3 years, 2 months

Aleck, you are growing up way too fast. Every day, you amaze me with something new that you have learned. You know most of your colors, you can count to 20, and you know basic shapes. You can name every Thomas the Train engine you own, and you have at least 20 different trains. Sometimes, I intentionally call a train by the wrong name, but you quickly correct me. You have 4 different red trains that look exactly the same to me, but you can look at the face and tell them all apart. As a matter of fact, you knew the name of every train long before you knew your colors. Go figure. Daddy bought your first train when Ella was born, and almost a year later they are still your favorite toys.

You have finally decided that it might be kind of nice to have Ella around, and you guys play well together most of the time, unless she is destroying your train track. When that happens, you yell, "Mommy, take her away!"

Your favorite television show is Calliou. I am certain that you have learned the art of whining from Calliou, so we are phasing that show out. You don't watch much television, but I turn it on if I am trying to put Ella to sleep and I need to keep you entertained for a few minutes. Since you are glued to the television when it is on, I try to limit your TV viewing. I have to stand between you and the TV to get your attention.

You love going to the park and love riding your tricycle. Santa brought you a bike for Christmas, but you fell many months ago while riding it. Since then, you have adamantly refused to ride the bike and opt for the tricycle.

You absolutely love playing with playdough and it keeps you entertained for 30 minutes or more.

You nap around 1:00 for 1 1/2 hours and sleep through the night from 8:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. You don't really have a lovey, but more nights than not, you sleep with your Dallas Cowboys teddy bear.

Eryn recently moved in with us and you love having her back in the house. You have never let me call Ella Sissy because you say, "that's not Sissy, that's Ella." I explain that you have a big sissy and a little sissy, but you have reserved the name Sissy exclusively for Eryn.

You are going to St. Timothy Mother's Day Out three mornings a week. Your teachers are Mrs. Alex and Mrs. Christina. You love going to school to see your friends. Your class is all girls, except for Zain and you. This probably explains why you come home some days talking about dressing up as Cinderella. Your teacher said that when Kendall is at school, she gets to wear the Cinderella dress, but the days she isn't there you wear the Cinderella dress.

Before bedtime, you like to rock with us while Ella is nursing. I stretch my legs out straight on the ottoman, and you lay on my legs with your head propped on the Boppy pillow. I play with your hair while we rock. These are some of my most precious memories.

Sweetest Words

I was paying bills and opening mail while Aleck was watching Barney this morning.  I heard the sweetest voice.

Aleck:  "Mommy, cun dance wid me."

Me:  "OK."

Aleck:  "Mommy, tanks por dancin wid me."

I love that boy so much!  Aleck, thanks for helping me see life through the innocent eyes of a child.

Fort Worth Science Museum

 

We made a trip to the Fort Worth Science Museum today.  Aleck ran between the train section and the grocery store section.   Aleck recently got a buzz cut and I adore his spiked hair in this picture.  My little boy looks less and less like a little boy these days.

10 months

My sweet Ella, we celebrate 10 months since you joined our family.  You are changing so fast.  You are thinking about giving up your second nap.  Many days, you push your first nap back to late morning and refuse to take an afternoon nap.  By evening, you are a little fussy so I put you to bed a little earlier on those days.  You are having trouble sleeping through the nights these days, but I think it is because you have frequent ear infections.  You have had 4 ear infections since December.  If you have one more infection, the pediatric ENT recommends tubes.  I pray you stay healthy.

You are beginning to show a preference for table food instead of your baby food.  You only have three teeth, but can eat almost any food when it is chopped into small pieces.  If I put food on your spoon, you can get the spoon in your mouth to feed yourself.  A couple of weeks ago I felt like you were weaning from breastfeeding.  During a trip to Alabama, we gave you bottles frequently and it affected my milk supply.  I began drinking an organic tea to increase  my milk production and that seemed to do the trick.  I don't plan on breastfeeding you as long as I breastfed Aleck, but I'm not ready to wean just yet. 

You love Aleck's room, but he isn't so crazy about you playing with his trains.  Frequently, he cries out, "take Ella away."  I can't believe at three years-old, Aleck has already started kicking you out of his room.

You crawl lightening fast and pull to stand on everything.  You love to look out the kitchen window overlooking the pool.  You cruised down the couch for the first time today.  It won't be long before you are walking.

Your favorite game right now is to dive into pillows.  I discovered this when I was making the bed one morning and the pillows were on the floor.  You giggled and crawled as fast as you could to the pile of pillows and then dove, face first into the pile.  You sit up, giggle, and immediately take another dive into the pillows.  Your laugh is infectious and it is impossible to have a bad day when I see your eyes light up when you laugh.

You love to look at books that have different textures and fabrics to rub.  You also love music and will bounce up and down to the beat.

Both Aleck and you travel so well.  Last month, we drove to Alabama to see Nana and Poppo Brooks.  We were in the car from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and you were happy as long as I sat beside you to keep you entertained.  During our trip, Daddy took both you and Aleck for your first hike at Mount Cheaha, the state park where we were married.  Aleck walked and Daddy carried you in the hiking backpack.  We even stayed in the same cabin that Daddy and Mommy stayed in on our wedding night.  I had to keep a close eye on Aleck because the cabin sat on a bluff overlooking the valley below.

You continue to love bath time and I think you are going to swim like a fish in a couple of years.  You like to lay on your stomach in the tub and bob your face in the water.  Occasionally, you get water in your nose, but it doesn't phase you. Both you and Aleck are enrolled in swim lessons.  You also love playing in Aleck's sand box, although I have to keep a close eye on you so you don't eat sand.

A couple of weeks ago I spent my first night away from you.  I attended a weekend scrapbook retreat and was away from you for two days and nights.  I had never been away from Aleck, except for the night I was in the hospital when I had you.  While I was away, Daddy took such good care of you, and even managed an outing to Scarborough Fair, a renaissance festival.  I had a great time with an awesome group of women, but I sure missed my family while I was gone.

You are wearing 9 month clothes, and size 3 diapers.  You have all these adorable dresses, but nobody told me that girls can't wear dresses when they are crawling because it makes them fall.  I hope you can still wear some of the dresses when you start walking.    We have been so busy that I haven't used cloth diapers in a while, but I think I may start using them again in the next few weeks.

Ella, Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon.