Dear Autumn letter

Dear Autumn @ 24 Months

November 29, 2015

November, 2015

Dear Autumn,

Happy Birthday my love!!!

I can’t believe that you are 2 years old! It’s crazy to think that 2 years have already passed by so quickly since you changed our lives for the better. So much better.

I feel that I am constantly missing things or missing you as you are growing up so quickly, learning so quickly, doing everything quickly. I want to keep you my baby forever.

I don’t want to forget the day to day moments of you asking for things like ‘Mickey Birthday Waffles’ or ‘leche’ or ‘Minnie Big’ to ask for specifics like Mickey Mouse shaped waffles or your milk or you big Minnie that you got from GG for Halloween. You are very polite when you ask for things by saying ‘Pweas’ and ‘Tank yous’ very softly.

Your playfulness and creativity is contagious. It’s fun to see you play on your own or with us. You are still loving Mickey and his gang, but now will tolerate some Paw Patrol every now and then. We have discovered that you like play-doh, coloring with markers, and building with blocks with Daddy. You request so many books to read to you at night before bed, often dragging out our bed time routine by another 10-15 minutes. Sneaky!

You have a very fierce temper and get frustrated easily. I feel so bad that there are times that you loose control of your emotions and can’t take the time to figure something out, accept our help, or accept when we say ‘no’. But I get it, I do. That is when I see myself in you since I also can get very easily fustrated. I try to explain to you what to do or why we are saying ‘no’ to help you figure it out and work through your emotions. Sometimes you can calm down in 2 seconds or sometimes it’s 20 minutes. It’s a work in progress as we are diving into those ‘terrible two’s’.

Kisses and cuddles from you are few and far between, so when we get them we savor them up. And often take adventage of the situtaion and smother you in kisses. There is just something so sweet about your open mouth kisses that you plant on my face or mouth before you go right back to what you were doing or run away playfully.

There are moments that I always want to treasure, like when you help make your favorite ‘smoonies’ or when you always respond with ‘2’ when we ask you how many there are of something, but moments I want to quickly forget, like when weI kick me in the face when I am changing your diaper. Thankfully, those rough moments are really truly few and far between!

I love you for you and who you are going to be. I love you for what you have me and what you have made Daddy. We will always love you.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 19 Months

June 25, 2015

June 2015

Dear Autumn,

Every month is such an adventure. This last month is no different.

Not only have we hit some big milestones with your development, we had a big family milestone… Mommy and Daddy got married!!!!

Oh my goodness, you were the cutest little bug at the wedding last weekend. You looked darling in your little yellow dress and pink shoes. You panicked right before Mommy was going to walk down the aisle with Poppy so instead of you walking down on your own, you walked down with us. It was so cute to do it together, even with you yelling ‘ball!!!’ over and over again when you saw the paper lanterns hanging from the arbor. Oh goodness, too funny.

You have such a strong personality, that you express well. You know what you want, and when you want it, which usually is right that very second. ha! You like to be outside, read books, and eat.

It amazes us how much you like to eat, and how much too. You try to climb up the highchair when you are hungry. Such a little monkey! You now say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ when prompted, especially when you want whipped cream. You go nuts for it. There was a night when you were not accepting the fact that we ran out. Oh the crying!! At least you enjoyed all the Chinese food at the rehearsal dinner. You ate so much soup, everyone was impressed.

You’re currently getting a tooth and it has made you such a grump! Poor baby, I feel so bad that you are in pain from it. I’m hoping there will be a bit of a break from it after this so you can get comfortable again. At least you were a champ at the dentist earlier this month. The iron supplement you take was staining your teeth so we went to the dentist for your first visit and she was sooooo impressed with how well you did. You sat on my lap quietly while you had your teeth counted and cleaned. You liked the air and the suction too. It was so nice that it wasn’t a scary experience for you, in fact, that you enjoyed it.

I can’t wait for this next month with you. The summer is going to be great!!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 17 Months

April 23, 2015

April 2015

Dear Autumn,

I love that you are happiest when you are outside. You point for your coat or vest so we will put it on you and then you walk over to the door, grasp the handle and fight the lock to get out. You pitch quite the fit when you can’t go outside. But it’s so nice to see you happy when sitting on the back porch, walking along the pathway, or in the backpack while I walk the dog.

You’ve always enjoyed being outside but the love for it has intensified when the weather got nicer and you started walking. I think you love being outside, but also love the independence.

At the last Dr’s appointment you were not yet walking, which worried him a bit because of your ‘advanced age’. But we knew you fine, you just wanted to be sure of yourself before letting go of us. Once you became more confident you would take a few steps from the sofa to get a toy, but that quickly progress and now you breeze by us in the house. You are still nervous of falling outside though. I don’t mind, I love that you grasp my finger with such might. I hope you will never stop.

At least the Dr was pleased in your steady weight gain. You still have skinny chicken legs that I love to gobble up. You still have days in which you are really picky about eating, or just not hungry, but for the most part you eat really well. You love stealing my food, especially my guacamole.

You understand both English and Spanish and try to communicate in both languages the best you can. We are so happy that you are learning so much so quickly. It’s amazing when you grasp a new thing, like an animal noise or body part, with ease. My favorite is when we go on our walks and I ask you what noises the different animals make and you mimic my “ooh ohh ahh ahh” for the monkey with “aah ahh oooohhh”. The best!

Some of the best moments are when you walk up to me and grab my leg when I’m cooking and you give it a big squeeze while you rest your head on my thigh. You are the best cuddlier when you are in the rare mood to stay still. But for the most part you are on the go and will walk over with your arms stretched out wide, lean your body and head against me for a beat before pulling away to give me a smile as you go on to get a toy or love (pester) the dog.

I can’t wait to enjoy this next month with you. We have my 2nd mother’s day to celebrate and I am looking to all of us going to the Make Way For Ducklings Parade for it. The weather should be getting nicer and nicer, so hopefully we will spend plenty of time outside. And I’m sure that you’ll love doing more and more craft projects like coloring and painting. Our fridge and my desk will be plastered with your creations soon enough!

I love you so much!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 16 months

March 20, 2015

Dear Autumn,

It’s Thursday night and I am currently on a flight to Seattle to visit Aunt Emily. You are staying with Daddy and visiting G-ma, Uncle Chase, Aunt Heather, and your cousins. I am missing you already. This will be the longest that we have been apart. I know you are in excellent hands as your Dad is downright amazing, but it was hard for me to say good bye. I already can’t wait to see you Tuesday morning when you wake up with your wild bed head. Oh, that hair is out of control!

You are such a happy, smiley sweetheart. You have your moments when you get really frustrated at us but for the most part you are a happy girl who likes to be involved with things. While it can often be hard to juggle, you like to be in the kitchen with me. Your favorite activity is to crack eggs, so you really like it when I make quiche. You quickly whack your way through a dozen eggs. At the end you give me a big smile as you are proud of your completed task.

We are making slow progress on you walking, but I’ll take it. I basically bribe you to stand and take a few steps with stickers. You love your stickers! I have been finding them on my clothes and around the house recently. Seeing them on the sink when I brush my teeth at night just makes for a happy reminder of the great day you had.

You are working hard on communicating with us. You are taking to say names of classmates at daycare and you are a parrot trying to repeat after me when I say something. Your teacher gives us updates on how you can say ‘dos’ and ‘tres’. But you really let everyone know you can (loudly) say ‘Hola’. The newest thing is that you say ‘Ow!’ to just about everything from Kemper knocking into you to us giving you a hug. Everything is ‘Ow!!!’ Thankfully, you just as enthusiastically say ‘Yay!’ and ‘Wow!’

We struggled to find a milk that wouldn’t upset your stomach or your bum for a bit. Cow’s milk upset your stomach so we moved on to Almond milk. Things were going well for about a week until you developed such a horrible, horrible diaper rash. I felt so bad for you. It broke my heart all over again at every diaper change. We moved on to a combination of goats milk and coconut milk. Thankfully things have been going well with that. Even if you make us broke with that $18 a gallon goats milk! But we’ll get anything for you!

Your personality is shining so brightly now. You test your limits by playing around with us, even biting us to get a rise out of us. Thankfully, you don’t do that often! You are adventurous, but cautious as you are timid to walk yet. I love to hear your ramblings in the mornings when you wake up. I know that in the coming months your ramblings will be more and more developed. So much fun.

I love each and every day with you my Autumn.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 15 months

February 27, 2015

February 2015

Dear Autumn-

Oh, what a month!!!

In the time from when you turned 14 months old to 15 months old you went on a cruise that brought us to Grand Cayman, Mexico, and Belize, took a flight, and had plenty of days home with us for the record snow fall that pounded Boston.

The cruise was amazing and tough at the same time. You did a good job of adjusting to the day to day stuff but the nights were rough for you. Well, for us too! You would wake repeatedly throughout the night so we would snuggle with you then and rush around to warm up a bottle or take early morning walks around the boat. But no worries, you made friends with just about everyone as you smiled and waved at everyone. The days at the beach were the best with you. It was so wonderful to see you enjoy the sun and sand so much. There was a photo Dad took of us in Grand Cayman that melts my heart. It was nap time so you snuggled on me in the beach chair and we took a nap together while a towel was drapped over us protecting you from the sun. It’s one of my favorite photos of us.

And then we came back to the harsh realities of a New England winter. Starting just after we got back, there was a storm every few days that just dumped snow on us. We even had a blizzard, maybe 2, I’m not sure about one of them. But it was great and hard on all of us. Poor Daddy was outside so much of the time shoveling and snow blowing the driveway, walkway, and sidewalk in front of the house. You have figured out how to climb up on the arm of the sofa to peer out the window to wave at Daddy. Love it! I missed so much work between office closures, daycare closures, getting in late so it was a constant game of catch up. But I really did enjoy our snow days together. It really made me enjoy our time together as we watched cartoons, baked banana bread, dancing around, and snuggled.

You went with dad to see the nutritionist and they think you are happy and healthy, but would like to see you gain more weight. We have had to up your calories so they suggested more cheese, peanut butter, and cream for you. What a delicious prescription! We are all quite jealous of your Dr’s orders to eat more Mac and Cheese.

You have not yet started to walk but are getting so much more comfortable walking around holding on to just one hand. I can see your balance improving bit by bit. You are just starting to stand for a few seconds on your own before plopping down on your butt. It’s quite exciting if you make it to when I count to 5!

One day we walked around the grocery store ‘roaring’ at each other. I’d ask what the Lion says you would roar right along with me. It was hilarious and quite sweet.

Talking is starting to come along too with you just starting to say ‘red’ and ‘blue’, although it sounds like ‘rah’ and ‘blah’ you definitely know the difference when I hold it up.

Now more than ever I have been giving you the chance to pick out your own clothes. I give you 3 options for tops and 3 options for bottoms and we put on what you pick. Some days the combination is questionable and other days it’s quite fashionable. I’m pretty sure that there are days that I should let you pick out my outfits.

The biggest thing I want to remember about you at this age is how you are starting to become much more affectionate.

You are an amazing little thing. A strong little girl who is happy, clever, and just down right beautiful. We love every bit of you.

Love,

Mom

Dear Autumn @ 14 months

January 29, 2015

January 2014

Dear Autumn-

You are the best Loverbugs of all the Loverbugs there ever were.

Yep, you currently have 4 nicknames… Chicken, Chicken Nugget, Doops, and Loverbug. But hey that could change in a month and you might have 6. They just work.

You so want to walk and want the independence but need our help still so you are dependent on grasping onto our fingers for support. I guess that will be like anything in life until you learn how to do it. But the most important part is that we will always be here to catch you when you fall.

Your love for Owl is the best. You greet him (let’s say it’s a him) with the fiercest hugs and squeezes every night. Most often, you grip owl with yout right arm and then tuck him under your body as your brace pops your teeny tiny tushy up in the air as you plop on your stomach when we put you in your crib at night. And in the morning we tuck him in under a blanket to be cozy all day before we head downstairs. Your affection for him is the best.

You are so kind to Owl but rather rough to Kemper. That dog loves you so much so he puts up with your wacks without so much as a blink. He will just get up when he has had enough of you poking or pulling on him. But, please do try to tone down the hitting of him in the face because being ‘gentle!!!!!’ is the nicest.

You are still so very tiny but full of might. You let us know when you are having a blast with something or quite aggravated by your loud squeals of delight or yells of frustration. I see my short temper in you so at least I can relate quite well when you are struggling to figure something out or fit something in somewhere. Don’t worry, you’ll get it. Or at least break it. Ha!

We will be switching you to milk this upcoming month. I’m proud that I’ve pumped for you all this time but I feel that I need my body back soon. I’ve done my best to provide for you all this time and I think it has worked out well. My initial goal was for a year so I’m happy to have extended past that to bring you to about 15 months.

There will always been changes that we will figure out as we go along, just remember that this is all new to us too and that we love you. Now will you still hitting Kemper in the face. I’m serious!

Love,

Mommy

PS. You were NOT happy to take this month’s photos. ha!!

Dear Autumn @ 13 months

December 23, 2014

December 2014

Dear Autumn,

Oh, my cutie little vampire. I just love your toothy smile. It melts my heart.

You are growing up so quickly right before our very eyes. We still get so amazed with how quickly you pick up on something new. You are trying to talk more and more. You answer ‘yeah’ to most things. It’s ‘yeah, yeah yeah’ all day long. Unless you don’t want something because you most definitely let us know with some vigorous head shaking. It’s cute but won’t you please eat your dinner! Please!! At least you try to say ‘gracias’ when you get something. You politely say ‘gras-as’ and it’s incredibility cute.

You’re still so tiny, so you have to go to the nutritionist to get things checked out next month but we aren’t worried as you are a great eater. You are just tiny and active. You just burn off all that cheese you eat!

The newest thing that you are trying is standing up on your own. You only attempt it when on the sofa so that it’s a soft fall. Sometimes you fall forward and bounce your face on the cushion and crack up. And when you fall back on your bum you quickly pull yourself back up to try again. Over and over again you try. I’m sure you’ll get the hang of it soon enough and be brave enough to take on the challenge on the harder floor.

Some of my favorite times with you is when you just get out of the bathtub. You love to be dried off with the blow drier so I use that on you. But the best part is that you cuddle up on my lap and lean on me as are getting dried off. I love how you relax against me after a busy bath of splashing around.

Similarly, I love when I hold you before bed in the glider and take in your sweet baby shampoo smell. I savor that time as I get to gently sneak in kisses all over your head and forehead as you cuddle with your owl.

In just a few days we get to celebrate your second Christmas. You’re first Christmas was a blurr when you were just 6 weeks old. Now you will really get to enjoy it as we have some great presents for you to open. It will be so much fun to watch you rip into the wrapping paper. I just can’t wait!!

Every day is new with you. I can’t wait for each new day and new thing you learn and do.

I love you.

Love,

Mom

Dear Autumn @ 12 months

November 19, 2014

November 2014

Dear Autumn-

As every month, nay, as every day passes I am constantly pinching myself that you have been brightening up our lives for how ever long it has been at that point.

We couldn’t believe that you were arriving a week earlier than scheduled. Oh, sure, we always knew they could have moved up my C-section or even that I would go into labor before the 25th, but we had that day circled so that’s what it was going to be! Wrong!

So there I sat dumbfounded saying ‘sure… today works…’ when my doctor told me that they wanted to move things up a week. But, maybe, I couldn’t fit in that day? The hospital would call me later to let me know if you were arriving that night or the morning of the 19th. La-la-la. So I headed back to work to just wait for the hospital to call. I didn’t want to miss out on working that day as I wanted to eek out every bit of maternity leave that I could. So there I am packing up my desk and tying up loose ends when the hospital called at lunch time to ask if I could be there in an hour. Umm, no! Well, there had been a misunderstanding as to who was calling me when related to fitting me in. Whoops.

Anyway, I run out of work (forgetting my coat!) and meet your Dad at the train to get a cab ride home. We threw stuff in a bag – see so unprepared. And left as fast as we could to arrive at the hospital. Surprisingly, we did make good time considering how crazy things had just been.

Thankfully, we breezed through the hospital check-in and head up to the delivery floor to start the process of getting paperwork filled out, IV’s in, getting undressed and in a gown. Oh, Dad had to get dressed up in scrubs too! Before we knew it they were ready for me to head to surgery. Oh boy!

It was scary to head into surgery on my own but I had to get all prepped before Dad could come in. In the end, it didn’t take to long (or so it seemed) to get my spinal and get all set up before he was right by my side. As things were about to begin I told him to talk to me so that I would be distracted from the surgery, like anything really could really distract me, but I just wanted something to kinda take my mind off the rapid firing that my brain was doing as I was trying to listen to your first cry.

And there it was at 4.59pm.

I felt the biggest relief to hear that. The most beautiful sound in the world.

And yet, I was still so utterly nervous. Not because you were born, that was amazing. But because of your omphalocele. The team of doctors that were waiting your arrival checked you out and basically said that it was no big deal. What?!?! That was such wonderful news. It was so hard to believe still. We had been prepped that there there was a chance that we wouldn’t get to hold you for a few days if the omphalocele was complex. But there you were, all wrapped up, getting handed over to us while they completely my surgery. I was so petrified to touch you, but it was the best feeling ever at the same time.

That feeling has never left. I’m usually afriad I’m screwing up along the way but seeing you grow and learn along the way really is the best feeling ever. You are beautiful but you are smart, funny, and charming. You are a flirt, waving to everyone at the grocery store. You love the attention. You are such a happy baby. And a fearless one. Half the stuff you try to climb over makes me so nervous. I know that once you are walking you will be off running. Until then you are a lightening fast crawler. I think you get all the engery from all the different foods you happily eat. At least you do a good job of burning it off since you are still so ‘danty’!

The past year has been amazing. I know that next year, and all the ones to follow, are going to be wonderful. You are such a lovely little girl. Our Bean. Our Autumn. Our Little Chicken. Our Doops. We love you so very much.

Love,

Mom