Christmas and other surprises

Dear Catalina,
Wow we've had a busy couple of weeks.  I apologize for not writing more.  You continue to amaze us, of course.  You now quite frequently speak in full sentences, count to ten, and say your abcs.  You also sing along to many songs, tell jokes, and are all in all adorable. Your potty training took a bit of a backslide the last few weeks, but we're still pushing ahead.  Not sure why, but you've taken to screaming and crying when we try to sit you on the potty preemptively to avoid wet pants.  I hope you get over that.  You've also taken to show really strong preferences for whoever stays home with you on a particular day.  So on the days that Daddy is home, when I return from work, you want nothing to do with me.  When I stay with you, you prefer that I be the one who cuddles you and puts you to bed.  You are so fickle.  I don't know that I've ever heard of a kid quite like you in this regard.  Hopefully it is also a stage that you will outgrow!

So a few weeks ago--December 11 to be exact, your daddy got a call from Uncle Zak telling him how your cousin Jesse was removed from Uncle Jesse's house for reasons I won't go into.  Anyway, Uncle Jesse asked Daddy if we could provide a temporary home for cousin Jesse.  Of course we agreed, and on the night of the 12th, drove down to Phoenix to pick up cousin Jesse.  Jesse will be three in January, so he is a little over a year older than you--and quite a big kid.  You were so excited (at first).  You wanted to see him and touch him.  We joked that you thought you'd just gotten a new pet.  Jesse wasn't nearly as interested in you as you were in him, but he was pretty patient for a 3 year old all in all.  As we expected, your fascination with Jesse ended after a few days.  I'm sure you realized that having another kid around could potentially take away from the attention you receive from Mommy and Daddy.  By day four you were pretty much done with the whole ordeal.  Fortunately for you, they found another temporary home for Jesse back down in Tucson so you were able to have all the limelight for yourself once again!  You still ask about Jesse and we hope that we can visit him fairly often so you can have a relationship with your cousin, but I think you are pretty happy to have life back to normal again.

So yesterday was Christmas!  You are much more involved with Christmas this year than you were last year.  You have visited Santa 3 -4 times.  Although you talk a big talk about wanting to see Santa and talk to him, when the time comes you find him a bit more intimidating than you imagined!  The first time we went to see him was at the library.  You were so excited and we stood in line to talk to him.  When it was your turn, you got scared and wouldn't sit on his lap.  You did manage to muster up enough courage to shake his hand and stand in front of him for a picture.  The awesome part was that they were offering craft stations at the library.  So we went to make candy canes out of pipe cleaners and wreaths out of paper leaves and paper plates.  As soon as you were done with your candy cane you took off running back toward Santa. I had no idea what you were doing. Most of the kids had finished speaking with him by then.  You walked right up to him and handed him the candy cane you had made.  It was totally your idea and soooo sweet.  You won a few fans that day!

You still didn't quite pick up on the excitement that mommy tried to infect you with about the whole Santa Christmas thing, but you did manage to talk about Santa and worry about him getting burned in the fire. I think all in all you had a good Christmas.  Santa brought you a little kitchen which you seem to enjoy and Nana and Poppa got you an easel which I think you will enjoy more and more as time passes.  It is so funny, though.  With all your new toys, you really just want to play with mommy and daddy mostly.  Toys impress you for about 10 minutes and then you just want love and attention.  You are so darn sweet.  Don't get me wrong, you have your moments, but usually if you know you've offended us or hurt our feelings, you will reach out and say "I'm sorry" giving us a big hug and kiss.  I feel so lucky to have you in my life.  I know Daddy feels the same. 

You are so awesome.
Love,
Mommy

"All done red shirt!"

Dear Catalina,
I thought I would use this space to tell you a bit about your budding sense of style.  For months now, you have let your father and I know, in no uncertain terms, that you would like to choose your own clothes.  For the most part, we give you this small bit of freedom.  You have your favorite shirts and ensembles--and we find it mostly harmless that you want to express yourself in this way.  Occasionally we have to put our collective foot down because you want to wear your bathing suit (you always want to wear your bathing suit if given the option) and it is too cold outside, but sometimes we even let that go.  We have had a few mornings when Mommy wants you to wear something in particular and you absolutely refuse, throwing yourself on the floor in a fit of rage, but these moments are actually few and far between (well they used to be anyway).  For the most part, you have quite a keen sense of style.  In the picture above you are wearing a dress that you picked out yourself while shopping with Daddy.  You had more than a few compliments on it.

For the last few weeks, though you have decided that it is up to you to decide not only what you will wear for the day, but also what Mommy and sometimes Daddy will wear.  There is one shirt that you always want me to wear, "Mommy, purple shirt, Mommy, purple shirt" and you generally take it fairly well when I explain that the purple shirt is dirty.  One morning about a week ago; however, you were still in bed and I came over to say goodbye before leaving for work.  I was wearing an orangish-red shirt--pretty harmless I thought.  You went into a panic!  You said, "All done red shirt, all done red shirt" and even ordered me to "take it off, Mommy!".  Your daddy and I had a really hard time controlling our laughter.  I guess you were trying to tell me something??  You finally left off complaining about my wardrobe choices and I left without further incident.  The big question is, what are we in for when you get to be a teenager??

Sometimes your love of clothes goes a little too far.  Here is a video Daddy recorded when he was trying to do your laundry.  You had picked out a pair of pink pants that you liked and were not happy when Daddy tried to wash them!

Even with your little quirks (or perhaps because of them) you are still so adorable. 

I love you to the moon.
Mommy

Halloween

Hi Darling,
Well we've had a busy few weeks.  Mommy had some extra work that kept her up most nights and then a Halloween costume making task that did the same.  You were a cute little owl for Halloween.  Sadly, you hated your costume.  You have some really strong feelings these days about what you wear--mostly you want to wear your bathing suit--so I had to bribe you with dark chocolate to get you to wear your costume.

 This picture says it all.

Funny though after it was all over, you still talk about the Lego Men you saw walking around downtown and how kids came looking for candy.  You even asked to wear your costume about 2 weeks after Halloween.  Hopefully you'll come to love this holiday as much as I do.

Grandma came to visit the weekend after Halloween so we all went to the zoo.   You have been talking about elephants so much we wanted to make sure we saw them.  You weren't quite as excited as we had anticipated.  The goats and the carousel were more of a hit.  You actually pet the goats this time which was an improvement over our last visit.

Here is a picture that grandma took.

Love you so much
Mommy

Smarty pants

This post should be dated October 13, 2012.  It took a while for me to get the video posted!
Dear Catalina,
Every day you amaze me with your grasp of language.  I feel like it was just yesterday that you were just grasping the concept of laughing and smiling and now you are making sentences (ok not quite, but almost).  You don't just mimic words (although you do do that), but mostly you understand meanings and you remember things we haven't talked about in ages.  It was raining the other day, but you wanted me to take you on the bike.  When I said that it was raining and we probably couldn't ride the bike, your reply was "umbrella, mommy".  That probably sounds silly now, but believe me, your language skills are pretty advanced. 
You seem to brew going through a mommy phase right now. You are very clingy with me.  It its sometimes frustrating for me, and I have to tell you, I don't always handle it well.  I'm so sorry sweetie.  Please know that I would never hurt you, sometimes i raise my voice and you look so scared.  You are so sensitive.  It makes me realize what a jerk i can be.  I think you might have Mommy's temper.  I'm sorry about that as well.
Anyway here its a short video of you from tonight.  Nothing special, just a little hint at what you're like right now.
I love you, darling.

Mommy

Nouns AND verbs

Dear Catalina,
This week your focus seems to be stringing nouns and verbs together.  Instead of just learning new vocabulary, you seem to be forming sentences.  I know I've said this before, but its really amazing to watch!  I first noticed this past weekend when you and I went for a hike in the woods.  Daddy was helping a friend do some work around his house and you asked for Daddy.  I said, "Daddy is helping Josh." and you repeated "Daddy elping (sic) Josh" over and over.  Then you said "Mommy elping Josh" and "Rizo elping Josh" so I knew you weren't just parroting me--you actually understood the structure of the sentence.  It is so hard to believe how much you've learned in such a short amount of time.  I wouldn't have thought it possible had I not witnessed it with my own eyes (and ears).

Your potty training is also coming along quite nicely.  If we let you run around without pants, and remind you to go pee pee in the potty, you're pretty good about doing so.  If you wear a diaper--well then all bets are off.  I'm not sure how we're going to make that transition to having you tell us every time you have to go, but I'm sure one day you will show us the way.  You're good like that.

In other news, you seem to have developed a crush on our neighbor, Rob.  We went to a music festival with he and his wife a few weekends ago and you kept asking where he was.  At home, you bring up his name quite frequently.  Please don't grow up too fast, sweetie pie!

Ok, sorry no pictures on this post.  I'll do better next time.

Love you, darling
Mommy

Empathy

Dear Catalina,
I sure wish I could sleep when you do.  You are lying next to me sound asleep and I am wide awake.  I know as soon as I fall asleep, you will wake up crying.  One day our schedules will match (I hope).
Tonight we witnessed something pretty amazing.  So before you were born I got your Daddy this book called "Brain rules for babies".  In it the author talks about things to keep in mind that will be for the benefit of your child's brain development.  He says the single most important thing to teach a child is empathy.  I don't think we "taught" it to you, but for a few months now, you will cry if your Daddy or I pretend that we are crying.  This ces in handy when, for example, I would like you to stop hitting me.  All i have to do is cry and you will stop what you are doing and give me a hug.  It is so sweet.  Tonight, however, you were watching a little video about a honey bear...let's see if i can find it....

About halfway through when the bear starts talking about his mistakes, you just started to bawl.  It was so sweet and so heartbreaking all at the same time.  You wanted to watch it over and over, but you would always cry at the same point sometimes making us pause the movie just before.  It made both your daddy and I cry to watch you!
Truthfully, I think you learn it from the dog, Rizo, who howls every time you cry, but maybe we're actually doing something right in this parenting game!
I love you, sweetie.
Mommy

Anti-social tendencies

Dear Catalina,
 This weekend we went to the county fair and you rode your first pony. You were pretty nonchalant about the whole thing (you really wanted to ride the rides--but you were too small), but mommy was so proud.  I can't believe how much you've changed.  You just sat up in that saddle and waved as you went around (of course they had a special seat belt thing for wee ones like you, but it almost looked like you didn't need it.  There may be more horses in your life later on-or maybe not-but now you know you rode your first at 18 months!
The other thing we did this weekend was go camping with our friends Jamie and Cinnamon and their baby girl, Aspen.  Aspen is 4 months younger than you which is quite a difference at your age.  You have so many more words than she does (in fact you have many more words than most kids your age).  She was fascinated by you, but you seemed less than thrilled with her.  She would grab you're things and you would stand behind her saying "please please" or "all done, all done".  It was funny.  At least you seem to default to polite tactics rather than hitting or screaming.  At one point you two did hold hands while we were out hiking and at breakfast Aspen was feeding you potatoes and eggs which you happily took.  I asked of you would feed Aspen and you said, "no".  At one point i think you got a little tired of me giving Aspen too much attention and you just said "all done, all done" over and over and headed for the tent.  You called to me and insisted I come in with you.  You just wanted me all to your self.  You're not used to the being social thing.  I guess that's our fault.  You'll learn with time.  You have quite a good memory for people though, so i know your at least interested in interacting.
You are my little sweetie pie.  You give threw best hugs and kisses now and you are starting to play with your dolls and stuffed animals worth great imagination.  It is so fun to watch.  Your current favorite characters are your stuffed baby panda, your teddy bear, a little plastic alien, and Boxie the space dog.  It will be fun to see how this changes.
Well darling, I love you more than ever,
As always,
Mommy

Pee pee on the potty!

Dear Catalina,

You have now successfully gone pee pee on your little potty 3 times!  You have yet to successfully poopy on the potty--although you did take a large poopy on the kitchen floor last Thursday--but I'm sure it will come in time.  You are growing up so fast.  This is such an awesome age, though.  You learn words by the hour it seems.  Tonight we went out to a restaurant to eat.  You were very well behaved (in our view anyway--although our waitress did bring us our check awfully quickly!).  As we were leaving you were holding the little plastic cup that they had given you for water.  You wanted to hold it and hold daddy's hand at the same time.  This proved to be difficult as the cup was just a little too big for you to get your little hand around it.  So you were sort of hugging it.  Every few steps or so, the cup would slip down and you would stop and readjust.  When we finally got to the car, you didn't want to stop walking.  Daddy stopped, so you just took your little cup and continued on.  You were getting a little agitated at the thought of getting in the car.  Finally, you dropped the cup and just exploded into tears.  You stormed off in the direction of the restaurant as if you were going to march right in and get yourself another cup! 

The picture (a bad one, sorry) is of you playing with some of your favorite toys--the spices--along with your little baby.  You have been enjoying playing with the dolls and stuffed animals a lot more lately.  As with everything else--you are ridiculously adorable.

I love you sweetheart,
Mommy

A few firsts

Hi Sweetie,
Today you surprised me with two firsts, or near firsts.  You successfully used a spoon to eat (you've done this is small amounts before, but today was significant due to the amount of food you consumed).  For some reason you flip the spoon upside down right before it enters your mouth, so your success is somewhat limited, but the important thing is that you are interested and trying.  The other thing you did today was intentionally walk backwards.  This might sound silly, but it was actually kind of cool.  I'd seen you do this one before, too, but this time seemed more intentional.  You would take a few steps backward smiling at your daddy and i, then you would charge forward laughing and grinning.  Then repeat.  Gosh you are cute!

That's all sweetie pie.
As always,
Mommy

The tooth fairy

Dearest Catalina,

A word about dental hygiene:  your mommy never paid too much attention to her teeth, as a result i have a mouth full of silver and a less than bright white smile.  It is because of this that i am determined that you have good dental hygiene.  I noticed a few weeks ago that your teeth were starting too look a little brown.  Www gave you a tooth brush at an early age and thought it was cute how you would brush your teeth with mommy.  Of course you weren't really brushing your teeth, but rather just biting on the brush.  I began to get worried and made it a point to start giving your teeth a good brushing myself.

Holy cow i had no idea what a fuss you would make about this!  I'm seriously afraid our neighbors are going to call the cops!  You scream bloody murder and wriggle and toss around like I'm torturing you!  Your poor daddy can't stand it.  I hate that this is so traumatic for you, but i hope someday you understand that it is really for the best.  I'm learning that being a parent isn't all hugs and kisses (although you give plenty of those, too!)  I'm really enjoying this stage in your life (apart from the holy terror screaming!)

I love you, baby.
Forever your mommy.

Travel and growing up

Dear Catalina,
I'm so sorry it's been so long since my last post. You haven't been a great sleeper lately, so I haven't had a lot of time in the evening. Earlier this month (er make that last month!) we took you for your first international trip. You were fabulous. We went to visit family in Scotland. You met lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Everyone was charmed by you. Hopefully I'll summarize our trip for you somewhere, but for now we have more serious matters. I am very concerned about 1) your fear of people and 2) your temper. You are so insecure around new people. If someone is standing between you and your father or I, you wail. It is quite disturbing. Your poor grandparents tried to babysit you one night while we were in Scotland. You did ok, for a while, but once you got tired and realized mommy and daddy were no where to be found--the fireworks started! You would only let your Poppa hold you--and the poor guy was hurt from a fall he'd taken earlier in the week! They actually had to break down and call me to come home--which I know killed them because they have always been telling me that you'd be fine if I just left you with them. I know we're to blame for not exposing you to more people, but you're not making it any easier to do so! Today, you hit me constantly--once so hard that i might have a bruise! I know you are changing by the day--maybe by the hour--and its hard for your little brain to keep up--but jeez!

Ok so I started that post quite a while ago (maybe a month). You still don't like strangers, but its gotten a tad bit better. The hitting has subsided. You also seem to have decided that mommy is ok after all. You used to only ask for daddy at night--and now, much to mommy's joy, you seem to prefer me sometimes (although Daddy still gets his fair share of attention). You still hit some, but only when I make you really mad by doing unbelievable things like changing your diaper or not giving you milk!

A few weeks ago, you actually pee-peed in the potty for daddy--well almost. You missed the potty and pee-peed on the bathroom floor--but it was close. You seem to be more mindful of the fact that the potty exists and that we would like you to use it. You've decided that you really hate diapers and put up quite a fuss whenever we try to put you in one. You become more of a little person every day. It is crazy to watch.

Last week we took our first long road trip with you. We went to San Diego so I could attend a conference. The drive was 8 hours long. On the way there, we spent the night at grandma's in Parker--breaking up the drive in two 5 hour stints or thereabouts. On the way back, we drove the entire way in one day (stopping briefly at grandma's to check out her kittens!). You did remarkably well. We only had to stop for you twice. You're growing up little munchkin! Soon maybe mommy and daddy can both ride in the front of the car!

Aww sweetheart, I need to try to post more often. Its hard to remember everything. Some cute things you do right now: we have a neighbor named Dave who has ALS. This means he is losing the ability to move his extremities and can no longer talk. He looks like a walking skeleton--and is really quite frightening. You agree because every time he tries to speak to you, you say, "no no no" and hug tightly to daddy or I. However, when you are in the house, you constantly say "Hi... (long pause), Dave" and point to his house. It is really funny. You say it all the time. Its kind of like your default way to say Hi or "I want to go outside". You also say "hi nana and poppa" a lot. You make some hilarious faces these days. You give great kisses--and try to give fishy kisses, but you end up showing your front teeth. I'll have to try to get a picture. One of my favorite things is you winking. Here is a video--its awesome!

Have I told you how gorgeous you are lately?  The answer is yes, I tell you several times a day.  It's so true though, darling, so true!

I'll try to post more often,
Loving you as always,
Mommy

A Whole New World!

Dear Catalina,
Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?  Yes?  Well I was right.  You are just about the cutest thing ever--and you get cuter every day.  Its hard to believe just over a year ago, you were just a squirming ball of nursing and pooping flesh (a very cute ball of flesh) and now you are following us around the house on your own two feet.  It still makes me laugh to watch you walk around even though you've been doing it for months now.  You are really developing into a little person.  It is bittersweet for me.  You are so fun right now, but it makes me sad to see you grow up so fast.  (well sad and old!)

So what have you been up to lately?  Well we just bought a bike seat for you and an electric-assist bike.  You seem to love it!  You ride up front and just wave to the people we pass.  It is very cute.  You seem to prefer it over riding in the car.  You love to walk around with items of clothing in your hand--especially mommy's clothing.  Not really sure why that's fun, but I guess I've never tried it.  You have recently discovered putting a sock on your hand and making it look like a puppet.  That is over-the-top adorable.  You say "puppet, puppet".  You now blow kisses--another of mommy's favorite things.  We got you this owl puppet a few weeks ago.  You love to call for the owl and act like you are looking for it.  Peek-a-boo has become much more enjoyable and participatory for you.  You won't ride in the stroller anymore, you would rather push it yourself, and you have discovered bouncing on the bed!  You know so many words now, its hard to keep track.  One of our favorites is when you try to say squirrel.  For some reason you really focus on the l sound--really exaggerate it.  We try to make you do it over and over so we can video tape it, but so far you have eluded us!

So we just passed our second Mother's day together.  I'm not big on such holidays, but it does make me reflect on this new role I have in life.  You have brought so much to my life and have taught me to slow down and appreciate every day--I'm not fully there yet, but I'm a heck of a lot better than I used to be!

In a few days we will embark on a journey to Scotland.  I can't wait to show you off to your relatives across the pond.

I love you more than anything.
Mommy

Your daughter is so cute!

Dear Catalina,
We had our first major sick experience with you this week. We picked up a back pack carrier for you this weekend down in Phoenix and we were trying it out on Tuesday. We walked down to a local grocers with you riding on my back. Everything was fine until we reached the store. We were standing among the produce when I heard this unmistakable sound. I looked at your daddy and said, "is she throwing up?". He had this dumbfounded look on his face as he shook his head, yes. I said, "a lot?" and he said, "oh yeah". Poor little thing! You had vomit all over you! When we got home, you repeated your feat. It was so sad. We were very worried about you. Fortunately, a day of liquids and simple food seemed to fix you right up. It was still frightening for your poor parents--you seemed to handle it just fine!

The other thing I thought I'd write about is how often we get stopped by people who want to tell us how beautiful you are. We had a woman in Phoenix hold up a line of cars in order to smile and wave at you and tell us how cute you were! Today at the pool, one of the lifeguards said, "she is the most beautiful baby that comes in here". It's not just your parents, the whole world thinks you are adorable! Honestly, it's kind of freaking your dad out how many people make comments! You are quite the gorgeous one!

Love you sweetie,
Mommy

Sleep training

Dear Catalina,
We are entering a new phase in our parent-child relationship -- sleep training. You have always slept in our bed with us, but unfortunately this has meant endless feeding and harassing of your poor mommy. We've decided that this system isn't helping anyone so no more milk at night. Actually, you've handled it quite well. I expected endless howling and wailing, but that only seems to happen for an hour or so. After that you seem to be sleeping ok. I'm not sure why we didn't do this sooner!

In other areas, you're doing great. You are walking independently much more frequently. Twice now you've just taken off on me at the park. Its so cute. You even crawled some the other day. You're little personality is forming and you are starting to "tease" us a little. We'll tell you not to put something in your mouth and you will go ahead and act like you're going to do it anyway -- and then you flash us your cute little smile. It is aggravating and adorable all at the same time.

We went swimming on Easter down in Oak Creek Canyon. The water was so cold, but you just went charging in over and over! Then you wanted us to let you walk on a fallen log without help! You are clingy and independent all at the same time.

Well I'd better go get some stuff done before my long night of comforting you. Sleep tight my angel.
Mommy

Developing

Dear Catalina,
I'm sitting here holding you on my lap while you sleep (hence the picture). You have decided that you are dead set against sleeping for more than a about 45 minutes by yourself. It's challenging, but I have to keep reminding myself that you are only going to be little once and I should just enjoy this time with you. Hopefully we're not permanently hurting your ability to sleep alone as you get older.

You haven't hit any major milestones since I last wrote (other than eating a worm the other day out in the garden --which was really funny!). You continue to develop your walking and communication skills--quite slowly but that's ok, and you've even crawled a little bit here and there. Your opinions about the ways that your life should go are getting stronger (read you have your bratty moments), but we're trying to gently guide you away from having too strong a reaction to not getting your way. You still love your daddy and give mommy a hard time, but there are now times when you prefer me. You have recently discovered the moon and you take us out every evening to look at it. The joy you get from seeing the moon is awesome! A couple other things you enjoy are our Buddha statues (Buddha is one of the clearest words you say!) and making a motion like an elephant trunk every time you see an elephant. So funny the things you pick out!

I worry almost constantly about you. Logically I know your fine, but I am paranoid that we aren't stimulating you enough, feeding you enough, or getting you to sleep enough. Its so hard to be a parent! I hope that you grow up realizing that we're doing the best we can--you mean the world to your dad and I.

I guess I don't really have much else to say. Just wanted to check in.

I love you to the moon and back!
Mommy

A year ago...

Dear Catalina,
Its your first birthday! Happy Birthday, Sweetheart! I can't believe it's been a year. At the same time, it seems like a lifetime ago that I was sitting in the hospital, all hopped up on adrenaline and hormones, unable to sleep even though my mind and body had just been through this crazy wonderful roller coaster! Ironically, I find myself here, one year later, completely unable to sleep, listening to your breathing next to me. What an experience this whole motherhood thing has been!

Today we had a birthday party for you. To be honest, it was more for mommy and daddy than for you--we haven't seen many of our friends lately--but you were the star of the show. Several kids were here and we had brunch and a piñata. The piñata was ripped open rather than beaten because the kids were all too young and lacked the strength, but I think it was still entertaining. You were so tired by the time everyone left, poor thing. You held it together remarkably well though.

So I wrote a post a few days ago, but it somehow got lost. Sorry. This technology is a little imperfect. I think I was marveling at how it seemed that you woke up a few weeks ago and decided to walk, talk, and sign all at the same time. You are learning words so fast (granted, only mommy and daddy really know what you are saying), but its amazing to watch. So far you sign for all done, more, flower, tree, bird, fan, milk, and a modified butterfly. You say ball, balloon, bird, onion, roof, hat, awesome, bat, light, fan, and I'm forgetting some others (lack of sleep I guess). You walked about 20 feet the other day which is your record so far. Still no crawling for you.

One of my favorite times with you is the morning. You almost always wake up with a smile. You are talkative or cuddly, or sometimes both. Daddy used to set the pillows up in a mound, lay you on top, and we'd shout, "steam-roller girl" as we set you to rolling down the pillow hill. It was really hilarious. You used to laugh too. You always want to talk about the fan when you wake up--you always have. I guess its still a marvel for you. So funny. This morning I awoke before you and was debating about sneaking out of bed, but you snuggled up close and wrapped your little arms around my neck. Oh, that is so precious!

Ok sweetie, I'm going to post this so I don't lose it. I will add pics later. Happy Birthday, Darling. I love you oh so much!
As always,
Mommy

Who needs sleep?

Dear Catalina,

This is a picture of you and your bestest bud, our kitty Bisu.  You two pretty much enjoy all the same things--balls, shoe laces, the whisk.  It is adorable.  That cat just follows you around all day long.  Unfortunately, he also tries to climb into your crib with you at night--and usually wakes you up in the process.  Very frustrating for us.

Speaking of sleeping--you're not very good at that lately.  It seems like we're in your room comforting you about every 20 minutes after we put you to bed.  Daddy's had to hold you in order to get you to nap during the day.  Worst thing for me is that sometimes when I come in to "comfort" you, all you do is look past me for Daddy!  Awwww.  I so want to be the one that comforts you, but that's just not meant to be I guess.  It used to be that you would end up cuddling with me at night, but now you really just want Dad.  It makes me sad, but at the same time I have been getting a lot more sleep.

Your walking is improving, however.  These days you would rather walk holding just one of our hands rather than two.  You also crawled for about a foot today!  Whoopee!  Maybe you'll crawl after all.  

The last post from your daddy talked about how different you are now.  Its so true.  You have a mind of your own for sure--and that's a good thing.  Even though sometimes its a little inconvenient for us.  You and I had a great day yesterday--we went out to the pet supply store.  We like to look at the fish, birds, rodents, and reptiles.  Its kind of like a mini zoo.  Then you had to play with every dog toy--just to check it out.  You were sitting there with one in your mouth when this woman walked by and gave us a strange look.  I said, "he he--it so happens that dog toys and baby toys are remarkably similar."  She laughed uncomfortably.  I hope you don't mind that I let you chew on dog toys.  They were new--I promise!  Although you and Rizo and Bisu all share toys at home.  You don't seem to mind at all. :-)

Today I had you standing in your little Pack n Play while I warmed up lunch.  A good song from my childhood came on (can't remember what it was) and I was singing and dancing to you.  You were bouncing along and had absolutely the most gorgeous smile on your face.  Seriously, kid, sometimes you take my breath away with how beautiful you are.  Like your father says, we get compliments on how cute you are all the time.  Its not just because we're your parents--you really are a very cute baby.  If there is one thing I would like to teach you as you grow up its to be happy with who you are and how you look.  So many young girls end up hating their appearances--I know, I was one.  It is really crippling to be negative about yourself.  I hope you can avoid it.  Even if it gives you a big head, I'm going to keep telling you how beautiful you are.

Love you so so much.

As always,

Mommy

A New Year and A New Tooth

Dear Catalina,

You're New Year's Tooth now has a neighbor! As your mother said, this doesn't seem to be bothering you much. You're pretty into feeling them... with both your fingers and tongue (<--- funny to watch). And you learned how to use a straw last Sunday.

There is something shocking about you learning stuff; it's not like the rest of us. You seem to do it once and then it becomes second nature. The straw really illustrated that whole idea for me. Last week you were checking to see if your finger fit in the hole. I put water in the cup Saturday night and on Sunday morning -- click! -- you were drinking from the straw like that's what everybody does.

The other thing that is weird about this is that you went through a day and night of 101+ degree fever on December 23. All of the books that we have (and believe me... we have many + the internet) say that we needn't worry until you hit 103. So we stopped freaking out around 6 pm. But that's not what I want to be talking about. There was a distinct difference in your personality after that day. I got to see a little of it before you went to Indy with you Mom. But now that you've been back for a week... it's like your a different child.

Here's an example: We were walking around in the office (you holding my fingers) while your Mom worked today. At one point you stopped and yelled at the bookcase. To this, your Mother replied, "Books." You promptly repeated her, "abooksh." And that's not the only word that you have been aping. Light, On, Off, Mama (of course), Bat, Out, and a few others. And you now understand many more than that.

Or this example: Before you would point at something across the room (there are two statues of Buddha that you like) and your Mom or I would take you over there. But by the time we got across the room you wouldn't be going for one specific thing. You would just grab for the nearest thing. This made life easier for us (we could pick what you got) and it showed your little explorer side. But after the fever you developed an interest in very specific things. You don't point very well so the process of handing you stuff that you can have is longer. But the point is that if we hand you what you don't want you ignore it (and/or drop it) then point again. Usually there is something very particular that you want to hold/taste. And that's new.

Our only concern in your development is you absolute distaste for crawling. I assume that you will one day learn to crawl, which partially emolliates my concern. But the scuttlebutt says that crawling encourages bilateral communication in the brain. I'm not sure that this is something that everyone should have in spades but I want you to have the best preparation for life that I can give. I suppose that only time will tell now... and for the record, I didn't crawl, your Aunt Marianne didn't crawl, your cousins Lucas and Kailee didn't crawl much... you get the picture. It's fairly common for first born children.

But beside all that there is something else that really sets you apart from other 10 month old babies. You are fantastically affectionate. Not just a little... you Mom and I get hugs and kisses!! And when you get scared you cling like a little chimp (you are Simeon after all....) Your smile is what really makes you beautiful, though. You do everything from the corner-of-the-mouth twitch to the full on belly laugh (which only your Mom can bring out). And that makes you so adorable. You get compliments wherever we go. Literally everywhere. And since you learned to wave (about two months ago) your fans have really been excited.

There is a downside to being so attention-oriented. It has taken me more that 2 hours to write this post in part due to the frequent visits that are required to let you sleep at night. On a rare night you will sleep for 2 hours at a stretch, but it is far more common that you need some snuggling about every 30 minutes or so. I would prefer that you only needed a brief touch on the hand or head as this saves us from bending over your crib but I don't mind the lay-down-and-hold-me type snuggle that you need. One day this WILL change.

ANYWAYS.... Here are some highlights since I wrote to you last. Enjoy. You can tell that I did!




I saw these floating in the air and thought you might like them. Can't see 'em in the video but you saw 'em when I shot the video.








Tee hee! One of my goals in these letters is to show you that your Mom and I are just people. We're learning how to be parents as you grow. It's tricky stuff for us too... especially since we each have 37 years of practice being something other than parenting. We're doing the best we can, kiddo, and I think this is fun!

Until next time, I love you lots and lots and lots, my little pea pod!

Holidays!

Dear Catalina,
Its been a while since I've written and SO much has happened.  This winter has been really busy with work and the holidays--and you!  You are changing so fast.  It really does seem like you are a different child every day.  We just celebrated our first Christmas together!  I can't believe that you're almost a year old.  It seems so long ago that I had a large pregnant belly--but yet I feel like I'm still trying to get used to the idea of being mommy.  Crazy.

Well Christmas was great.  You were a little overwhelmed opening your presents.  Dad and I probably didn't need to get you anything, but we did of course.  Your Nana and Poppa sent some gifts and so did your uncle Chris and Aunt Meredyth.  Oh and your Great Aunt Jule.  You had to take a nap half way through opening gifts--it was so cute.  Still there is one present that you never opened!  You seemed to enjoy your new basketball from Santa and your Walker/Activity Center from Nana and Poppa the most.  On the 26th you and I went back to Indianapolis to visit my side of the family.  For one day all your Aunts, Uncles, and cousins from my side were in one place.  You seemed to be a little overwhelmed by the noisyness of them all!  Everybody fawned over you as you walked around with your mommy in tow.  This plane ride wasn't as good as your first.  You cried for about 1/3 of the 4 hour flight.  I think you were mostly looking for your daddy.  I must admit, I really enjoyed having a week in which I had preferred status in your eyes.  It was so nice just to have a week to hang out with you.   You are "talking" quite a bit now and still walking around by holding our hands.  You still show absolutely no signs of wanting to crawl or walk on your own.  If I put you on your belly you just cry or yell at me!

You have definitely maintained a preference for men--especially bearded men.  I thought you were going to leave with one guy at the Phoenix airport!  You also seem to like "bling".  The women that you pay attention to all seem to be wearing jewelry.  Everyone got quite a kick out of your "princess wave" where you hold your hand out as if to get a kiss on the back of it.  It is hilarious.  Tonight you actually seemed to request that I give you a bath.  You marched me into the bathroom, waited for me to turn on the light, walked over to the tub and pointed at the faucet.  Too funny.  I was really sad to have to go in to work today after spending so much time together.  I'm sure its a matter of time before you forget that you and mommy were buddies for this week, but I will always have fond memories of this week. 

In other news, you have your first tooth!  It sprouted out from the bottom of your mouth at the end of our trip.  All in all, you seem to be handling your new occupant quite well.

Ok sweetie, I will try to write more frequently in the coming weeks.

As always, your loyal servant!
Mommy