Happy [5 month] Birthday!

Grant, you're 5 months old today. Slow down, Buddy! You're growing up so fast. You're wearing 9-12 month clothes and a size 3 diaper when in disposables. We've been cloth diapering full time, but every now and then you need to wear a 'sposie.'

You've started eating food this past month. I gave you rice cereal for a week and then we took a break for a week. You just didn't seem to get it. In the mean time, I read some articles and decided not to feed you rice cereal. At dinner one night, I gave you cantaloupe in the mesh feeder and you fell in LOVE! You've since eaten cantaloupe a few times, tried prunes, dark sweet cherries and whole wheat cereal with breast milk. You love to sit at the table (in the Bumbo chair) with us during dinner time.

Nursing you first thing in the morning and the last thing at night is my absolute favorite time of the day. I love to listen to you wake up happy and coo, over the monitor. You're so excited to see me and I'm excited to see your happy face, even if it is still dark out.

Sunday night, we brought home an exersaucer for you to play in. You're too big for the swing and you get bored/drown in drool on the activity mat. We also had dinner with Grandma Jo and her husband Bill. They bought a coloring book for Ellie and some 12 month clothes for you! Between your size and the bulkiness of cloth diapers, you no longer fit in 6-9 month clothes. We're taking bets on how big you'll be on your 1st birthday! :o)

You and Ellie are smitten with each other. She loves to help you play, and wants to cuddle with you, and she insists on giving you kissing before bed. She really loves you a lot...please remember that when you both are teenagers!

Love, Mama

Happy [3 Month] Birthday

Today, Grant is 3 months old. He has recently decided to become mobile by scooting around on his back. I'm not ready for my baby to be growing up so quickly. This morning, I changed his diaper before nursing him and had to upgrade to size 3 diapers. He is wearing 6-9 and 6-12 month clothing. Ellie goes to the doctor (2 year well check) next week, so I'll have them weigh my big boy too.

Grant has an adorable personality. He is very flirty and loves his mama. He has been smiling and cooing for while now. Grant has recently taken to sucking his thumb and soothing himself. He started sleeping through the night now. He'll nurse around dinner time and then I wake him around 10 or 11 for a diaper change and dreamfeed. He sleeps straight through till 6:00 am.

He is a good eater and I enjoy nursing so much. It is such a special bond that we share. I am so sad that I never had that experience with Ellie.

Ellie is a great big sister. She loves her little brother and is quite the helper. We're still working on potty training...going strong for 2 months now :o/ By the second week, we had no accidents and only used a diaper for bedtime, plus she'd wake at night asking to use the potty. Now she's got that 2 year old attitude and is in control of potty training - she'll do it on her own time.

I'm turning out to be quite the hippy mama - breastfeeding, baby wearing and now cloth diapers. lol. I pulled the trigger and ordered the Flip Diapers last night. I bought six covers and organic cotton inserts which claim to support early potty training. They are one size diapers (7-35 pounds) so I'm going to slap one on Ellie at night and hope that it'll help her finish potty training.

Happy [8 month] Birthday!

Weight 18 Pounds 13 Ounces

Length 27.5 Inches

Size 3 Diapers

9-12 Month Clothing

Saturday Morning in Bed with Daddy - December 19, 2009

December 23, 2009

Happy [6 month] Birthday!

Poor baby is sick - very congested. The Doc just said it was a cold. Our sitter's husband is having surgery, so Bebe Ellie gets to spend the day with Gigi.

6 Month Check-up (Rescheduled for Nov. 6, due to illness)

17 pounds 5.5 ounces ::

50th percentile for weight

75th percentile for height

Happy [5 Month] Birthday

Dear Bebe Ellie,

This past month, we've been hit or miss with cereal, even went as far as bypassing cereal for real food. We'll keep trying, maybe someday soon you'll enjoy it! Right now, you prefer your bottle. You even held it all by yourself yesterday morning.

You found your toes this month as well, and you love them. Uncle Aaron has even caught you sucking on them - just like every other toy, fist, bib ... it goes directly in your mouth. I've noticed that when I go to change your diaper, you'll grab your toes and roll around like Sonic the Hedgehog. It's rather adorable.

This past month was also difficult. Friday, I went to court so that I may be able to provide and protect you. This is out of necessity, because you deserve it. Our temporary custody order is in place until your mother and father have the means to provide for you. We are to return to court this coming Thursday...

You were able to meet your grandpa Jerry, grandma Melanie, cousin Alexis and father Paul this weekend. He is from Northern Michigan, but currently resides in North Carolina with his wife. Together, they are expecting a baby boy in November. Your mother is not well, and had refused all offers of help. The stress of her lifestyle has weighed heavily on her and she finally gave in to it on Friday night. K was admitted to the hospital for stress related reasons and hopefully will receive the help she needs to become a better person - daughter, sister and mother.

I'm so sorry that this is the way things have worked out. You had no choice in the matter, but Uncle Aaron and I are trying our hardest to be advocates for you. We want you to be a part of our family, to be loved and cared for, to be given the opportunities to succeed, to love us in return.

Love,

Lindsay

Happy [4 Month] Birthday

Dear Bebe Ellie,

So much has changed for you in this past month, but please know this - it is not your fault. On July 25 you came to live with Uncle Aaron and myself. We welcomed you with hugs and kisses, but also tears - tears because we were uncertain of what was to come.

On the morning of July 25, Poppy and Aunt Ashley were watching you while Mom and Gigi were at work. They witnessed you rolling over twice in one day! It was quite an amazing feat. On Sunday morning, here at our house, you rolled over again while waking up. By now you're a professional at rolling from your tummy to your back.

The first week you slept like a champ in the Pack-n-Play in our bedroom. The second week we set up a nursery for you and moved you into there. On any given night, you'll sleep 6 to 8 hours, which is such a blessing in itself. But you'll get up, grab a clean diaper and a 4 ounce snack and go right back to bed for another 4 hours! You're such a sweet, little angel.

Your room is a sunny shade of yellow. It's so bright during the day that we had to get you a room-darkening shade, but you really don't seem to mind either way. Years ago, I bought an adorable rug for our "future" nursery. It's from Pottery Barn and it's got adorable jungle animals on it - elephants, giraffes, lions, cheetahs, and a crocodile. I'm so glad it's finally getting some use. You sleep in a solid oak crib and the sheets and mobile match the rug. I freshened up the paint for you and added beautiful green glass knobs. There's an old bookcase in there too and a rocking chair that Gigi bought for babies to be rocked in.

You've grown so much since your last visit to Dr. Uribes. On August 18, you clocked in at 25.25 inches, 14 pounds and 14.5 ounces. You are very tall, between the 50-75% for your age. Your dark hair is falling out and blonde fuzz is coming in now. You like to play with your hair when you get tired or when eating. On August 21, you had 5 shots at the Health Department! You were a very good girl in the waiting room but did not enjoy being on the examination table. I'd never taken a baby for shots before and laid you down the wrong way, twice! The first "shot" was an oral solution and I think you hated that more than the shots in your legs. You were very cuddly for the rest of the weekend.

You also started cereal after your visit to the doctor. You're not too fond of it and can't quite figure out what to do with it once it is in your mouth. We tried it for a week without much luck, but we'll try it again soon, hopefully with better results. Gigi and I got excited about feeding you real foods so we bought a lot of produce and pureed it for the future! I sure hope you're a good eater.

You're such a good girl. I love getting up with you in the mornings because you always wake up happy with lots of gummy smiles. I'm sure it won't be long before a tooth breaks through. You enjoy chewing and chomping on everything and rival our dog Casey in the drooling department.

Ellie, we're so glad you're here with us. You filled us with love and laughter and made our house a home.

Lots of love,

Lindsay