eight months old

My girl,

You are amazing.  Before you were born, my hope was that I would really treasure you as a baby.  I've been doing a pretty good job of that, but I really haven't been doing such a good job of recording those moments that I treasure so much.  Mainly, I just wish I had more videos that capture how incredibly precious you are.  I do have a lot of photos at least.

This month you really mastered that sitting up thing.

 You still topple over on occasion...especially when your brother is around to mess with your balance a little.

That brother of yours loves you like crazy...

But he can be a little rougher with you than he should...

Fortunately, you are pretty forgiving.  You are also quite the happy little girl...

 People have been asking me for a while if you're "always that happy".  In the past, I hesitated when answering that because you definitely had your unhappy moments.  But these days you really are happy a lot of the time (no, not always).  I think that is in part because we've gotten to know you better.  We know what you like.  We know what you don't like.  For example, we know that while you enjoy interacting with others, you tend to prefer to do so while in the safety of your mama's arms.

This month you had your first bath with your brother.  He loves taking baths with you.  I think it's because he likes to squirt you with water toys.

 Right near the end of this month, you "found" your thumb.  In layman's terms, that means you've been sucking it.  Not a ton, but definitely some.

Also right at the end of this month, you started getting up on your hands and knees.  You look like you're ready to take off, but haven't quite figured it out yet.  It'll be fun when you do, but for now I'll enjoy your relative lack of mobility.  I'll hold onto you for as long as you'll let me, baby girl!

Love always,

Mama

caleb turns four

Dear Caleb,

Oh my sweet boy, I can't believe that you are FOUR years old!!   

 

 This has been a big year for you.  You started preschool and became a big brother.  You moved into your new room down the hall and into a big boy bed.  You dropped your nap.  You spent a whole week away from Mama and Dada.  You grew 3 1/2 inches.  You wrote your name for the first time.

  

I am so blessed to be able to watch you grow and to share so many special moments with you.  It's amazing to see how you much joy and wonder you can find in ordinary things.  You have an adorable little giggle...especially when you're laughing really hard.  You sometimes get really excited and say things like, "Oh my goodness, this is going to be GREAT!"

You are still really into sports.  I am most impressed by your baseball skills.  You can whack the ball pretty far, and you have a good arm too.  It will be fun to see which sports end up sticking with you since right now you like playing any sport you come across.  You also still love to dance.  You like to pretend that you are performing for an audience...and you're pretty particular about what your audience should be doing during your performances.

You are such a sweet, well-behaved little man when you are at preschool, Sunday school, etc.  At home, you like to test your boundaries.  A lot.  You can also be somewhat of a wise guy.  Sometimes you say things that I probably shouldn't laugh at, but it's hard not to.

It's definitely been different since your sister came along.  I sometimes feel like I'm missing out on time with you.  You always used to be a mama's boy, but since Lilah was born, that has changed.  It makes sense I guess.  You do really love attention, and I haven't been able to give you as much.  But I think your dada is enjoying having a little more of you to himself.

Bedtime tends to be dragged out these days.  You always want to snuggle, and sometimes your dada will fall asleep as he snuggles with you.  Oftentimes when I get to that point in the day, I'm worn out and/or thinking about the things that I still need to get done.  I have to remind myself that you will outgrow your desire to snuggle...probably sooner than I'd like.

I'm writing this a couple of weeks after your birthday, and the Olympics are on.  The last time we were watching the summer Olympics, you were just a couple of weeks old.  So crazy to think how much you have grown and changed since then.  

It's been such an adventure being your mama and watching you grow up.  You are so precious to me, my angel.  I love you more than words could ever say.

Love,

Mama