Posts Tagged ‘milestones’

Happy first birthday, Heron!!

I'm so glad that Mom & Dad were able to be here for Heron's first birthday! We had a great time!

I sewed up a special birthday crown for him (like I did for Rhino, but I'll be redoing Rhino's for future birthdays.) [Idea from Amanda Soule's book, The Creative Family.] I also sewed up a birthday banner for his party on Monday (idea from the same book.)

He received some wonderful gifts! He was given some cute outfits from Great-Granddaddy and GG and Pop. Matt's parents got him some adorable clothes too, as well as a Punch and Drop and some stacking wooden rings. I finally got to give him the knitted rainbow snake that I finished a while ago! Matt and Rhino and I also gave him a Walk N Roll for when he starts walking (soon!)

And, of course, there was cake!! I baked him his own little chocolate cake with my yummy chocolate frosting. Lucky boy! We tried to hold off on giving him any sugar until his first birthday, like we did for Rhino, but it hasn't really worked out. Rhino likes to share his treats! So this is the second time Heron's had chocolate cake.

He did pick the whole thing up and try to eat it like a cupcake! When it first came out, he didn't want to try the cake, actually. I took a finger full of frosting and chased his mouth around for a while until I could finally sneak it in. Then he knew what to do!  I cringe a little at this baby-chocolate-cake tradition because it's just so much sugar and we try to limit sweets. It is just too adorable though (I love this messy, chocolate baby!) and it is a one-time thing. It won't be every birthday that he gets to dive into his own cake!

The mess was so worth it. He had a blast! And cleanup was pretty easy. Once I got him in the bath, crumbs fell off him and he turned the water brown. At one time, a small piece of cake floated by him and he grabbed it and attempted to have seconds! Such a pig!

Hi, sweetie!

We've had another fantastic month together. I can't believe that you're all ready one year old! It all has really gone by so quickly.

Since last month you've started getting more mobile. You crawl really fast and am always surprised by how well you get around. You're pulling up on everything and have started to walk along the furniture now. You'll even let go with one hand, but haven't dared to stand on your own just yet! You love to walk around and hold my hands and you seem so proud of yourself when you do! I'm really excited for you to start toddling around here any day now!

You're still a big pig and will chow down on anything that comes near you! Some of your new favorites are lasagna, strawberries, scrambled eggs, and corn. You've also started drinking from a sippy cup (just water right now), especially at night. You have no problem with it and will even use a straw in a cup, too! I love that right now you'll eat anything and aren't picky about what we put in front of you.

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I feel like you've really opened up more this past month. You have such a great little sense of humor and make us laugh all the time. You copy Ryan and you both laugh at each other. Your favorite game right now is shaking your head and then laughing. It's simple, but so silly! It started in the car when Ryan was shaking his head against the back of the car seat and you thought it was hilarious! Then you shook your head and Ryan laughed at you. It went on and on for quite a while! Now you'll just sit and shake your head any time and laugh at yourself. I love it!

You experienced your first Independence Day this month, but it wasn't actually all that exciting. We went to church, which you're enjoying more lately, but skipped out on all the Fourth of July festivities. The whole family took a long nap, actually! There were supposed to be fireworks that night, but they were postponed due to rain. They fired them off on Monday night, but it was well past your bedtime and you were all ready asleep. We'll catch them next year, though!

We're excited to see your Grandma and Grandpa really soon! They're going to spend your birthday (I'm writing this just a tad early!) with you and we're going to have a nice party! You'll get to go down to Tokyo for your second time and we have lots of fun things planned. It will be so nice for you to finally meet your Grandma and Grandpa and I know they will be so happy to see you!

Happy birthday, sweetheart! We all love you so much and look forward to another amazing year.

Love Always,
Mommy

Baby Heron,

It's been such an eventful couple of months! You've grown so much, both in size and in personality.

You've had a bunch of "firsts" these past months, of course. You took your first bike ride and seemed to enjoy it! You were in a bit of a crabby mood about the house, but as soon as you sat in that green seat, you calmed down. We rode to the Popeye's for some rice and beans and have been out as a family a few times since. You've also shown us your first dance moves! Often when the iPod is on or a TV show theme song starts up, you do a little bouncing and jiggling. I love your little dancing and can't wait to see what other moves you develop! You're a speedy crawler these days and have started pulling up to a stand as well! You will walk around if I hold your hands, but don't love it. You haven't started "cruising" along furniture yet. You do like to stand up at your brother's breakfast table and eat his leftover cereal. I can see that you try to push off the floor into a stand, but just end up with your diaper in the air and your head toward the floor and don't know where to go from there. You'll figure it out so

Another big first is your first word! You've been stringing together sounds for a while now, but I'm positive that now you give meaning to words you make. It's no surprise to me that your first word, almost two weeks ago, was "mama." You usually say it when I come in to your room in the morning and you exclaim "mama!" or when you're mad and want something. You're also extremely close to saying "more" while you're eating. Between bites you'll tell me "mo mo mo" and I'm working on both saying and signing "more" with you. Your brother is having fun with trying to teach you that, too and when you eat he usually joins us and shows you the sign over and over!

I can now tell that you have favorites! You love to eat, but definitely have some favorite foods. We went out for udon (thick Japanese noodles) one day and I gave you a little piece. You loved it so much and would demand more loudly. I kept the noodles coming and you definitely ate more than I was able to! You're also my spicy little baby. We went out for some Pepper Lunch one day and I ordered a spicy beef and rice dish. It was almost too hot for me, but you were begging me for a bite – craning your neck with your little mouth wide open and screeching at me! – so I let you have a bite. You didn't react like it was too spicy for you, so I gave you more.You gobbled up a ton of spicy rice and it didn't seem to both you at all! You also love Cajun rice and beans, which have a little kick to it.

You have some favorite games and activities now, too. You're starting to get a kick out of Peek-a-Boo and This Little Piggy. You anticipate the "wee wee wee" and I can always get a smile out of you. Your brother loves to do that with you, too! You're enjoying a lot of toys more lately, but your favorite thing to do with them is to thrown them down on the ground! You also love pulling up at the book shelf and yanking every book onto the floor!

You still haven't quite warmed up to Daddy. Sometimes you'll be fine, playing by yourself, and he just has to look at you and you'll burst into tears! He doesn't take it personally anymore, but does look forward to the day that you like being around him! I've run out a few times and left you with him and sometimes that goes pretty well. If I'm not around for a while, I think you just give up and fall asleep. Lately you have liked it if I'm holding you and he tickles you. Finally, Daddy's getting some good smiles out of you (but only if I'm holding you!) You're quite a ticklish little guy and have such a wonderful laugh!

Speaking of your laugh, the thing that's gotten the cutest, biggest laughs out of you is the neighbor's little dog. Our backyard neighbor has a little doxen. She came over to chat once when we were out back and was holding the dog in her arms. For about 30 minutes you would just look at the little dog and crack up. Anything that it did just made you laugh so hard. I loved it! We definitely need to spend some more time around dogs!

We've done a lot since my last letter to you. In the last two months, you've traveled to Hirosaki for the Cherry Blossom Festival, Hachinohe to play at Fantasy Dome, the Statue of Liberty park, you've spent a week at Vacation Bible School either in the nursery or with me working with the 2 and 3 year olds, and you spent almost a week sick with the flu (along with the rest of the family!) We have a big Tokyo trip planned for the next month where you'll meet your Grandma and Grandpa. Then in no time at all, you'll turn 1! We're going to have such a great time and make the most of this last month of you being an infant!

Love Always,

Mommy

Hi my sweet Heron baby!

It’s been two months since my last letter to you and of course, you’ve changed so much! We haven’t had you measured in the past two months, so I’m not sure how much you’ve grown but from carrying you around so much, I’m guessing quite a bit!

You had your first Easter earlier this month. You didn’t enjoy coloring eggs, Sunday School or the Easter Feast, but you were so sweet all day and loved playing with your new Easter toys. Next year will be fun when you’ll get to hunt for eggs and enjoy church and chocolate with your brother!

You’ve finally developed a taste for food! You love apple slices, Cheerios and baby rice snacks as well as all sorts of baby food, especially peaches and peas. Your brother likes to feed you as well as share your food!

Just two days ago you really started to get mobile! For about a month you’ve been getting on your hands and knees and rocking to a sit. Lately you’ve started taking one crawling “step” before falling to your tummy. You just started getting around now! It seems that any food or dangerous objects nearby really motivate you to get going! Diaper changes are near impossible too, since you squirm so much and want to get away (and you’re stronger than I ever expect you to be!) I can tell I’m going to spend a lot of my time chasing you down soon!

You babble a lot, but aren’t yet forming real words. We constantly hear “babababa” and “dadadada” from your little mouth! Your big brother likes to imitate you and have conversations with you and you both find it so funny. You adore Rhino so much and he can almost always bring a smile to your face. He beats up on you a little bit too, but it’s out of love! Whenever I rush in to stop him from treating you like a drum or squishing your face, you start to giggle so I just let you boys be. You’re a tough little guy!

You’ve made some little baby friends lately, too. We go to playgroups together and you seem to care a little bit more about the kids around you. We’ve met some babies lately that are just a little bit younger than you and some that are a little bit older and you seem to be really interested in them. You were hanging out with a little 6 month-old the other day and scooting over to him, touching his face, and leaning in like you were going to give him a big kiss, then just rest your face on his. You two were laughing at each other and waving your arms together for most of an hour! There are lots of babies right around your age that we know and it will be fun to see you all grow up together over the next few years.

This stage you’re in right now is so fun. Your sometimes-grumpy / sometimes-ecstatic personality is really shining through lately! You’re demanding and you’re hilarious and you’re temperamental and you melt my heart and I love you so much.

- Your Mommy

Milk is good, but it’s time for Heron to start eating food like the rest of us! We waited for the signs: interest in what we’re eating, sitting unsupported, “pincer grasp” (though he hasn’t perfected that one, he still technically does it.) With Rhino, we adhered to the Baby Led Weaning philosophy, but we’re a bit more lax this time around. We’re on WIC and are allowed SO much baby food, so I thought we might as well get some and use it.

Often times people start out with breast milk / rice cereal, we decide to go the veggie/fruit route. I started Heron out with pears, and he was not impressed. He’d pucker at the taste, and once I did get a small spoonful in his mouth, he made himself sick. I don’t think his gag reflex is quite ready. Rhino was begging the whole time for Heron’s pears, so I let him finish off what Heron didn’t touch.

We tried again a few days later with more baby food, this time: peas. His reaction was about the same and he wasn’t too pleased about it. Later in the day, Rhino was eating Cheerios on the floor next to Heron. Heron managed to pick one up from the floor and try to eat it. More gagging and spitting up. He’s not ready for Cheerios yet, anyway!

The other day, we tried well-cooked carrots, cut into small, pinch-able pieces. Heron liked playing with all the little orange chunks and tried to maneuver the slippery pieces to his mouth. He did finally get a bit in his mouth, which he manipulated for quite a while. Eventually he swallowed it, but I’m not sure how much he mashed it up before it went down. I think overall, he needs a little more time before food is a regular thing for him. We’ll keep working on it!

Heron Baby,

Hello sweetheart! I’m sorry that I missed writing your letters for the past three months. And my, how you’ve changed in that time! We went to the doctor when you were three months and you weighed 14 pounds and were 24 inches long. Healthy! You also got your first shots ad did just fine with those. You have such a big personality and are certainly becoming your own little person now. Daddy likes to call you Bipolar Baby because your moods are so extreme. You are known to scream and scream for hours on end, leaving me baffled about how to soothe you. Then you may suddenly switch and flash me a humongous grin! You are giggling now, too — not hearty belly laughs yet, but happy little chuckles. Usually your brother gets your laughs. You are usually very friendly with everyone and will grin at anyone that looks at you. Sometimes though, all it takes is a look and you’ll burst in to more screams. You definitely keep us guessing!

I assume part of your moodiness is due to all your recent changes. We believe you have been starting to teethe this past month, though I don’t see any budding pearly whites yet. Your fingers are constantly in your mouth and you will chomp down on anything that gets too close. You are drooly and have had some minor fever, so I expect to see some chompers any day now. In the meantime, you get very angry, usually when I’m just ready for bed.

At about two months you rolled over from your back to your tummy. I had thought it was a fluke and you were only able to when you were on a cushy couch or soft bed. We saw a little bit of this for about a month, but you never did it when you were on the hard floor … until 3 months. You did both sides — front to back and back to front — at pretty much the same time. Now when I set you on the floor for anything, you flip right over to your front. It is difficult to keep you down for diaper changes too – you always want to roll!

You’ve taken some trips around the area this autumn. Your Grammy and Uncle Ron came to visit and we meet them down in Tokyo. You were snuggled in a baby carrier against me the whole week, but you got to ride on trains and subways, go to temples and shrines, go shopping and to Japanese restaurants, and had your first night in a hotel room! Grammy brought you some toys and books that you like to stare at and your brother likes to take from you. We have also gone to Hachinohe, Towada, Shimoda, and Aomori with you. You used to sleep the whole time on outings, but you’re starting to be more alert. You generally hate the car and often cry a good portion of our trips. You’re happy once you get in a baby carrier or a stroller, though. I think you just get tired of looking at the back of the seat and want to actually view the scenery.

You’ve settled in really nicely into our family. You and Rhino amuse each other, you smile at Daddy, and you coo at our friends at church. My favorite times with you are snuggling and nursing on the sofa and looking through books with you. You get such wide eyes whenever you see words or music notes and try to reach out and grab them! We all love you so much and are thrilled that you are a part of our family! I can’t wait to see what changes in you over the next month!

I love you,
Mommy

And lots of other silly faces.

Dear Heron,

Welcome to our family! We have now spent one month together and it has been such a terrific month! You had a beautiful birth on July 17th at Misawa AB in Japan. I stayed with you in the hospital for three days and then we went home together to be with Daddy and Rhino, your big brother. You and Rhino hit it off right away and he loves hugging you, kissing you, and bringing you things. I’m very glad you two have each other and will be able to play together soon!

You’re a very healthy boy — and a big one! You were 9 pounds and 4 ounces at birth and were 10 pounds at your two week appointment. You have been growing a lot since then and have the biggest cheeks! You’re a great eater and I love the time that we spend together during your meals.

You’ve started smiling a little bit just recently. The first time you smiled was when I was sitting with you on the sofa, singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and you flashed me a big grin. Then I kept singing to you and talking with you and you kept smiling back. You have such a handsome smile! You’ve since given Daddy smiles when he’s goofy with you and have given Miss Katy (in the church nursery) some smirks! You like to be sung to and rocked and also like to swing. We give you some tummy time every day, but right now you aren’t a big fan. You sleep with us so soundly and rarely fuss much at night. You do still cry quite a bit, but I make sure you get lots of loving!

We’ve stayed at home a lot this month, but you’ve gotten out a bit. Your first trip was to Shimoda where we went to the park, the mall, and had lunch. You slept from the time we left the house until we returned home, though! We also went to Hachinohe for lunch and slept through that! Other than going out to eat, you’ve been to church. You sit with me in the service (or are in the nursery if I’m working) and are always sleeping or calmly looking around at the people nearby. Right now you don’t care so much about where we are usually, you still just like to sleep a lot!

I’ll be writing you a letter every month to keep track of what is happening in your life, so you’ll be hearing more from me soon! I am so thankful God has blessed us with you, another beautiful, healthy little boy! Daddy and I love you so much and we are so glad to have you in our lives.

Love,
Mommy

I’ve loved Rhino’s long hair and haven’t been in too much of a rush to get it cut, but lately we’ve gotten a whole lot more comments on his baby-mullet and Matt started referring to him as our white-trash-baby. So, I figured it’s time to neaten things up!

We had a family trip to the on-base barber shop where a sweet Japanese woman took care of Rhino’s long locks. She gave him a little toy fish with a flapping tail that Rhino was really interested in. He didn’t seem to care that he was getting his hair cut too much — he didn’t complain, at least. He shot us a couple uneasy looks, but he was quiet and fairly still the entire time. We kept the long curls for his baby book and got a couple of pictures. We are so proud of how well-behaved he was for his haircut. Now he looks less like a baby and more like a handsome, tiny man!

Hello dearest Rhino!

You’re now fifteen months old and just as sweet as ever! Your personality is so silly lately and you have such a fantastic sense of humor. I love playing with you all day – you laugh so much! You find the silliest things so funny – putting a bucket on your head like a hat, then on my head, then laugh so hard; wrapping yourself or your head in play silks and running around the room; playing peek-a-boo with a stuffed animal from behind a chair or in the car; shutting any door I just opened (even if it’s the pantry door or the refrigerator and I’m still using it!) – you laugh all the time! I love it so much and you make me laugh most of the day, too!

You had to say goodbye to some of your friends this month. Samantha (your “girlfriend”) moved away, so we had a couple get-togethers so you two could spend some time together. We went over to her house so you could play with all her toys, sit in her little tent, drink from her cup, chew on her playing cards, and chase her around! We also went out to lunch with her and her parents, where the two of you sat across the table from each other trying to share food and napkins but just couldn’t quite reach (so you tried throwing things at her!) Your buddies Josh and Aime moved away this month also. We had them over before they left and they loved playing with you in your room and your bus tent. You’ve grown more fond of them over the months and are fascinated when they come over, always wanting to do what they do. It was sad to see everyone go (I know you weren’t sad – you have no idea!) but you received a bunch of hand-me-down toys that they didn’t want to move (lucky you!)

You still aren’t really talking consistently, but you have a couple new words that you use occasionally. You’ve stopped pronouncing “bye” as “die” and now actually tell people bye as you wave! You’re also sometimes saying “hi” when they arrive. You do wave at people all the time, though! Every day when Daddy is getting ready for work, gets his keys and badge, you know what’s coming and start waving at him or asking for a kiss.

You’re developing some cute habits that I just adore! Whenever I sit cross-legged on the floor, you come over to me, turn yourself around, and plop on my lap. When it’s time to read a book, you bring a book to me and take your place in my lap without me doing anything anymore! When we lie down together on the sofa or in bed, you squirm until your back is against my chest and your head right under my chin and snuggle with me, either to watch some TV or fall asleep. We pretty much only use your high chair at the table for dinners and often you have your breakfast, snacks, and lunches in your little rocking chair. You know when I’m in the kitchen getting food ready that it’s almost time to eat, climb into your little chair, and fold your hands patiently! We didn’t try to train you to “pray”, I guess you’re just copying us and know that folding your hands is something you just have to do before you eat! It’s so cute and sometimes you bow your head (but usually you’re just staring at the food or us throughout the prayer) and you usually say your version of “amen” (which doesn’t sound anything like amen, but you’re usually on cue and always very excited!)

You’re getting friendlier with other people, which is wonderful! I hear that you have a great time in nursery now (you just don’t like being dropped off your picked up, so I figured you were crying the whole time through as well!) You talk to people, dance for them, laugh at them, and are generally a big ham! Every now and then you’ll want some other lady to hold you instead of me (well, at least for a little bit.) If someone has food for you, you two are buddies for the day! I love that you’re getting more comfortable with people other than Daddy and I.

We’ve had such fun this month and I love watching you grow and change so much! Thank you for making my days so enjoyable, patting me on the back when you give me hugs, offering me kisses, sharing your toys with me, feeding me your goldfish crackers, and making me laugh. I am so thankful to be your mother!

I love you,
Mommy