Me + Three

Happy Birthday for real this time, little one.

You have brought so much joy to our lives – I can’t even begin to tell you. Watching you learning new things (every day now!), imitating our behaviors and sounds, learning to control your little body and express yourself has been more exciting than I could have dreamed. It has been an awesome, busy, laughter-filled year. You’ve been such an easy baby so far, with no major sicknesses or problems – we are so incredibly lucky. It just keeps getting better and better.

We put up our Christmas decorations this week and I was reminded of your first month of life last December. How I spent that entire month on the corner of the couch, nursing you by the light of the Christmas tree. We had to disable the timer and ended up keeping it on the whole month because I was up so often with you at night as you learned to sleep for 2, 3, 4 then 6, 7, and finally 12 hours at a time. I can’t imagine better light to nurse you back to sleep by. Christmas will always remind me of that month.

You’re beginning to really show us who you are – a little shy, not much of a risk taker but strong willed and clever. It took you a few months of crawling to finally figure out how to go down our step in the living room, but when you try to match shapes on your toys or put rings back on the stacker, it only takes you a second to figure it out. You’re shy around strangers – you quiet down and stare inquisitively without revealing too much. When you’re comfortable, you’re vocal and babbling, moving all over the room. You listen well, and like to stay near me most of the time. You eat a lot.

And OH! You have two teeth. You only had one on your birthday, but got the other a few days later. Two top front teeth – and believe me – everyone we meet sings you the ‘All I Want for Christmas’ song. You have a completely different smile – more girlish, less babyish.

We’re totally off bottles and had our first night without formula tonight. You didn’t even notice. As each of these milestones of babyhood passes, I cringe a little. I’ll never get to snuggle you quietly on the couch, listening to the suck and squeak you made while drinking your bottle, your eyes looking up at me and your fingers holding on to mine. You’ve dropped your first nap and are now only sleeping an hour or so each afternoon – and you don’t mind it a bit. You’re smiling and happy and playing all day.

On your birthday, we celebrated with pizza and cake at the house. Gramma and Grampa Graham, Aunt Nicki, Uncle Adam and cousin Edie came over to watch you eat your cake. You didn’t really like or care about the cake – but you finished a slice of pizza in no time. We bought you a tunnel and tent from Ikea; a little chair for the living room, and the ‘Busy Ball Popper’ which was a HUGE hit. Gramma and Grampa Kuhn bought you a wagon and from Gramma and Grampa Graham, you got some clothes, ride-on toys and another little fold-up camp chair that we can take to your brother’s soccer games or when we go camping. You love your gifts – and it’s nice to have some new toys in the house.

We’re having a big party for you on December 12th – we’re expecting almost 50 people, including all the kids and babies. You’re so lucky (and so am I) to have so many friends your age before you even start school! It’s so obvious how well you know Edie and Mitchell – you’re so comfortable with them and with your aunts and uncles (Adam, Nicki, Laura and even now Sam). I know you’ll all be close throughout your lives – we can only hope.

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Little lady, monkey, peaches, monka-doo, schmoopy: you are my world. I feel so lucky to be your mom and cannot wait to watch you grow to become a toddler and little girl. I can only hope that the next year is as amazing as this one has been. Thank you.

This week has been full of so many little milestones, I had to interrupt my monthly posting schedule to record it all.

Don’t get too excited – still no teeth. Now we’re starting to take bets on whether she’ll have any before her first birthday. I don’t think she’s EVER going to get any, but that doesn’t seem likely either. I’ve just grown so used to her toothless grin.

She took her first few unassisted steps – granted they were wobbly and tentative, but she made it from my arms to Adam’s. She’s been walking while holding our fingers all the time and each day we can feel her getting stronger and more stable. She is learning to use her walker push-toy, but still doesn’t start it herself.

She learned to crawl down steps – finally. Until this week, she’d done it once or twice but mostly would sit on the stair and whine until someone came to help her down. Yesterday, she just scooted toward the step and put her foot down, and followed with her body. That’ll make our days a little easier – and definitely the sitter’s since her house is all varying levels.

She’s signing “more” and “all done” frequently; is waving goodbye/hello, talking on her ‘phone,’ clapping all the time (most appropriately at her brother’s soccer games), and started blowing kisses this morning. She imitates everything we do. She can pick out ‘kitty,’ ‘doggy,’ and ‘bunny’ in her books. She’s chasing Molly around the house and squealing whenever she gets a hand on her.

We started peanut butter, shellfish and whole milk – she takes all of them just fine. She eats like a champ, taking down entire kid’s meals or sandwiches. She weighs 22.6 lbs – which we found out when we visited the pedi last week for a ringworm infection on her scalp. It’s not bothering her at all – she’s not scratching or rubbing it – but we’re on meds for 6 full weeks.

She’s making all kinds of new noises – two and more syllable sounds with lots of d’s, m’s, and words that sound like ‘dummy’ or ‘doma’ or ‘heya’ or ‘yummy’. She babbles constantly and also started ’screaming’ this week. She and Edie love to alternate high-pitched squeals – and I can only imagine how much louder and more grating this little game will get over the next couple years.

My favorite new development this week though has got to be her tantrums. When she gets whiny, she puts her little head down on the ground and cries – but only for a brief moment. We haven’t seen any real tantrums yet – thankfully – but I’m sure they’re coming. We’re already seeing the signs – she gets really mad when we take something away or tell her no, but she’s still pretty easy to redirect.

Happy birthday, Monkey!!

This is the last month I get to celebrate your ‘birthday’ for, I suppose. From here on out you’re ‘years old.’ Things are moving right along.

We got married this month (Oct 17th) and you were a big part of the ceremony. Your dress matched mine and you were oh-so-cute. And so well behaved – you even let Gramma and Grampa sleep until 8:15 the next morning!

I know you won’t remember, but your grandfathers also baptized you that day. You and Edie. It might be important to you some day, and I know it meant a lot to them.

You spent most of that weekend with Gramma and Grampa – and you were oh-so-clingy. I think you were a little put off by all of the people, the strange places and strange faces. You would only be held by Gramma K or by us – which got a little stressful since you wouldn’t let us put you down and we had a wedding to prepare for! Things have settled down since then and you’re back to your usual smiley, self-entertaining self.

You’re starting to sign – you say ‘more’ and try ‘all done’; you’re waving a cute little wrist wave and clapping whenever we say “Yay!”. You learned ‘touchdown’ last night too, which is really funny. You answer the phone – either your Elmo phone or my iPhone – with your arm stretched behind your head and say “hoooo,” which I think is ‘hello.’ You’re starting to imitate everything we do – sounds, movements, facial expressions, and your cousin Edie. You two squealed at each other for quite a while last night.

You are *still* sleeping awesome. 7 to 6:30 or 7. We’re trying to get you rescheduled for the time change and I think you’ll get it in the next couple days. We are definitely very, very lucky you’re such an awesome sleeper. Except naps. You hate naps. Especially the morning nap. You’ll lie in your crib and babble and talk for an hour before you fall asleep for just 20 or 30 minutes. Then you’re fine until the afternoon.

You’ve started a strange walk-crawl combination this week, where you’re walking on your feet but your hands are on the ground too, as if you’re crawling. I’m sure you’re just testing your stability and putting one foot in front of the other. I wish you’d stop. I love you as a crawling baby and I don’t want you to walk quite yet! Give us a little more time to enjoy you as a true baby, before toddling starts.

Your first Halloween was a lot of fun because we dressed you, Edie, Cam and Mitch up as little monkeys. You all hated your costumes but you let us snap a few photos. You looked like a living stuffed animal. It was almost creepy, but adorable too.

You’re such a happy baby. Your brother spends hours with you on the floor, getting you to giggle by hiding under the blankets or wrestling with you and your Rody horse. He is so proud of you and loves to hang out with you and show you off to his friends. He can honestly just look at you and you crack up. He’s going to be an awesome brother.

You’re almost off the bottle too, which is nice for us. Formula is expensive! We started letting you tell us when you want one, and you never want one! You make up for it in eating food though – that’s for sure. We have to order you kid’s meals now when we go out to eat and you’ll easily scarf down an entire grilled cheese and french fries or chicken tenders – even though you still don’t have any teeth. We started you on milk this week to make up for the formula you’re not drinking. We still give you a bottle at bedtime, but even that one isn’t huge – you barely finished 4 oz last night. But you had a huge bowl of pasta with squash for dinner, so I know you couldn’t have been too hungry.

Right now you’re watching Blue’s Clues and dancing to the music. You’ve been so bouncy and expressive lately – and so incredibly happy. You’re climbing in and out and over everything. You really are a happy, easy-going baby and I’m so lucky for that. We love you so much, little lady – now stop growing up!

Yes, yes I know. No excuses except, um, I’m getting married in like 2 weeks? Is that an excuse? I think it should be.

Little miss, welcome to your 10th month. You are a ball of energy, all smiles and laughter these days. You crawl back and forth and back and forth across the room. You will not be contained. You’re standing all the time, pulling up on everything and anything. The tables, your toys, the dogs. If it’ll hold you, you’ll pull up. If not, you’ll push it around the room for awhile and get frustrated when it gets stuck (for example, the dining chairs, the ottoman, etc.).

You are sleeping like a champ – from 7pm straight through until 6:30 or lately, even later. Your naps are a little tougher – you don’t seem to like them anymore, but how can we blame you? You go to Miss Kelly’s all day where you’re able to play with your cousin Edie, Simon and Seth. Edie bit you last week – HARD – but the teeth marks have faded and you got over it quickly. She also hugs you every morning and gives you a kiss. It’s incredibly sweet. It’s so awesome to watch you two starting to interact more while you’re playing – sharing (and stealing) toys, laughing and smiling at each other.

There are days you won’t stop babbling, and I’m pretty sure you know ‘mama’ on purpose now. You look at me when you say it, and you say it when I come into the room or when I’m about the leave. You babble ‘dada’ too, but I’m not sure you’ve associated that with your daddy. Your brother loves to make you giggle and he does it often – until you make a beeline for his room and all of his choking-hazard-Legos. Then, he’s not so happy and helps us teach you ‘no.’ But you’re relentless and crafty – you know just how far away from his room you can sit and still get a hand in to touch those coveted Legos without getting scolded.

You still don’t have any teeth. I check every morning, but nope. That hasn’t stopped you from eating. Hate to say it, but you’re a little pig! This morning you ate a whole container of yogurt (4oz) and an entire banana. A big banana too! You love waffles, bananas, pasta, grilled cheese, sweet potatoes and last night you liked our chili quite a bit. You’re getting frustrated with us feeding you but still allow it when you’re hungry. You inexplicably don’t like sweet things all that much – or cheese. I’m beginning to think you’re not my daughter. Sometimes you’ll go for a couple pieces of strawberry, peach, or a blueberry, but never more than a few and forget anything other than those (save for bananas, which you totally dig).

You still hate cuddling. Every now and then, if you’re scared or nervous, or if you’re just tired enough, you’ll lay your head on my shoulder and melt into me. But those times are rare, and you really would rather be free (just like your father). I enjoy those moments when I can get them because they’re so fleeting.

We’re rolling into the season of first birthday parties, and this year has flown by. I can’t imagine that you’ll be turning one year in just two short months. I love this age – this 10 months – and I would love to keep you here for just a little while longer. I am not yet ready to watch you take teetering steps forward on your own, to start responding to me with words rather than your cute squeals and more often, grunts. I’m starting to see more and more of your personality and I’m starting to see you more and more as a person – a little tiny adorable person.

I’m a week late.

Again.

The little Miss has turned the 9 month mark. That’s three-quarters of a year old. And I will say that this is my absolute favorite time in her life so far. She smiley and happy all day, laughing randomly, crawling all over the house with her head down in full-on mission-mode. She is pulling up all over the place and cruising from one thing to another. She goes to sleep early and sleeps all night long (even though she’s started waking up a little earlier than I’m happy about, at least she sleeps all night).

She’s cute. She’s fun. She’s pleasant and easy to deal with. She’s eating regular food too, so meals are so easy. In fact, she decided this week that she will no longer eat from a spoon. Seriously. She smashes her lips together and waves her arms forcefully at the spoon. She will. not. be. fed.

So, it’s finger foods only. Cut up fruits and veggies, and Cheerios. OH MY GOD does this girl love her Cheerios. We’ve gone through half a big box in the past week. I thought it would last for a month at least. She’ll chow through the equivalent of a bowl then chow down an entire banana or avocado or grilled cheese or bowl of mac and cheese after that.

Spent the weekend in St. Augustine with Adam, Nicki & Edie and Sam, Laura & Mitchell. Three couples, three babies, three bedrooms. While it was a lot of fun, I will never, ever, ever again share a bedroom with Piper. No way. Not ever.

Adam and I ended up with about 5 hours of sleep total. The entire weekend. Piper woke up the first night at 4 am, saw us in the room and decided that was good enough for the day. The next night, when we’re exhausted after getting up so early, she awakes at 11 to fuss (she does this sometimes – let’s out a little whimper and goes back to sleep). Again, she sees us in the room decides HELL YEAH IT’S GO TIME!! She’s up and at ‘em until 2:30 or 3- when we finally had to throw our hands in the air and let her cry (risking waking the other couples/babies) and move out to sleep on the couch.

This was the only experience – this second night of pacing the room with her on my shoulder, of her not letting me put her down or even hold her while lying down, of her crying and screaming and generally just being awake – this was the first time I felt true exasperation. This was the first time we actually considered the logistics of putting her in the car and driving around until she fell asleep (decided against it because she’d have woken right up when we tried to bring her back inside). I tried to find the keys to my brother’s van so we could get our stroller out and take her for walk (no dice in the dark at 2 am). This was the first time.

And I realized: Damn, I’m lucky.

She’s 9 months old, and this was the first time.

This week has seen the emergence of a personality, without question. Defiance, revolt even? Arching her back, a new high-pitched squeal of displeasure. We’re working on signs and she’s *almost* signed back to us a couple times, but nothing for sure yet. I cannot wait until she’s able to tell us ‘milk’ or ‘hungry’ or ‘tired.’ Waving goodbye and high-fives are just around the corner, too – we’ve had a few instances, but nothing consistent.

In a general baby sense, Piper is mellow and observant. She likes to look around and take things in before reacting. She’s not entirely emotive, and especially not among strangers or crowds. Just like her brother and her dad. She’s not easy to get a smile out of unless she’s comfortable. It’s really interesting to see all of the babies together and pick out their distinct personalities.

When Piper is feeling sick or tired or scared, she gets really clingy – she hugs my neck and arm and lays her head down on my shoulder. She’ll do this with anyone she feels safe with, but if you want to put her down or pass her to someone, it’s difficult. She holds on tight. I love it, but I do want her to feel comfortable with other people – especially her grandparents and aunts/uncles.

And Piper has a lot of ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’ – our friends are always around. She generally gets passed among them happily, but lately, she has had a very obvious fear of Sam Irmis. It cracks me up. A few weeks ago, Sam walked into the house and said hello to her, and she broke out into a fearful cry and darted toward me – she could not have crawled any faster if she tried. She had just started pulling up and she tearfullly, fearfully and very very rapidly pulled herself up on the couch to get as close to me and as far from Sam as possible.

Then, at swim lessons, she was sitting playing on the floor happily until uncle Sammy walked in – and sure enough, she broke out in tears. Sam has since been approaching her carefully and I thin she’s warming up, but for someone she sees a few times a week, the fear is hilarious. Scary Uncle Sammy Hopefully this weekend with them in St. Augustine will change that – but for now, it’s good for laughs. The fear is unmistakable.

Belated, but here are some pics from Edie’s first birthday party.

Times, they are a changin! Little lady is so mobile now, it’s scary. We were sitting on the couch the other day and all of a sudden her little head popped up above the cushions. She learned to pull up. So now she’s standing, pretty much all the time. She is trying to pull up on the walls, the tables, chairs, gate, everything. She’s also mastered climbing up the stair from our living room to the dining area – which is entirely hilarious as she shimmies her little body forward with her toes and then pulls her knees under her.

We just finished our ridiculously expensive swim lessons. It was a lot of fun to have all four babies in the class – Mitchell, Edie, Piper and Camden. They learned to close their eyes and hold their breaths before going under water which is just too cute. Piper squishes her whole face all up and squeezes her eyes shut.

We also celebrated her cousin Edie’s first birthday this past weekend. Another party filled with babies. They all played together so well, and miss Edie started standing independently and taking a few steps while we were all there. I’m sure she’s walking by now – it’s been 3 days since I’ve seen her and she was that close. I’m glad we got to at least film them crawling around together a couple times before Edie took off! I’m sure the 4 month difference will be leveled soon enough.

She’s also been eating like crazy. We’re doing breakfast and dinner. She’ll eat an entire 4 or 6 oz of food in the morning – I give her yogurt or fruit, chunks of banana (she’ll eat a whole one!) or a jar of babyfood mixed with oatmeal. At dinner, I give her 4 cubes or one big jar of food, plus cut up pieces of whatever we’re eating. She is getting really great at getting food from her tray to her mouth and love big, chunky food. I’ve started pureeing her food far less and instead break of bigger pieces.

She has discovered her voice and babbles constantly – and this is her favorite use of her voice by far. She does this by herself but it’s far funnier when we do it with her.

*Disclaimer: I am getting paid to write this. So stop reading now if you’re not interested. But I promise I’m being honest nonetheless.

I was recently asked to sample some store-brand formula. Specifically, the Wal-Mart store-brand, Parent’s Choice.

I’ve been feeding Piper formula since I stopped breastfeeding at 6 months, and some before then to supplement. Until recently, I was using Similac Advance and OUCH. I started buying it because their brilliant marketing people sent me three $5 coupons, which made it the same price as store brands. So I started. But then I felt guilty about changing, and didn’t want to shock my little one’s system. That all changed when I started reading about the federal government’s strict nutritional requirements for baby formula.

Lo and behold, store brands are essentially identical to their more expensive counterparts in nutritional benefit for your child. So I started buying Publix or Target’s store brands. Parent’s Choice formula is available at Wal-Mart, and while I don’t shop there (political rant reserved for a later time), the formula is a perfectly fine option with which to feed your baby. Peaches has been enjoying it all weekend without a hiccup, and sucks it down equally as quickly as any other. And seriously? It’s less than HALF AS MUCH as Similac Advance. It’s under $12. For an entire big can.

Here’s the kicker: They offer a baby formula savings calculator on their website that will blow your mind. Were I to use Parent’s Choice exclusively, I could be saving $56.94 per month. PER MONTH. That equates to almost $350 over the 6 months we’re feeding her formula. That’s like an entire new wardrobe worth of savings.

I feel like we’re held hostage by the big baby-formula companies; convincing us we shouldn’t change brands or that the store-brands are an evil alternative, when the truth is they’re just as good for your baby as any other. Breastfeeding is best – not sure it’s cheapest based on how much I spent on a pump, bags, etc – but my second choice is now store-brand formulas until the lil lady is old enough to say goodbye to the entire racket.

Well, the lil lady is officially crawling. It just happened one night. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa Graham were visiting when she decided that she could simultaneously move her arms and knees to gain forward motion. I missed it. But when I walked in the door, everyone had was cheerful and congratulatory except Piper. She was fussy. Nonetheless, we put her down and she begrudgingly made her way in full crawl over to me, whining every inch of the way.

Now, as any parent to a crawler can attest, all she wants to do is cruise around the room. She does laps. Back and forth and side to side, stopping to pick up a toy then discarding it as something else catches her eye. She digs movement. She’ll plant her butt and sit for a second, then take off again.

When it comes to solids, she’s really not into them. She is getting pretty adept at picking up finger foods and goes nuts for puffs. I have been giving her small chunks of ‘people food’ – broccoli, some chicken, beans, fruit, pasta – and she is really good at ‘chewing’ – or mashing them up with her gums. When she’s done she’s done though, and she squishes up her face, purses her lips and turns her head.

I start at the office full-time on Monday. I’m already missing her. I feel ok about supporting the business, but I’m scared about leaving her. She’s going through separation anxiety now too, which should make it even easier for me to leave her Monday morning. I know she’ll have a blast with the other babies, but I’m going to miss her!

Again, my apologies, little one, as time flies by. These summer months have been a trip – with Adam and Riley home all day bothering me while I try to work keeping us company and convincing us to take afternoons off. Vacations, theme parks, boat rides and beach days – it’s been a whirlwind.

Piper is starting to crawl. Well, we have forward movement. Which is as good as crawling in my book because it means, essentially, that she can get to and into everything she wants. She has a pretty funny little method wherein she pushes up to her feet and hands, then puts her knees down, then lies on her belly and pushes forward with her toes. And repeat. Slow going, but it gets the job done.

I’ve rented an office and hired an employee and will be putting Piper into a home daycare situation. I found a wonderful, sweet woman with two kids of her own that will be her new sitter (thanks, Becky!!), so I’m not worried about her there. But, I am a little apprehensive about leaving her every day. I’ve really enjoyed the afternoon snuggles and getting to watch her cruise around the living room while I work. I also really regret clients waiting on projects while I’m trying to deal with a fussy baby.

I had to make the decision – to grow my business, take the leap, or stay home and keep going at the pace I’m working at now. I think the office is a good idea for the simple fact that I’ll be giving myself definite work hours and trying to maintain at-home, no-work hours too. Right now there are days I move from my bed to the computer and don’t get up until bedtime. Those days need to end.

So, dear Piper, I will be leaving you. And I’m sad and happy and excited and scared. I feel fortunate that when I miss you, when I positively can’t spend another day without you, I can just bring you to the office with me or not go in at all because hey, I’m the boss. It’s my thing. And I can do what I want.