Five Months

Ellie,

Last week you turned five months old. Just like I did with your brother (and still do), as you get older, I keep thinking this is my favorite age. I should know better, since this ain't my first rodeo, but you keep surprising me with how much more fun you get every month. You are getting further and further away from the newborn stage and it's bitter sweet. You are still pretty snuggly, but now you want to talk to us, you want to be entertained, you want to eat our food and you want to move. You pretty much always want Mama if you have the choice, but you love Daddy and Grandma and everyone who will call you pretty and hold you too. Timmy is your biggest hero and biggest fan. You are such an integral part of our family it's hard to believe that you've only been a part of it for 5 months. You have taught Timmy what it means to share and how to be gentle, you have made your daddy begin to mentally prepare to fight off teenage boys down the road, and you have showed me how much fun it is to have a baby girl, dress her up and share the world with her. We love you, beaner!

These days:

You desperately want to get your hands on food. A few times you've successfully snatched something from our plates at the table but weren't quick enough to put it in your mouth. I think we'll let you try out solids soon.

You are determined to move but can't quite make your body go where you want it to. You roll over, but largely by accident I think, because you always look surprised when you do it. When you're on your tummy, you can push yourself in circles and scoot backward. The other day, you pushed yourself forward about 6 inches and got one of Timmy's matchbox cars. You seemed pretty pleased with yourself.

You love toys that make noise and especially love batting your hands against the keys of Timmy's "laptop" to make it light up and play music. Also, everything goes in your mouth.

You recently went back to sleeping very well at night. Hooray! Most nights, you have a bath with Timmy and then eat before going to sleep around 7:30 or 8. Then you don't wake up until 6:30 or 7. It's wonderful. Naps, on the other hand, pretty much don't exist except when we're on the run in your carseat or being held by someone.

You squeak, you laugh, you coo and you scream (when you're mad).

You are teething like crazy. Rarely do you not have a finger in your mouth to chomp on. Drool, everywhere. Not a tooth in sight though.

You look a lot like Timmy did as a baby. A smaller, more feminine version of him. Your eyes are still blue, your skin is fair and your hair is light. Your fingers are long, your ears and your feet are tiny and your legs are short and chubby. You have a small dimple on your right cheek and one of the best, gummy smiles I've ever seen. You're in 3-6 month or 6 month clothes, depending on the brand and size 2 diapers.

You're starting to sit up unassisted for longer periods of time, but prefer to either be held or be free on your tummy.

You are starting to give up your pacifier but don't really suck your thumb.

You (thankfully) do the classic eye rub when you're tired instead of scratching up your face.

You love giving big, slobbery kisses.

Bath time is probably your favorite part of the day. At your baptism, you were getting cranky and tired, but when the water was poured over your head, you instantly quieted down and smiled. My girl loves water.

You still let me put headbands and bows in your hair. I hope you always do.

You are so loved. By your mommy, daddy and brother. By all four grandparents. By friends and family. You're a lucky girl to have so many people who care about you, but we are all lucky too.

Love,
Mommy

Four Months

Ellie,

As of Thursday, we have a four month old in our house. How did that happen? I haven't even put up any of your newborn pictures yet and you barely resemble that little baby these days. You are developing such a cute little personality and interacting so much more than even a month ago. In a couple days, I go back to work and you'll be in Grandma's care. I think you'll be put on a schedule, which is probably for the best. Gone are the days of tagging along on a million errands without any real naps. It was fun while it lasted, huh?

You are starting to let a few more people into your circle of trust. For a few months, I was the only one you wanted. But now you can be soothed by Daddy or Grandma too. Timmy may be your favorite person...you still love just watching him, listening to him and now reaching out and grabbing him when he's close enough. He loves you too, and constantly proclaims his love for "my baby sister!"

We gave you formula for the first time this month. You stubbornly refused to drink it after we made the rookie mistake of mixing in the wrong amount (we couldn't find the scoop and guessed--incorrectly--at how big a scoop is), but once we figured it out, you drank it no problem. Now you'll take a bottle with anything, so I feel much better about leaving you with bottles during the week.

Since you were getting so close to rolling over, we slowly stopped swaddling you this month and you were not happy about it. You went from sleeping a solid 9.5 hour stretch to waking up every few hours because you startled yourself awake. No one in our house was happy about this, but luckily you seem to be getting used to sleeping free. You really love to clutch our hand as you fall asleep.

Even though you're still a tad too small, you love the exersaucer and the doorway jumper. Being able to sit up and look at things is great, but even better if you can slam your hands on something and make noise. If we read a book to you, you lunge at it with both hands and mouth open, ready to investigate. We have already had a few close calls at the dinner table because you so badly want what we are having. Sorry, you'll need to wait another few months.

You're ticklish under your arms and cheeks and all of us are falling in love with your laugh. You will be happy if you're carried, being sung to or snuggled close and tight. You drool like crazy and gnaw on everything you can put in your mouth. You take baths with Timmy and LOVE splashing and kicking the water.

The cold that will not die continues to make you congested and teary-eyed. I'm not sure if it's allergies or just having an older brother plus cold and flu season, but either way, we are anxious for some relief. I don't mind holding you while you sleep so you can be upright though, Ellie snuggles are one of my favorite things these days.

At your appointment, you were 25 inches long (75th percentile) and 14 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile). Your head circumference was 40.5 cm (50th percentile). You are solidly into 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. You are a growing and healthy girl, aside from the cold. These past four months I've spent getting to know you have been some of the best I've had as a mother. I'm not sure that I'm really ready to go back to work and be away from you so much of the day, but I am so thankful to know that you're in such great hands with Grandma. I know this year will bring wonderful things and I am looking forward to sharing it all with you, Timmy and Daddy.

Love,
Mommy



Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/Lisa.Ottomanelli/BeginningOf2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCN7U9vLu3MT6swE&feat=directlink

Our Big 3 Year Old

Timmy,

You are now a real, honest-to-goodness, big kid. Your birthday month brought A LOT of changes and I think you are starting to hit your stride now. (Yes, I am posting this almost two weeks late. What can I say, life is busy). When you are lamenting your Christmas birthday in your teen years, I would like you to remember the year you turned three and had three birthday parties. We celebrated your birthday and last day of school at Mar Vista Montessori on December 2nd with the usual pizza, pirate's booty, juice and balloons. You had a great time and loved being the center of attention in the Jungle Room. Then on December 18th, you had a birthday party for friends at the indoor playground MyGym with all of our friends from Playa Vista. Finally, Christmas afternoon was officially "Timmy's birthday" and you had the whole family here to celebrate, open presents and eat some of your favorite food (mac 'n cheese, sliders, sweet potato fries and cupcakes).

Between moving, the holidays and your birthday month, I think we were all EXHAUSTED. We also threw in potty training in the mix just for fun. But now you are in your new school, getting used to your new house, your new big boy underpants and (still) loving your new sister.

You were probably one of the easiest and sweetest two year olds out there. I'm sorry to say that it looks like you may be in the midst of the terrible threes. You want to be independent and you want to be independent BY YOURSELF!! If I suggest something, your immediate response is "no" often closely followed with you suggesting "maybe do x." You push boundaries and you like to do things just to see what kind of reaction you can get out of us. But then a few minutes later, you will run up to us and ask for a big hug and kiss or shout an unprompted "I love you" and really, all is wonderful again. You are still the sweetest three year old I know, I just wish there weren't episodes of madness mixed in.

Right now, you are very into Mickey Mouse, especially Space Adventure Martian Mickey. I will often hear you running around the house saying something about how you need to go rescue Martian Mickey because he's in trouble. And this is what I love about your age. The things that come out of your mouth are not just simple responses or things you repeat; you are telling stories and using your imagination. The other day you were walking up the stairs to your room for naptime. Sweet Pea was coming down the stairs and you shouted "move Sweet Pea! I want to go to bed!" To think that one year ago, we had to interpret nearly everything you said for teachers and relatives and you were only uttering words or short phrases, it's amazing that you can now have a conversation where you supply much of the content.

Other things you love right now: bike rides with Daddy, giving your sister kisses, coloring, stickers, helping mommy or daddy cook, doing everything "all by myself," snuggling, watching football, Toy Story, singing songs and reading the same books over and over again.

The bigger and older you get, the more I appreciate the fact that you are a huge snuggler. You love to be close and affectionate with everyone. Kisses and hugs are a very regular occurrence in our house. You carry around your Mickeys (you have two big Mickey Mouses) and treat them like your babies, putting them in Ellie's play mat or car seat, pretending to feed and burp them, and tucking them in next to you at night. And this pretty much sums up your personality. You are sensitive, sweet and caring. You probably did not get any of this from me, but I love it more than anything.

Happy third birthday!

Love,
Mommy