One!
I don't know how it's possible, but our sweet little girl is one year old.
Her baby year was so wonderful. I have to remind myself that we were desperately under-rested for five straight months because all I remember was how delightful she has been. She's sunny and loving and cuddly and giggly. She brought out the best in Henry and Ingrid as older siblings. We had more challenges and sadness this year than normal, and yet when I think back on the past year, I mostly remember all the joy Heidi brought into the house.
All the pieces fell into place so I could really savor this baby. When Henry was born, we were stressed out new parents who were moderately scared of everything the child did. He was generally a great baby but the combination of law firm life and new parenthood meant that we were living perpetually on the edge of work/life chaos. Ingrid was a tougher baby and I was overwhelmed by the transition from spending two hours a day with one child to spending fourteen hours a day with two children. Not to mention Henry was too young to be left alone while I tended to the newborn. I desperately loved the first two babies, but those were growing and stretching years for us.
But third baby. . . oh, third baby. We're now comfortable parenting very young children. Life is already structured for kids, so adding one more scarcely felt like a transition. Henry and Ingrid were independent enough, and entertained each other well enough, that I could leave them alone for two or ten or even twenty minutes to rock the baby. And then the big kids went off to school in the fall and I was left alone with this one, good-natured, good-napping, cuddly baby who didn't scare me at all. Every day, three times a day, I would rock her to sleep without feeling rushed or anxious, and I thanked my lucky stars I was at home to enjoy this year with her. Even if we have another baby, I can't imagine that I will be able to savor babyhood the way I did with Heidi. This one had a bit of magic.
Heidi turned toddler just in time for her birthday. As of this week, she walks everywhere -- or loudly demands to be carried. She suddenly learned to climb. Yesterday I turned around for two minutes and when I looked back, she was standing on top of the kids' play table, and she goes straight for the bunk bed ladder even though she knows it's off-limits. She's still completely fearless and tries again after falling and falling and falling. She still loves to be tossed, flipped, and rather aggressively tickled. Also loves Ingrid's crate of beaded necklaces, ripping the (perfectly esophagus-sized) caps off of Henry's Nerf bullets, eating crayons, walking while carrying lots of objects, piles of fluffy blankets or laundry, and pulling clothes out of drawers. She looks and acts so much like Henry at the same age, it's uncanny.
Heidi looooooves her Daddy. Karl jokes that it's awesome to be loved by a baby -- he had no idea until now. Henry has always gone through strong phases of liking one of us better than the other, but as a baby generally preferred me. Ingrid spent her whole first year trying to crawl back inside my body. I don't think Karl put her to bed until she was two. Heidi waits by the door asking, "Dada?" until Karl comes home in the afternoon and then lunges for him as soon as he walks in. Woe unto everyone if he immediately turns around to go out and walk the dog. She hands me my phone or Henry's phone and insistently repeats, "Dada? DaDA. DaDAdadadadeee" until we Facetime him. Quite the daddy's girl.
She "talks" all the time, though she has only added one real word to the list ("hund-bree," which means both hungry and thirsty). But she babbles and yammers like I must know what she's talking about.
She discovered books this month too. The first favorite was Doggies. We spent a lot of time barking. Then she discovered Leaves, Moo Baa, Waddle, and the animal picture book. We always read before bedtime, and she very intentionally selects book after book and hands them to me with great enthusiasm.
She still loves most foods but doesn't eat quite as much as she used to. When she first stopped nursing, she put away food like a tiny, smushy lumberjack. She would wake up in the morning and inhale two eggs, a banana, and a container of yogurt. Now she's usually satisfied with just a banana and half a bowl of oatmeal. She's managing quite well even though she STILL only has six teeth.
Her birthday celebrations lasted an entire week. My parents were here the weekend before her birthday, so we had cupcakes and presents and broke out the birthday hat. We tried to convince the big kids that it was her real birthday, but Henry can read a calendar now and wasn't fooled, so we also had ice cream on the 2nd. Then we capped off the birthday week with a little party. Four sets of friends came over (note that at this stage of life, four families means instant party of 30 people) for our usual Chick-Fil-A, Costco snacks, and beer. It was perfect and Heidi delighted in all the action.
Happy birthday, sweet girl! We all love you to bits.
Her baby year was so wonderful. I have to remind myself that we were desperately under-rested for five straight months because all I remember was how delightful she has been. She's sunny and loving and cuddly and giggly. She brought out the best in Henry and Ingrid as older siblings. We had more challenges and sadness this year than normal, and yet when I think back on the past year, I mostly remember all the joy Heidi brought into the house.
All the pieces fell into place so I could really savor this baby. When Henry was born, we were stressed out new parents who were moderately scared of everything the child did. He was generally a great baby but the combination of law firm life and new parenthood meant that we were living perpetually on the edge of work/life chaos. Ingrid was a tougher baby and I was overwhelmed by the transition from spending two hours a day with one child to spending fourteen hours a day with two children. Not to mention Henry was too young to be left alone while I tended to the newborn. I desperately loved the first two babies, but those were growing and stretching years for us.
But third baby. . . oh, third baby. We're now comfortable parenting very young children. Life is already structured for kids, so adding one more scarcely felt like a transition. Henry and Ingrid were independent enough, and entertained each other well enough, that I could leave them alone for two or ten or even twenty minutes to rock the baby. And then the big kids went off to school in the fall and I was left alone with this one, good-natured, good-napping, cuddly baby who didn't scare me at all. Every day, three times a day, I would rock her to sleep without feeling rushed or anxious, and I thanked my lucky stars I was at home to enjoy this year with her. Even if we have another baby, I can't imagine that I will be able to savor babyhood the way I did with Heidi. This one had a bit of magic.
Heidi turned toddler just in time for her birthday. As of this week, she walks everywhere -- or loudly demands to be carried. She suddenly learned to climb. Yesterday I turned around for two minutes and when I looked back, she was standing on top of the kids' play table, and she goes straight for the bunk bed ladder even though she knows it's off-limits. She's still completely fearless and tries again after falling and falling and falling. She still loves to be tossed, flipped, and rather aggressively tickled. Also loves Ingrid's crate of beaded necklaces, ripping the (perfectly esophagus-sized) caps off of Henry's Nerf bullets, eating crayons, walking while carrying lots of objects, piles of fluffy blankets or laundry, and pulling clothes out of drawers. She looks and acts so much like Henry at the same age, it's uncanny.
Heidi looooooves her Daddy. Karl jokes that it's awesome to be loved by a baby -- he had no idea until now. Henry has always gone through strong phases of liking one of us better than the other, but as a baby generally preferred me. Ingrid spent her whole first year trying to crawl back inside my body. I don't think Karl put her to bed until she was two. Heidi waits by the door asking, "Dada?" until Karl comes home in the afternoon and then lunges for him as soon as he walks in. Woe unto everyone if he immediately turns around to go out and walk the dog. She hands me my phone or Henry's phone and insistently repeats, "Dada? DaDA. DaDAdadadadeee" until we Facetime him. Quite the daddy's girl.
She "talks" all the time, though she has only added one real word to the list ("hund-bree," which means both hungry and thirsty). But she babbles and yammers like I must know what she's talking about.
She discovered books this month too. The first favorite was Doggies. We spent a lot of time barking. Then she discovered Leaves, Moo Baa, Waddle, and the animal picture book. We always read before bedtime, and she very intentionally selects book after book and hands them to me with great enthusiasm.
She still loves most foods but doesn't eat quite as much as she used to. When she first stopped nursing, she put away food like a tiny, smushy lumberjack. She would wake up in the morning and inhale two eggs, a banana, and a container of yogurt. Now she's usually satisfied with just a banana and half a bowl of oatmeal. She's managing quite well even though she STILL only has six teeth.
Her birthday celebrations lasted an entire week. My parents were here the weekend before her birthday, so we had cupcakes and presents and broke out the birthday hat. We tried to convince the big kids that it was her real birthday, but Henry can read a calendar now and wasn't fooled, so we also had ice cream on the 2nd. Then we capped off the birthday week with a little party. Four sets of friends came over (note that at this stage of life, four families means instant party of 30 people) for our usual Chick-Fil-A, Costco snacks, and beer. It was perfect and Heidi delighted in all the action.
Happy birthday, sweet girl! We all love you to bits.
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