Monthly Updates

Dear Anna,

Today you are a month older than one year old.  My how the time is flying!

You are still not even remotely interested in taking even one single step for me.  Not one!  You would rather get down and crawl six inches and then stand back up then take one teeny-tiny little step to Mama.  Though I’m actually convinced it’s not that you can’t walk, it’s that you’re too smart to walk.  Because, after all, why walk when people will carry you everywhere?!?

On the other hand, you are more than willing to sign and try out words.  You are incredibly verbal, and besides your favorite word, “book”, you have “uh-oh” down – although it comes out as “duh-doh”, which is just so darn adorable.  You have names for us: Daddy is “da-da”, the dogs are “da-da”, Carrie is “da-dee”, and I’m “ma-ma”.  On the signing front, you can sign “milk”, “more”, “all done”, “water”, “banana”, “book”, “cheese”, “dog”, “monkey”, “bath”, “sleepy” and “chicken”.

You seem to be having a hard time deciding whether you need one nap or two.  If I put you down for a morning nap, you aren’t really interested in an afternoon nap, but then you are insanely crabby by about 5:00.  If I try to keep you up until the afternoon nap we can’t go anywhere at all in the morning, because you immediately conk out in the car.  I’m hoping you figure out how much sleep you need pretty soon here!  If you like, I could take one of those naps for you…?

We’ve had a busy, busy summer so far, and I think you’re going to be a little confused when your big sister and best friend ever gets on the bus for school in a few weeks.  You are absolutely delighted just to be in the same room with her, so I know you’re going to miss her.  So will I, but we can both be waiting for her to get off the bus every day, and we’ll find other things to do with ourselves all day!

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Today you are a whole year old.  It’s hard to believe how quickly this year has gone, but at the same time you really seem like you’ve been part of this family forever.

I can’t think of one new thing you’ve tried this month besides chocolate.  (And truth be told, you’ve had a bit of that before.  But officially, you first had chocolate in your birthday cupcake yesterday.)  It’s only because we ran out of new foods for you to try a long time ago.  You are one adventurous eater, and all you have left to try at this point are nuts and shellfish.

You don’t have any more real words yet, but you have several “proto-words”.  For example, you say “da!” a lot,  but generally in a context where you could mean “dog” or “duck” or “daddy”.  Signing is hit or miss.  You can sign things like “milk”, “more”, “water” and “all done”, but you frequently prefer to just yell at me in the hopes that I’ll figure out what you want instead.  Maybe that’s less work?  I don’t know…it’s certainly frustrating for both of us!

You do a lot of standing now, just standing without holding onto anything, so you can use both hands to play with things.  I’m thinking it won’t be too long before you decide walking is much better than crawling because you don’t have to put the toys in your hands down before you can go somewhere.  But I’m not exactly in a hurry, because you get into everything you possibly can as it is.  I’m ashamed to admit this, but if it looks like you have something in your mouth, I can say “Anna, what have you got??” and you crawl over to me and open your mouth to let me pull it out.  Clearly this happens far too many times a day since you are so well trained!

You’ve also started bopping to the beat.  Even though you don’t walk yet, you love to dance while you’re holding onto a table or a couch or someone’s hands.  You’ve always loved music – when I sing to you at night you giggle at me sleepily and try to grab my mouth, like you’re trying to figure out where the music is coming from.

Today was a pleasant day.  We spent the day with Nana and Poppy.  Daddy made you french toast for breakfast, and then we just sort of hung out for most of the day.  You were wearing a handknit dress made by one of my friends and I took a ton of pictures of you for the day.  We gave you your very first doll (and like your big sister, you essentially ignored it – but she grew out of that pretty quickly and I bet you will too).  And then we went to Great-Grandma’s house for dinner.  Did you know that the two of you share a birthday?  That’s where you got your middle name!  So you blew out the candles on her cake together, and then we came home and put you to bed.

This past year was full of sweet baby snuggles and squishy, kissable cheeks.  I am so looking forward to seeing how you grow and change over this next year – what you have to say when you find your words and where those chubby little baby legs take you.  It’s been a grand adventure so far, and I’m ready for the next chapter.  I love you!

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

One more month until the big first birthday!  Time flies when you’re having fun!

You haven’t tried too many new foods this month, let’s see…tuna fish, raspberries, yellow beans and sunbutter (like peanut butter, only made with sunflower seeds).  But you’ve tried many new table food versions of things you’ve had before.  You adore Grandma’s mini-meatball soup (aka Italian Wedding Soup).  Actually, you adore anything I let you have in a suction-bottomed bowl with a spoon – you just think that’s the coolest thing.  Especially when you eventually pry the bowl off of your tray!

I think your first official word is “book”.  You say “boo-uh” and lunge towards the pile of books on the shelf next to the chair when we sit down to nurse in the morning and at bedtime.  And you say it consistently enough that I think I’m going to declare it your first word.  You also say “dis!” and “dat!” when it seems like “this” or “that” would be appropriate, so I’m wondering if you actually are saying those words too…?

You’re not walking yet, but you are climbing – stairs, that is.  And you know you’re not supposed to, because you look back at me with your stinker-pants face like “See, Mom?  See what I’m doing?!?”  You do that a lot, really, and one of your favorite games is to crawl away from me into a room you’re not really supposed to be in, look back to make sure I’m following, and then crawl as fast as your little hands and knees will go until I pick you up from behind and you squeal with glee.

Speaking of squealing.  Baby!  You and your sister need to tone down the high-pitched shrieking!  You would make most opera singers weep with jealousy – I’m shocked we haven’t actually had any broken glass yet.  You know, everyone always waxes poetic about the pitter-patter of little feet, but nobody warns you about the high-pitched shrieking and squealing of little girls…

In a few short weeks we’ll be celebrating the fact that we all made it to your first birthday – and I have to be honest, I think we kind of got off easy.  You’ve been, so far, an extremely easy baby.  You slipped into our lives and it wasn’t so long before it felt like you’d been here all along anyway.  I’m sure we’ll have challenges and changes ahead, there always are, but this part where I’m your mama?  That’s the easy bit.  Thanks for choosing me to be your mama, thanks for choosing us to be your family.

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Today you are 10 months old.  Now it is most definitely time to start planning that birthday party of yours.  As far as you’re concerned, as long as it involves chocolate cake you’ll be happy – we went to another baby’s birthday party last week and you were desperately trying to get that cake off my plate!

Big news this month: you have two brand new teeth!  And now you’re fascinated with all teeth, especially mine.  You’re starting to figure out body parts a little bit – at least noses.  And you like to play the “eyes, nose, mouth, kiss!” game just like your sister used to.

You play “how big is Anna?” and peek-a-boo a lot.  And you’ve learned to wave bye-bye.  You have signs now for “all done” and “water” – that one looks nothing like the ASL sign, instead you clap your hands together and then clasp them and rock them back and forth.  No idea where you came up with that, but we all know what it means now.  You don’t really have any words yet, but you say “Ma!” a lot when you’ve run out of food on your high chair tray – I’m not sure if it’s suppose to mean “Mommy!”, “More!” or “Yo, lady who dispenses the food! You’re not doing your job very well here!”

You’ve tried lots and lots of new foods this month: strawberries, cauliflower, mandarin oranges, Lima beans, kamut (a grain in puffed cereal form), tomatoes (in salsa!), corn, ice cream (of the mint chocolate chip variety), eggs (whole, scrambled), Brussels sprouts, watermelon, ground beef, honeydew melon, red peppers and pea butter.  Phew!  That’s almost as many foods as the hungry, hungry caterpillar ate!  You’re still nursing 5 or 6 times a day, but you do love your solid food.  I can’t eat anything without you wanting to share it with me.

Naps.  Baby, we have to have a little talk about naps.  You’re supposed to take them.  At least every now and then.  If for no other reason than that Mommy gets tired and needs a little break.  You know, to do things like, oh, fold laundry.  Or use the bathroom.  So, could we maybe work on that this next month?  I’d settle for one nap, and it doesn’t even need to be a terribly long one…

It’s hard to keep up with you, my little monkey.  You have become danger-baby to the extreme.  I’m not sure what compels babies your age to try to kill themselves several times a day, but really, trying to climb head first over the changing table?  Not the best idea you’ve ever had.  Neither is trying to fling yourself backwards out of my arms, or, in fact, pulling up on any object in the house that has wheels, like your sister’s doll stroller.

So this month, do Mommy a favor and try and get a few naps in and keep the gray-hair-inducing danger-baby exploits to a minimum, okay?

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Yesterday you turned 9 months old.  As it was Easter Sunday we didn’t get a chance to take your monthly pictures, so we did them today.  I can’t believe how quickly this first year is going by!

This has been an amazing month for you!  Last month you could sit up if we put you in a sitting position.  Now you can get yourself there.  And you pull up to your knees so you can play with things while kneeling – that’s a lot more fun than playing with things laying down!  You can even stand for a bit while holding on to a piece of furniture or someones hands, and at least a few times you’ve actually gotten up on your feet yourself.  And you are an amazingly fast crawler – I can’t take my eyes off you for two seconds or you’re out the door of whatever room we’re in!

You’ve tried many new foods this month, including broccoli, chicken, blueberries, eggs (“hidden” in pancakes and muffins), zucchini, spinach, kale, olives, fish, green beans, cookies (G.G.’s sugar cookies), egg yolk, ham and cantelope.  You have continued to only eat table food, and have expanded your repetoire to include things like ravioli and chicken noodle soup.  You even eat “real” slow-cooked oatmeal, and drink out of a straw cup.

Yesterday you signed “help”.  I’ve been sort of inconsistently signing lots of different words, so I’m surprised you’ve picked anything up besides “more” and “milk”.  But you had dropped the toys you were playing with while you were sitting on Grandma’s lap, and you clearly signed “help” – one day last week I had signed it to you in a similar context, and not before or since.  I think I’m going to have to start getting more consistent, because I would love to know what else is going on under all that hair!

The babbling continues, and you’re starting to jargon a bit – babble like you’re carrying on a conversation.  You don’t really say “mama” or “dada” yet, although you do say “dadada?” and laugh when I say “daddy is at work”.

See?  An amazing month.  Every day it seems like you’re on the verge of a new skill or a new discovery.  I can’t wait to see what this next month brings!

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Yesterday you turned eight months old. Time is just flying by around here! I think it’s just that you’re learning or trying new things every day now and you’re changing so quickly that I can barely keep up.

You are now quite proficient at crawling – you went from commando crawling to hands and knees in a couple of weeks, and now here a couple of weeks later you’re crawling after your sister like you’ve been doing it your whole life!

You also started babbling. We’re treated to endless streams of “ma-ma-ma-ma”, “da-da-da-da” and “ba-ba-ba-ba”. You’re also definitely signing “milk” and “more”, though you prefer to screech and bang your tray for more food.

Speaking of food… You’ve tried so many new ones this month, and most of them are table foods: wheat (puffed wheat and cheerios), apricots, yogurt, black beans, cherries, cheese and (white) potatoes. The challenge now is that you’re eating like a much older baby, but you’re still not allowed to eat certain foods – if you were older I’d be able to give you a bite of a muffin in a restaurant, or some plain pasta off my plate, but since there could potentially be eggs in those things I can’t. One of these days I’m going to slip up and give you something with eggs without realizing it, so I think we’ll have to do it intentionally sometime soon!

Just like with your sister, whichever age you’re at is my favorite so far. You are so much fun to be around right now, giggling over the simplest things (like grabbing my nose) and it’s just wonderful to watch you learn and experience new things. It’s just that I wish some days would slow down a bit so I could enjoy them more…

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Today you are seven months old. That sounds so much older than six months, though of course it’s not really that much older! It’s been quite a day – Mommy’s car has gone over 50,000 miles and we refinanced the house. You had your first breakfast out today – you were so proud to sit in the restaurant high chair like a big girl!

You’ve entirely skipped pureed food. You hate it. (Except peas.) But the pears and peaches you spat out like we were trying to poison you? You love them as little bits of cut up canned pears and peaches. I’m trying to convince myself that nutritionally it’s not much different, since they’re just canned in pear juice. Your favorite foods are now: freeze dried apple bits, puffed rice cereal, bits of canned pears and peaches, diced cooked carrots, and bits of banana. I’m struggling to find other finger foods that are age appropriate – I guess maybe we could retry sweet potatoes and squash cut up instead of mashed.

You are also on the move. You roll, pivot and inch yourself forward. And new as of today: you get all the way up on your hands and knees and rock back and forth. Your big sister did this just days before learning how to crawl, so I bet you’re pretty close. You can sit in the “tripod” pose for a while before you fall over, and you love this new way you can play with your toys.

You still don’t babble. At all. But I’m about 99% sure you’ve signed “milk” a few times – although you don’t do it all that consistently yet. I’m not too worried about the babbling, as you are a very vocal baby and definitely respond to sounds. Actually, I think you’re starting to connect words to people and things. If I ask you where “the big sister” is, you look around until you find Carrie.

Sometimes it seems like you’re growing faster than I can keep up – I just finally got all the 3-6 month clothes out of your dresser and put in the 6-9 month clothes…and some of those are already too small! And we installed your new convertible car seat and put the infant seat away. You love your new seat! Whenever anyone looks at you in your new seat you grin at them like “Look at me! Look how big I am!” Same with the “new” stroller that lets you sit forward and look out at the world instead of just laying there and watching me. You just seem to really be blossoming and loving every minute of becoming a big girl. Seeing how much you enjoy every new thing makes me look forward to all the new things you’ll get to experience in the next few years!

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Today you are six months old. Half a year! Which means we’re halfway to needing to throw a fabulous first birthday party!

Let’s see. In the past month you’ve become quite proficient in the rolling over department. You can roll over both ways, over and over, to get wherever you’d like to go. Combine that with your ability to pivot on your tummy, and inch yourself forward by sheer determination (or luck, I can’t tell which) and not much is out of your reach at this point. You’d spend half the day rolling around on the floor if we didn’t have anywhere else to be.

Speaking of places to be… Officially, you’ve outgrown your infant seat. You still have an inch of shell above your head, though, so we’re researching which seat we’ll be getting for you and not worrying about replacing it today. But I can’t believe you’re already so big. (I don’t know why I can’t believe it, Carolyn stopped fitting in that seat at six months too. I think I just can’t believe you’re six months old already!)

You aren’t babbling yet, but you aaaah and oooh and screech all the time. And you’re starting to play games: if I drape a cloth diaper over your face and say “where’s Anna?” you’ll yank it down and start giggling when I say “peekaboo!”

Solids are…not going well. You seemed to like the avocado well enough, but then rice cereal you just outright rejected. And sweet potatoes were OK for one day but you refused to let us feed you any the next. Actually, it’s the letting us feed you part I think you object to. If I put the spoon on the highchair tray and let you pick it up, you put it right in your mouth and eat the food that’s on it. I don’t know. The butternut square you tried this weekend was apparently tolerable, but you haven’t discovered a love of eating yet. We’re just sort of going slowly and seeing what happens at this point. I imagine that you won’t be on an all-milk diet when you go to college, so it’s all good.

So, six months here already, and so far you’ve learned who the important players are in your life (Carolyn seems to have hung the moon, and the dogs are way up there in terms of entertainment value), you’ve figured out how to move your body more or less the way you want to, you’re very adept at charming everyone around you with your brilliant smiles and your mad scientist hair, and you’ve pretty much fit yourself into our lives as though you were always here. In the next six months you’ll likely be crawling, maybe even walking, probably learning to say a word or two and understanding many more of the words we say. It’s amazing how much such a little human learns and grows in such a short amount of time. I’m honored to be able to watch it happen.

Love, Mommy

Dear Anna,

Yesterday you turned five months old! I honestly don’t know where the time has gone – I alternate between feeling like you just got here and having a hard time remembering a time before you arrived.

If I had written this letter on time, I would have said you were thisclose to rolling over. But today I can tell you that you just learned how to flip from your back to your tummy! And my goodness, were you proud of that little feat, giggling and looking up at me like “look, Mommy, I finally did it!” As soon as you learn how to flip the other way, we’re going to have to re-baby-proof the house…

Right now your most very favorite “toy” is a water bottle. You love, love, love water, especially in bottled form. You’re not quite as fond of being in it for baths as you are of looking at it though. You’ve also really become adept at grabbing toys and bringing them to your mouth, so any small links or light toys are very fun to play with. We have a soft block that has handles and rings dangling off of it that chimes when you shake it, and that’s your favorite actual toy to play with.

You still sleep amazingly well at night, although naps are still elusive. Basically, you only want to take a good long nap whenever we actually need to go anywhere. If there’s a day when we have nothing at all to do and nowhere to go, you barely let me put you down for five minutes. Of course! I’ve given up on getting anything done around the house for the most part. Eventually I’ll have time, right?

In just a few short weeks you’ll be starting to try “solid” food – which is good, because you intently watch anything we put in our mouths and frequently try to grab things off of my plate. I can’t believe how big you’ve grown already, my little baby girl. I can’t wait to see what this next month brings!

Love, Mommy

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!

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.

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!

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