Dear Little Stinker,

You are 11 MONTHS OLD!  Right around the corner from that huge one year milestone where I can’t “officially” call you a baby any more.  But, you are still very much my little baby!  I am clinging to these days where you still need me and reach out for me to hold you.  You are certainly growing leaps and bounds and are constantly entertaining us with your own brand of humor.  You have such a spectrum of emotions already and demonstrate your various reactions with such intensity.  My little Mama’s boy :)

Some facts about YOU:

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You are still size 4 diapers and size 12-18 month clothing, however anything we buy you will now need to be 18-24 month.  You are just now starting to need shoes, and I’m not quite sure what size fits yet.  Maybe a 4?

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Your hair is filling in and you have spectacular bed head in the mornings.

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It takes you a long time to wake up just like your Daddy and sister.

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We are trying to sleep train you.  Last week you slept through the night, in your crib, two nights in a row!!  Both nights you slept around 10 hours straight, which is nothing short of a miracle.  However, we went to Gainesville and you slept in a bed with me in the hotel.  Apparently either that or teething has caused a severe regression in our progress.  You absolutely refuse to sleep in your crib right now.  Mommy and Daddy are tired.

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You are a walker!  But I haven’t made the “official” announcement.  You will do about 6-7 steps at a time before crawling.  You get so excited when we clap for you!

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You are getting better at finger foods.  Right now you will eat banana, eggs, and sometimes peas and carrots.  Mostly you still love your applesauce/rice cereal/coconut yogurt combo.

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You don’t like sippy cups.  We will have to work on that since you will be starting on almond milk soon.

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During bath time you like to spread out on your belly and kick your legs like you’re swimming.  I have a feeling you will be a little fish in the pool.

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When someone asks for a kiss you lean your forehead in for them to kiss.

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You imitate your sister constantly.

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You say dada and nana and mama.

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When you have a blanket or towel you cover your face so we’ll say “where’s Stinker??” and then you pull it off so we say “there he is!!”  Over and over.

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You like to bang things around to make noise.  Drummer in the making?

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You still have those same 6 teeth!  I feel like you are never going to get the others you’ve been working on.  This is the longest teething process ever!

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You have had a few bottles of soy formula since I stopped pumping during the day.  Most days, though, you can go several hours between nursing and be just fine.

We love you little pumpkin, and can’t wait for next month’s big birthday!!

Dear Little Stinker,

You are 10 MONTHS OLD!  You are silly and smiley and dramatic.  You love to be on the move but you also hate to be alone.  You are constantly observing the world around you with a slightly hopeful look on your face, like, man I just can’t wait to jump in on the action!  You are tough, even though you are emotional.  Kinda like your Daddy!  We adore your cute little self.

Some facts about YOU:

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Size 12-18 clothes are getting a bit snug.  Your PJs are too small but they’re all we got, so you constantly have belly showing.  Size 3 diaper, who knows what size shoe b/c we just aren’t that kind of people, and you are 21.5 pounds.

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Your hair is finally filling in, however it is only filling in around your head.  The top is still pretty sparse.  Hence the old man look.

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You are still a terrible sleeper and have actually regressed in the nap department.  Your Dad and I are going to tag team the sleep training process (for real this time) and hopefully next month I will have a much better report.  We are tired at our house.

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You still nurse all the time too.  I’m planning on partially weaning you at a year, and I have a feeling you will have strong objections.  Sorry fella, mama has to stop it with the pumping.  I’ve had enough.

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You are doing better with solids, but still further behind than I would like.  It seems like you hardly get any food into your mouth so I’m always afraid you’re starving.  Your weight gain says otherwise.

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Your favorite food is coconut yogurt.  You tried pasta for the first time the other night and I think that might start to take second place.

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You have taken two steps (in a row) so far.  Not quite consistent enough to call you a walker.  I’ve given up on saying “any day now!” because, obviously you can hear me and want to prove me wrong.

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You show us your muscles and make a “huhhhhhhh” sound when you do.

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You still have only 6 teeth.  You are the slowest teether of all time and I feel terrible for your bitty mouth.

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You are very good at waving and clapping your hands.  I’m trying to teach you the “more” sign, but since you aren’t very excited about food it’s hard to bribe you to do it.

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You like regular sippy cups, not the ones with the straw.  Total opposite of your sister.

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You seem to always have an ear infection.  We are just now getting over the virus/infection/sickness of the decade and it took a toll on every single one of us.

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You are going to be Batman for Halloween

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You aren’t super into books right now, but you do tolerate the touch and feel ones.  I read you the same Goodnight book every night, and when I start to read it you start to cry.  I don’t necessarily think it’s because you don’t want to go to sleep…more that by that point you’re so tired you don’t want to hear my voice any more.

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You love to wrestle with your sister and Daddy.

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You still love to sleep on your stomach

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Your thighs are very very ticklish

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Loud noises make you laugh

We love you little Bud.  Can’t wait to see what you’ll do this month!

Dear Little Stinker,

You are NINE MONTHS OLD!  You have officially been here as long as I was pregnant with you.  You are such a big boy now!  Your personality just shines right out of you through your belly laughs and constant movement.  You are still sweet and snuggly when you want to be, but you are growing more and more independent every day.  I love watching you figure things out on your own, but UG!  The teeny baby stage went by way too fast!!

Some facts about YOU:

-        - You finally broke 20 pounds!  You wear a size 3 diaper and size 12-18 month clothes.  The pants are too long, but I have a feeling you’ll grow into them pretty soon.  I have no idea what size shoe you wear and will probably not put you in one until you’re walking (which will also be pretty soon).

-        - You are slowly getting some more hair.  Yay!  I am so ready to give you a baby faux hawk.

-        - You laugh the loudest and most often at your sister.  You two can play together for short periods of time now and I love watching it.  You both love each other so much.

-        - You still nurse a ton during the day and night.  You have started to love your pureed food, however you are still not excited about finger foods.  You do the best with puffs, but we’re working on bananas and sweet potatoes.  Most just end up on your face and in your chair. 

-       -  You crawl as fast as your sister can run (which is FAST).  You are pulling up on everything and trying to stand on your own.  No steps yet, but I can tell it will be soon.

-        - You have 5 teeth and have been working on the 6^th for what feels like forever.  You get so uncomfortable and it breaks my heart.

-       -  You say dadadadadada and nananananana.  You will only say mamamamama when you are sad and need me.  I guess I’ll take whatever I can get!

-       -  You love to wave now and it’s oh so cute.

-       -  You give the typical open mouthed kisses when I say “kiss!”.

-        - You shake your head when we tell you “no”.  It’s really adorable, but I can tell we’ll regret laughing at it because you are a little bit of a stinker.  Every time I get on to you for crawling toward the dog food (why is the dog food dish so appealing??), you smile your precious smile, shake your head (like you KNOW it’s a no no), then proceed to grab the food/splash the water.  You also shake your head “no” when I tell you to say “Mama”.

-        - You love bath time with your sister.  You are in constant motion and try to copy everything she does while you are in there.  This includes blowing bubbles, which makes me quite nervous that you will drown yourself.  However, you just dunk your face in the water and come up laughing.

-        - You still hate getting dressed.  Every night you are offended that I would dare to put you in PJs.

-     -    You are starting to like books.  You love to turn the pages and feel the pages.  But sometimes you just want to chew on the book.

-      -   You went to your first Gator game!  It was hot but you tolerated it better than I did.

-        - You still sing yourself to sleep and it’s precious.

We love you little bud and we love seeing you grow and learn and explore.  You have the sweetest happiest disposition and we cherish every moment of life with you.

Family pic while tailgating

 Playing in the sunlight at Nana and Grandad's house

 I caught you hiding out in "your" cabinet in the kitchen

 Chewing on your Gator

 First Gator game!!!!

 Playing with flour at school...apparently you liked it!

 Bright eyes

 Rockin the big boy Gator tee

You love your Daddy

Dear Little Stinker,

You are 8 MONTHS OLD!!  (Yes, I missed month 7, but I'll cover everything, I promise)  You are hilarious and so much fun to interact with right now.  I think this right here is my favorite baby age.  You are snuggly and lovey and easily amused.  The look you give me when I show up to get you from school is priceless and makes me feel like the greatest person in the world.

Some facts about YOU:
- You are still in size 3 diapers, size 12 month clothes (the shirts are a little baggy but you need the length).
- You are finally getting a little more hair, however it is still sparse and you definitely rock the random long patch on the top of your head and on the right side above your ear.  You are already a blondie.
- You crawl like a mad man.  You are super fast especially if you are targeting the dog food bowl.  You pull up to standing on everything and only need a fingertip to support yourself.  I think you will be walking very soon.
- You still nurse a LOT but we have successfully convinced you to eat real food.  Everything is still pureed except for puffs (which you just got the hang of).  Your favorite food is coconut yogurt.
- You still only have the 4 teeth but I think more are coming.
- You wave and it's the cutest thing ever.  You hold your arms up and move your hands like you're revving a motorcycle.
- When we tell you "no", you smile and shake your head back and forth.  Yes, it is a little sassy, but you're too young to get in trouble so we just laugh and try to get you to do it again.
- You love your sister and you two actually can play together now.  You especially like it when she plays in her kitchen because she lets you bang the pots and pans.
- You give those awesome open mouthed slobbery baby kisses.
- You still sing yourself to sleep.  I hope you never stop, even though it means you can't fall asleep during church.
- You still love water and are a dare devil in the bath.
- You promoted to the "Mobile Baby" class at school.  This is very bittersweet for both of us.  You get to play with bigger boy toys and have some more freedom, but you miss your teachers very very much and they miss you too.

Love you big boy!

Dear Little Peanut,

You are TWO AND A HALF YEARS OLD!!  Oh my word, Pumpkin, you are absolutely the most entertaining member of our family right now.  Your enthusiasm for life is contagious.  You are so smart and understand so much about life already.  I love watching you explore and marvel and push your boundaries.  You love us fiercely and are never afraid to show it.  You’re resilient and tenderhearted.  I love just spending time with you getting to know this little person that your dad and I made.  You are a piece of my heart and I couldn’t imagine a single day without you in it.

Some facts about YOU:

-        You are NOT potty trained yet.  Size 4 diapers (at night), size 2T-3T pull-ups (at school), and size 4 undies (at home).  You absolutely know the potty drill, have been successful many times, but do not WANT to go to the potty when there is something else more interesting holding your attention.  I believe this is why they say “wait until they’re ready”.  You’re too busy to be ready yet.

-        You wear size 2T shirts and shorts (shorts are still a little big).  You still wear size 18-24 dresses.  Size 6 shoes.

-        Your hair is getting long and curls at the end.  Since it’s summer it is white blonde and your skin is brown.  You have beautiful blue eyes that everyone comments on.

-        You still suck your thumb and I’m still not worried about it.

-        Your favorite breakfast food is porridge (oatmeal) with blueberries in it.  Your favorite dinner is chicken nuggets with ketchup (surprise surprise).  You still love avocados and can eat an entire one in one sitting. 

-        Your favorite thing to say: “Mommy whatcha doin?”  You also say “I love you, you’re my beeessstt friend!”, “I not want to!”, and “Mommy I need to hold you”.  Of course that’s not all you say…those are just the things I hear about 100 times a day.  You are VERY VERBAL.  Your vocabulary is fantastic (people are always commenting on it) and you enunciate very well.  You talk non-stop and I love it.  There is always something going on in that little mind.

-        You also sing all the time.  Right now your favorite song is the B-I-B-L-E.  You also make up songs pertaining to whatever activity we are doing at the moment. 

-        You know all of your letters and the sound each one makes.  You will be reading very soon…I just need to make time to work on it with you.

-        You love your little brother and are so sweet to him.  Most of the time.  Sometimes you can get a little rough, but I think you’re just over-enthused to have someone to play with at home.

-        You are shy when you are around someone unfamiliar.  You also get over it within about 10 minutes.

-        You are taking swim lessons and will hopefully be swimming by yourself by the end of summer.  So far you can go under water and jump in, but you are stubborn about kicking your legs.

-        You love your cousins and we just spent some time at the beach with them over the 4^th of July.  You think they are super cool.

-        You and the Stinker share a room now that Nana and Grandad stay with us during the week.  You still sleep with a noisemaker.  We do bath, pjs, stories, prayers, then bedtime.  You still need one of us to sit with you until you fall asleep, which takes forever right now.  You are starting to say your own night time prayer, which makes my heart so happy.  Last night it went “God is great, God is good…thank you Jesus for this day…Amen!”.

-        You and the Stinker have been sick a TON since you started school.  You’ve had strep a total of 3 times, a bacterial rash on your booty, several viruses, and a constant runny nose.  I hear it takes a year to get over it all, so let’s hope we make it!

-        You love your friends and your teachers at school.  I only hear good reports.  They say you are super sweet and kind.

-        You love ice cream day and water day the most at school.

-        You love to run.  I’m going to let you start running with me when you’re a little older, but for now you just run whenever you’re outside in a wide open space (and usually we have to chase after you!).

-        Sometimes you are not a very good listener.  This is the thing that gets you into trouble the most.  You completely tune us out when we are asking you to do something you don’t want to do.  We’re working on it.

-        You love playing in the sprinklers.  We put them on your little slide and on the trampoline to make a mini water park out in the back.

-        You wake up at least once every night.  You usually come into our room and climb into bed on my side.  Then your daddy takes you back to bed and end up falling asleep in there for the rest of the night.

-        You love being a “princess”.  Any time you are wearing something with ruffles you call it a princess dress. 

-        You are just now starting to talk about being scared of things.  You said you were scared of lions last night (probably because at school they had a big taxidermied lion out for VBS).

-        You love the beach and playing in the waves with your daddy.  You also like to build sandcastles and collect shells.

-        You are not self-conscious in the slightest and I hope you hold on to that forever.

We love you so much Peanut and I hope you hold on to your sassy fire for life.  We are so blessed to be your parents.

Dear Little Stinker,

You are 6 months OLD!!  (and a couple weeks)  

Some facts about YOU:

- You wear size 3 diapers, size 12 mo clothes that are too small, but I can't bring myself to buy bigger clothes

- You smile all the time and are soooo sweet except when we take you out of the bath and try to put a diaper and PJs on you (how dare we, don't we know you like to be naked???)

- You have two bottom teeth and just cut your two top ones.  They hurt like crazy and you've been fussy about it for a while.

- You love the water and fall asleep when I bring you close to the waves or put you in your pool floaty.

- You sit up all by yourself

- You can ALMOST crawl.  You take a couple "steps" and then belly flop toward whatever you are trying to get to

- You just pulled yourself up on the ottoman yesterday for the first time

- You have started solids but are actually not a big fan of eating.  You have tried avocado, green beans, peas, and pears.  Pears were your favorite (obviously).

- You have been sick a lot since you've started school (as have we all).  Your runny nose is still cute.

- You are really really strong and I have to keep a good hold on you whenever you get rambunctious

- You love your sister

- Your hair is blonde...I think...you don't have very much

- You still sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed most of the night.  We will work on getting you to sleep in your crib longer when you are not teething/sick/etc which means you will probably be sleeping with us until you go off to college

- Your favorite toy is an Old McDonald music making thing that was a hand-me-down from your cousins.  You also love anything you can chew on.

- You still sing yourself to sleep.  It is the sweetest sound in the world.  However, it is quite distracting when you decide to take a nap during church :-)

We love you so much Bud and you teach me every day to just forget everything else and smile.

beach time with daddy

 showing off new board shorts (and runny nose)

 nap time

 sitting up like a champ

 nerdy hat...and nerdy mom

first bible class

giving sister kisses

beach

ready to take off

high chair initiation

avocado smile

you prefer the spoon

can't get better than this

you were asleep right before we took this pic

sweet boy

ick.  you certainly can make a mess.