How to Miss a Childhood...

I came across this blog tonight during my evening Pinterest exploration. Needless to say, it made me want to go "bump the crib" and cuddle my sweet Ace. I am guilty of checking email, Facebook or other distractions during the precious time my sweet angel is awake and it makes me sad. This mom makes some really good points. Points I am promising to listen too.

http://www.handsfreemama.com/?p=3942

this summer vs. last summer

i was just working on uploading some photos of Ace's first trip to the pool at the Y and came across this picture. it makes me smile because it makes me look like a total mom. last summer Ace was in my tummy in the big pool swimming laps and this summer we are going to be sitting together in the baby pool. i love being a mom and i will take looking like a mom any day!

Last summer's mom picture...

9 and oh so fine...

My Sweet Angel Ace,

Tomorrow you will turn ten months old. Double digit months. Two number months. How did this happen??? You were so tiny and new and brand new just yesterday. Someone must have accidentally hit the fast forward button because there is no way that time can possibly go this fast!

The month you were nine months old was one of my favorites. Your little personality is developing more and more each day and you are the absolute best thing in mine and daddy’s lives. You greet us each morning with  a full body dance party and a belly full of giggles. This is the same smile, giggle, body dance that you share with others all through the day. You bring smiles and joy to every person you come in contact with. It never fails that when we take you out shopping or walking or really anywhere that you make new friends and people want to hear all about you. You even had a sweet lady call you “Juicy” this month! Our encounters with strangers usually go like this; “Oh he is so cute! How old is he?”. This is followed by our response, “Thank you! He is nine months old.” Their response, “Ohhhhhhhhh he sure is a big boy!!”  This has earned you some new nicknames this month including “Juice” and “Baby Giant”.

You got two more teeth this month taking your grand total up to 8! I have to schedule a dentist appointment for you in the next few weeks because you have SOO many teeth. Like all of your other teeth, you barely made a peep as they were breaking though the surface. You are pretty tough! Although you still aren’t crawling, you manage to get all around by rolling over and over to get what you want. You have also managed to learn how to scoot yourself around in a circle if you need to change directions with your roll. You spend a lot of time trying to roll under furniture. I don’t think it will be long before you actually get up and go but for now we are ok with your rolling.

This month you completely mastered patty cake. Spent a whole week with Gigi while she was here for a visit. Got your first ear infection which has been really AWFUL.  Went to your first football game and loved it. You clapped and watched the whole game. Uncle Stu said we need to start shopping you around to schools already! Tried watermelon, pineapple and cheese for the first time. Went through four different types of sippy cups and you still don’t like any of them. Celebrated your first Easter and loved the plastic Easter eggs in your basket. Weighed 25.2 pounds and measured 30 inches in length at your well baby visit. And…the highlight for mama, learned to waive bye-bye. Your bye-bye is the best best best best best thing in the world! I think I love it so much because it is your own little way of communicating.

Your ninth month was one of the best ones ever! As you learn more things and pay attention to more and more things I know they are only going to get better. You are so smart and silly and have the best qualities from your dad and me. You have a little temper which I am sure came from me but you rarely throw fits, cry or give anyone any trouble.

I almost forgot. I want to remember how you stretch your neck to see things that are just almost out of your line of sight. And how you peek around the walls to see who is coming in the room. And how you open your eyes real big while you are doing these things as if that will help you see a little bit better.

I love you so much, Ace! Here we go to the 10^th month!

Love,

Mom

8 and oh so great!

Ace,

Here we are at the beginning of the last week of you being 8 months! Time is FLYING by and we are enjoying every minute of it.

You are such a social, happy little person. You giggle with your whole body and laugh at the most random things. Last week  you learned how to fake cough and every time I faked your cough, you cracked up! Your smile lights up a room and you smile at just about everybody who looks at you. You even had your picture taken with Mr. Randy for the YMCA Annual report. Ace, you are all business when it comes to being cute!

You are eating finger foods now and are a pro at getting food into your mouth. You have mastered puffs, mum-mum cookies, bananas and most recently toast. You like to hit the food and move it all around your tray before trying to eat it. We will work to add more and more things to your list of foods since you are so good at eating just about anything. This morning we weighed and you are a solid 25 pounds which is larger than several 2-year-olds we know!

For the last few weeks you have been sleeping mostly on your belly. This created a new problem because now you wake up with wet jammies after 12 hours of sleep. Even when we change your diaper at 10 you fill it up before morning. We had to buy you size 5 night time diapers and they seem to be capable of keeping you dry until morning. I have also found you peeking over the bumper and under the bumper of your crib when you are waiting for mommy or daddy to come and get you out of bed.

You are still not crawling but you are rocking. You even started rocking in your jump jump which makes me worry that it is going to collapse! When you can't reach something that you want you will roll to it but you are starting to not hate being on your tummy so much. I bet by this time next month you will be crawling.

Ace, you are quite the little talker, too. You jibber jabber to yourself in the mornings and I really enjoy listening to you through the monitor. You say "ma ma ma mama" and "buh buh buh" and "ba ba ba". I told daddy today that I am positive that "da da" will be next. On the way to work the other morning you were even singing along to the radio in the backseat. You don't seem to be identifying anyone with your little words but they sure sound cute coming out!

The weather is getting warmer so we will be spending more and more time outside in the coming months. We spent pretty much all day outside on Tybee yesterday for the parade and you loved it. I am looking forward to watching you explore the world!

I love you so much, Ace!

Love,

Mommy

7

Ace,

Here we are at seven months. This is really bad but I actually got really behind writing your monthly letters and now here we are, the night before you turn eight months old, and I am finally catching up. There is so much I want to capture about you at this age. Thank goodness I write in your journal every night to help us remember!

You are such a big boy, Ace! At seven months old, you are wearing 12-18 month clothes and size 4 diapers! You only have two sizes left before they don't make diapers in your size so I hope your growth slows down soon. Last week you weighed 23.5 pounds and you are solid. You are a super good eater and you now eat broccoli, carrots, blueberries, avocados, mangoes,summer squash and so much more. You love Mum Mum cookies and can pick up the little puffs like a pro. You are so big that you now sit in the big boy car seat in the car because your feet were hanging over your baby seat! Daddy also hung a really fun swing in the backyard for you and you love that too! See, being big has some advantages!

When 7:00 PM rolls around, we had better be near your bed. Like a little clock, you are ready to sleep at 7 and have been sleeping until 8-8:30 am! I still get you up for your night time bottle and to change your diaper but you go right back to sleep. You can also sleep anywhere. We had an overnight in Spartanburg, SC this month for Paige and Austin's wedding and you let Aunt Pat put you to sleep without a problem.  Napping is still a challenge to you and you have been taking more naps this month with mom and dad holding you than ever before. There have also been a few times when we have found  you asleep on your tummy so you are starting to roll around at night more. When we go to get you out of your crib in the morning you are all smiles and make a dance party with your whole body in excitement to see us! This is my favorite part of the day.

As far as your mobility goes...well, let's just say that your whole world is about jumping. If you could get around the rest of your life like a kangaroo, you would be set! Anytime your feet are touching something you can get leverage from, you jump. This includes the bathtub, mom and dad's lab, etc! You even bounce in the sitting position. You even think your walker is for jumping and jump and move backwards all over the house! You are also a really good roller and will roll to get what you want. I think you might be one of the kids who skips crawling all together.

This month you had really bad diaper rash that required you to have a lot of pants off parties. We still are not sure what caused it but we found out about clemoseptine so we are armed and dangerous now! You also got RSV which is a really dangerous cold for a little person. Dr. Stone let you play hooky from daycare for a whole week! You are still recovering but I am glad it wasn't any worse.

Ace, you are such a super fun kid. Your smile is contagious and you laugh from your belly. Your personality is huge and your character is sweet and charming. Each day you are learning and doing more and more new things. Watching you watch the world is the coolest thing in the whole world! I live for the weekends when we get to spend two whole days together.

Daddy and I love you so much, Ace!

Love,

Mommy

Halfway to a Year!

Ace,

You are a half of a year old. How did that happen? It seems like we just blinked our eyes and here we are a half of year as  your parents. Honestly, it has been the best six months of our lives.

This month was very very busy for you. On top of it being busy, Savannah has been experiencing record breaking heat! There have been days when you were just in your shirt sleeves and we have had to turn the air conditioning on. It has been so warm that even OG and Grampy are having a lack of snow at their house. So much for your snow suit!

During your sixth month we celebrated your very first Christmas. We made the long drive to Indiana/Michigan for the second time in your short life! We spent time with all of our great grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and cousins. You were such a good boy and enjoyed all of the attention. You and I spent an extra week in Michigan and you got to meet lots of my friends, too. You were asleep at midnight on New Year's Eve but enjoyed playing with your cousins that night before you went to bed. We had a great visit and Aunt Biz even came back to Georgia with us!

You got not one, not two, not three but FOUR of your top teeth in the same week while we were in Michigan. True to your sweet and laid back self, you never let out a peep. With all of these teeth you now require a tooth brush!  We have to get you off on the right foot with  your dental hygiene. You are also a big growing boy! At your sixth month appointment you weighed in at 21 pounds 13 ounces and were 28 inches long!

Daddy started a new job this month which will for sure make a huge impact on your life. Not only is it a big promotion for him but he will be home a lot more than he was before. This is awesome! Right before he started this new job he got really sick and Uncle Stu had to babysit  you so mommy could take Daddy to the hospital. You were a really great little buddy for your very first babysitter!

The highlight of this month for me that stands out above everything was your very first swim! We took you to the pool at our hotel on Christmas Eve and your LOVED it. It was as if you knew that all the time I was pregnant with you that we were swimming. We laid you on your back you were not even scared. I know this will be the start of a life long love of the water and that makes me so happy!

Can't wait to see what the second half of this year brings us!

Love,

Mommy

5 months!

Ace,

Time has gotten away from me! I have not had a chance to write about little you at five months and your sixth month birthday is creeping up on us! Luckily, I keep a journal all and write in it everyday to help me remember.

Your fifth month was quite an adventure! It included your very first Halloween (you were a duck), a visit from your Grandma Sharon, two Citadel football games, the Rock and Roll marathon in our neighborhood, the suprise arrival of Aunt Biz, a bad upper respitatory infection and the arrival of not one but TWO teeth!! You are are incredibly social and adaptable and so much enjoy conversation and spending time with people. It makes taking you places so easy and so much fun. At 5 months, you weigh 17lbs, 14oz. This means you have gained ten whole pounds since you were born! You can also roll from your belly to your back.

Your daily routine consists of waking up between 6-6:30. You are all smiles when I pick you up out of your bassinet. At five months, you were still sleeping in the bassinet in mommy and daddy's room. You take a bottle in the morning then hang out in your seat in the bathroom to get some steam to help your never ending conjestion and then play in your jump jump while mom gets ready. We leave for the Y around 8:00 or so and you always fall asleep as soon as we turn into Kensington Park. I carry you and your HEAVY seat into my office where you usually nap for about an hour. Next you head to your classroom for the day. I always come and spend some time with you right after lunch. We head home around 4:30 and just like our way in, you fall asleep as soon as we turn on DeRenne. You sleep in your carrier for about another hour in the evening while I clean your bottles and get chores done. You usually wake up around 6 or so to eat dinner which is cereal and a 6 oz. bottle. Dinner is followed by a bath, some play time, story time and cuddle time with mommy. Then as if you are a timer, you are sleeping by 7:00-7:30 at the very latest. I pick you up for a bottle around 10 but you stay sleeping all the way until the morning!

The night you got your first tooth is one for the record books. We were in Charleston at Dan and Stef's for Citadel homecoming. You were your normal self during the day and ate your dinner like a champ. I put you to bed with no difficulty and you were off to dreamland. When we got you up for your late night bottle, you fussed a lot before laying back down. You were up again at midnight. Daddy and I thought you were hungry so we fed you again. Then at 1:30, you were up again....screaming! Not knowing what was wrong, we tried a smaller bottle to see if that would pacify you. It worked until about 4 when you got up again! We prepared yet another bottle, you drank the whole thing but then just would not calm down. Finally, daddy put you in your seat and drove you around so you could sleep. It wasn't until we got home to Savannah and touched your gums that we realized we had mistaken hunger for a tooth!!

We enjoy your giggles, your smiles and your super sweet personality! You are such a happy baby and we so enjoy being your parents!

Love,

Mom