Christmas 2017

When Grace was first born, in November of 2015, I felt like I missed that whole Christmas season.  We hunkered down, we cuddled up, we nursed, we napped, and we held our sweet newborn.  But, we didn't attend a single Christmas function outside of the usual family ones.  And, to the family ones, we were hours late.  And I was in a separate room, nursing for most of the time.

It was my sweetest Christmas ever.  But it didn't feel like it.

Last year, November 2016, Grace had just turned one year old.  We were still doing two naps a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  That left most social functions out of the picture.  That holiday season felt like a blur as well.

This year was different.  This year, we have a walking, talking, two year old.  I wanted to really take advantage of the season with her, and we certainly did.

We met Santa a few times!  We met up with many friends.  We were almost on time to most family Christmas events.  It was a wonderful time.  I already can't wait to do another holiday season with her.

We met Santa at the Weber's brunch with Santa.  Grace wasn't having it.

It was a fun brunch with all of our friends, though!

This year was the first year I had heard about the Christmas party at Downtown Home and Garden.  They bring in farm animals, Santa and Mrs. Clause, the Community High Jazz Band, and free food.  It was a great time!

The Santa at Downtown Home and Garden gave each child an orange!  What a great idea!

We had a visit from Henry Carlson.  He is two months older than Grace, and these two played so well together.

Daddy and Mommy had a date night in Detroit!  Thank you to Grandma and Grandpa LaMoreaux!

Grace loved playing with the nativity at Aunt Sandy's.

Grace did NOT love her tights that went so well with her Christmas outfit.

On Christmas Eve, we saw a bunny outside in Aunt Sandy's backyard.

Matching jammies with her cousins!

Good thing we have Uncle Stephen to do silly dances and get everyone laughing for the pic!

Love for Grandma and Grandpa Lindsay

She didn't really want to sit for pictures with us.  But she did.  And she even smiled (kind of).

What a very merry Christmas we had.  Looking forward to 2018!

A Breastfeeding Conclusion

"You never know when it will be your last time, until it's already done.  One day, you'll pick up your child, hold her, put her down, and you'll never pick her up again.  She'll grow up and you won't even realize it."

That's how the end of two years of nursing came to be.

Last Saturday, when she woke up, she cried to nurse just like she has every single morning after waking up for her whole life.  She nursed, just a quick session, because she was eager to get to her books.  Our latest routine had been nursing plus books every time before bed and every time she wakes up.

We left for Ludington for a wonderful Christmas holiday the next day.  Somehow, in all the business and excitement, she didn't ask to nurse.

I didn't remind her, I didn't offer her, and she didn't ask.

When we got home, back into routine, she did ask to nurse before bed.  I told her "mama's milk is all gone, empty."
She said, "Let's try!"
I said, "sorry, honey, it's all gone."

And luckily, I was prepared with a book that had just arrived in the mail: "Mama's Milk is All Gone".  We read it a few times yesterday, and a few more times today, and she hasn't asked to nurse since.


In the very beginning, I knew I wanted to nurse, I even took a course on breastfeeding, but immediately after she was born, the pain from breastfeeding was so terrible. I never thought I could nurse her past one month.  That first month was so excruciatingly painful.  But I knew it was good for her.  I knew there was nothing better to nourish her with than my own milk. I knew the closeness would be such a good bonding experience for us, even though at the time I counted down the seconds until she was done each session.

Then, the months passed and the pain went away.  Nursing no longer was painful.  It became such a special, precious time for Grace and me.

Pumping while I was at work or otherwise away from her was not easy.  Washing bottles, washing pump parts, always keeping track of each pump part and all the bottle parts.  Pumping is terrible.  But, it kept up my supply, and helped me to keep nursing.


Then she turned one year old.  She no longer needed to nurse.  It was now more about comfort and bonding.  And suddenly, I felt I also no longer had all the positive support I had from others that I had had in the beginning.

But we kept on.  We kept on for the whole second year.
She learned to ask for nursing.  First by saying "laddle laddle laddle" at some point around 13 months.  Then later (maybe around 16 months), she started saying "murse".  And around 19 months, she'd just say the word "nurse".  And before she turned two, she would say "I want to nurse, Mommy!"

And then, at 24 months old, the last time happened, and I didn't even know it was our last time until a few days later.

I'm proud of myself for nursing her for two full years.
But I'm proud of her, too.  I'm proud of her for accepting this.  For realizing that she's growing up, getting bigger, and accepting it.

She is my big girl and I am so proud of both of us.  I could not love her any more.

Two Years Old

Wow! If Grace's first year was fast, her second year was honestly even faster.
12 months old to 24 months old is really such a huge difference.  From a practically still a baby at 12 months, and only saying "ma' and "da" and "bu" (bunny), to speaking full sentences and paragraphs.

Every single day I am reminded of how lucky I am to be her mommy.  There is no better feeling than holding her in my arms.  I know she's a big 27 pound toddler, but I will gladly cuddle her in my arms any time she wants.

Grace at 24 months old is silly, funny, clingy to mommy still, smart, and so so sweet.

The biggest update would be that her language is now clearer and more complex than ever.
We can have actual two-sided conversations with her.

Me: "Who did you play with at school today, Grace?"
Grace: "Hadrian, Olive, August.  Hadrian cried."
Me: "Why did Hadrian cry?"
Grace: "he bumped his knee."

I love that I can get brief updates from her about her own day, instead of only relying on the narrative written by her daycare teachers.

She loves her newfound ability to negotiate, and she negotiates with us every chance she gets.  Before bed, it's "one more book! one more water! need the other blanket!  need my hair in a ponytail!"

In addition, she's now very opinionated about her clothes, which has not been easy on me.  She prefers comfort over all else (like her mama) and wants to wear only her fleece sweatpants everywhere.  This is mostly fine, since she's still a toddler! But, I don't necessarily want her wearing fleece sweats for a for a fancy Santa brunch or church!
 In addition, once she becomes attached to a clothing item, she doesn't want to wear anything else, even when she's outgrown it.

I do miss the days when I could dress her in cute outfits (or even just any outfit) without her crying out for some other clothing item that isn't seasonally appropriate or that no longer fits.

Anyway, my goal is to find some clothes that she and I both love (maybe letting her choose them), so that getting out the door will become somewhat easier.

Grace is still fully committed and attached to her Bunny (as noticeable in our fall family photos).  I had a minor fiasco in which I tried to switch Bunny to a fresh new clean one, but she wasn't having it and I caved, so we now have two Bunnies.

Grace can give us a tough time in the house (not wanting diaper changes, trying to stand up on the couch, not wanting to go into bath), but when it really counts, she can behave perfectly.  She behaves so so well when we are out and about, for example at church, at restaurants, at Meijer, and with friends.

Grace has sat on the potty many times to go pee and poo, but we haven't moved on to the next step yet in potty training.  She doesn't seem to want to sit on the potty very much, and since she only just turned two, I'm not pushing it heavily quite yet.

Daddy's busy season at work is over for the moment, and so she's had more than usual daddy-daughter time lately, and she is loving all the special time with him.  He gives her piggy back rides around our house and reads her endless books again and again.
I will be sad when he becomes "favorite parent", but I've had a nice long run of it and I love seeing their relationship blossom.


Grace truly is my sun, my moon, and my stars.  Her smile lights up my day from the moment she wakes up (5am lately - BUT she's sleeping through the night, so I'll take it) until the moment she goes to sleep.

Two years old is absolutely exhausting.  When I had a newborn, I thought "Toddlers must be so easy.  They can WALK and they can TALK!  Newborn is what's the hardest!"  But now I'm truly learning that every single age is hard.  Two years old is so hard.  But it's also absolutely amazing.  She is absolutely amazing.  She's everything I ever could have dreamed of in a daughter.  I can't wait to see what the year ahead has in store.

20 Months Old - Highs and Lows

Grace is 20 months old.  I have had a truly wonderful summer with her.  She goes to daycare Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  And this time has been really wonderful for me.  I can clean up the house, get gas, get groceries, do laundry, and she gets to play with her friends instead of accompanying me on errands etc.

So, because she has daycare 3 times a week, my mom and I have really been trying to make the most of our Tuesdays/Thursdays and weekends. We've gone to the zoo, the petting farm, blueberry picking, the pool many times, the park many times, to friends' houses, and to gymnastics every week.  But she still gets plenty of time in our beloved playroom so she can put her dolls and Bunny to bed!

Talking: Grace remembers so much and now can actually tell us about events. She can even answer correctly (sometimes) "who", "what" "where" type of questions. For example:
Me:  "Who was at the party Grace?"
Grace: "Bumpa, Gramma, Tondy, Sheeena, Aedan, Mommy, Daddy".

Me: "What does your shirt say?"
Grace: "Handlebar" or "Topsail Island" (depending on what shirt she's wearing).

This month's update would not be complete without her most talked about story: "Wolf! Wolf! Violin. Downtown. Stroller. Safe. Restaurant."
This link should explain that story.

She also has some really cute phrases: "I can't believe it!"  "I think so." "I guess so." that she clearly picked up just by listening to me talk.

I love how random memories pop up in her head and she'll tell me about them.  It's really interesting when she talks about a memory from over a month ago!  "Guitar. Uncle Brian. Aunt Vidhya. Music. Singing."  (Remembering when my brother played the guitar while we were in North Carolina).

Size: Grace is wearing size 18-24 months and also 2T.  I will probably buy all 2T clothes for fall and maybe some 3T as well.  It's a little bit sad, because she now she'll officially be in all toddler sizes, no more baby sizes.  She's wearing size 5 diapers.  She just outgrew her size 5 shoes a few months ago, and now is outgrowing her size 6 shoes. 

Skills:  Grace is really making progress with her jumping! She doesn't get any air really yet, but she knows to bend her knees and the general motion that jumping is supposed to be!  I love watching her try to jump.  Grace can now officially do the "big kid" slide at Allmendinger and Fritz Parks (and I'm sure at other parks too).  At gymnastics, Grace can hang by herself on the bar and on the rings without her feet touching the ground! It's amazing!

Food:
Yes, we're still nursing!  I'm proud and shocked that we are still nursing at 20 months old. I'm ready to wean, but she doesn't seem quite ready herself.  She eats plenty of solids (usually), and is drinking more daytime milk and water from a sippy cup.  I would love if she "self-weaned", but that doesn't seem quite likely right now.

Sleep:
Yes, we're still waking up in the night.  Sometimes once, sometimes twice, sometimes more but not usually.  Something has to change, because when school starts again, I won't be napping while she naps, I'll be running around like crazy in a classroom of 26 high energy 6 year-olds.  Hoping for a better sleep update next post.

Likes: 
- Bunny.  Bunny is still #1 in her life and comes everywhere we go.  Grace is such a sweet "mother" to Bunny.  At the zoo, when she saw something special (the monkeys, the jellyfish), she said "Bunny! Get it!" to me, and then she held Bunny up to the cage/tank to see the monkeys and the jellyfish.  She loves spreading blankets out for Bunny, and saying "Bunny night night".  It melts my heart how gentle and loving she is with Bunny.

-Panera. Grace loves Panera. She can say both "restaurant" and "Panera".  I give her half of my sandwich, which is chicken, cheese, tomato, and avocado, and she eats the whole thing!

- Daddy.  Grace is loving her daddy the most these days.  Which is wonderful, but also hard because he works long hours and every day of the week.  But when he has a moment to be with her, he takes it.

-Water Play.  We take her to Vet's pool, and she loves splashing around.  She loves splashing around in the sink (which she can now reach due to the step stool I put out).  When we went to Ludington in July, she LOVED splashing around in Lake Michigan with Brian, despite the water being cold!  One of her most favorite summer time activities right now though is playing in the hose!

Most water play (besides the sink), requires multiple outfit changes, diaper changes (into swim diaper), sunblock, sun hat, towels ready, snacks ready, etc.  Overall a big effort.  But to see her big smile, and to hear her happy shrieks, makes the effort all worth it.  I just wish we had a splash pad closer to our house.


-Books. She is our little reader, but still mostly preferring to have an adult read books to her, rather than just flipping through them on her own.  That's okay by me though, I love reading to her.  I want to show her how important books are, so I make sure to stop whatever I'm doing to read to her if she asks me to.

-The Park.  Grace loves going to The Park (which really can mean any park).  She loves slides, she loves swings, and she loves watching other people.


-Animals (especially dogs and cats).  She is still quite the little animal lover!  We went to the zoo, which was so much fun for Grace, my parents, and me.  In this picture, Grace had just fed the giraffe lettuce! She can say "Giraffe. Lettuce. Eat it. Hungry."

- Cousins.  Grace loves all of her cousins!  She had the best time playing with Dylan and Max when they came to visit us.  She likes Aedan, even though she isn't always nice to him!

Dislikes:  She doesn't like sitting very long for meals.  She doesn't like other kids or other people touching her items unless she told them to.  She doesn't like diaper changes usually (especially dirty ones).  She doesn't like when strangers try to touch her or talk to her before she is ready for it.  She doesn't like the dancing Elmo or the large costumed Elmo.  She doesn't really like costumed people in general.


Here is a short list of things I am loving about Grace right now:

- I love her laugh.  Oh how I love it.  She loves when I say "I'm going to get you!" She'll shriek and sometimes run right into my arms, but sometimes run and lay flat on the floor giggling.

- I love her sweet words.  She will say "I wuv you" if we say it to her first.  She will say "pwease" when she wants something (usually another book before bedtime).

- I love her tender side, when she takes care of Bunny or her baby doll, or another random stuffed animal.

- I love her determination.  If she wants something, she will ask for it, she will try to get it herself, she will make it happen (if possible).  This can be exhausting and hard, but it's a great personality trait.

- Most of all, I love how she loves me.  It's a love you've never experienced until you're a parent.  She doesn't know yet that I'm an imperfect person.  That my bedroom is always messy, that I procrastinate a lot, that I can only cook a few meals.  All she knows is that I feed her, I comfort her, I nurse her, I take her places, I show her new things, I cuddle her, read to her, and play with her, and that's her whole world.  I would do anything for her.  Someday, I won't be her everything.  But for now, this love that she has for me, it is truly the best thing I could ever imagine.  She is my whole world and I wouldn't change it for anything.

19 Months Old - Little Miss Independent

Grace is 19 months old.  She is turning into a full person.  A little person with her own opinions and ideas, an excellent memory, and a sweet silly streak.

Here are some updates with Grace:

TALKING: Oh my goodness, so much talking!  Grace basically has a stream of thoughts going through her head that she is starting to be able to verbalize.  "Bus. Susan. Mark. Gray Bumpa (Great Grandpa). Airplane."  (We recently flew to North Carolina, and from the plane, we took a bus to the rental car place with my uncle, cousins, and grandpa).

Grace likes to give directions.  "Mama sit down."  "Mama night night." "Close eyes!" or "Close the door" (which can mean zip up a zipper, close a drawer, close the fridge, or just close any door), "I get it".

The best part is, she can tell me what she wants and doesn't want.  She says "more" and "all done" all the time.  She can say the names of all her favorite foods, books, and stuffed animals, so she can ask specifically for what she wants.

Something really sweet she says is "hands", and then she grabs your hand to take you with her.  It is just the sweetest to know that she wants to hold your hand and wants to you to be with her.  She also has started saying "nex you", which means "come sit next to me".  Because, I'll say to her, "Sure, I'll come sit next to you"!  It's so sweet that I don't mind sitting on the hardwood floor in uncomfortable corners of the room, just because she said "nex you".

TEETH: I've honestly lost count of her teeth, she has so many, it seems like she has almost all her baby teeth.  Although, she still consistently has teething symptoms (drooling, sucking on her hand, randomly fussy, so more teeth could be popping up any time).
We had her first dentist appointment today (7/12), and they said her teeth look great, she is ahead of schedule when it comes to # of teeth, but still has plenty more to come.

SKILLS: It seems that all her milestones now are related to talking.  She can count to three (onetwothree), but I don't think she quite understands the concept of counting yet.  She can turn the pages correctly in books, and say simple words to describe pictures in the books.
She is still struggling to eat with a spoon and fork, but I try to let her practice as much as possible (despite how messy it gets).

She can run, but is still figuring out how to jump.

SLEEP: Grace goes to sleep around 8 pm, has one middle of the night wakeup, and wakes up for good between 7-8 am (except when we travel!  Then she sometimes stays up for hours in the middle of the night.  No joke, she will be awake for 3-4 hours in the middle of the night when I travel with her).
She still has one mid-day nap daily, that can be from 1.5 - 3 hours.  This middle of the day nap thing is amazing.  It really refreshes me to have a rest period and then feel ready to have a good afternoon with her.

SIZE: Grace is really tall.  When we see other kids at the park, she's taller than almost all 2 year olds we meet (and Grace is just over a year and a half).  I almost feel like I'm missing out on some baby time because she's gotten so tall so quickly and so verbal so quickly.  I assumed that her height percentile would be something like 95% because she towers over all kids her age!  But, the dr. recently said she's at the 75% for kids her age, which is perfect.


QUIRKS:
As Grace's personality is becoming more defined, we're noticing traits and patterns.  The most common behavior I notice is: Grace likes things to be a certain way.  For example, if our gate to the stairs is always closed (which it is), and one day it's left open, Grace will yell "close the door! Close the door!" because she knows it should be closed, and then, if we don't come immediately, she'll close it herself.  I love how she wants doors and drawers always closed.

But, she is also particular about who can touch what.  Now, most kids don't want other people touching their favorite toys.  But, Grace goes a little above and beyond that.  She doesn't want other people touching her favorite toys, her furniture, her books, or even her mama, or her mama's purse, or her mama's phone.  Not only that, she doesn't want specific toys touching her favorite toys or objects.  It's very interesting, and I'm curious to see if she becomes more laid back about this or more intense as she gets older. 

My Sweet Baby
Once again, I am blown away by how much love I have for this sweet little girl.  She is truly the light of my life and I am the luckiest mother in the world to have her.  I have been perpetually exhausted for 19 months now, and have had a messy house, messy car, and messy hair for 19 months now, but these have been the most special and happiest 19 months of my life, because I have her.

Family Photos 4/22/2017

It's so important to me that we document Grace at every stage.  So, I like to try to have family pictures taken at least twice per year right now, while she's growing and changing so much all the time!

In April, we had pictures taken by a local photographer, Amanda Dumouchelle, and I think she just did a wonderful job of capturing our little family.

 Oh this smile!  She is our perfect everything.

 Just a little bit of sass.

 Her smile and little legs in those tights and that white bow.  My little angel.

Right as this picture was taken, Grace was running, fell down, and burst into tears.  So, needless to say, this was our last picture.  But, I was definitely satisfied with all of the previous pictures we had gotten.  What a fun morning.