Dylan 8 Months Old

Dear Dylan,

Today you turned 8 months old. 8 freaking months old…it’s going by so fast. I really just want to press pause for a while.

Things are happening so quickly these days. You are doing something new all the time. You aren’t crawling, but you can certainly get around. You are very interested in things lately. Toys, straws, shoes, pretty much anything you can get your hands on. And in true baby fashion, it all goes straight to your mouth! And speaking of your mouth, you now have 3 teeth! You had not been sleeping well. You’d been waking up a lot. And then all of the sudden, 3 little teeth pop up! I’m pretty sure you’re currently working on a 4^th as well.

You are still sleeping in your co-sleeper in our room. I am working on transitioning you to your crib. You nap in your crib now. I’m sure you’d be fine in your crib at night, but I’m kind of using the fact that you still wake up sometimes to keep you in our room. I’d probably keep you in there forever if you weren’t about to outgrow your co-sleeper! I just love having you close so I can watch you sleep!

You have definitely learned to use your voice this last month. You love being loud! You say mamamama a lot (mostly when you are upset)! You and your sister both can get pretty loud…it sounds crazy around here sometimes!

You are still attempting to eat some solid (pureed) foods. You really aren’t too interested though. You will take a couple of bites, and that’s enough for you. You’re perfectly happy just nursing. Today I was nursing you and you just stopped, looked up at me and cracked up laughing! HEART MELTED! You’re a pretty sweet kid like that. You have the sweetest and calmest temperament. People often ask me if you ever cry…and you don’t cry very often. You’re super adaptable. If you have to miss a nap, it’s usually no big deal, which is good because I’m always having to wake you up to pick up Kenley or take Kenley somewhere.

Sweet baby girl, I could not love you anymore. You are a joy!

Love,

Mommy

PS: You’ve started sucking your thumb sometimes, and it’s soooo cute!

Dylan 7 Months

Dear Dylan,

On May 2, you turned 7 months old. 7 months seems so old to me, like not a tiny baby anymore. Ugh!

You are still the most delightful baby. You are awesome!  You NEVER cry (other than for like a few seconds when you need something).  We can take you anywhere and you are just as happy as can be.  We can breeze right through a nap and you still don’t get too cranky on us!

You took your first plane ride this past month!  You were GREAT on the plane!  I was a little nervous to fly with you and your sister by myself, but you were both so good!  You slept a lot on the plane and were pretty content just looking around at the people.

So, our plane ride took us to Atlanta to Nana’s house! You got to meet all your family!  You met Nanny and Poppy, Uncle Jake (and Melanie, even though she’s not “officially” family, Aunt Monica and Will, Aunt Micki, Uncle Waylon, and Luke and Trace, and Aunt Angie and Jessica!  You were a little concerned at first…you get a little weary in big groups, and honey, your family is a big group, and we’re crazy!  It didn’t take long though.  You were pretty please being passed around from person to person and hanging out.  You, of course, adored all your family, but your Poppy especially!  I don’t know what it is about him and you kids!

               

You had your 6 month check up when we got home.  Healthy little (big) girl! Tall and thin, just like your sister!

We started on solid foods this month as well.  We started with avocado…not too sure you were thrilled with this.  Then we tried acorn squash…much better!  I mean, you eat like 3 bites, but you seemed to like squash a lot better.

You are just the sweetest little baby!  We’re all pretty sure you’re going to be our quiet introvert.  Love, love, love you Dylan Pickle!

Love,

Mommy

Kenley 4 Years Old

Dear Kenley,

On April 17, you turned 4 YEARS OLD!!!! I spent some time looking back at the posts I’ve written about you over the past 4 years, and I just can’t believe you are really 4. It has all gone by soooo fast.

You really do keep us on our toes these days. You are a bundle of energy, and you can go full speed ALL DAY! You love playing outside, riding your bike, playing in the garden, and playing on your swing set (as long as we get rid of the spider webs first). You can now coast and pick up your feet on your Skuut bike. You will probably be ready for a pedal bike (with NO training wheels) before you know it.

        

You still love going to school and seem to be thriving there. You’ve made some good little friends this year. Looks like most of them will be in your next year too, so that’s going to be fun! You occasionally have a listening issue at school (and home too J), but Teacher Megan is pretty good at getting you back on task.

You can be a handful sometimes. As mentioned above, sometimes you have an aversion to listening. It’s been a frustration of ours since you turned 3! You can talk my ear off! You can go for a half hour straight without missing a beat! Especially in the car, where are the ultimate back seat driver! “Mommy, why are you driving so fast, why are you driving so slow, why are you stopping, why are you going!” I never knew a 4 year old could be such a master driver!

All of your cute little quirks aside, you are so loving and caring and kind hearted. You have so much empathy for other people. You tell me you love me about 50 times a day. You love hugs and kisses. You are a great big sister. Dylan adores you. Your Papa and I adore you too.

Here are some of your favorites right now:

Book: Busytown

TV Show: Max & Ruby

Toy: horses

Movie: Star Wars (but you have to watch it with Papa

Food: Popcorn or cereal with no milk, no spoon

Drink: apple juice

Here are your 4 year old stats:

Weight: 36 pounds – 23^rd Percentile

Height: 42.1 inches – 91^st Percentile

 

I think you will just be tall and skinny…poor you!

We couldn’t love you any more baby girl. Try to slow down the growing up just a little !

Love you to pieces,

Mommy

Dylan 6 Month Stats

Dylan had her 6 month check up today. She’s doing well and is very healthy!

Height: 27 inches (87th percentile)

Weight: 17.5 pounds (75th percentile)

Dylan 6 Months

Dear Dylan,

On April 2, you turned 6 months old! Tear!

You are such a good baby. I really have no complaints about you.  You are the perfect second child.  You are very adaptable at being woken up from naps or having our naps delayed so your big sister can go to dance or be picked up from school.  You’re pretty awesome like that.  You should keep this info in your back pocket for when your big sister is being mean to you later in life!

You have been super vocal these days.  You make your dinosaur noises still.  You love to hear yourself.  You say mamamamama when you are upset, of course.  It sounds like you say “hi” sometimes.

You are SUPER ticklish on your ribs.  You have the funniest little grunty laugh when I tickle you.   You love to have your toes kissed.  You like it when I sing Patty Cake and the Shark Song.  You love to look at yourself in the mirror and grab your toes and roll back and forth.  You think your hands are amazing.   You think basketball is awesome to watch.   Your big sister is the coolest thing ever!

You are starting to take more interest in your toys.  You are playing in the exersaucer now.  At first you didn’t like it.  I think it was a little overwhelming.  We’ve come to the conclusion that you are our little introvert baby.  You are not very fond of large or loud crowds.  You much prefer a few people and a quiet space.  You get that from your parents.

I can’t believe it’s been a half year already.  You are pure joy baby girl!  And I love you more than I can say!

Love,

Mommy

Dylan 5 Months

Dear Dylan,

On March 2, you turned 5 months old…pause please! I just don’t know where the last 5 months have gone!

This past month, you have REALLY found your voice!  And you can be LOUD! It’s pretty hilarious. You also like making raspberry noises and grunting. It’s all really adorable. You grunt a lot when you are lying down to go to sleep.

A few days after you turned 4 months old, I was reading an article about the 4^th month sleep regression…and like clockwork…ugh! I was a little nervous this would be a new thing, but you are pretty much back to being a great night sleeper. You are a pretty good day sleeper as well. The best thing is that I can just lay you down and leave. You still sleep in a co sleeper beside the bed. The other night I was reading in bed as you were going to sleep. I looked up from my book and you just staring at me with those big blue eyes. I just melted. You just stayed locked on me for a few minutes, and I loved it!

You are more and more interested in your toys these days. You like to look at yourself in the mirror, you like your giraffes, and you like your wooden teether. You are pretty content hanging out on the floor on a blanket with your toys. Really, you’re a pretty laid back kid.

Your sister still makes you laugh and smile more than anyone. She barely has to say anything to you and you just light up. It gets me every time to see you two interact. I hope it continues.

 

I love you more and more everyday sweet baby!

Love,

Mommy

Dylan 4 Months

Dear Pickle,

On February 2, you turned 4 months old. I say it every month, but it’s just going too fast.

This past month you’ve really started to laugh a lot. We can get you going pretty much any time. It’s adorable, and I love it.

You’ve started to roll from your tummy to your back. It is kind of scary because you just flop over and I swear you bonk your head. It doesn’t seem to hurt you, so maybe I’m wrong…or you’re tough!

You had your 4 month check up. Here are your stats:

Height: 26 inches – 97^th percentile

Weight: 15 ½ pounds – 73^rd percentile

You are taller and weigh more than your sister did at this age! Way to over achieve girl! You got more shots…you’re not a fan, but who is! You are doing great, and you are very healthy!

You are still sleeping great. Your daytime sleep still hasn’t really fallen into a pattern, so you get woken up a lot to pick up Kenley from school or take Kenley to gymnastics…poor 2^nd child…

I love you to pieces. You’re my little snuggler!

Love,

Mommy

3 3/4 Years Old

Dear Kenely,

On January 17, you were 3 ¾ years old. I can’t believe that the next time I write one of these posts, you will be 4 years old. I really am so amazed at how fast these last (almost) 4 years have gone by.

 

You are one amazing big sister. You are super helpful (sometimes too helpful ). No one make’s Dylan giggle like you do. She just looks at you like you are the best thing ever. You can soothe her, and sometimes you are able to put her back to sleep if she wakes up. It’s really cute to watch you be a little Mommy.

 

You are a busy kid these days. You go to school Tuesday and Thursday. You go to gymnastics on Thursday. You have swimming lessons on Saturday. You love all of these things. You’ve struggled with listening this past month, so we often have to remind you about listening to your teachers. Watching you at gymnastics is extra special for Mommy. It reminds me of all those years in a gym. I still feel at home in a gym! You are fearless at swimming. You will jump right in when your teacher isn’t looking (which you aren’t supposed to do!). But you are also willing to try anything. You are always raising your hand wanting to go first. I’m proud of how fast you’re learning how to swim!

 

You continue to love school. You love to play with your horses and ponies. You love dressing up in princess dresses and tutus. You love playing basketball with your Papa. You love wearing your Portland Trail Blazer’s jersey when you play basketball and while you watch basketball on TV with Papa. Pancakes are your favorite food. Max and Ruby is your favorite TV show. We are Never Getting Back Together by Taylor Swift is your favorite song. You love wearing shoes that have sparkles on them (and those darn pink cowboy boots your Nana bought you!). You love giving Eskimos kisses, but for some reason you call them nuggles, it’s so cute. You are super goofy and funny (as you can see in all the pics!)

 

I loves sooooooo much!

Mommy

Dylan 3 Months

Dear Dylan,

Today you turned 3 months old!  You are such a great baby and, as cheesy as it sounds, it is a joy to be your Mommy!

This past month has been an exciting one. You had your first Christmas! I’m not sure all the holiday stuff was any different to you than any other day though! We spent a lot of time with Grandpa and Aunt Rachel. You also celebrated Mommy’s birthday! We went to an Indian restaurant. We all smelled like Indian food! I had to wash everything that was there with us, but it was so  worth it! You are already a good restaurant baby! It does help when we have Grandpa and Rachel there…they fight over who gets to hold you if you get upset!

This past month you got your first cold. You are still fighting it off right now. You spiked a fever last weekend and totally had me freaking out! I’m not sure your sister has ever had a fever. I’m sure the facts that you were born during cold and flu season and that you have a sister in preschool bringing home all those fun 3-5 year old germs does not help. You were right on the borderline of what an acceptable fever is, so the nurses told us just to watch you, so no doctor or ER! Yeah! You do still have a sad cough. I really do not like not being able to do anything for you.

Speaking of your sister…you love that girl (and she adores you)! No one makes you laugh quite like she does. All she has to do is walk up to you and a huge smile takes over your face. We got you on video laughing at her, and it is hilarious! So, this past month you’ve been smiling A LOT, laughing, and making more and more noises. One of your noises sounds like a growl! If I make the noise, you will mimic me…it’s precious. You also rolled over from your tummy to your back a few days ago!

It seems like a lot of the pictures I take of you have the same surprise look on your face! It’s pretty funny. I don’t know why you make that face. You aren’t usually upset (or actually surprised). Makes for some pretty memorable photos though.

You are still a great sleeper. You are really a laid back kid. I love you to pieces, and I am having so much fun watching you grow (but not too fast, please!)

Love you always,

Mommy

Dylan 2 Months Stats

You had your 2 month check up on Monday. Here are your stats:

Weight – 13 pounds 8 ounces! – 85th percentile

Height – 23 1/4 inches – 66th percentile

You are growing right along your growth curve, and you are hitting all your milestones!  You were given 3 shots…Mommy hates to see her girls get shots…the tears and screaming just kill me.  Luckily you recovered pretty quickly, but you slept the entire rest of the day.