Weekly Jude: Month Three

Jude is THREE months old! He mostly just wants a person to stare at and trade smiles with until he gets tired and needs a long winter's nap. He is so sweet when he gets to talking, especially when he gets all excited! He still kind of hates the carseat, so if you would pray for a miracle drive to Kansas, I would truly appreciate it.

Weekly Jude: Month Two

Jude turned two months old on Sunday! (He is 9 weeks today.) He is a darling, smiley, wonderfully snuggly little guy, and he is adored by all of us. He hit 10 lbs and 23.2 inches in time for his 2 month checkup, so while he seems like he's had a growth spurt in the past couple of weeks in adding some sweet chub, he's still following his look-a-like's footsteps size-wise. He had his first two plane rides this past week, hates car seats more than ever, and has started to sleep occasionally on his own. There is probably more to write, but he is also a hungry little fella right now, so I'm pushing publish before I forget!

Weekly Jude: First Month

Weekly Jude: Jude is 4 weeks today (and will be a month old on Thursday). He is rocking the teenage-esque acne still, but unfortunately not the teenage-esque sleep schedule. This may be due to a certain big sister who really enjoys jamming a pacifier into his mouth whether or not he wants it, opening his eyes for him, and holding his hand in his sleep. (She adores him and is truly trying to help. Just the fact that she calls him "my baby" makes up for all of the difficulties.) He is just starting to "talk"/coo a bit, and still has giant smiles right after he wakes up from a good sleep. He is still a skinny little guy, but it seems like his face is starting to fill out a bit. He was baptized this past Sunday! It snowed, and was generally a very cold day, but we are so glad he is baptized and that Jake, Mom, and Dad could be there.

Big happenings

Oh, little lady. Slow down, sweet baby. You are squishy, sweet, smiley, and an impossible napper (seriously babe... why no naps?) You love sucking on your fingers (in fact, you don't give them up even to perform your favorite new trick... rolling over!)   

You adore your big sisters. When Anni comes home and gets down on the floor to talk to you (something she is so good and sweet at), your grins are huge! 

Colette, ahem, loves you a little hard sometimes, but you still like her quite a bit.

and your Daddy? Oh, my. When he gets home from work, you find him as quickly as you can and almost immediately settle onto his shoulder, one of the few places you like to fall asleep.

and me? Little lady, I adore you. I love our sleepy cuddles in the night when you are just so hungry you can't stand it, but you really don't even wake up, just enough to let me know. I love wrapping you up so you can hang out right next to me no matter what I do. You are so curious! Even wrapped up, if you aren't ready to fall asleep, you open those sweet eyes wide and check out everything going on around you. It's so fun to watch you grow! You may be the third, but every milestone and sweet baby moment is just as exciting as the first time.

2 Months

Fast forward a little while, annnnd here we are! Two months in with three babies and stuck in the midst of the winter of eternal colds, fevers, and vomit. I now understand the dire warnings about that first year in school, and poor Anni's preemie immune system and lungs are taking a beating. We may or may not have gotten a warning in the mail today that she has missed eight days of school, seven of which we were following their fever or vomiting protocol closely (the eighth was the day Mlada was born). Let's just say God chose our Lent this year.

We are finding our groove with this whole three kids thing, and by finding our groove I mean I have lost all ability to meal plan and now that I'm cutting out dairy for Miss Gassy-pants, meals have become an almost desperate guessing game. Okay, so that sentence should have read, "We're still in survival mode, but ohmygoodness do you see that face?!"

One of my favorite things is how much Mlada loves to listen to her sisters. They get the largest portion of the big goofy grins she has to offer, and Anni's baby talk comes at a pitch about three octaves above her normal voice.

And now you are about to get an awkward and sudden ending, because the baby fell asleep finally, and like I said, survival mode.

10 months

Our sweet Lettie turned 10 months old on Christmas Eve... which meant celebrating with adorable candy cane striped jammies, Christmas ornaments and music all day long.  This wee one has learned her first signs (waving hello and milk), her first word (mama!), how to cruise, oh, and continues to melt hearts of any and all within reach of that toothy little smile.  You are loved, Lil' Bit!

8 months of Little Lettie

Oh, little Lettie.  This sweetie continues to steal our hearts.  She is moving, moving, moving.  She's still up on her hands and knees all the time, and her most recent move is to tuck one leg under her and attempt to move the other one so she can sit up.  She only makes it up to sitting by herself every once in awhile, but once in sitting (whether by her own power or with a little help), she is much sturdier than she used to be!  She's awfully proud of her skills.

She can find a crumb on the floor whether or not I just swept and mopped and once she spots something tiny to put in her mouth, woo, that girl can move!  She is a master scooter, that's for sure.  She's getting a little better with solids all the time.  In fact, her favorite is definitely pork carnitas.  She practically dives for that if I set it on her tray.  Her joy in solid foods does not diminish her nursing zeal in the least.  She starts to pat, pat, pat, to let me know she's hungry and then, if I don't comply quickly enough, she just starts banging her head into my chest and trying to figure out why she's not being fed yet.  Such a funny little darling! 

On the subject of mastering things, she has definitely not mastered sleeping through the night.  I don't run well on little sleep, but I also don't mind terribly.  She goes back to sleep quickly and usually just needs a little milk and a little snuggling.  I know well now how quickly these sweet little baby days pass, so, sleepiness or no, I'll take an extra little snuggle.  

Seven Months: Our Lil' Bit

Happy 7 months to my sweet Colette!  This girl is a show-stopper.  We ran to the store today and she got to ride in the cart for the first time (usually she rides in the sling).  In the course of getting less than five things, we were stopped by six or seven people who wanted to sweet-talk Little Miss Blue Eyes.  Those eyes are so captivating, you can tell she is taking everything in, watching what's going on closely (and of course, who can resist that two-toothed smile!) 

She spends a lot of time up on her hands and knees or doing pushups, but hasn't quiiiite started crawling yet.  However; she can scootch faster than it takes to turn around when she sees something she wants (I never had to baby proof much for Anni... I think that's going to change this time around!)

She does what I like to call her "happy smack".  When something gets her really happy (especially when Daddy gets home), she smacks whatever's near her (usually Daddy, Mommy and her legs).  It cracks us up.

 

Ah, food.  She loves it!  Not much actually makes it into her tummy right now, but she dives for anything we offer her, and loves to dig those two teeth into it.  Such fun watching her growth journey!  How we love this girl!

Lil' Bit turns 6 months old

Remember wee Colette?

Well, she just turned six months old on Saturday.

Colette is happy, she shows off giant gummy grins and recently added her loooong tongue to her grins for when she's really tickled.  We savor her very few laughs (usually related to the noises "beep or bumbumbumbum") and compete to see who can get the biggest smile. 

She's getting the sitting up thing down a little more every day... and is very pleased with herself about it!  She is trying her hardest to crawl, scootch or, really, just move.  She  lies on her tummy and kickes her feet against the floor as hard as she can just to see if it gets her anywhere.  She has started to do a bit of an inchworm backwards (she can really move on the wood floors... she thinks the sliding is pretty awesome, except she'd really rather go forward to to her toys and avoid getting stuck under the couch).

She's become a very distracted little nurser (always afraid of missing out!), but two things will help us get a good session in: sleepiness and sitting on the loveseat by our front window where she can look at the tree outside. 

We had her six month appointment today: 13 lbs 12 oz & 25.75 inches... so she added about 2.5 pounds and 1.5 inches... growing up!

I attempted a consistent photo each month of her with her doll, and decided six months was a good time to get them edited and posted.  It's true that the time seems to have gone quickly, but I also feel that I really soaked up these last six months, I am in awe of how blessed our little family is!

One Month

Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months

Celebrating 5 months... in the new house!

Happy five months, little Lettie!  Being your mama, my dear, is pure joy.  You are just overflowing with happiness.  

This month you found your feet, and have spent many happy minutes tugging, pulling and trying to chew on them.  However; your hand is your absolute favorite.  You love to turn it over and over and watch it in awe.  

Speaking of awe, you just love to soak people in.  You watch them talk, sing and eat.  Sometimes when I'm rocking your sleepy little self and say something to Daddy or Anni, you pop your head up to watch me talk, as if you'll miss something important if you don't see my mouth moving.

You are such a sweet sleeper.  It's definitely a whole different ball game for me the second time around.  While you aren't sleeping through the night, you very happily eat when you do wake up (usually around 3:30 and 6:30) and go back to sleep when you're all done.  We have a pretty comfortable rhythm down (though moving did make for some troubled nights), and while I'm certainly tired sometimes, I haven't hit the level of exhaustion I reached on a regular basis when your big sister was this size... there's a certain ease to knowing I've done this before and that every phase moves on eventually.  I'm not eager to say good-bye to your baby days, so I sleep when I can and love each kissable moment with you in-between.

You also use a pacifier, which is definitely different than your sister.  She was done with hers by the time she was a few months old, and rarely used it when she did have it.  You, my sweet, need something to suck on, plain and simple.  The pacifier is key to many of your naps (though Aunt Hannah proved you can be sung to sleep, it was so beautiful to watch her pace and hum to you!), but thankfully you don't mind if you have it once you're asleep... so it's not a constant issue at night.

 

 The easiest way to get you to nap is by snuggling up with you in Mommy and Daddy's bed.  You seem to take that as the sign to give it up.  That being said, you'll also take being rocked/walked to sleep and laid in your bassinet, snuggling in the sling and occasionally, just passing out in exhaustion as we drive somewhere.

You also officially rolled over for the first time!  You really struggle with getting stuck on your arm, but I have no doubt it'll get easier as you practice more.  You are learning how to use that body to move it!  You also have started to pound your chest with your little first, and we tease that you are saying the confiteor ("through my fault, through my fault, my most grievous fault"), but, in all seriousness, I think you just like that sensation.    

 We've also finally heard a few sweet giggles!  Thus far a peek-a-boo session with me, a tummy nuzzle from Grandma and playing in the backseat of the car with cousin Charlie have brought forth your little laugh.  We've never doubted that you are a happy baby (you truly do smile most of the time!), but it's so fun to hear you laugh!  I can't wait to hear what else brings the giggles out.  You're starting to add chubby little rolls to your legs. You're just squeezable, my little love!  

Happy 4 months, Lettie Lou*!

My sweet Colette.  You are truly the light of all of our lives (including your darling sister's!)  When you smile, all your little dimples (including one over your eye!) show up: your entire face just exudes joy and we can't help but just grin back!     

You have given up sleeping quite as long as you used to at night, but, let's be honest, you're a growing girl with some serious teething... I can't deny your sweet self your comfort and nourishment!  Luckily, you are pretty good about going back to sleep after eating in the middle of the night.  Naps are hit and miss, but I always know that snuggling you into the sling will relax you into sleep almost immediately when things get desperate. 

You are loving your voice these days.  When you start to get tired, you start to talk more, beginning with a happy growl and, if we don't take the hint fast enough, ending with a not-so-happy cry.  Still no laugh, but you'll do that when you're ready!

Your hair has gotten so long that it's starting to get in your eyes if I forget to clip it back!  Not only has your hair grown, but you grew three pounds to 11 lbs and three inches to nearly 25 in the last two months!  The doctor had to double check your length, he was so surprised.  He was very impressed with how strong you are when he had you stand for him.  You're just trying to keep up with that big sister of yours!  You desperately want to roll over by yourself but haven't quite figured it out yet... any day now, is my guess!

We will always love you, sweet baby, always and forever!

*Lettie's middle name is not Lou... I just can't resist calling her that!

Lil' Bit at Three Months

My joyful little Lettie.  Unless her tummy is seriously empty or she's hit that exhaustion wall, this girl is all smiles.  All she really wants is to lock eyes and grin you into a pile of mushy happiness.  She's working on head control, and while I don't worry a ton about tummy time (we do a lot of baby wearing, which is supposed to work the same muscles), she's totally showing off every time we do practice.

She has definitely discovered those dimpled little hands, as well!  Most of her happy time is spent clutching them together as tightly as she possibly can hold them, and otherwise, you will probably find them over her eyes when asleep, or sucking on them furiously if she's managed to get them as far as her mouth.  Oh, this girl loves to chew/suck on things, and she definitely hits a point where she wants to suck, but doesn't want to nurse, so we've introduced a pacifier for times when that happens, especially in the car (she is not a lover of that carseat, that's for sure... which is funny, since we're about to head on a massive road trip). 

She has most definitely turned around her opinion on baths.  While her first few baths were very much "get her clean and get out", she is all smiles in her warm water (and I am still madly in love with her post-bath crazy fluffy hairdo).

Her big sister is crazy in love with her, and while affection can get a little rough for our little Lettie, she generally showers Anni with the same sweet smiles she has for everyone else.  I love their little powwows on the floor, I'm just in love with our darlings!

Oh, this girl.  I'm so glad she's joined our family.  The first month felt like it moved really quickly, but this last month has been a little more leisurely.  I've felt like I've had a little more time to just look in those sweet eyes and soak in that sweet smile that just lights up her entire face.  I am thrilled to keep learning who this little girl is and who she'll grow up to be, but I'm happy to live out the moments as that happens, no hurry here!  Happy three months, my girl.

Colette at 2 months

 Our little lady Lettie turned two months old last week.  My heart may break at the sweetness.  She is an expressive little gal... it's not hard to guess how she's feeling at any one moment.  She gives out recklessly adorable smiles in abundance, but also has the sweetest "I'm just taking this all in" face.  She gained two pounds and two inches since birth, so apparently we're doing just grand in the feeding department.

We also had one night where she slept through the night(!)  That night, I woke up at 3 am and just stared at her, making sure she was breathing and such.  We haven't had any repeats of that night, but she does tend to have at least one long stretch at night... now if I could just condition myself to going to sleep at 8 when she does... but then I probably wouldn't have a business... or a home you could even remotely see the floor of (that is still questionable some days).  

Quiet is much harder to come by these days.  I never thought of Anni as loud until I tried to keep her quiet around the baby.   I'm so grateful for the quiet moments with this babe.  It's been really wonderful to have those peaceful snatches of time to reflect on the beauty of my little ones and motherhood.  I try to reach back and borrow peace from that reserve when everyone is crying (including myself) and it feels like I'll never be caught up (probably true). 

Happy two months, sweet little Lettie!  You are loved!

Lettie at 1 Month

One month of getting to know our sweet Colette.  She spent much of her one month birthday regaling us with the sweetest smiles and sneezing milk out of her nose (I'd never seen a baby do until Miss Lettie, still plenty to learn in this parenting gig!)

She likes to eat... like a lot.  She has finally started to give Daddy the satisfaction of getting to snuggle her while happy (a wee break for mommy, the milk provider, did I mention she really likes to eat).

We're both learning the whole nursing thing... I think she may be better at it than me, but even on rough days, it's a million times better than being attached to a pump.  No hyperbole here.     

It's such a beautiful thing to have a sweet, healthy baby in our home.  Sometimes I have those anxious moments where I'm sure that everything is going to tumble down around me, because it's all so good.  Hard, yes, definitely, but so very good.