Dear Hunter @ 6 Months

December 7, 2017January 21, 20181 Comment

Dear Hunter,

Half a year with you!!

I still can’t believe that 6 months has already sped by.

You make every day so wonderful.

I’m in awe of your bubbly personality. You hardly fuss as you are just content with with held, being on the floor, playing with toys, or with Autumn. Plus, you make everyone really happy with your smiles and giggles. Your smiles are like yawns, they are contagious.

You have mastered sitting up. It’s amazing to see you sitting up and looking around, taking the world in. You really like to watch Autumn and the dogs. Besides just being able to balance you are able to be on your back or belly and twist and turn to pop yourself up to sit up. Sometimes you pause while doing it, and you look so suave as you are sprawled out on your side, minus the come hither look. ha!

You are so close to crawling too. that it is just a matter of days. You spin and roll around on the floor, meandering around as you wiggle this way and that, but you are really going to take off very soon.

There has been so much progress this month from you sitting up well, almost crawling, getting better and better (and more eager) at eating food, and finally having a few weeks not being sick from that awful cough… amazing, wonderful, bliss…

I can’t even begin to imagine what the next month holds, besides getting to celebrate your first Christmas, but I can’t wait for it.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Hunter @ 5 months

November 7, 2017November 9, 20171 Comment

November 2017

Dear Hunter,

Or maybe I should call you Alfalfa! You have 1 long dark hair that stands up in the middle of your head. We smooth it down but it tends to pop back up again. The rest of your hair is much finer, and is more slowly coming in, while this single strand of hair has a mind of its own. It’s really barely noticeable so I don’t cut it, plus I’m sorta interested in how long it will actually get.

You have 99% gotten better from being sick. It just took 4 doctors visits and a 10 course with a nebulizer, but you so rarely cough now that I am calling it a win.

Even while you were sick you were a champ, everyone at daycare said that you were still so happy and smiley. I get to hear great reports of you playing around, being happy, and even starting to hold your bottle on your own now.

You have mastered rolling over. As soon as we lay you down you twist yourself over and push up to see what is going on, and then you can just as quickly flip back over onto your back. I only wish you wouldn’t do that while I was changing your diaper. It’s like trying to change a gator while in a death roll. I usually give up flipping you onto your back and put the diaper on your which ever way you let me while you are on your side or stomach.

Sleep has been rough since you were sick. You get up multiple times at night still, which is okay except that prior to getting sick you were only up 1x, maybe 2x. There were even nights when you would sleep through. Now I just bring you right into bed and you snuggle up next to me while nursing. You are back to sleep a few minutes later, as am I, but we probably should try to get you back to sleep without that being the routine. It would make things easier for me in some ways (I’d probably still need to get up just to pump then), but I sorta just love it at the same time. It’s so nice getting to snuggle with you.

I’m still so much in awe of your chill personality. You are so relaxed and happy. You do get talkative and loud at times, but you are still so happy when you are loudly blabbering and shreaking away.

Can we please slow down time though? I can’t believe that you will be eating foods and sitting up soon. And then crawling… omg. I can’t handle it all speeding by!

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

PS. SORRY Autumn keeps grabbing your head and hugging you. She loves you, she really does, but it’s not a gentle love. I know you will get back at her soon enough!

Dear Hunter @ 4 Months

October 8, 2017October 17, 20171 Comment

October 2017

Dear Hunter,

Oh, what a month!

This month was brought to you by the letter S. S FOR STORM AND SICK!!!

First Hurricane Irma hit and then our house was hit with a stupid cold that gave you the deepest saddest cough ever. But you’re a champ and we have powered through it all.

While you won’t remember your first Hurricane I gotta say that you did amazingly well for it all. Thankfully you don’t understand weather forecasts on the news or you probably would have been crazy stressed about the track that was coming right for us. The week before was stressful and tiring for Dad and me. We had so much work to do to prepare for it from getting supplies, moving things around and putting up hurricane shutters. I even went out and picked you up an exersaucer thinking it would help keep you entertained as we dealt with things after the storm, possibly without power.

Autumn understood we kept yalking about a big storm buy didn’t understand what it really meant, she was just excited about us cleaning out the closet under the stairs for us to stay in the night it hit. Slumber party time!!!

Thankfully the track of the Hurricane shifted further east than originally planned so we lucked out. And as the wind dies down I meantally checked off that you had your first Hurricane over and done with.

Soon after, you experienced your first cold. Unfortunately, as I write this, you are still coughing from it. It’s the cough that will never end!

Autumn got sick, then you, then me, then Dad. You even went to the Dr twice. They cleared you of RSV, but later said you had the croup virus,but not full fledged croup. My poor muffin.

So you had been sleeping really well and then it all got flipped upside down because of you being sick. We are still working on things at night but more often than not you are up 2 or 3 times. I really try go get you settled back in the back and play next to the bed but there are some nights when I hold you to keep you propped up or just because I’m so tired I doze off again. And then there are the nights I just bring you right into bed to nurse. You are so accustomed to that now that once you are in/on bed you twist and turn to get into position, even if I’m not laying down with you.

I absolutely love to snuggle with you. But, you do get pretty sweaty, even with the A.C. blasted (making me super cold!) and light clothing on. You’re just going to have to get used to this Florida heat one day!

I am looking forward to you getting better and seeing what the next month holds for you.

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 23 Months

October 30, 20151 Comment

October 2015

Dear Autumn,

Your curiosity and imagination is incredible. It’s fun to watch you pretend something, like cooking with the chalk from the chalkboard. Umm… yummy!! Or how you like to draw while laying on your stomach kicking your legs around.

Maybe we are bias as your parents, but Daddy and I can’t get over how smart you are. You are learning so much in English and Spanish, which we love. You know 1-10 in both English and Spanish. You resist saying the ABC’s, but talk so much. You give strong commands, ask questions, and give pretty clear responses to simple questions. My favorite thing that you are now doing is calling ‘Kemper’ by name vs just calling him ‘Puppy’. You scold him plenty, but give so much more love. Oh that poor dog gets squished by you flopping on him for hugs!

I know you are pretty young to potty train but you are quite funny that every time I tell you that you have to ”pee-pee on the potty’ or to ‘go poop on the potty’ you just look at me and say ‘No.’ HA! At least you have your position on that!

Your love for Mickey and Minnie is deep and true. I love how you are so eager to watching Mickey in the morning. We don’t have the TV on at night so you have to get your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse fix in the morning before we flip on the Today Show at 7am. Sometimes you get really frustrated about not getting to watching it over and over and over again. Truthfully, it’s tiring to watching 2-3 episodes of Mickey when you get up extra early on the days when you aren’t feeling well (why 4.30am?!?!?!) but watching you watching it while cuddled up under your blanket Aunt Tish made you with Owl makes hearing ‘Hey Toodles!’ over and over again all worth it. Plus, it melts my heart when you respond to their questions on the show. Adorable!

Unfortunately, your 23rd month started off with you battling a nasty cough. You ended up having to get on Prednisone, to help clear up some wheezing. Thankfully that worked so you just needed to get another inhaler to help you get through the sick winter months. I’m hoping that you stay healthy and happy this winter so we can wean you off your inhalers.

I’m looking forward to Halloween this month! You will be the cutest Minnie ever!

I can’t believe that you are almost 2! Oh it feels like just yesterday that you were born!! It just has gone by too fast! Sobs!!!

Love,

Mommy

Dear Autumn @ 17 Months

April 23, 2015April 24, 2015Leave a comment

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