Category: The Ells (Page 3 of 29)
Dear Liam,
You are six months old ~ officially half a year! Time has gone by so quickly… I swear you should only be six weeks old.Â
You have one and a half teeth – and they are sharp! You are now just over 17 pounds. They say babies double their birth weight at 6 months, but I am so glad you have only doubled your weight from the day we came home from the hospital. You love to nurse, and you love to eat. We started you on solid foods this month. The first night I gave you rice cereal you cried for more. You love pears and carrots. If you could, you would feed yourself all the time!
You are definately using up all the calories you are taking in. You have mastered the commando-crawl, using your arms and sometimes your feet to propel yourself forward. You also get up on your hands and knees, but usually fustrate yourself by going backwards. I have no doubt that you will be hands and knees crawling by the end of the month. You are also an excellent sitter. I can leave you sitting on the floor with toys and you hold your balance very well. People are amazed that you have these skills at such a young age – your parents included!
Your biggest motivating factor, is your brother. You love Caleb. You are always trying to follow him, and love to grab his face and kiss him. When he goes to kindergarten, you often look around the playroom searching for him. And when he is home and he says hello to you, your little face lights up. He’s definately your favorite person (aside from mommy, of course!) I am so glad you boys have this great relationship. I hope that you will always like each other. I know you will love each other, but liking each other and being friends is important too. I hope you will always make each other smile.
My other hope, is that you will one day learn to nap in your bed. You still battle naps, and prefer to nap on the go, or in my arms. You will scream forever in your crib at naptime – and that is not how I like to spend our time when Caleb is at school. But, I can’t complain too much, as your nighttime sleep has greatly improved. You still wake once or twice a night, but you have had nights where you sleep through from 11pm to 6am. And often your wake-ups occur before I have gone to bed, or just as dad is getting up for work. I love our bedtime routine, and I’m so happy you can put yourself to sleep at night.
You have learned to use your voice. You have what I call the “angry voice” when you yell because you dropped a toy, your brother took something away, or you can’t reach what you want. You also like to babble and talk to your toys. You love playing with Caleb’s keyboard. You also love to take things in and out of boxes!
We are so happy to have you in our lives. You have us all wrapped around your chubby little fingers. We love you, and love watching you grow-up. Now, please slow down… I’m so afraid I am going to blink and the next six months will be gone!
I love you always,
Momma
XO XO XO XO XO XO
A few weeks ago Liam and I walked Caleb to kindergarten, with Liam hanging out in the front carrier- Baby Bjorn. Liam was totally over-tired, and refused to nap all morning. So as we were walking down the forest path he finally gave into the fatigue. In an effort to let him sleep I took the longer path home. The last time I had walked this way I was in labour with. I couldn’t help wondering if Liam remembered the calming rhythm of this path, and that is what helped lull him into such a peaceful slumber. It seems like a lifetime ago since he was kicking in my belly. Time is moving so quickly… I am grateful for these little moments where I can hold him close to my heart for a few moments longer.
Dear Liam,
Happy 5 months old! Five months…five… that is a whole hand – like the hand you like to shove in your mouth. Or the hand you use to grab fistfuls of my hair. The hand that holds on tight to your lovey (a Winnie the Pooh taggie blanket), that you snuggle with at night as you fall asleep on your own in your crib. That’s right, you now go to sleep by yourself in your crib – you have done this for almost a week now. Yay! I am so proud of you. Not so happy about the nap strike you are on though… (but let’s not archive that one for the memory book).
You are so much fun now. You make all sorts of goofy faces, and everything makes you smile and laugh. You love to laugh at your brother’s antics, kiss my face (it’s more like sucking on my chin), and play with your toys. You also love books.
You are on the move. You roll over very quickly and can roll half way across the playroom to get to your brother’s toys. On your tummy you pivot around in circles. You get up on your hand and knees and rock yourself, and then you start to inch backwards. It won’t be long until you are crawling!Â
You are growing so quickly. You are 16 pounds, 9 ounces and 25.5 inches long. You are starting to wear 6-12 month clothing already. You’ve almost outgrown the swing, and it’s been replaced by the jumparoo and the highchair. You love to sit and watch your brother and the big kids play. You are almost sitting upright independently on the floor. You love to pick things up and examine them.
I am sad that the first year of your life is almost over, but love watching your personality emerge everyday. I love you and all our moments together.
Love,
Momma (or Ummm…as you say)
XO XO XO XO XO
Our little Squishy has reached a HUGE milestone… he’s in Kindergarten. I cried. He waved and sat down at circle with the others – happy and excited. My kindergarten boy – wow!
I love you Caleb – and I’m so proud of you.
As I have been photographing the boys (and others), I have come to realize that I am getting pickier about my shots, and I have been trying hard to really nail the focus and get some sharp images. Last night I had a big “ah-ha” moment and a bit of an epiphany about the aperture-shutter speed-ISO triangle and realized that for the last five years I have been going about things backwards… Anyways, I think I may have lost a lot of you there, so let me just post an image that is a result of my moment…
