The Linda Family

Dear Rebekah,

PLEASE SLOW DOWN! How are you so big already? You have grown so much this month. According to our scale at home you top the scale at 13lbs. You do know your sister was only 18lbs at age 1, right? At this rate you’ll weigh more than her by the time you’re 15 months! Oh but you are so cute. Those chubby cheeks make me melt! You are such a social child. You love being held, and you really couldn’t care less who it is that is holding you, as long as you are the center of their attention.

You are full of smiles now. You must know that they are the sure way to get what you want. Just flash that toothless grin at me and I will melt. You took for your first trip to the Aquarium this month. You weren’t real thrilled. You slept through most of it, until that pesky dolphin show when I sat down. Then you just wanted to eat when you woke up. I think you missed out on the fun of the aquarium. It will only be a matter of time before you start exclaiming some resemblance of the word FISHY when we go! I’m sure your big sister can’t wait for that!

You are learning to entertain yourself with your surroundings. You love to look at the bright colors of the TV, the fun faces of those around you, and just this evening you spent 10 minutes staring at the ceiling fan. Your hands are very cool, and that thumb…you keep trying to find it. Fingers, fist, thumb, whatever you can get into your mouth you suck on. You have even started to take a pacifier when offered. I’m not so sure I’m thrilled with this new milestone, but we’ll tread cautiously for now and see where it goes.

You will now push yourself onto your back when you are laid on your stomach, if your arms are up by your head. withyour arms by your side, you just kick with those legs and burry your face into whatever surface you are laid upon. You’re still not a fan of that one….

We started you on cloth diapers this month, now that you are big enough. You seem to be happy with them, and mommy likes them too. You look very cute in your pink bumGenius 3.0. I can’t wait to see you in the Zinnia when it arrives! Of course, modern cloth diapers are adorable, and so are you. It’s a deadly combination. Maybe one day I’ll break down and buy you the BumWear diapers I’ve been eyeing up…

Last weekend you and I went away for the weekend. We joined 270 other women, and your buddy Madison at Rocky Gap Resort, out in Western Maryland. It was a great weekend. We roomed with Hillary and Madison, and we had a blast hanging out together. You both did great on the trip out to Rocky Gap, but you were not a fan of the elevation changes and you cried the entire trip home. Talk about torture for us both. You did enjoy the time we spent out there. There were 269 people lining up to hold you and Madison. It was nice to eat meals with both hands and to get to be with grown up women ALL DAY LONG! No Noggin on the TV and no whining 4 year old. Just grown ups, and the two of you babies who were so well behaved. Mommy was in heaven, and I think you were too. You did steal the show. Even when we went to the “big city” to get pedicures you stole the show! I could tell you missed your big sister when you were mesmorized by the 6 year old girl who was spending the day at the nail salon with her mom. You were so happy to have a “big kid” play with you.

You are becoming more alert and are happy to sit in the car and hang out. Your stretches of wakefulness last longer, and your naps are fewer. I’m starting to get used to your schedule, which I’m sure means it’s about to change, but I think that’s the joy of having a baby around. You can’t let me get too comfortable!

I’m amazed by your personality and how happy you are with people. You are so trusting and content to be with anyone, until you get hungry. And even then, as long as they have a shoulder you can suck on or you can get a hold of your wrist, you are perfectly happy for quite some time.

I love seeing you changing and all the new things you are discovering. Never stop learning little one! I can’t wait to see what you discover this month!

Love,
Mommy

Ashleigh had been making plans for months…For quite some time she has been telling me she wanted a Princess Crown birthday cake. As her birthday was approaching, and I was still recovering from Bekah’s birth the task of actually having a birthday party seemed a little daunting to me. I tried to convince Wes that April would be a better month, it would be spring time and we could have fun outside. Unfortunately for me, he didn’t go for it

We started talking to Ashleigh about her birthday party and she decided that she wanted a Princess party like her friend Mia had last fall. Upon further discussion she realized that she really wanted a prince and princess party so that her friends who are boys could come and have a good time. She made her guest list and we sent out the invites, and started to plan what we could do to have all of her friends here and make it a Royal Gala.

I tried to go simple, but really, if you know me, you know there’s no simple anything….With the help of my mom we made up some great goody bags with tiaras, lip gloss, Disney Princess Crayons, Disney Princess Fruit Snacks, and a necklace & bracelet set for the girls. The boys were ready to be Knights in Shining Armor with Chest Plates & Swords, and they also went home with Spiderman Crayons, the same fruit snacks, and a card game. While everyone arrived we had some Disney Princess Movie music playing and the kids had fun dancing around the living room. Once the majority of the guests were here we moved into the dining room for BINGO. I had intended to make BINGO cards so that I could use Disney Princes and Princesses (because the commercial ones are only Princesses). Unfortunately I had a heck of a time trying to find pictures of Princes and the images were all completely different sizes and it was totally overwhelming.

I had pretty much given up on the BINGO game and was trying to find something else that I could do instead when I found a BINGO card generator on a website that is full of homeschool materials. It was amazing. I was able to choose the size of the cards, whether I wanted words or pictures, and then I chose a theme. I chose the midevil theme and we played BINGO with knights, princesses, mermaids, suits of armor, and all sorts of princessy stuff! Perfect!

The next “project” was Princess Clay. I think the kids enjoyed it. I whipped up a batch of homemade play-doh and the kids got to choose their coloring (kool-aid) and mix that into it, as well as some glitter, for the Prince/Princess effect. It was messy, but not that bad. They had a good time and I just wiped down the table when they were done. We also played “pin Cinderella in her castle”. Well, it was more like stick Cinderella in her castle. The kids had fun, several of them took two turns.

For lunch I tried to go healthy. We had sandwichs, PB&J, tuna salad, and chicken salad. The PB&J were cut into stars, hearts, and flowers. We had veggies and dip, fruit salad, and some chips & pretzels to go with it. I had a bunch of Capri-sun Juice pouches we had never consumed, so we served those as well. The kids all seemed to be happy and full when they left the table.

The cake was Ashleigh’s favorite part. With all the time I put into it, she sure better have enjoyed it! It actually was not as bad as I expected, I just forgot that I had an infant to care for as well as make the cake. Next year it will be easier! She chose the Wilton Castle cake pan for her cake. I had never made flowers before, but I found it was surprisingly easier than I expected.

By the end of the party I was ready to lay down for a bit and take a nap, though that could have been caused by the fact that I wait until the last minute for everything and therefore only got 3 hours of sleep the night before her party…but hey, it all got done and everyone had fun! Thankfully I have some great friends who helped along the way!

After the party was over we relaxed for a bit and took some photos before Celebration #2 started. Nana arrived, then cousin Virginia and Dave, then Aunt Beth, and eventually Uncle Roy. Aunt Beth brought a ton of great stuff and we spent the latter part of the afternoon redecorating Ashleigh’s room. You’ll have to wait for the next blog post for that, but for now…Enjoy the party photos

Ashleigh,

I can hardly believe that you are four years old already. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with you, and now you are four years old and a big sister. Where has time gone? The past year has brought many changes to our world. You went from being an only child to being a big sister. You have grown so much in the past year. You are starting to come out of your shell and interact with the world around you. I love your excitement levels. You are so enthusiastic about most everything. You love to let your creativity shine through.

It’s amazing to see how much you have learned in the past year. You can now write your name, and you love to learn. The puzzles you started with last year are all way too easy for you to do. A 24 piece puzzle is done in minutes. You are very good at 63 piece puzzles, and we are moving to 100 piece puzzles! I’m amazed by your problem solving skills and your ability to think through the task at hand.

Books are so much fun. You love to “read” to your stuffed animals and your “kids” at night after Mommy and Daddy read you books. Speaking of your “kids”, your imagination is incredible. Your imaginary friends are all your kids. You started off the year with just a couple of them, then you had 6 of them, and now I think you’ve lost count. Caillou & Rosie are the ones who are usually around, but we’ve also met Herbert and Sherbert, as well as many others.

You love to see the world around you. Trips to the Science Center, Aquarium, and Zoo are always a great time. Storyville is a great place and you also enjoyed the Nature Story Hour the week we actually made it there. Anytime you can be in an enviornment where you are learning you are thrilled.

This fall we started “doing school”. We bought some pre-k curriculum and we have been learning about letters. You love to learn how words are spelled and you are a pro at sounding them out. You have a memory that I can’t even fathom and often try to make sure mommy and daddy don’t forget events that you remember.

I love to listen to you count and try to do simple math. I’m so proud that you know that 4 + 4 = 8. You are so smart! I hope we can continue to foster the love of learning you have deep inside. You amaze me with the information you retain, and the things you like to know about. I don’t think your brain ever rests.

You are an amazing big sister. You love nothing more than to sit and hold your sister, or lay next to her and “talk” with her and make her smile. I love that I can leave the two of you alone for up to 10 or 15 minutes to do laundry and you two will still be where I left you chatting away. I hope you two love spending time with each other in a few years!

You love to help with your sister too. You are always ready and waiting with a fresh diaper during diaper changes, a change of clothes when needed, or just a smile and hug for your sister. You love to watch Bekah sleep, and you can’t wait for her to learn how to talk so you can have real conversations with her.

In the past year you have started to blossom and come out of your shell a bit. You will now sometimes speak to other adults in our presence, and you are quite the social butterfly when among other kids (with no grown-ups watching). I love seeing you mature and grow each day. I can’t wait to see what the next year holds for us!

Love you bunches and bunches,
Mommy