Thursday, March 31, 2016

milestone 8, 6.5, 4.5 and 1 week


L, Age 8

Favorite color: red and turquoise
Favorite food: ribs, pizza, asparagus, cucumbers, strawberries
Favorite treat: suckers
Favorite movie: Matilda, Princess Diaries, chick flicks
Favorite book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid
Favorite activities: reading
Favorite toys: tablet
Favorite animal: lion, tiger
What I want to be when I grow up: animal rescuer  
I dream about: being an animal rescuer, being a hero like a police woman
I worry about: my family
I’m good at: reading, dance, writing
I want to be better at: writing in my journal
Someday I want to: go to Alaska, Hawaii or Texas
I’m thankful for: family
I like it best when: its summer! Or when I’m reading

Makes mom melt:
I love listening to her play piano.  She doesn’t love practicing every morning but it makes me melt when I wake up to hear her practicing already.  She loves the jazz pieces best while I love the classical pieces.  My latest favorites include the song she is preparing for her upcoming baptism and the lullaby she learned for the baby.
I love watching her dance, she is natural gracefully and expresses the music with her long extensions or crazy energy.  In fact, she often can’t stop dancing—both a blessing and a curse.
I love listening to her read and am amazed at how easily it comes to her.  When I’ve got my hands full at night, I’ve occasionally asked her to read from the chapter book to sisters and she does with ease.  She claims to struggle with learning Spanish but every time I hear her speak, it seems to come so easy for her.  She already speaks more fluidly than I ever could.
She has such a naturally generous personality.  She wants to spoil her sisters and friends and loves to give gifts.  It can drive me crazy as she can be really persistent with little understanding of the cost of such generosity but I’m trying to honor that gift in her.


A, Age 6.5

Favorite color: white (it changes often)
Favorite food: noodles
Favorite treat: ice cream
Favorite movie: Ninja Turtles, Odd Squad, Ever After High
Favorite book: Barbie Mermaid Tale
Favorite activities: games (Cupcake Race, Guess Who animals), riding my scooter
Favorite toys: barbies, play dough, legos
Favorite animal: cheetas
What I want to be when I grow up: vet
I dream about: ice skating
I worry about: baby brother
I’m good at: art, taking care of brother
I want to be better at: ice skating, reading
Someday I want to: go back to Legoland
I’m thankful for: brother, daddy
I like it best when: I play with my dad, we play games and build legos together.

Makes mom melt:
            Possibly her greatest gift is her imagination.  Coupled with her friendly and irresistible personality, she can get anyone to play with her.  I love listening to her and her sisters play; they come up with incredible, over dramatic adventures that are so thoroughly entertaining.
            She is so sincerely and sweet affectionate.  Her love language is clearly “touch” and we’ve often joked about her being our “class 10 clinger”.  It can be really smothering if at the wrong time and so wonderfully sweet other times.  She absolutely dotes on her baby brother and is so gentle and eager to help me with him.
            She is incredibly helpful!  I rely on her so much.  We’ve been trying more and more to turn chores over to the girls, letting them earn an allowance and to help lessen my load.  She is so reliable and willing, rarely complaining when I ask her to do a chore.


E, Age 4.5

Favorite color: blue and pink
Favorite food: ramen, daddy eggs
Favorite treat: smarties, chocolate
Favorite movie: Cinderella, Aladdin, Super Why
Favorite book: Good Night Butterfly
Favorite activities: play with baby, watch movies
Favorite toys: little people princesses, barbies
Favorite animal: pandas
What I want to be when I grow up: dance teacher
I dream about: Penny (her stuffed animal panda) is alive
I worry about: taking care of Penny
I’m good at: dancing, singing
I want to be better at: teaching baby, riding a bike
Someday I want to: go to Disney
I’m thankful for: my family
I like it best when: I’m at the park

Makes mom melt:
            She is so unbelievably charming and sweet.  I’ve joked that she is a little monster we created ourselves because she is so charismatic and she knows it!  She’s mischievous and charming with an infectious smile.
            I love listening to the stories she makes up and especially her songs.  The plot or topics wander all over.


Z, 1 week old

Amazing that at one week old, such a small person can have such a personality already.

Dear baby Z,
You are such a good baby.  You are so tiny and sweet and I can’t get enough of your newborn perfection.  You love to be swaddled and hate your crib.  You fall asleep easily in my arms, especially when nursing but if I try to lay you down on a flat surface, you wake up crying within minutes.  This means you have spent most nights sleeping on me.  It makes me nervous to get into this habit because you are so tiny but it’s the only way you will sleep.  We are slowly trying to get you to sleep in the bouncy chair for a few hours every night (as much as you’ll let us).  I think you’ll be a cluster feeder, nursing several times close together and then having a longer stretch—now if only we could get those longer stretches to happen at night. 
You are changing so much, so fast.  I love your silky skin and especially how you cuddle up like a little tree frog against me.  Your eyes are so dark and pensive, I can’t wait to see what color they will be.  You look most like your sister A so far with your darker skin tone and strong features. 
Your sisters are crazy about you and beg for the chance to hold you.  I’m very grateful for their eager help and proud of how careful they are with you.  Last night you cried in the car and all three of them sang, gently trying to calm you and so anxious that you were upset. 

I can’t believe how much I love you already.  I can spend hours just staring at you and love to hold you.
Please don't grow up too fast.  I want to soak in and cherish every moment.  You are such a good, sweet baby and I'm so thoroughly in love with you.
love, mom

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