The Linda Family

Bekah,

I can hardly believe that you are one (and 3 weeks). How on earth did that happen?! The last year has flown by and you have gone from a full of energy baby in my belly, kicking every chance you had to a little girl who wants to explore every corner of every space at warp speed. You are weighing in at 19lbs 12 oz, and I can’t remember your height. You actually lost a few ounces between your 9 month and 12 month check ups. They tell me that this is normal when babies start walking, so I’m not going to stress it, but lets work on gaining before your 15 month check up, ok?

I have been pretty bad at updating since you started with this mobile thing, so let’s backtrack a bit. On September 15th you started crawling. It seems you have an affinity for your buddy Madison’s house. You broke your water in their driveway, and you started crawling at their house. Not that you weren’t fully mobile BEFORE the crawling, with the crazy cruising skills and your insane ability to go from sitting to all fours to sitting somewhere else, but once you learned that you could REALLY crawl, all bets were off. I’m thankful it took you two months to figure out how to climb the stairs, it made the transition a little easier. On December first you took your first steps, and now you’re running everywhere!

In October we went to Philly with Daddy, he had to go for work. We had great time at the zoo and the Please Touch Museum. You weren’t so excited with the Franklin Institute, but you’ll feel differently in a few years. It really is a cool place. You loved seeing all the cool animals at the zoo, and the please touch museum meant you could crawl and cruise all around and touch EVERYTHING! It was your dream come true. As long as there weren’t big kids to knock you down.

In November we had all of your grandparents and aunts & uncles here for Thanksgiving. It was a full house, but you were so glad to have everyone here to play with you. We spend Christmas Eve with Nana, Aunt Beth, & Uncle Roy and then had a quite Christmas morning here with just the four of us. We loved the look of joy on your face as you learned about opening presents. You get excited SO easily.

After the things had calmed down here we went and spent a whole week with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Ted, and Pop-Pop. The week ended with a day in New Jersey with the entire Leifer clan! What a blast. You had fun chasing after the bigger girls. Next year you’ll be able to keep up!

You have an amazing vocabulary for such a little girl. You can say Hi, Bye, Dog, No, Mom, Dad, Ashleigh (pronounced eh-ee), Wow, Yeah, Yum, & Baby. I think there are more, but I can not think of them at the moment. You love to wave and blow kisses, and you cry when Daddy goes to work and Ashleigh goes to school. Of course, the squeals of delight when they come home make up for it.

This week you started taking off your diapers when you have decided they are wet. I pulled out the potty so you can get used to it. So far you like to pee on the floor and put your wet diaper in the potty, but you’ll get there eventually. You still like to eat every 3 – 5 hours at night, and while you tease me with an occasional 6 hour stretch I know it won’t last long, so I’m perfectly willing to feed you when you need it. I’m praying you decide to sleep 8+ hours before you start school.

You are full of passion and spunk. You never fail to voice your opinion, and we always know exactly what you are thinking. Your favorite things are babies, dancing, and your sister. You love to be surrounded by people, but as long as your needs are met (you’re full, with a dry diaper, and warm) you are very happy to play along side other kids for hours. On Sunday nights you see me walk by your room at church and you smile at me, then you turn around and go back to playing. You are very much the social butterfly.

I’m very excited to see the little girl you are turning into. Every day you amaze me in some way, please keep at it! You are learning and exploring your world and I can’t wait to see what you will achieve next!

As always, I love you and can’t get enough of you!

Mommy

Happy half year my big little girl!

I know everymonth I can’t believe how big you are and how much cool stuff you’ve learned to do, but really.  Watching you grow up and enjoying each day is truly amazing.  You learn so many cool things and the look of surprise and pride on your face when you figure it out, well, it’s something truly special.

We celebrated last night with some fireworks in Fullerton.  It still sounds weird for me to say that, since I grew up in a different Fullerton, but either way, we went to Fullerton Elementary School and they had a very impressive fireworks display for your 1/2 birthday.  Oh wait.  It wasn’t for YOUR birthday, it was for the 4th of July, America’s 233rd birthday.  You had a BLAST.  I had my “escape route” planned with you.  Turns out your big sister was the one who needed an escape route.  You watched the fireworks with such intent.  The bright colors and loud pops were fun, not scary.  I hope you feel the same way next year!

What amazing things have you learned this month?  Last month I said you were starting to sit for a few seconds here and there.  The next day you amazed me by sitting for 5 minutes at the park!  Wow!  Now you are sitting like a champ.  Sure you fall over here and there when you try to reach for something that is out of your reach, but you no longer loose the ability to sit up and being to lean over.  You weren’t a fan of putting your mouth on your toes and not being able to get back up.  Don’t get me wrong, you love to suck on your toes, but you prefer to be in control of when, how, and for how long.

Your exersaucer and “play station” are your favorites at the moment, thou you do enjoy brief moments in the bouncer or swing.  You don’t get those every day, since they aren’t in the main living level of the house, but you will happily chill in the bouncer while I do laundry or get some orders together to ship.  You’ll even sometimes hang out in the swing so I can shower!  You can sit in that saucer or in front of your play station for 30 minutes easily.  As long as you’re in a good mood of course!  You have so much to explore there and so many things to stick in your mouth.  It’s pure bliss for a 6 month old.

You now have much better control of your hands.  You love to reach for things and put them in your mouth.  You are now pretty good at reaching out to the side when you are sitting, and then sitting back up and putting the toy in your mouth.  Today you managed to stretch your arms straight and grab the toys hanging from your swing.  You were pretty proud of yourself, sitting there hanging on to the toys!

Your next big step is that sometimes, when I try to sit you down to play, you decide that you will NOT bend your legs and that you will stand and hold on to the toy.  You like it for a few seconds, then your fingertips turn white from hanging on so hard.  I am terrified that you have learned about this standing thing so soon.  In other good news, you now enjoy spending time on your tummy for a few minutes.  You still have  no intrest in fully rolling over, but rolling from side to side is fun when you’re on your back.  You’ll figure it out eventually.  I have this feeling you’ll be walking before you roll over, but it’s ok.  I’m not going to worry about it.  You’ll do it when you are ready.

Your weight seems to have stabilized since you learned how to sit up.  We haven’t been in for your 6 month well visit yet, but according to our scale you’re still 16 lbs.  It’s pretty common for breastfed babies to chunk up at first and plateau later, so I am sure there will be no issues when we do go get you checked out.  We’re STILL waiting for that tooth, so I have given up on looking for it.  I’m sure that one day I’ll wake up and there will be a tooth in your mouth.  That’s ok.  I’m not going to worry about it until it shows up.  The drool thing is getting old, but I guess I’m rather used to it by now!  So, your tooth can come in when it wants.  I’m not going to keep looking for it!

The big news this month is that I figured out the reason for all of your spit up.  You, my child, have an allergy or intolerance to dairy foods.  We haven’t bothered with allergy testing and such to see exactly what it is, because at this point, it doesn’t much matter.  I have cut out dairy from my diet, and you now spit up very little.  That is of course, unless I just HAVE to have that piece of cheese or something. Then?  Then the next day you are a fountain of spit up.  The good news is that you don’t seem to care either way.  It doesn’t bother you that you are spitting up all over the place.  It just bothers those around you.  I’m trying to be good on this modified vegan diet.  I am learning that I like a lot of the healthier substitutions.  Though, having ricotta in the house to make lasagna for someone else?  That was torture.

Your sister also started pre-school this month.  This means that two days a week it is just you and me.  You miss your sister, but you love having the quiet mommy/Bekah time.  It’s pretty special.  Enjoy it while it lasts!  Your sister has an amazing ability to calm you down and make you laugh.  The two of your are hilarious to watch and listen to from afar.  I am so thankful that you two love each other so much.  I know I say that every month, but truly, it’s amazing and wonderful.  Ashleigh’s one complaint – You won’t stop pulling her hair.  She wants her hair cut short like mine so that you won’t yank on it.  If you could start yanking on other things instead of her hair, she’d REALLY appreciate it.

Now we’re off to the beach to have some fun in the sun.  I know you’ll have a blast.  I can’t wait to see your reaction to the ocean and the sand.  We need some family time to enjoy you and your sister.  I can’t wait, I hope you have a blast!

Happy half year kiddo!

Lots of love and tickles,

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