Ramblings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

Dear Violet: I want to remember your enthusiasm for anything and everything. Getting up in the morning and having breakfast with Mom or Dad? Enthusiastic. Hearing Dominique waking up and talking? Totally enthusiastic. Cousins coming down to play? Enthusiastic. Mommy cooking supper and you want to watch? Enthusiastic. Going anywhere where there is water to play in? Really enthusiastic. I swear it’s contagious and I love it. There will be days when you’re not enthralled about anything, and that’s OK. But the days you are? I love them. I want to remember the laughter and giggles and screeches when you and Daddy have tickle fights. Most of the time you start them by going up to Daddy and either tickling his feet or poking him and then the tickle fights ensue and endless amounts of giggles are heard. And as soon as Daddy stops, you go back for more. Always more. It makes my heart soar when I see you and Daddy interacting this way. And I pray that this continues. I want to remember your love...

10 Things Right Now - 2 Years Old 1) You are so very happy most days. You always greet Mommy in the morning with a big smile and exclaiming “Mommy!” and always have morning hugs ready 2) You’re doing awesome on the potty training front and even starting to tell Mommy or Daddy when you have to go, by saying “pee” or “bum.” 3) You love building things with your Lego and build all sorts of towers all over the house and when you’re done, you proudly show Mommy and Daddy. 4) You love taking showers with Mommy and exclaim “Sha!” when Mommy says that she needs to take a shower. You’ll gladly hop in and play in the water while Mommy cleans up and just love it in there. And say “All done!” when we’re done 5) Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. You ask to holds “Hands” at the table before we eat, as well as for bedtime prayers. “All done!” is a favourite of yours. As well as “Tah” for your Teddy Bear and “Wa” for anything to drink or playing in water. “Tickle” is also a favourite whe...

You’re 1 year old Baby Girl! And you’ve grown so big! Currently at 21 lbs and 31 inches. You are very good at scooting around on your bum as your mode of transportation and even trying to stand up with some help. You love walking around the house while holding onto Mommy’s hands. You’re eating everything in sight. Mashed potatoes, hamburger, chicken and toast (either in butter or Cheez Whiz) are your favourites. You’re starting to be a little shy when it comes to new people, but when it’s someone you know, you’ll gladly go over to them. You are even trying to say more words, but right now Mommy & Daddy can’t understand them. Although we do know when you are happy because you’re talking non-stop and squealing with delight.

You just keep on growing and growing little stinker! And you've had a pretty big month so far. You were the flower girl at Aunt Jen’s wedding and did awesome. And looked so gorgeous in your flower girl dress. The big thing this month was that you started walking with assistance! Mainly Mommy or Daddy’s hands, but you’re getting there. I think that you’ll be walking by yourself pretty soon. You got your second tooth on the bottom and as a result, have been up quite a bit at night and being very clingy and cranky during the day. You also had your first sleep-over at Aunt Natalie’s place as Mommy & Daddy needed some time to themselves and you’re old enough now (and fully weaned) to go away for the night. Brody and Madison were thrilled that you stayed the night and Aunt Natalie said you did really good! You’re growing up so fast little Stinker.

You are 10 months old today Silly Goose!! You come in at 21lbs and 28 inches long. You are always full of smiles and giggles these days and in general just a happy baby. And you’ve been busy lately figuring out how to do things. You learned how to clap, which you are very proud of because everytime you clap for Mommy, you have a huge smile and giggle. You also like to do the “Tarzan” and do belly drums on yourself while you laugh crazily. You also figured out how to walk forwards in your walker! And since you figured out how to do this, you like to aim for Mommy’s feet, try to run over the dog, open up the garbage can (and pinch your fingers in there), try to open up the bottom cupboards, and pull things out of the recycle bin. And the entire time that you’re zooming around the kitchen, you are “talking” constantly. You also figured out how to get out of the kitchen in the walker, which scares Mommy a bit, because that means that Mommy’s house is no longer safe!! You’re also sitting up...

You’re 9 months old this month!! Can’t believe how fast the time has flown by!! You weigh in at 20lbs and is around 27 inches long. You started sitting up all on your own now and you’re very proud of that! And to reach your toys, you've been stretching as far as you can (sometimes even kissing your toes) in order to get the toy you wanted. You also love playing in your exer-saucer, playing with the toys that are on there, spinning around and watching the traffic outside the big picture window. You also love to squeal whenever you can, lately being when you see your puppy. And you also love to give Daddy lots of giggles when he tickles you. You also love your walker that Mommy has in the kitchen. You've mastered the going backwards, but not forwards yet, although you are trying. This month also marks when Mommy started weaning you onto 3% milk instead of the good ol’ “boob juice.” You’re not doing too bad with the weaning, although you did scream at Mom the first couple times yo...

At 8 months you weigh 20 lbs. You're getting so big!! You are trying to sit by yourself, although gravity is still winning that battle. :) You are "talking" lots and making tons of noises however you can. Your favourite word to say right now is "Da-Da" which makes Daddy very happy. Mommy's still trying to get you to say "Ma-Ma", but with no luck. You're still not too keen on the whole rolling over thing, still preferring to either lay on your back to look around so to sit on other people's laps. You get along great with your cousins Brody and Madison, even when you're pulling Madison's hair. And Brody loves to shower you with kisses. You are very loved by them. :) You also love watching cartoons Saturday mornings with Daddy and have dedicated "Daddy-Daughter" time while Mommy gets to sleep in a bit. You also love spending time with Mommy playing on the floor and playing with the clean laundry on the bed.

At 7 months old, you weighed around 19 lbs. You’re getting so strong already and have finally started to roll over! Although you do it only when you want to. You've also been eating a good variety of solid foods and seem to like your fruits more than anything, with meat as a close second. But we still do have to mix your puréed food with your pabulum, otherwise you won’t eat it. And you’re "talking" lots now. Mostly stuff that we don’t understand, but you are saying "Da-Da" which makes Daddy very happy.

At 6 months old, you weight 17.5 lbs, is 25.25 inches long and have a head circumference of 43 cm. You’re getting stronger and smarter every day. You love your Jolly Jumper and just love to jump in there all the time. You’re still not a big fan of Tummy Time, but you still try. You’re starting to eat more baby food and have found out that you like food with texture. Your hand-eye co-ordination is getting better and better every day. You’re passing toys from one hand to another, putting stuff in your mouth and reaching for stuff all the time. You’re not sleeping through the night yet, but you’re only waking up once during the night, so that’s OK.

You’re growing so big! You’re weighing around 15 lbs right now (or so Mommy guesses) and probably around the 24 inch mark for length. You’re constantly "talking" and making all the noises that you can.  You love to blow raspberries all the time and always sticking out your tongue. Silly girl.  You still love going in your swing, but seem to love your Jolly Jumper more as you can get some exercise and look around while you’re jumping. Oh, and you stick your tongue out while jumping. Makes for some silly faces. Your getting better at tummy time and getting stronger all the time. You have been trying to get your legs underneath your bum, but still haven’t quite got it yet. You’re still trying to figure out how to roll, but not quite there yet. You also got to try Rice Cereal (pablum) for the first time. You did very good with it and finished everything that Daddy gave to you. And no big spit-ups or messes!!

Well Princess, you are growing up so fast! At this stage, you’re weighing 13.11 pounds and is 23.5 inches tall. You’re sleeping really good at night as we put you to bed around 9 pm and you generally don’t wake up until 5 am for feeding and then back to bed for a couple more hours. Your nap in the afternoon is really good too as it lasts for 3-4 hours and overall you are such a happy baby. You’re "talking" lots now and have discovered that you can make different sounds and even found your screeching voice. You’re almost laughing, but not quite. It has Daddy quite frustrated as he tickles you lots and wants to hear you laugh. You’re also getting very strong during tummy time and can hold your head up quite well and trying to figure out how to get your legs underneath your bum. You’re even sitting up (with Mommy or Daddy supporting you) and enjoy looking around at everything. You are still endlessly entertained by your fists, but you also love looking at your feet when playing....

At 3 months old, you weigh around 12 lbs, are around 22-23 inches long and have a head circumference around 40 cm.  You’re making more and more noise and even start to rotate around on your head in order to move around. You’re sleeping awesome and are taking up to 3 naps a day at 2 hours at a time.  We’ve taken you to Winnipeg several times and you did awesome, sleeping in your car-seat. You are just such a happy baby. 

HAPPY 2 MONTHS BABY GIRL!!! At 2 months old, you weigh 11.1 lbs, are 22 inches long and have a head circumference of 39.3 cm. You’re getting so big already.  You’re starting to develop your own personality and even smiling at us. You love playing with Mommy and Daddy (especially Daddy) and being held by your Grandmas.   You’re getting really strong on your tummy and holding your head up pretty good, although we are not a big fan of tummy time and like to scream at Mom if you’re on your tummy for too long. You’re still sleeping really good at night and usually only get Mommy up about once a night for feeding.  You did go through a really bad growth spurt at the beginning of the month (about 3 days long) and you were not a happy camper at all. All you wanted to do was eat, sleep and snuggle with either Mommy or Daddy. Once you got past that, you were back to your regular happy-go-lucky self. 

HAPPY 1 MONTH SWEET BABY GIRL!!! At 1 month old, you weigh 8.4 lbs, are around 21-22 inches in length and have a head circumference of 37 cm.  You’re sleeping pretty good right now and even slept 10 hours through the night! Mommy was very impressed by that. You've gotten the breast-feeding down pat and have a big appetite, just like Daddy.   We've taken you to Winnipeg a couple times already and you do so good. Daddy puts you in the Snugli and you fall asleep while Daddy carries you around. You also like going to see your Grandmas and Grandpas and falling asleep on them.  You’re a very happy baby overall.