Anna, Month Two April 17, 2011

Dear Anna,

You are a snuggly baby. Your favorite place to be is in our arms, resting on our thighs, or slung over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes. You don’t really care what the plan is, where we’re going or what we’re doing, as long as it involves human touch. Even just holding a finger calms you down. My favorite time is when you’re very sleepy and nuzzle your face into my neck. I could breathe in your baby smell forever.

Speaking of smell, Anna, we need to talk about your farts. I’m not going to mince words. You are the gassiest baby I’ve ever known and your farts smell like death. I don’t know if it’s something I’m eating that gives you such incredible gas, but if it is, I’d gladly give it up. At some point every day, someone in the house says, “Whoa. Anna!” as the stench wafts up to the closest nostrils. I don’t want to dwell on this, but I don’t think you’ll ever live it down. We’ll be talking about this for years, it’s that impressive. 🙂

Good thing you’re cute, huh? This month, everywhere we go, people say, “Look at that hair!” You have amazing hair! Right after a bath, your wet hair is tight little ringlets all over your head, but as soon as it dries — swoop! Up into the air it goes. It stands straight up and sweeps to the right. It’s so adorable.

This month you smile. You don’t smile for just anyone or anything, but dole them out when the time is right. You save your best grins for Daddy. Just the sight of him causes you to break out in huge smiles. He loves it. And Sam! Oh, do you love your big brother. You stare and stare at him and grin. He loves to see your smiles, too, when he can sit still long enough to notice. He gives you lots of love and is getting better at reading your signals that you’ve had enough cheek-to-cheek time. He says, “Oh Mommy, look at uuuusssss, look at us. We’re so cute!” I get some smiles, too, but not like the ones you give the boys in your life. That’s ok, I’m happy to share you.

You are sleeping for longer and longer stretches. We’ve had some eight-hour nights, but you usually sleep about five hours between feedings. You’re still a night owl, Anna. By one in the morning, you’re ready to go to sleep for the night. You absolutely will not take a pacifier (we’ve tried five different shapes!), so going to sleep involves lots of body contact and rocking, swaying, and bouncing.

We’re so in love with you, Anna. Your little personality is showing more and more every day and we love seeing you grow and develop into a lively, alert baby girl. I wish I could pause these baby days and swim slowly through each tiny moment with you — your little hand wrapped around my finger, your sleepy smiles as you nurse, the feel of your warm, sweet breath on my cheek. You are my best girl, my little rabbit, my Anna.

Love,
Mommy

Sam Goes to the Dentist April 14, 2011

Last week Sam went to the dentist for the first time. We did back-to-back appointments with Rob, so Sam could go in early to check out the room see Rob have his teeth polished. The hygienist made the comment that she the polisher didn’t hurt, but tickled the teeth. After Rob was done, Sam got in the magic chair and went for a ride. He thought that was cool. He had to try all the buttons on all the equipment and was quite disappointed that he couldn’t use the x-ray machine. (We did look at Rob’s x-rays to see what teeth look like in a picture.)

After the hygienist counted all of his teeth, Sam held his hands up and said, “Huh. No cavities!” He held “Mr. Thirsty,” the suction thingy, throughout his appointment, holding it over his head, so he could see the on/off switch, nearly knocking the hygienist in the face. Every couple of minutes, Sam asked, “Is it time to tickle my teeth now?” When it was finally time, the hygienist started rattling off the polish flavor options — cherry, strawberry, orange, blueberry, cookie dough — and Sam said, “Oh, I’ll have cookie dough.” Ha! This coming from the kid who is lukewarm about chocolate! I said, “Sam, do you want cherry or strawberry?” He looked and me and said, “I’ll have orange.” (Adolescence is going to be a trip, huh?)

He made it through the entire appointment — counting, scraping, polishing, everything. Rob and I were so proud of him.

Fatty Magee April 9, 2011

My beautiful seven-week old baby girl is wearing size six-month clothes. How in the world did that happen? She is a gigantic child. I feel like I have to change her clothes three times a day, so she gets to wear her clothes at least once. I wonder if she’s going to continue growing at this rate or if it will slow down as she gets older. At this rate, she’ll be wearing 2T clothing before her first birthday!

Here’s a flattering picture of her chins. Plural.

A Surprise Treat April 3, 2011

Guess who has slept through the night three nights in a row? That’s right, our resident princess Anna! She has slept six, then seven, then eight hours. It’s pretty amazing for Rob and I to sleep that many hours in a row. Since we’ve been in Appleton, Anna has been sleeping in a crib with a real mattress, instead of a Pack N’ Play. It may be a coincidence, but Rob said that if she doesn’t repeat the long hours at home, he’s setting up the crib in our room. “She’s a rather stout child, ” he said, “she may just need more support than the Pack N’ Play can provide.” Whatever it is, it’s lovely. What a treat!