Happy 9th monthday, Complete with doctor stats!

Amalia, yesterday you turned 9 months! Three quarters of a year has gone by in a flash.


You are becoming a very talkative and very sweet little girl. I'm sure you are finding your voice because if you don't scream, you'll never get a word in with your brother around! Dadadada is still your favorite, but you say many others like mamamama, ennnnn, blabla and squeeee!



You are still not quite mobile, for which I'm truly grateful. You can scoot around a little on your bottom if there is something that really catches your fancy, you get to it that way. You still get extremely frustrated when Domingo or I leave the room, so I'm pretty sure you'll find the motivation to move soon enough. You are wanting to pull up on things but due to a few early bonks you are less eager to pull up by yourself, and wait to have some helping hands on you before you try to stand.



You love giving kisses to the little baby in the mirror and playing peek a boo, but you like to be in charge, holding the blanket or book or what ever we're hiding behind. You like other kids too, grabbing and holding them or their toys. This distresses your brother a little as he is still not very good at sharing, but that is your main job these days, helping your brother learn to share.



This month we got to go on vacation with Grandma and Farfar, and even though we didn't get to do much swimming, I'm very excited and hopeful that this summer it will be one of your favorite past times. You love the water, especially bath time, and are just as fearless as your brother when you get water in your face. You just blow it off and either act like nothing happened, or like you are momentarily confused but then it's back to playing and splashing.



And finally, yes, you are still a giant monster baby. We took you to the doctor for your 9 month check up, and you are still off the charts in every category. If they only had a category for gorgeousness you'd be off that one too. The doctor said that we may want to watch a little more carefully just how much we feed you at each sitting, but that she's not really concerned with your weight, since for one, it's on par with your height, and second, you are not moving yet, so once you start, hopefully some of the rolls will disappear. Your brother started off exactly the same way, and now I look at him and wonder if he isn't too skinny. (He's not, he got checked out too, and he's 75-90% in every category now with a totally normal BMI)
Here are the actual numbers:
Weight: 24lbs 7oz
Length: 30"
Head Circ: 18 5/8"

Well Amalia, you've been outside in the world as long as you were inside of me. It still amazes me that you started out so tiny and are now so big and changing every minute. Another month of changes is up ahead, and I can't believe your first birthday is so close on the horizon. I am always torn between wanting to linger on each little stage of your development, and being so excited for what is to come.
Love,
Mama

Vacation 30th Monthday!

Domingo, this month you are officially 2 and a half! 30 months snuck up on me while we were on vacation in South Carolina, but I'm here to make amends.
This past month flew by as usual.
You continue to amaze me. You are such a smart funny little kid. Although I still think you are a baby, you really look and act more like a boy all the time.



I guess it makes sense that since you are getting bigger that you become more and more like your Papa all the time. You love playing with him, reading with him, joking with him, sleeping next to him, and waking up with him. Watching your relationship change and grow has been one of the best parts of being your Mama.
You have even developed your father's insane love of the freezing cold water.



You won't see me getting in the ocean or the pool unless it's 80+ degrees! Not Domi, you refuse to stay away. And it really was incredible to see your delighted face every time a wave breaks and got you soaking wet. It was like some magic trick that kept happening over and over. You smile with your entire face and laugh a maniacal little laugh. It was so much fun just to watch, I didn't have the heart to keep you away.



We are still in the process of waiting for preschool news, so I don't want to get ahead of myself about that. But I'm pretty confident if we don't get you into one of the places we applied, we'll figure something out.

You are becoming more adventuresome with your diet and have tried more meat and chicken much to my delight. And you are getting less and less difficult about things like diaper changing and putting on pants, but still have fits of "NO!" every so often. Fortunately for you, your parents are very patient.
Actually, I have to take some (or most) of the responsibility. You get your sweetness from your Papa, and you get your obstinate nature from your mother. Transitions are hard for us both. But you seem to have completed the transition with me going back to work by now. Ester and I had a nice long chat yesterday about you and she told me, much to my delight that you have completely changed around her. You aren't jealous of her playing with Amalia anymore, you never want her to leave, you hug and kiss her and don't fight her when it's nap time or diaper changing time. I wish I could say the same about you when I'm home! Doing things like time outs and serious talks about what we do and don't do has been a big part of this last month. But you are doing great, it's all part of the process of becoming a good social being, and I'm learning that it is a learning process!

As the days get longer and warmer we are all coming back to life. I'm so glad I get to be here to play with you and watch you grow.
Love, Mama

And we're back!

We had such a wonderful time in South Carolina with Grandma, Farfar, and all the gang. It was so nice to get out, even if it was unseasonably cold in Charleston, it was still super fun. I'm recovering from a teen vampire book induced stupor. I never get a chance to read much because I'm usually asleep when I have a free minute. So this past week I was quite addicted (much to tio James's disgust) with these books, and so was staying up late to read. Thank goodness I'm done, so I can finally get some sleep!
Here are some pictures from our great vacation. Thanks again so much to Grandma and Farfar for making it possible, Domi is still talking about going to the pool and what he saw in the aquarium!