Sweet baby girl...you are already 11 months old! Where does the time go? These past couple of months have been extremely busy for our family. Despite some hard times, it has been YOU (and your brother) that has kept our family in our happy place. You light up our lives in so many ways. You have advanced quite a bit since I last wrote.
Milestones/stats/firsts:
- You have your own room now (finally) and have definitely adjusted to being all alone. When we first moved into our new house, you had some nights where you would wake up 2-3 times throughout the night wanting mommy. You've grown to love your new room and most nights don't even cry when we put you down. If you do cry, it is short lived. You sleep all the way through the night now.
- In between your ninth and tenth month, your first tooth popped! As soon as one popped, some more quickly followed. You now have 5 teeth!
- You have your first official swim class under your belt. We were on the "wait list" and initially got turned down by Jim when we showed up for the first class. But Daddy stayed persistent and was able to get you in. You were very comfortable in the water and loved the one-on-one time with Daddy.
-You celebrated your first Halloween, which included a trip to the pumpkin farm and trick-or-treating in our new neighborhood.
- At about 9 months old, we switched you over to a convertible car seat. You outgrew the infant car seat quickly. Mommy and Daddy were happy about the change since we don't have to carry around the heavy car seat anymore.
-You're officially ready to travel the world as you had your first passport photo taken. Bring on the Dominican Republic!
- You also celebrated your first Thanksgiving, which included participating in your first footballl game with your cousins and uncles.
Things You Like Right Now:
- Outside! We’ve thoroughly been enjoying our new neighborhood by going on walks, wagon rides, Burley rides, and playing in the yard. You enjoy crawling around and getting your hand on as many possible leaves as you can. I’ll admit that you even swallowed one last weekend. You also just like to sit and watch Ari play. We had a little bit of snow around Thanksgiving, but haven't had any since then. Mommy and Daddy are so excited for your first snow storm. We can't wait to get you outside to play!
- Girl, you love to eat! You pretty much eat anything that we are eating as family now. You especially like pancakes, french toast, pastitso, and spaghetti. There really hasn't been anything that you've resisted.
-Just like Mommy, you like to shop. You had your first trip to Chicago in November. We visited the Shedd Aquarium, partied in our hotel room, and shopped on Michigan Ave.
-You are still living up to your reputation of sleeping anywhere. I think you share this common trait with your Uncle Aris.
-Your new purple chair! You are obsessed with this chair and I am 100% sure you know the chair is yours. You will crawl all over it for 30 minutes straight. You sit in it, lay in it, bury your head in it, and stand in it! All while you look around with a huge grin on your face.
-Santa brought you a walker/scooter toy for Christmas. You love walking behind it and looking around to see who is looking at you.
-Buckwheat still has a very special place in your heart. Your first word after "Mama" was "Buh" for Buckwheat. Whenever he walks in the room you say "Buh" and look at him with a great big smile.
Dislikes:
- The thing that makes you most mad is when someone takes you away from Mommy. As long as Mommy is holding you, you are as content as can be.
-You also don't like when your brother tries taking away one of your toys. In fact, you show a little bit of a temper when he attempts to take something away from you.
Your Dad:
- Your Daddy had a nice two week break home with you in October. He spent most of the time watching you and your brother, so mommy could work on unpacking and organizing at our new house. He also spent a great deal of time outside raking the leaves in our new big yard. As always, the highlight of his week was taking you and your brother to swim class on Saturdays. You even went underwater this past swim class, which made your daddy especially proud.
Your Brother:
- How do I even say this? Your brother has definitely started to show us what being two is all about. He loves that you're more active now and that you've started playing with him versus just watching him. However, he is still realizing and adjusting to the fact that he has to share the attention with you. I'm very proud of him though because he is officially potty trained. Right after we moved, mommy and daddy decided it was time. At first, it was lots of reminders and language evolved around "staying dry", but your brother caught on quick. Mommy and daddy are super happy to only having one of you in diapers! The two of you even have your own hashtag, #elleandari. It's so amazing to watch the two of you grow together.
Your Mommy:
- I feel like our big move took a lot out of me these past couple months. I was emotional leaving our first home, since you and your brother had been born there. We've just had so many happy memories there and it was really hard to leave them behind and say goodbye to the house we became a family in. On top of the move, I was also adjusting to not being at Pierce anymore and working primarily as a stay at home mom and at UW-M. Staying home with you and your brother was the best decision I have ever made and one that I have not ever regretted. Thank you for joining our family when you did, so I had the opportunity to be home with both of you. I mentioned up above that you are attached to me like crazy. What I didn't mention yet is how much I love it! I don't even feel right unless I have you on my hip with your sweet smile. In the morning when you wake up, I bring you into bed for our morning nursing session. Sometimes you fall back asleep and sometimes you just lay awake curled up snuggling with me. You are so happy and so am I. It's one of my most favorite times of the day.
Looking forward to writing all about your first vacation and your first birthday next month!
Love,
Your Mommy
- Your Daddy had a nice two week break home with you in October. He spent most of the time watching you and your brother, so mommy could work on unpacking and organizing at our new house. He also spent a great deal of time outside raking the leaves in our new big yard. As always, the highlight of his week was taking you and your brother to swim class on Saturdays. You even went underwater this past swim class, which made your daddy especially proud.
Your Brother:
- How do I even say this? Your brother has definitely started to show us what being two is all about. He loves that you're more active now and that you've started playing with him versus just watching him. However, he is still realizing and adjusting to the fact that he has to share the attention with you. I'm very proud of him though because he is officially potty trained. Right after we moved, mommy and daddy decided it was time. At first, it was lots of reminders and language evolved around "staying dry", but your brother caught on quick. Mommy and daddy are super happy to only having one of you in diapers! The two of you even have your own hashtag, #elleandari. It's so amazing to watch the two of you grow together.
- I feel like our big move took a lot out of me these past couple months. I was emotional leaving our first home, since you and your brother had been born there. We've just had so many happy memories there and it was really hard to leave them behind and say goodbye to the house we became a family in. On top of the move, I was also adjusting to not being at Pierce anymore and working primarily as a stay at home mom and at UW-M. Staying home with you and your brother was the best decision I have ever made and one that I have not ever regretted. Thank you for joining our family when you did, so I had the opportunity to be home with both of you. I mentioned up above that you are attached to me like crazy. What I didn't mention yet is how much I love it! I don't even feel right unless I have you on my hip with your sweet smile. In the morning when you wake up, I bring you into bed for our morning nursing session. Sometimes you fall back asleep and sometimes you just lay awake curled up snuggling with me. You are so happy and so am I. It's one of my most favorite times of the day.
Looking forward to writing all about your first vacation and your first birthday next month!
Love,
Your Mommy
