Author: Sarah

4 month well-baby visit

Sarah Growing Up

Vital stats:
4 months, 5 days old
14 lbs, 5 oz
25 inches

Anna is still pretty much in the 50th percentile for everything, although she jumped up a bit on the height chart. I’m taking that with a grain of salt since I think it’s really hard to accurately measure a squirmy baby!

She had her second round of vaccinations, and although there were tears it wasn’t nearly as traumatic as last time. Carrie also had to get two more shots to catch her up for all the vaccines required for kindergarten next fall, and although she was very, very brave, they hurt very, very much. So there were more tears there.

We wound up giving both girls pain relievers before bed, because Anna was inconsolable and Carrie had a gigantic bruise on her arm from one of the shots and said that it hurt a lot. Poor kid – she says she doesn’t want any more shots ever. Not even when she’s my size.

Four Months Old!

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Anna,

Today you are four months old. And I feel like I just wrote your three month letter yesterday, so I’m not sure where the rest of the month went!

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This month you’ve learned how to blow raspberries, which you find absolutely hysterical. In fact, you tend to crack yourself up a lot and generally find most of life at least smile-worthy, if not downright amusing.

You are also starting to sort out the people in your life. As in, strangers and people you don’t see all that often tend to make you cry. But you do warm up to people you don’t know rather quickly still, they can’t just get right in your face or pick you up before you’ve had a chance to figure them out.

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One group of people that you will always smile at, though, is children – especially babies. You love to look at kids and babies in real life, in books, and even in pictures on my computer! We’ve started reading Baby Faces to you every night before bed, and you just smile and smile at all those baby face pictures – even the ones with the crying babies. And big sister Carolyn is your most favorite person ever, of course!

Somehow I lucked out in the sleep department. You really are an amazing night-time sleeper. Once you go to sleep for the night you’re out for 11 or 12 hours straight. Day time? Not so much. On rare days (usually when we’re out and about and you’re stuck in the car seat) you take a longer nap, but most of the time you sleep for 30 minutes at most, 3 or 4 times a day. Hopefully you’ll become a better napper, but if not, I certainly wouldn’t trade my full nights of sleep for it!

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The other day I was changing your diaper, and I noticed how much bigger you are on that changing table than you were when we first came home. And how much more interactive and aware of things you are. And I suddenly realized you’re not a newborn anymore, you’re officially a baby. I don’t know how I didn’t notice it sooner, I guess I’d better start paying closer attention!

Love, Mommy

My Mini Voters

Sarah Anna, Carolyn

Yesterday I took both girls with me to vote. I was well prepared for long lines and antsy kids, with Anna in the mei tai, a packed-to-the-brim purse backpack with diapers, wipes, crayons and paper, snacks, etc. on my back, and more than an hour extra before we had to leave for our dentist appointments.

Imagine my disappointment when we walked right in, signed the book, and went into the voting booth! (OK, not really. More like relief!) But even though Anna definitely won’t remember, and Carrie probably won’t, I can tell them both that they were in the booth with me for this historic election.

Pink Alligator Birthday Party

Sarah Carolyn

It’s a good thing we had an extra hour last night. That’s the only reason the cupcakes are anything approaching “fancy”. It’s kind of sad when you not only see the clocks roll back at 2 AM, but then see them the second time 2 AM strikes. Sigh. But, here is Carrie’s pink alligator cake, plus a cupcake river bordered by grass for her to swim through:

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A good time was had by all – if you don’t count a few tears over the piñata. I hate piñatas, but I caved because Carrie really wanted one. At least it used up a bunch of our leftover Halloween candy! We had pizza, grapes and a veggie tray. I think we went through almost three entire cans of olives, and Carrie was only part of the reason why…

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Carrie really took my coaching seriously, about reading the card first and thanking the giver before opening the gift – to the point that the other kids were frustrated because it took her so long to get around to the ripping off the paper part!

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And now, according to her, she is officially four. (Apparently, it doesn’t count until you have a birthday party!)

Princess Party

Sarah Carolyn

One of Carrie’s friends had a birthday party at a kids salon today. The girls all got to dress in princess outfits, have their hair put up in a fancy ‘do with glitter and hairspray, have their nails painted (she picked the pinkest pink nail polish I’ve ever seen!) and even have a tiny bit of makeup brushed on. Doesn’t Carrie look like a little princess?

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Hopefully she won’t start begging for eye makeup now the way she begs for “lipstick” (aka chapstick)!

My Tiny Teenager

Sarah Carolyn

My brother recently proposed to his girlfriend, so this morning I was telling Carolyn that soon she’d get to call Uncle Dan’s friend Genevra “Aunt Genevra”. She was all excited and talked a bit about their marrying kiss and living happily ever after. (Kid’s watched one too many Disney movies, methinks.)

Fast forward to dinner tonight…

She looked at me, and her little bottom lip started trembling, and she said in this heartbroken little voice, “Mommy, I don’t think I’m ever going to find a boy who will want to marry me when I grow up.”

I kind of thought I’d have a few more years before I had to start reassuring her about that! She’s apparently 4 going on 14.

Silly Scarecrows

Sarah Carolyn

20081029_scarecrow.jpgCarrie’s preschool had their Halloween parade today, and they all got to make scarecrow costumes for it. Last year they made pumpkin costumes, but I think these are way cleverer. There’s even a construction paper crow on their hats!

Unfortunately, my camera battery died right after this picture, which was the first picture I took. It’s been taking fewer and fewer pictures before needing to be recharged, and this time it was 34 pictures from fully charged to completely dead. So right after school we had to go buy a new camera battery. Because I can take 34 pictures before the kids blink twice, and then it takes hours to recharge the battery. The camera (and therefore the battery) is almost five years old, so as rechargeable batteries go that’s a decently long life.

But really, did it have to die during the parade?!?

100 Years

Sarah Family

My great-grandmother will be 100 years old on Wednesday. To celebrate this momentous occasion, all of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren came to a party in her honor. (Well, not quite all, but as many as we could get in one place at one time!)

She met both the girls for the first time, and we took many generation pictures (how often do you have five generations in the same room?!?) and many family pictures. And both girls got to dance with their great-grandpa to some live accordion music.

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I hope someday I get to meet my great-great-grandchildren.

Four Years Old!

Sarah Monthly Updates

Dear Carolyn,

I’ve been pretty edgy and tense lately, and I think it’s because I was dreading today. I felt like my baby would be gone, and I’d be left with a big girl I hardly recognized…only, when you woke up this morning, you were still, well, you.

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We had a fabulous day today. You started out with school, and had a little birthday party there, with chocolate pudding and a special story that I got to read (you picked Farmer Brown Shears His Sheep again – that was what you picked last year. I guess you like it!) After school we went to Wendy’s for lunch with your friend Joey, and then we went to Build-a-Bear, where you made a monkey…named “Potato”. Finally, we came home and Daddy and I made you a ham dinner (your request) and we had a pumpkin roll instead of a cake (don’t worry, the pink alligator cake is still on the menu for your party next weekend!) You got to open gifts, including the My Little Pony Teapot Palace you wanted so badly, and then you went to bed. Really, it was a wonderful, super day.

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This past week I went through and read all the monthly letters I’d written to you up until now. It amazes me how much you’ve grown and changed. And it also amazes me how much I’ve grown and changed. I had no idea what being a mom really meant until you arrived, and although I still sometimes find parenting challenging, being your mom? That’s easy. Because no matter what, I love you.

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Love, Mommy