9 months

Dear Ali,

This month was full of firsts and fun! Not only did we have your first Christmas, (and New Years Eve shortly after you turned 9 months old), you also started pulling yourself up onto things, got really good (and obsessed) with stairs, and said "nana" for the first time. I was pealing a banana for your breakfast and you just smiled and said "nana". I died. So cute and unexpected. I have loved watching you explore this month as you are into everything. You are always on-the-go. Still so much crazier than your brother! You love music and have started bouncing up and down/dancing. It's the cutest. I think you got those skills from Luke, for sure!

We had such a good month hanging out with family and daddy for the two weeks he's been off. You have finally learned that not everyone is a stranger and have started letting others hold you. It took a few days to warm up to everyone but now you LOVE your grandparents and cousins. They love you too. Everyone comments on how beautiful you are and how you just look like such a doll. And like you're brother. You guys are practically twins. I love it. Such good memories when I look at you and think of Luke too. You two are two of my greatest blessings. :)

You still LOVE food. You are obsessed with everything and anything and love snacks throughout the day. You love all food but your favorites are bananas, peas, and apples. We have your 9 month check up this week so we will see how you've grown! You still have a good amount of chunk on you, but I'm pretty sure you've thinned out since you started crawling all over the place. You are completely weaned from breast feeding and you seem to be doing just fine on formula. It's been hard for me because I loved that time with you, but we are still best buddies. You are definitely a mama's girl, and I wouldn't have it any other way. You do say "dada" A LOT. Sometimes you just are babbling and others you know what you're saying. You wave "hi" and "bye bye" and it's so cute because you do it with your whole arm up and down and your arm just kinda flops around. Makes everyone smile that you are waving too. You LOVE baths and splashing your brother! (He doesn't really love it.)

You are in my favorite stage and I'm trying to cherish each and every day. Though we had a really tough time a lot of months up until now, you are slowly growing out of all of that nonsense and becoming happier by the minute. In fact, we haven't had a rough day in a LONG time. You are sleeping through the night and soon your early morning bottle will be cut out too. Wish us luck for that one, right?

In a few weeks you are spending 5 days with your Grandparents. I have anxiety about it, because you have been such a high maintenance baby. But I know you will be in good hands.

Your brother has come up with some cute (and some not so cute) nicknames. To date you have been called: "Ala" "Kitty" "Al" "Little girl" "Ali-gator" "Ali-phant" and "Princess."

We love you sweetie. Thanks for being my cuddle bug and making us all so happy. We are so happy you are part of our family.

Love,

Mom.

 Luke and You at 9 months in the tub

 And again. Twins!

 Disneyland at Christmas was tiring!

Month 8

Dear Ali,

Every month I usually say I can't believe the time went so fast. This month however, didn't go fast and I LOVED it. I kept thinking, "Did I forget to take Ali's monthly picture and write her letter?", only to realize I still had two weeks, or a week. If only your whole life could go this slow! ;) You were a pretty good girl this month and we are finally getting some real belly laughs and smiles out of you! You are COMPLETELY mobile and army crawl SO fast around the house. You can crawl on all fours but for some reason prefer scooting around on your tummy. You do this "downward dog" type yoga pose when going from "crawling" to sitting. It's so cute. You have to go up on your toes and hands before falling on your bum. I need to get it on video. You've started to shed some baby fat because you're always on the go. So sad. I think you are even busier than your brother was, which is saying a lot! You want to touch everything, and you hardly ever let me hold you unless you don't feel good. You just want to be down exploring on your own! Daddy had to give you the Heimlich maneuver this month because you were exploring and got a piece of tape in your mouth. Mommy was at work and daddy saved your life! He's already your hero, and I know he will continue to be throughout your life :) You are still an amazing eater. You eat anything and everything without complaining and you LOVE meal times. You even love tofu! Just straight tofu. It's crazy. We have started weaning you from breast feeding, and I thought it would be much harder than it has been. Though this same week that we've been weaning, you have some kind of virus or are teething so I have been feeding you a little more than planned. You get about 50 % breastmilk and 50% formula because I'm pumping to give you breast milk still.

You were sleeping through the night until you caught this little bug. It's always something, I swear! But soon you will be back to sleeping like a champ, I'm sure. Luke is still your favorite person, though you seem to like pestering each other more and more every day. He knows how to push your buttons and you his. Crazy how that already starts. But you love following him around the house and try to do everything he is doing.

Even though you are a crazy baby, you still take time out to give me cuddles and kisses. You are a total mama's girl and I love it. I hope it never changes. You can say "dada" "mama" and "yaya" but I still haven't figured out if you know what you are saying! You know your name and you know Luke's name.

You still light up our lives sweetie! Your smile and coo's are sometimes what keeps us going. Things slowed down a little but I know December will fly by, and soon it will be 2014 and three months away from you turning 1!! I can't believe that. In the mean time, I'm going to soak up every bit of this stage that you're in. It's so fun to watch you discover things and try things on your own now that you're mobile and "talking" more.

I love you more than words. And it grows every day!

Mom

Month 7

Dear Ali-gator-

You are getting to be such a big girl. You spent much of this month with a cold. Dang it, we just can't have one good month! (Or week, for that matter.) You are definitely growing out of your tummy troubles though, I think. Now if we could just have your teeth start coming in, and get your bowels working properly, we would all be happy campers! You are starting to scoot and roll all over the whole house and soon you'll be crawling. You LOVE to explore just like your brother did. You love your bath, just like your brother did. But, you love food WAY more than your brother. You will eat anything, at any time. Not picky at all. I hope that continues because Luke is super picky to this day. We went to Disneyland again this month! It was your 4th time there, and you seemed to enjoy it the most this time. ;) You were alert during all the shows and loved looking around at all the Halloween decorations. Hopefully we will make it back a few more times before you turn 1 because then our annual passes won't be good anymore.

You are a huge mama's girl. You want to be held by me all day every day, and often times whine for me even when daddy holds you. But once you are around someone for a while, you will let them hold you. I hope that you continue to love me, but also open up to others, or else we will have a tough time weaning you, or ever being apart for longer than a few hours! You have said "mama" before, but your favorite is "dada". You babble "dada" all day long. Still deciding if you know what it means. ;)

This month, for the first time, you decided sometimes your brother can be a pest! You love him most of the time, but sometimes he gets on your nerves and I find it hilarious!

You've eaten squash, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, peaches, and avacados. I'm excited to try even more food this month, and next month you get to try quinoa! So exited for that, because we have started eating more and more of that good stuff around here.

Having a girl has been so fun for me. I have a special bond with my baby boy, and I have a different special bond with my baby girl. I understand my relationship with my own mom so much better now that I have a daughter. You are my princess, and I feel so much when I look at you. Happiness, peace, eternal love, awed, thankful, to name a few. You are beautiful and I always look forward to seeing you grow and develop. My favorite time of day is getting you up in the morning or from naps. (Usually, if you've slept well enough.) You are all smiles and giggles and coos.

You have added so much to our family and we all are over the moon in love with you sweetie pie! Stop growing so fast because I want to munch on your chunky cheeks and thighs a bit longer!

Love,

Mom

P.S. You will notice from your pics you were MUCH happier this month. :) Don't mind your bow in half the pics, It matched in real life but the camera made it look weird! ;(

Update

I'm kind of sad the blogging world seems to be fading out. (Well, family blogs, not so much business blogs.) I haven't been as good as I used to be, and it makes me sad because I don't journal near as much as I should, so this is a good substitute. The last few updates have been mostly letters to my children, so I figure I'll do an update about life in general!

Drew:
Started his 4th year as a hospitality teacher at East Career and Technical Academy in August. He still LOVES his job, and I'm so glad. I also love his job because it's a great school and his hours are amazing for family time. The fact that he is home every day at 2:30 keeps me sane. He will be done with his Masters of Education in Administration in April, and we are both looking forward to that! Though the past year and a half of classes has FLOWN by. He has class every Monday and Wednesday from 5-8 and we have a routine now so it's not so bad. Once he gets his Masters, he is hoping to get a job as a Dean, hopefully at the same school he teaches at now. The technicality of administration is to be a Dean for two years before applying for Assistant Principal or Principal positions. He is open to schools/areas everywhere, so we will see what our future holds.

Me (Kylie):
Aside from loving my job as a mommy to two angels (I use that term lightly), I also got a job at a 3D ultrasound studio called Miracle in Progress. I work the front desk 2 days a week and it's PERFECT. We were lucky enough to find an awesome babysitter, who comes to our house the days I work. It's hard to leave my babies but my job is SO fun and they have fun with Kim and Kason at home. (Kason is a month younger than Ali, so Kim has her hands full for sure! ;) Now to mention the dilemma of the century: to go back to school, or not. I have decided if I ever return to school, it will be in Ultrasound imaging. I love being a Medical Assistant, and could be happy doing that the rest of my life. AND at my new job, I am being trained to do the 3D ultrasounds. (Pictures of baby's face/hands/feet and gender predictions. Nothing diagnostic or no measurements.) It is SOOOO fun, but it only solidifies the thought in my mind that all I would want to do is Ultrasounds if I go back to school. So I think I will apply to the program this spring. If I get in, we will decide if it's meant to be, and if I don't, then I will most likely continue being a Medical Assistant and maybe do 3D ultrasounds forever! ;) PLUS being a mommy is a big job too.

Luke:
Is now 3.5 going on 10. He amazes me every day with the things he comes up with or thinks about. He is loving preschool and is learning so much! We absolutely love his preschool because they incorporate all kinds of extra-curricular things like movement (dancing, karate, tumbling), singing and acting on top of regular stuff like science, math, reading, etc. He comes home with a new song or poem almost every day ;) We hope he continues to excel and love school as much as he already does! He keeps us on our toes because he is always on the go and doesn't like to sit and relax, ever. (What 3 year old does?) But he is hilarious and his sweet personality is something I am so grateful for in my life. My favorite phrase of his is, "Oh. My. Gosh!" (extremely dramatically.) I need to start writing down all the funny things he says. I forget them if I don't. We sure love our energetic, strong-willed, sweet little boy.

Ali:
I update on her through her monthly letters, which I need to write right now! (How did the month 6-7 go by so fast?!) So I will update on her there. :)

This past month was CRAZY busy. We were able to go to Disneyland for the Trick or Treat Halloween party since we have annual passes. It was so much fun! A little crowded but the kids had fun! (And by kids I mean Drew and Luke.) We loved dressing the kids up like Jack and Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas and they were a huge hit at Disney! We have been on the go since October 1st and I'm so happy October is gone! We can now relax a little.

 

Overall we are happy and healthy. We have had a very rough year starting out with me on bed rest and having a difficult end of pregnancy, to then having an extremely emotional and difficult baby girl. But we are so blessed and recognize our blessings daily. Sometimes it is hard but at the end of the day when we look at our accomplishments and the happy times, there's nothing but love (and  a lot of chaos)! ;)