Monday, August 18, 2014

Addison Mae - 3 years

 





 



Y'all. She's THREE. I have no words. She, on the other hand, has lots of words. She constantly surprises me with the words she knows, her manners, her social skills ... and her stubbornness. She's definitely three.

She finishing up school in late July by wearing her birthday shirt and taking insane purple cupcakes for her friends. I CANNOT believe that she'll be starting preschool in just a few weeks. I'm so excited for the new experiences and all she's going to learn ... but it also means my baby is growing up.

Just before her birthday, Jordan's Granny and her Gigi passed away. My sweet girl misses her Gigi but is quick to tell us that she's in heaven where she's feeling better and with Jesus. I'm amazed at her faith.

She had such a fabulous birthday, starting with a jillion balloons and streamers outside her room. Her requested favorite breakfast was "breakfast crack," complete with a candle. She opened a million gifts, almost all of which were Frozen-themed, and then we went to the Myriad splash pad and playground with friends. She requested lunch at Saturn Grill, where she got to eat her pink cupcake first. We had a special dinner with all her grandparents and Jordan's aunt and uncle who were in town. The following day was her awesome Splatter & Splash Bash at Grammie and Pawpaw's house. I loved watching her and her sweet friends paint and swim and giggle.

I remember this girl as a teeny, tiny, brand-new infant, who relied upon me for every little thing in her life. And now she's so big, so confident, so brave. And I love that she still needs me sometimes, too. She often tells me, "Don't worry Mommy, I'll still sit in your lap when I'm firty-one." I'm so proud of the little person she's becoming.

Weight: 30 pounds
Length: 36.5 inches

 New things:
  • Upper and lower case letter recognition. Letter and number tracing. Some writing on her own. Definitely a better command of writing utensils. I'm so impressed with her!
  • Recognizing sounds, and which letters make which sounds. Although sometimes she says things like .. Guh-Guh-Guh Grammie ... starts with a Q. Makes me laugh.
  • A continued obsession with games. Crazy 8s, Memory, Candyland and a new game called Chicky Boom are her faves. I love watching the wheels turn in her head as she strategizes. She's seriously competitive.
  • Oh the attitude. Some days she's my perfectly sweet, only occasionally sassy girl. Other days I'm sure we're going to duke it out and there will be only one of us left standing when Jordan gets home

Likes:
  • Oh, Frozen. I've seriously limited TV time, which means that anytime I let her watch, she requests Frozen. (Which is secretly OK with me - I love it too!)
  • Singing Frozen. At the top of her lungs. All. The. Time. (I join in. So does her daddy. And brother dances)
  • Speaking of her brother, she loves him and she is SO good with him. Be still my heart.
  • Using her amazing imagination. Lately, we often pretend one of us works at Sonic and the other is ordering (complete with button pushing).
  • As noted above, Sonic. She loves to go.
  • Cooking. I love that she loves one of my favorite activities too.
  • Going to Carter's to pick out clothes. I'll probably regret this later, but it's pretty fun right now.
  • Listening to "her" music in the car, which she calls "my music" or "Jesus music."
Dislikes:
  • Getting in trouble. Going to time out. Going to her room.
  • Being denied her way.
  • Having any of her Frozen items taken away, which has been a very effective punishment!

Hutch Marshall - 8 months

 


 
 





Y'all. This baby is 2/3 of the way through his first year. I feel like I blinked and he's turned into this big boy. A big boy who is his sister's exact replica (well, you know, almost). He is so smiley and happy most all of the time (at least, when he's around other people - he saves his most dramatic self for his momma). He loves to meet new people, although he's definitely getting more clingy to me in new situations. And by clingy I mean holding on to me for dear life and hiding his face in my armpit. But, just like someone else I know, after a little time to warm up, he feels pretty at home in any situation.

This guy loves to move and see what's going on everywhere around him. And protest loudly if he can't. His current method of transportation is rolling - and he gets pretty frustrated about not having figured out that crawling thing yet. I keep thinking it's coming any day, but we'll see.

He loves music. Of any kind. On the radio, sister's singing, my singing, drumming, all musical toys. They all make him dance and sing. The Happy song on my phone remains his very favorite. He's definitely a water baby - whether in the pool, water table or bath tub, water makes him smile.

Sometimes he sleeps. Sometimes he doesn't. We've reverted back to the swing (to save our sanity) several times over the past month. Whatever, man.

We've had the delight of an ever-returning stomach bug the past month. So very sad for my poor little guy. But, his reflux and colic are definitely better. Hallelujah. We still see some remnants of both (and don't think we're brave enough to take him totally off meds yet), but we're making strides.

Weight:  18ish pounds
Length: 26ish inches

New things:
  • Lots of talking and babbling and trying out new sounds. I try not to hold it against him that  his sister already had several words by now. Being that he's a boy and a second child, I'm holding out hope that he'll talk before he's 2.
  • Figuring out how to get from a seated position to his tummy or back. Which usually means falling over and crying about it. But we're working on it.
  • Not crawling ... but some funny scooting methods. His favorite is lying on his back and pushing himself around with his feet. He will roll until his movement is stopped by furniture or a wall.
  • Being a total momma's boy. Be still my heart. I mean, he has always really liked me, but his new method of holding on to me for dear life/crawling up me/hiding in my armpit take it to a new level. He's not a fan of anyone taking him away from me. Unless it's his Daddy.
  • Asking his Daddy to hold him when he gets home from work. So, so sweet. It usually includes whining, grunting and arm flailing until Jordan picks him up. He gives his daddy a HUGE grin and pats his face. I've pretty much never seen anything cuter.
  • Figuring out his toys. He's pretty content to sit with a mound of toys (for up to five minutes) and sort through them/try to figure out how they work. I'm driving him crazy trying to teach him to take objects in and out of a container.
  •  Eating. Real food. Still having quite a lot of pureed foods, but he's doing GREAT with finger foods. He loves puffs, Cheerios, blueberries and peas. He's a little unsure about chicken. His No. 1 fave are "green pancakes" (God bless my friend and neighbor for sharing the recipe - which is basically steamed veggies, a banana, oats and an egg in the blender and cooked into little pancakes).
  • Waving. I think. I waved at him several times, he waved back several times (in that cute baby way where they are actually waving back at themselves). Of course now he won't do it again.
Likes: 
  • He still loves the Happy song. And all Frozen music. He dances to all of it
  • Sister's new talking Olaf. He's pretty much stolen it and her talking, singing Elmo. These also make him dance.
  • Being out and about. Just like sister, he's a fan of Target and Sam's. He enjoyed going to see the giant Clydesdales at the Express Ranch, and he loves the zoo. I think mostly he likes all the people watching, but animals are pretty high on his list too
  • All manner of beach balls, which he prefers to hold in his feet, circus-monkey-style. Balloons are excellent for this, too
  • Banging on anything like a drum
  • Pulling all of Mia's fur out. And her tail. Which she let's him do. Weirdo.
  • Giving kisses to momma and sissy when we ask for them. Love.
  • Going to the library. Looking at/chewing on/pulling pages out of books.
  • Chewing on everything. 
  • His paci
    Dislikes:
    • Being away from his momma. Or his sister. He's extra fussy/clingy on the days she's at school.
    • His teeth.