Dear Lila,
One of the greatest things in life is waking up in the morning and realizing it's Saturday. Yay weekend!
Love,
Mom
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
18-Month Update
Dear Lila,
When we meet up with friends whom we haven't seen in awhile, they usually say one of two things about you: "She looks just like her dad" (which you do) and "Wow, she is so big" (which you are!). You just turned 18 months old but you are already 27 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. You're currently wearing size 5 diapers; the largest size your brother wore before he switched to underwear at age 3 was size 4, so you've already surpassed him!
Obviously, one of the reasons you are growing so fast is that you are an excellent eater. Pulled pork, quinoa, grilled eggplant, roasted seaweed, stewed chickpeas--you love and eat it all. In fact, when you see food and want some, you come at me with your mouth open as wide as you can get it, which cracks me up!
Your favorite foods are pasta and bread (of course, who doesn't love carbs?), cheese and yogurt-covered raisins. Among the few things that you do not like are sweet potatoes and cottage cheese--and recently, you also do not like sitting in your high chair. Now that you are such a big girl, you like to sit in a regular chair at the dining table with the rest of us. And you are already so good at feeding yourself with utensils.
Here are some other things about you now that you are a year-and-a-half:
-You have also inherently learned to love shoes and accessories. Before we leave the house, you always point to your shoes to make sure I don't forget to put them on for you. Every time we go to Barnes & Noble, you head straight for the backpack display, pick up the bee-shaped backpack, put it on and insist on wearing it the entire time we're in the store. And when I bought you your first bracelet in the Bahamas and put it on your wrist, you kept "oohing" and holding it out for Daddy to see.
-You love listening to music and dancing. And you look so cute when you dance, with the way you bob your head, sway from side to side, turn around in circles and excitedly wave your hands up and down.
-When you are happy to see me, you come barreling toward me, throw your arms around my legs and hug them tightly. It makes me feel awesome every single time!
When we meet up with friends whom we haven't seen in awhile, they usually say one of two things about you: "She looks just like her dad" (which you do) and "Wow, she is so big" (which you are!). You just turned 18 months old but you are already 27 pounds and 32.5 inches tall. You're currently wearing size 5 diapers; the largest size your brother wore before he switched to underwear at age 3 was size 4, so you've already surpassed him!
Obviously, one of the reasons you are growing so fast is that you are an excellent eater. Pulled pork, quinoa, grilled eggplant, roasted seaweed, stewed chickpeas--you love and eat it all. In fact, when you see food and want some, you come at me with your mouth open as wide as you can get it, which cracks me up!
Your favorite foods are pasta and bread (of course, who doesn't love carbs?), cheese and yogurt-covered raisins. Among the few things that you do not like are sweet potatoes and cottage cheese--and recently, you also do not like sitting in your high chair. Now that you are such a big girl, you like to sit in a regular chair at the dining table with the rest of us. And you are already so good at feeding yourself with utensils.
Here are some other things about you now that you are a year-and-a-half:
-You are walking so confidently but still get nervous from time to time when we are out, like at the playground, and reach out for me to hold your hand. You grip my hand so tightly sometimes and I like that you still need me :)
-You babble all the time but are not saying very many real words. You say mama (but usually only when you are hungry and want me to give you food), sui sui (Chinese for water) and whoa whoa (when you see a puppy or I ask you what a puppy says).
-You do understand a lot, though, and follow my instructions when I ask you to do things like pick up your books or put your clothes in your hamper.
-When I ask you what a lion, dragon, tiger or Cookie Monster say, you make a low growling sound. So cute!
-You love to look at books and can sit for long stretches and quietly flip through them. You especially like The Monster at the End of This Book, anything by Sandra Boynton and lift-the-flap books. I especially like it when you pick a book, plop down in my lap, wriggle around until you are comfortable and listen intently while I read it to you.
-You have also inherently learned to love shoes and accessories. Before we leave the house, you always point to your shoes to make sure I don't forget to put them on for you. Every time we go to Barnes & Noble, you head straight for the backpack display, pick up the bee-shaped backpack, put it on and insist on wearing it the entire time we're in the store. And when I bought you your first bracelet in the Bahamas and put it on your wrist, you kept "oohing" and holding it out for Daddy to see.
-Sometimes you walk around with your hands on your back, like a little old Chinese lady.
-You love listening to music and dancing. And you look so cute when you dance, with the way you bob your head, sway from side to side, turn around in circles and excitedly wave your hands up and down.
-When you are happy to see me, you come barreling toward me, throw your arms around my legs and hug them tightly. It makes me feel awesome every single time!
-You do all of the appropriate hand gestures when we sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider and" "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and point to the correct body parts when we sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." You can also correctly identify your tongue, cheeks and belly button.
-You are such a good girl when it comes to taking medicine or getting shots at the doctor's office. You handle it like a champ and barely wince or cry.
-Not so with brushing your teeth, however, as I have to pin you down and shove the toothbrush in your mouth while you scream and cry and try to bat it away.
-You are so smiley and giggly with me, Daddy and your brother when we are at home but if someone comes over or we go out, you become completely stone-faced and emotionless. No one can get you to smile or laugh no matter how hard they try. Your pediatrician says you should play poker. Or become a spy.
Love,
Mom
-You are so smiley and giggly with me, Daddy and your brother when we are at home but if someone comes over or we go out, you become completely stone-faced and emotionless. No one can get you to smile or laugh no matter how hard they try. Your pediatrician says you should play poker. Or become a spy.
 |
| Uncle Dennis tried so hard to make you smile. He did not succeed. |
Love,
Mom
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Bahamas, Baby!
Dear Lila,
We just returned from six amazing days in the Bahamas! You had a lot of firsts during the trip: first plane ride (you were great, took a long nap and played quietly with your flash cards and Bubble Guppies toys when you were awake), first stamp in your passport, first time going to the beach. The beaches were beautiful and the water was so clear that you could see so many tiny fish when you walked into the ocean (and one day, we even saw a barracuda!). However, you were not a fan of the beach because you most definitely did NOT like the feeling of walking on sand:
You did love playing in the wading pools with GuhGaw at our resort, though, and exploring the dozens of aquariums with hundreds of fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.
There were so many new things to see and discover, which I think encouraged you to walk on your own more than you have before. You often refused to sit in the stroller and one time, even toddled off after a puppy you saw, saying "whoa whoa" as you walked behind it (so cute!).
Unfortunately, there were two low points of our vacation. First, when we were walking out of Ben & Jerry's one night, there were so many people that I didn't notice that GuhGaw had run ahead of me out the door. Daddy and you were behind me and I thought Connor was behind you guys, but when we were all outside, we didn't see him anywhere. It was the first time I'd ever lost sight of your brother and I experienced several seconds of panic before I saw him running toward us; a steel drum band was performing a few feet away and Connor had run over to watch them. Oh my god.
Second, at the end of the trip, you came down with a fever and both you and GuhGaw developed these pretty bad-looking skin rashes. When we flew back home on Sunday, we actually dropped off our luggage at home and then took you guys straight to the emergency room, where the doctors said you two had ringworm. It was caused by a bacterial infection you had probably gotten in the pool water (and I'm so anal about cleanliness and hand washing!) but it isn't serious and we just have to put antifungal cream on your rashes for two weeks.
The ringworm definitely put a damper on things but at least you guys are okay. And other than the ringworm and Connor running off that night, we had a really fun, relaxing, memorable island getaway! The weather was so sunny and warm (it only rained once and the storm didn't last long), you and GuhGaw had a blast playing in the water, GuhGaw had a chance to feed some baby stingrays and a baby shark and Daddy and I were able to unwind on the beach with you guys. We've been back home for a few days now and Connor keeps sighing and saying, "I miss the Bahamas." Me, too, buddy. Me, too!
Love,
Mom
We just returned from six amazing days in the Bahamas! You had a lot of firsts during the trip: first plane ride (you were great, took a long nap and played quietly with your flash cards and Bubble Guppies toys when you were awake), first stamp in your passport, first time going to the beach. The beaches were beautiful and the water was so clear that you could see so many tiny fish when you walked into the ocean (and one day, we even saw a barracuda!). However, you were not a fan of the beach because you most definitely did NOT like the feeling of walking on sand:
You did love playing in the wading pools with GuhGaw at our resort, though, and exploring the dozens of aquariums with hundreds of fish, stingrays and other sea creatures.
There were so many new things to see and discover, which I think encouraged you to walk on your own more than you have before. You often refused to sit in the stroller and one time, even toddled off after a puppy you saw, saying "whoa whoa" as you walked behind it (so cute!).
Unfortunately, there were two low points of our vacation. First, when we were walking out of Ben & Jerry's one night, there were so many people that I didn't notice that GuhGaw had run ahead of me out the door. Daddy and you were behind me and I thought Connor was behind you guys, but when we were all outside, we didn't see him anywhere. It was the first time I'd ever lost sight of your brother and I experienced several seconds of panic before I saw him running toward us; a steel drum band was performing a few feet away and Connor had run over to watch them. Oh my god.
Second, at the end of the trip, you came down with a fever and both you and GuhGaw developed these pretty bad-looking skin rashes. When we flew back home on Sunday, we actually dropped off our luggage at home and then took you guys straight to the emergency room, where the doctors said you two had ringworm. It was caused by a bacterial infection you had probably gotten in the pool water (and I'm so anal about cleanliness and hand washing!) but it isn't serious and we just have to put antifungal cream on your rashes for two weeks.
The ringworm definitely put a damper on things but at least you guys are okay. And other than the ringworm and Connor running off that night, we had a really fun, relaxing, memorable island getaway! The weather was so sunny and warm (it only rained once and the storm didn't last long), you and GuhGaw had a blast playing in the water, GuhGaw had a chance to feed some baby stingrays and a baby shark and Daddy and I were able to unwind on the beach with you guys. We've been back home for a few days now and Connor keeps sighing and saying, "I miss the Bahamas." Me, too, buddy. Me, too!
Love,
Mom
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Taking Caution
Dear Lila,
I don't know if it's more of a gender thing or a personality difference, but you are sooo much more cautious than your big brother. As soon as he learned how to walk, Connor was practically racing around the house by the next day. You were more tentative after you took your first steps and it has taken you several months to become really confident when walking on your own. Connor has also loved riding in swings from the get-go, but I put you in a swing for the first time today and you were so scared. There was such a look of terror on your face that I immediately stopped the swing and took you out! And you get reeeeally nervous when you're standing on our backyard deck. There are small slits between the wood boards and there's no way you could fall through them, but I can tell that you don't believe that for a second. You insist on holding onto me when we're on the deck and if I let go of your hand, you don't move at all but hold your arms out at your sides, whimper a little and stare at the deck as if it could collapse at any moment.
I guess it's good that you're so careful, whereas GuhGaw often charges through life and throws all caution to the wind. Maybe that means I won't have to worry about you getting hurt as much as I have to with Connor!
Love,
Mom
I don't know if it's more of a gender thing or a personality difference, but you are sooo much more cautious than your big brother. As soon as he learned how to walk, Connor was practically racing around the house by the next day. You were more tentative after you took your first steps and it has taken you several months to become really confident when walking on your own. Connor has also loved riding in swings from the get-go, but I put you in a swing for the first time today and you were so scared. There was such a look of terror on your face that I immediately stopped the swing and took you out! And you get reeeeally nervous when you're standing on our backyard deck. There are small slits between the wood boards and there's no way you could fall through them, but I can tell that you don't believe that for a second. You insist on holding onto me when we're on the deck and if I let go of your hand, you don't move at all but hold your arms out at your sides, whimper a little and stare at the deck as if it could collapse at any moment.
I guess it's good that you're so careful, whereas GuhGaw often charges through life and throws all caution to the wind. Maybe that means I won't have to worry about you getting hurt as much as I have to with Connor!
Love,
Mom
Sunday, May 18, 2014
First Nighttime Separation
Dear Lila,
Daddy's friend had a birthday party last night, so Daddy and I hired a babysitter to take care of you and GuhGaw while the two of us went out. It was the first time we had left you with another person at night and it went as well as you'd expect--you became really upset when it was time to go to bed and we weren't there, so you wailed and cried for half an hour before passing out from exhaustion on the couch (your brother, amazingly, was able to fall asleep despite your crying). You were still asleep on the couch when we came home, because the babysitter was scared to move you to your crib and risk waking you up.
:-(
Love,
Mom
Daddy's friend had a birthday party last night, so Daddy and I hired a babysitter to take care of you and GuhGaw while the two of us went out. It was the first time we had left you with another person at night and it went as well as you'd expect--you became really upset when it was time to go to bed and we weren't there, so you wailed and cried for half an hour before passing out from exhaustion on the couch (your brother, amazingly, was able to fall asleep despite your crying). You were still asleep on the couch when we came home, because the babysitter was scared to move you to your crib and risk waking you up.
:-(
Love,
Mom
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Mommy Will Make It Better
Dear Lila,
It's the worst feeling in the world when your kid is crying. And it's the best feeling in the world when you're the one who can get your kid to stop crying just by holding her.
Love,
Mom
P.S. Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day!
It's the worst feeling in the world when your kid is crying. And it's the best feeling in the world when you're the one who can get your kid to stop crying just by holding her.
Love,
Mom
P.S. Thank you for a wonderful Mother's Day!
Saturday, May 10, 2014
Rockabye Baby
Dear Lila,
At the end of especially trying days, I am usually so tired that I get annoyed when I have to spend an hour-plus rocking you to sleep at night. But then I have to remind myself to treasure our nighttime cuddles because soon enough, you will be too big to rock to sleep.
Love,
Mom
At the end of especially trying days, I am usually so tired that I get annoyed when I have to spend an hour-plus rocking you to sleep at night. But then I have to remind myself to treasure our nighttime cuddles because soon enough, you will be too big to rock to sleep.
Love,
Mom
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