in the night and need a little reassurance.  Nap time has been a different story.  You have just resisted, with all of your might. I'd just wash my hands of the nap (though I do love taking one too), but you then fall asleep before dinner and are a tyrant for the rest of the day.  You trash your room, throw toys and clothes and diapers and wipes everywhere.  You rip things off of the wall.  You take books off of the shelves.  You climb on furniture and find dangerous things (nail clippers and scissors). You covered yourself in Vaseline   Really. So, we took everything fun out of your room, bought blackout curtains, out a door knob lock on your door and kept on trying.  For a week, you have taken a nap every day.  Sometimes it takes an hour for you to fall asleep, but it is happening. 

Oh, and more big changes- you have quit the paci!  Your beloved paci!  You started chewing on them and tearing holes in them.  So, I started throwing them away.  One day you took a nap without one and didn't ask for one that night either.  By the time you asked for one in the middle of the night, I just told you that you chewed them all and that they were all gone. That worked.  I think it has been a week now. It is funny how much we stressed over this change and you just took it in stride.

You love reading (especially The Very Hungry Caterpillar), swinging, playing with dinosaurs, and making Sissy laugh.  You have started playing with your friends and you pride yourself in sharing.  Your vocabulary is amazing, but we cannot always understand you still.  Oh, and you LOVE to climb - on everything.

Nashy, we love you so.  You crack us up constantly.  You are testing at every turn, learning constantly, and being a great boy.

I love you,

Mom

WDP: 10 Months

Dear Wren,
My sweet girl.  It's been a big month for you.  You turned double digits, in months, that is.  I think you are the perfect size.  I love holding you, though you love when I hold you even more!  You still let me carry you in the Ergo, though you much prefer to take part in the action.

You still do not crawl.  You still only go backwards in the walker.  You still cannot get from laying down to sitting up.  So what action am I writing about?  Girl, you cruise.  You know all you have to do is wine a little and we will sit you up.  From there, you pull up on the nearest thing and take off.  You move between pieces of furniture and are even trying to stand on your own.  I have seen you get on all fours and rock a little, but I am starting to get the feeling that you might skip crawling.

You clearly need fuel for all of this movement.  You will eat almost anything.  You will not eat baby food off of a spoon, only out of a pouch.  You will always go for whole food first though.  You eat cut up chicken, peaches, plumbs, grapes, steamed carrots, boiled potatoes, steamed celery.  Ground beef, Cheerios, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and strawberries are also on your list.  Really, you'll try anything.  The other day I was feeding you bits of chicken out of my chicken salad (the mayo kind) and you grabbed the bowl and shoveled the rest in.  You smelled like onions all day!

You have started mimicking things that we do: you hold a phone to your ear and to ours, you took a tissue and pretended to blow your nose, you play peek-a-boo without prompting, and you are learning "SO BIG!" with arms in the air.  You clap and wave, at your discretion.  We also really think that you say Mama.

You seem to really enjoy toys with music, dance parties, swinging, and anytime Daddy and Nash are around.  We love watching you and Nash share, play, and laugh.  You seek him out in a room and he has made it one of his life goals to make you laugh.

Wrenny Wren, I simply cannot believe my baby is 10 months old.  We are so enjoying you.  We love having a little girl to love.

Love,
Mom

Lump in my Throat

Dear Nash,
I just went in to check on you and felt a lump rise in my throat.  You are sleeping on a twin mattress on the floor of your room. You are under a sheet and a blanket, with your head resting on a pillow. You are surrounded by hard plastic dinosaurs, a water cup, and a pacifier.  What, you might ask, could cause this emotion in me?  Son, you are growing too quickly.

After a trying few days, you have made it known that you have a voice in this house.  We are still your parents and are trying to find ways to accommodate you.  But, by climbing out of your crib, lightening fast, by the way, you mandated that a big boy bed was in order.  I haven't even had a chance to order bedding or pick a bed frame.  These are your terms.

Sweet boy, you are no longer a baby.  You are a little boy. And I love you.

Sweet dreams,
Mom

WDP: 9 Months

Wren,

Sweet girl.  We are just loving on you!  You are a very good baby.  Much of that comes from us having more experience this time around and knowing how to help you when trouble arises.

You are a bubbly, smiley, giggly, happy baby.  We can easily make you laugh.  Animal noises, peek-a-boo, brother laughing or dancing, Mommy bouncing, and Daddy just walking into a room are your favorite giggle triggers.

You are eating much more food these days.  You like baby food and we even give you some with grains in it.  You LOVE puffs.  You like to chew small bits of carrots, celery, bananas, peaches, grapes - really whatever we cut up. You also drink water out of a sippy cup- big girl! I am still nursing you a few times a day as well.

You sleep very well at night and even take two good naps, if we are home.

On that note, you have teeth!  The bottom middle came in first.  Now it looks like you are getting the top four and the next two on the bottom.  You seem to be in a decent amount of pain.  Thank goodness for Ibuprofen.

You are still not crawling, but you are sitting, pulling up, and getting in crawling position.  I will not encourage further movement.  It will happen.  And I will have to learn to be in two places at once.

You have started waving, clapping, and using the sign for dog (we think). You also full-body flap when something exciting happens (like Mommy reaching out to pick you up!).  We say, "flap flap."

Wrenny Wren, we so love you.  I love your little fingers and how you slap my chest when you are happy.  I love  your smiles and how much you love Brother.  I love having you as my baby.

Love,
Mom

NAP: 31 Months

Dear Nash,

What a busy month it has been.  I keep telling myself (and this blog) that I will try to update sooner, but that never happens.  Please just know that I am running after you and toting your sister instead of writing on time.

You are still such a busy boy!  You started mother's day out at the end of August.  You are in the Frog's class.  Each day when you arrive, you take your frog picture and put it on the log.  The first few days, you just went right in and started playing.  Then you caught a cold (imagine that- a cold after the first week of school - so typical!) and things didn't go as smoothly.  But, I hope we are back on track now.  You seem to like your teachers and the tiny bit of structure school provides.

You are very into dinosaurs right now.  You have a few little toys that you carry around any play with.  You frequently talk about T-Rex, Stegosaurus, Triceratops, and a bunch of other ones that I can't even pronounce.  I had no idea that there were so many dinosaurs - tons more than when I was a kid!

You also love watching TV and movies.  You like Wall-E, Toy Story, Ice Age, Dinosaur Train, and Thomas.  Of course, we have to limit this or you would watch TV all of the time.

You also love your boy cousins - Luke and Davis and Luke and Joe in Iowa!  You talk about them constantly.

The terrible twos seem to be upon us.  No is always the first response out of your mouth, before you even think about the question.  You also want to do what you want when you want to do it.  Sounds like your parents to me!  Daddy is ready for you to just listen, but we know that that might be a ways off.  We still do a lot of redirecting, over-explaining, and time-outs, when necessary.

What else...you are directing us which way to drive in the car. You climb on everything, all of the time.  You say "that one this" instead of this or that. You say, "yes, sure, of course" when we offer up something especially awesome. You love your family.  All of it.  When we leave Sissy with Daddy, you ask about her.  At night you recommend I go check on her.  You like "new water" before bed, along with Kiss Goodnight and Stinkyface.

OH and you tell us, "I LOVE YOU!"

Nash, each month brings such wonderful new things.  I hope you'll let me love on you forever and ever, sweet wild boy.

Love,
Mom

A Little Bit of Life With Two

More Wrenny Wren

Auntie Sharon made Wren four sets of hats and shoes.  Did you get that?  Four sets of handmade hats and shoes!  Wren looked so cute in her first set (they go up in size).  She looks like the cutest Cabbage Patch doll ever.  Thank you, Auntie Sharon!

A Little bit of the Potato (Nash Potato, that is)

Bring on the Bird