One Month Old

Dear Autumn,

At this point you mostly eat and sleep, except at nights when you are wide awake. You are darling and cuddly in every way that a baby should be. You smell like a dream, you have the softest skin, and your big blue eyes melt my heart. You have amazing head control and are very alert for such a tiny little thing. You already seem so curious about the world around you and I couldn't be more in love with you.

I wanted to tell you about your name. Autumn Mary-Hazel is a mouthful, I know. I'm one of those awful parents who has misused my naming power by subjecting you to a lifetime of having to explain yourself. But here's the deal: As long as I can remember I have wanted a daughter named Autumn. For me fall is the season I wait for all year long. The smells, the colors, the crackling of leaves, the crisp air, the anticipation of holidays, the excitement of a new school year with crisp clean paper and sawdust smelling sharpened pencils... My heart feels content in autumn like at no other time. I swear every year that I'm not going to wish the year away, but then I do anyway. My soul craves autumn. I recently read about a survey where 63% of all people consider fall their favorite season, but I like to pretend it's my thing. Your dad wasn't 100% on board with your name until we met a gorgeous blond rodeo princess named Autumn, but that's a different story. You, like the season, are a breath of fresh air with the promise of endless possibility and potential

Your middle name is after your two grandmas. Mary who is strong and independent and will fight to the death for what she believes in. She is the most giving person I've ever met, and if there is any goodness in me as a person, I owe it to your grandma Mary. Hazel is kind and good and has unlimited patience. She can make any plant or animal thrive and is never confrontational. As a mother, I want nothing more than for you to be a strong and intelligent woman who follows your own path in life, but for me it is essential that you do it with dignity and kindness. Mary and Hazel are very different from each other, but I hope that you will take the strengths from each of them and use your name as a reminder of the great heritage they have given you. When I look at you I have nothing but confidence that you will be amazing.

Autumn, I couldn't be more thrilled to be your mother. After 9 months of imagining what you would be like, you are better than anything I could dream of. You are so loved by your mom, your dad, and a big brother. We are so grateful that you have come into our lives.

Love, Mom

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

George Eliot

Happy Birthday Calvin!

I can't believe that Calvin is 2 years old. The time goes so quickly. Last year at this time I felt so sad that my baby was growing up too fast, but this year I just adore the little boy he has become. I never imagined that motherhood would be so wonderful. I never imagined that such a smart, creative, funny, happy, and adorable little boy would become the purpose of my life.

Calvin woke up this morning very grumpy. He was uncharacteristically whiny all morning. Then he swallowed some marbles and got in trouble. He was a pain.

We decided to take him to McDonald's for lunch just as something fun and different. He wouldn't eat anything, threw several tantrums, and then freaked out at the top of the play area in a play tube, so Andy went after him and found him trying to steal toys from another little boy. We didn't stay long before we decided to get out of there. In the car he wanted his chocolate milk. We hadn't brought a sippy cup, but since it was his birthday I gave it to him anyway. He dripped a bit, so Andy tried to take it away from him. Calvin freaked out and jerked it away, spilling the entire thing all over his clothes, car seat, and the car. We took his shirt and pants off because they were soaked, so he sobbed and sobbed. They dropped me off at school and then headed home. The boy wasn't happy that I had left him and cried all the way home. He then went down for a nap. Andy and I texted back and forth about postponing his birthday until another day when he was more pleasant.

And then a miracle happened. He took a long nap, and woke up happy!

We had mac & cheese and tater tots for dinner.

We opened fun presents.

He read this entire cloud book, cover to cover. The next book we gave him, he took one look at one of the pages, then shut it and said, "the end". Guess that one wasn't such a hit.

Ate delicious birthday cake. Andy has this thing with ice cream cake. Yesterday we went to DQ an BR looking at cakes, but ended up ordering one from the local grocery store. The fancy ones were just ice cream which Andy likes, but I think is weird. But at the grocery story, they were actually cake with a layer of ice cream. That's my kind of cake. So we had chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream with buttercream icing. They decorated it, and I just had to stick candles and zoo animals on the top once we got home. Easy and delicious. The boy loved it. We relit the candles a few times because he loves blowing them out.

The rest of the evening he played with his gifts. The biggest hits of the day were the Little People barnyard, the Little Einstein rocket that his grandparents (Nelson) sent, and a Melissa & Doug puzzle with little doors and magnets hiding behind them.

And then the day ended with the kid insisting on wearing my pj pants. He stumbled around in them for a while, and then went to bed. Throughout the day he got phone calls from both sets of grandparents, and most of his aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a fun evening and I'm glad the day ended much better than it had started.

Happy Birthday Calvin! We love you so much and look forward to a whole new year of surprises with you.

Twenty-three Months Old

Dear Calvin,

This month has been another incredible month of language development. You’re like a little parrot that copies everything we say. There’s no way to remember everything you’ve learned to say in the past few weeks, but here are a few of them:

animal, alligator, dolphin, bird, turkey, up, down, open, close, eat, drink, hungry, hot, pig, sheep, etc.

My favorite things you say:

• Mommy and Daddy – you’ve never really called us by our names until recently. Now you are very specific about who we are and you say it often. When Daddy is out of town, you’ll roam around the house yelling, “Daddy? Daddy? Daddy?” It breaks my heart, but when I tell your daddy about it, it makes him come home early so it’s all good. I love when you hold my hand or run to me in excitement, calling "mommy!"
• Even more adorable? You say your own name. You point to your chest and say “Cowven”.
• “I did it!” with your hands over your head in a self-congratulating cheer.
• When you drop things or otherwise feel like you’ve messed up, “sorry!”
• When we hand you toys or give you a treat or help you eat dinner, you say “thank you” (dank do). Melts my heart every time. You’ve become very polite.

You jabber constantly, and you especially love singing. For the songs you know, you’ll sing most of it in jibberish and then finish out the final word in each sentence as loud as you can. If you don’t know the words, it’s a lot of melodious nonsense words.

You count anything and everything, and you even recognize most numbers from 1-10 and will point them out in stores, on your toys, and anywhere else you see them. You also know some of your letters – E, R, Y, M, O, and S is a 5.

You love when your daddy takes you across the street to the park. You constantly find abandoned balls and bring them home – we have several baseballs and soccer balls that you refuse to leave the park without. Next to the park is a horse corral, so every time we’re leaving, you go over to the horses and give a huge hug to whichever one comes up to the fence. Super cute, except for the horse snot I’m constantly washing out of your shirts.

Your eating has improved immensely. You’re eating far more than you have in the past – since you’ve been on solids we’ve thought you were going to starve to death since you’re just not interested – and you’ve also become a pro with a spoon or fork. I love that so much less food ends up on the floor, and you love that you can be independent in eating your own meals. If you like something, you always say, "MMM. Yummy!"

You’re still not sleeping great and if possible you’ve become even more annoying about it. You require sleeping with both of your blankets – the blue one on first, and then the brown. They must both be perfectly straight. Your stuffed puppy must be in the corner with his pillow bone. Mobile cranked up, musical jungle crib attachment on just the right volume. You go to bed late, and get up early. You often wake up several times during the night. You are currently a pain in the rear.

I love that once in a while you’ll walk into your playroom, turn on the t.v., close the door, and sit on your blue chair. I guess sometimes you just need a break from your parents. Also adorable is when you are finished. You turn off the t.v., stand on your blue chair to turn off the lights, and leave the room as quietly as you found it.

You do two things that I think are the cutest things I’ve ever seen, and I have no idea where you got either of them:

• When we ask you a question, you’ll tap your index fingers to your lips and say “hmmmmm” while you think about a response.
• You do this whole McCauley Caulkin Home Alone thing where you put your hands on the side of your face, open your mouth and eyes wide, and say “oh no!”

You’re incredibly coordinated. You love to jump, throw, run, kick, and walk backwards.

You are funny, smart, and delightful. You have your own distinct little personality, and besides naptime and bedtime, you’re the most enjoyable and happy child. I love every new thing you learn to do, and I love that your curiosity and enthusiasm never cease. We adore every little thing about you.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy