Ella Rose One Month

Man, how does the first month always fly by so quickly? It's hard to believe little Elly Bean is already one month old! She is still sleeping a lot during the day and is pretty darn fussy unless she is in mamas arms. Mama has been wearing Ella in the moby wrap pretty much non stop as she is either crying, sleeping, or eating. She does loves it when her big brother and sister talk to her though and will stare at them when they come and see her in the morning. Big sister Maddy loves to pet Ella and can pretty much always be found stroking her head. Today Maddy decided that Ella's nickname from her would be Cupcake, so she walked around saying "oh my little cupcake" all day long. Micah loves to whisper in Ella's ear and tell her "you are the best baby ever!." It's all pretty darn cute! Ella got to meet Grandma Lind and Grandpa Sam finally and has enjoyed their snuggles three times total! We are so grateful to see them after so much time apart for the quarantine. Although the stay at home orders and social distancing recommendations are still in effect, everyone is going a bit stir crazy and is starting to see family members and friends more often. Ella also got to meet her Aunt Meme, Uncle Kevin, and cousins Kevin and Kinsley on mother's day when we went to their house for swimming and playing. Having these "normal' interactions in the midst of this crazy pandemic has been crucial for our mental health and sanity. Ella had her first day at the beach when we ventured out for the first time since this lockdown happened together as a family. The beach parking lots are all still closed so we had quite the trek but sweet Ella slept in the moby wrap the entire walk to the beach, the entire time we were at the beach, and the entire walk back. Mama was so grateful and Micah and Maddy were in absolute heaven to finally get to splash in the water and put their toes in the sand-it is definitely their happy place! Ella's favorite place to sleep is cuddled right up against mama in bed so she has been cosleeping every night. We are all figuring out our new normal as a family of 5 and although it is crazy we are loving watching Maddy become a big sister, seeing Micah take care of and protect his new baby as the oldest, and cuddling and kissing our sweet new addition. At Ella's 2 week check up she was in the upper 90th percentile for both height and weight, today at her one month check up she is in the high 80's for height and mid 70's for weight. She is officially growing out of her newborn clothes and ready for her 0 to 3 month wardrobe! Grandma Lind could not get over how loud Ella is, we call her our little grunty baby because she is constantly making noise! Whether sleeping or awake she makes herself heard! So far Ella has had a couple sponge baths and one real bath and she was not a huge fan! Hence why there haven't been more-that and because she is the 3rd and life is busy lol! We are hoping as she develops her little tummy troubles ease up and we can start to see more of her personality emerge during her awake time.

Nicknames:
Elly Bean
Ella Bella
Cupcake (from Maddy)
Ells

Welcome Baby Ella Rose!

Sweet Ella Rose joined our family on April 22nd at 3:38 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs and 21 inches. She is so beautiful and we are just loving all the newborn snuggles. Today she had her 2 week check up and she had gained a full pound since her first check up at 3 days old. She loves to eat milky and cuddle with mama. She doesn't like to be put down in her bassinet (she will fuss after just a few minutes) but if she is sleeping next to mama in bed she will cuddle up and stay asleep for awhile. Today is the first time she has had a long stretch of sleep and we are hoping it's a sign of things to come (unfortunately it happened during the day so mama is anticipating a long night ahead!) Madelyn is obsessed with her baby sister! She says "can I pet her head?" whenever mama brings her downstairs and she is constantly wanting to see her and touch her. The first few days Ella was home both kids were constantly wanting to hold her but they've been asking less and less. Ella gave Micah and Madelyn a special big brother/big sister book and a medal for being incredible siblings. Madelyn was so cute, she called it her award and wore it all around the house. It's a crazy time to have a baby-during a worldwide pandemic- and I have a lot to say about that and our birthing story, but I will save that for another time. We are missing out on Ella meeting all her family members but were able to do a quick porch meeting with Grandma Lind and Grandpa Sam a couple nights ago and are planning to meeting Auntie Meme and her cousins this coming Sunday. We have all been stuck at home for over 1.5 months now and it's been strange to say the least, but it's also been really nice having daddy home and having a less rushed and hectic schedule. We are just so grateful to have a healthy baby and to have us all safe at home together. We love you Ella! <3

Letter to Maddy

Maddy James,

Happy Birthday Sweet Baby girl! This has been, by far, the fastest year of my entire life. I feel like I just had you and a blink later you are turning one year old. I have loved every minute of getting to know you and watching your personality emerge. You absolutely light up our word, and I feel so lucky to be your mama. You are spunky, funny, smart, sweet, sassy, persistent, determined, goofy, musical, flirty, and as cute as can be. I love cuddling with you on my chest in the morning an getting your giant, sloppy-wet kisses. I love the way you pounce on us and want to wrestle "daddy calls it Zombie Baby!" You love to laugh and play and make us laugh with your silliness. You babble and talk to us all day long, and love to dance and sing to any music that comes on (at any moment too!). You love your big brother with a fierce passion despite the many times he has knocked you over  or taken thing from your hands (sorry about that!).  When you see him your entire face lights up! I love to watch you play as you completely immerse yourself in it already. You are so smart! I love watching you pretend to cut your hair with the playdoh scissors, wash the floor with baby wipes, stack and knock down blocks, play with the pretend kitchen and food, climb in the mini chair and bounce, "jump" on the trampoline with such joy and excitement, and find every little crumb ever left on the floor and insist on eating it. You are so happy and joyful but if we try and take something you want or stop you from doing something you are determined to do, boy do you let us have it! You have a big voice and and even bigger persistence! You also have a sweet, sensitive side and you seem truly devastated when we calmly say "Maddy I can't let you do that." Like we deeply hurt your feelings. It just melts my heart, I see myself in you in those moments. Perhaps you got your mama's deeply feeling, empathic heart.  I want to keep you my little baby girl forever an yet I am so excited to see who you become. I have loved having a daughter and am truly enjoying our special bond and connection. My goal as your mama will be to create a bond and connection so strong that you will come to me for anything and everything and trust that I will understand you and have your back. I didn't have that person to go to growing up and I am determined that you will.  I love to dress you up in adorable headbands, outfits, and moccasins! You give the best, giant gummy smiles and you still only have two "official" teeth on the bottom. You seem to like to get your teeth in twos though, because now the top two are preparing to poke through any day. You love to chat on the phone already and say "HI!" as loud as you can while giggling. Today I had my eyes off of you for two seconds and I heard you squealing and giggling, I turned the corner and saw you standing on top of one of the new chairs nana got you for your birthday just as thrilled as can be with yourself. You are brave and love to climb on anything you can find. It is such a joy to witness you growing and learning new things. I want to wrap you in my arms and keep you right at this size and age forever sometimes, but since I know that is not possible, here is to many more beautiful years and joy-filled birthdays with our special Maddy cakes.

I love you!

Love,
Mama

Micah Starts Preschool!

Our big boy started preschool on July 5th, 2017!!! Technically it's summer camp but it's the same school,  teachers, times, and number of days he'll be going in September so we are counting this as "day one". He was a little sad that we were dropping him off rather than staying but he quickly moved on as he got immersed in the play opportunities.  We are so in love with this preschool! It's play based,  they follow the parent effectiveness model, they have a huge outdoor space with open play layouts that allow for imagination and creativity,  and a beautiful garden where the kids eat grapes right off the vine!!! It's been amazing to watch him grow these last couple weeks, he already seems so much older! We are so proud of you bubs!

9 Months!

I can't believe our sweet girl is 9 months old! She is army crawling everywhere-getting into everything! She is a ninja when it comes to picking up crumbs-seriously this girl's fine motor skills are on POINT when she is crawling on the floor she just plucks it right off of the floor and pops it in her mouth before I can even say a word! She loves to explore and has a knack for finding all things off limits (cords, said crumbs, dangerous items). We are looking into baby gates but in the mean time are loving her curious spirit.  She is certainly persistent! She loves to play independently and scoot all around the house looking for new things. Much to Micah's dismay, her favorite items are all of his toys! She loves to reach out for him and touch or grab him-she just can't get enough of her big brother! She is starting to eat more finger foods despite still having NO teeth (not complaining LOVE her gummy smile!). She likes avocado toast (but not plain avocado), strawberries, and cucumber sticks! She is devouring her new cold-pressed baby pouches and getting exposed to a variety of super healthy foods. She loves to babble and say mama, dada, bobo (for Micah), and niiinii (for night night I think). We love to her her voice and it is still loud as ever! Her little personality is emerging and it's so fun to watch unfold. She is so super happy....until she's not. Then she is MAD and she will let you know all about it. Whether it's taking away a crumb, putting her in her PJS or item she shouldn't be playing with or putt her down for a diaper change when she doesn't want one she gets a very exaggerated pouty face going and let's you have it! We love that we have a girl who is so joyful but not afraid to express her feelings!! She is still nursing like a champ and waking up several times a night for milkies and cuddles.

She is super impressed with her waving abilities and loves to wave at everyone. When she wants someone (a neighbor, patron of a restaurant, etc) to look at her she is very intentional with how she gets it. She will stare at them with a huge smile until they look her way or make squealing sounds at them like she did when our waitress was talking to Micah instead of her. She doesn't like when people get too close and talk to HER but she likes to flirt with them and get compliments from a safe distance. She LOVES to dance and has totally got rhythm. Anytime she hears music she starts dancing and clapping, moving her whole body to the beat. So cute!!!

She adores bath time and splashes with hilarious gusto the entire time. Today she gave mommy three giant, wet (wide open mouth) kisses on the mouth when she woke up. She never fails to greet us with giant smiles and looks of pure delight.

7 months!

Miss Maddy James is 7 months old!! We can't believe how quickly these months have been flying by. She is still her happy, joyful, sparkly self; full of smiles, laughter, and flirty looks! She has been sitting up on her own, clapping one to two times in excitement, babbling, and she's enjoying throwing things and knocking them over (cause & effect!). She loves her chew beads, teething biscuits, and all of her baby purees (not a huge fan of avocado-which is crazy!). She loves to be held and talked to/sung to but can also play with her toys on her own for good amounts of time. She still love to watch big brother Micah more than anything else and gets super excited every time she sees him. Micah has been giving Maddy kisses and hugs and bringing her toys but he does not want her to touch HIS toys or books! Maddy is crazy ticklish and if you kiss her neck or sides she goes into fits of full on belly laughs. She is so laid back and it takes a  lot for her to get upset (unless she wakes up in the middle of the night-that's when she gets the loudest). She is always making people oooh and ahhh over her in the store because she will make eye contact with them and smile at them as they pass her. Certain people just don't it for her though, and as soon as she sees them she will make the saddest face and cry and cry. She love bath time-splishing and splashing and chewing on her duck and seahorse. If I go in the bathroom to set it up and then walk out with her in my arms to get something she starts crying like I am not going to give  her a bath. so cute.

Kiddo Update

5/17/17

Maddy is on the verge of crawling! She took one big crawl a couple of days ago but mostly just pops up on her knees and hands and rock back and forth. She is waving hi and bye and her first word is officially daddy, much to mama's chagrin! She sat on the floor and waved bye and said "byyyye dada" over and over today when daddy left for work. So stinkin cute. She is talking a lot more and it's so fun to see her personality emerging more and more. She feels her happy feelings and her sad feelings in such a powerful way and we just are so excited to learn more about her.

She is still as happy as can be most of the time but certainly lets us know when she is upset....especially at night! She does the cutest little snort-smile, where her gigantic smile gets even bigger and more of her gums show when she is super excited. We are loving her gummy smile and are still waiting for that first tooth to pop through. She seems as if she is teething but we haven't spotted anything as of yet.

Micah is just amazing us more and more everyday with his increasing vocabulary and ability to communicate in very adult-like, conversational ways. He uses words like "actually, eventually, and unfortunately" and remembers EVERYTHING. He is very sweet, intense, and expressive. He loves to dance, make up songs, and use rhyming words. He has been super creative lately in his rhyming, storytelling, and pretend play. He LOVES everything construction and any sort of truck (firetruck, garbage truck, "spit up" truck, etc." He has so many cute expressions that we can never remember all of them, though we want to burn them in our brain forever. One of my favorite is "for some reason." I wish I could record all of his little conversation and explanations because they melt our heart and we already know how much we are going to miss that little voice as he gets older. He already is looking so big and seems so independent. We are about to embark on the potty training journey so that he is ready for preschool in September (and summer camp in July). He loves to spend time with his whole family and will say as much "I love spending time with my family" "don't go do X, I want to spend time with you!" <3