Dear Clara, 9 Months

I know there's no 6 month letter...I did write a "Dear Clara, 6 Months" but forgot to post it. It only exists in paper form now as my hard drive crashed recently. I'm so thankful I printed it!

September 25, 2015
Dear Clara,
My Clara-bell, you are nine months old. You are getting more personality every day. You like to wiggle and dance when you're happy, and you can scream shrilly when you're not You are still pretty sensitive when you get hurt. You enjoy holding clothes or rags over your face to play peek-a-boo. You've recently learned "So big!"  You just learned to clap. It's so fun to see you proud of yourself and your accomplishments.
You are hitting milestones so quickly! You started crawling a little past six months. You started out inchworming, but after a week or so, you learned how to move on all fours. You are very fast now. In the past couple of weeks, you've learned how to crawl up the stairs. You love going up the stairs, and you're very fast at it.
You eat some pureed food, but you'd rather feed yourself. You got upset the other day when I was eating a cookie. You wanted one too! You don't like pureed peas, but you do like squash and sweet potatoes. You liked applesauce with banana and strawberry the best so far.
We've been to the library story time for the past few weeks, and you've crawled around the crowded room like you owned the place. You bounce when the big kids are jumping and dance and clap and crawl up to kids you think are interesting.
You enjoy Adlee, and she loves you. Often, you get into what she's doing, and she pushes you away.
You haven't been sleeping as well. You got sick a few months ago, and started waking up a few times a night. Lately, you've been getting up at 1 and 5 for snacks before sleeping until around 7. You also take naps at 10:30 and 2:30 or just one longer nap around noon. You still start talking before your eyes are open most of the time. You nurse to sleep most nights, but you can be rocked to sleep by me or other people if needed.
Your hair is getting longer and lighter. People are always talking about it looking a little red. You don't have teeth yet, but you certainly chew and drool.
You are a sweetheart and give good hugs and kisses. You are our sunshine! Your bright eyes and smile light up our lives.
I love you my Clara-bara!
Mommy

Dear Clara, 3 months

Dear Clara,
My dear, you are a sweet, sweet girl. You aren't demanding most of the time, but when you decide you need something you need it right away and you say so loudly! You have a lots of smiles for mommy and daddy and even Adlee. She's a little rough with you quite often, but she loves you. She brings you toys. I'm constantly finding toys sitting on your chest  when you sit in your bouncy seat or swing. She gives you lots of kisses and hugs, and she loves beeping your nose.

You've been a pretty good sleeper. You've slept up to 8 hours a night for a whole week, then, you got sick and we're back to waking every 3-4 hours. You like to stay up late. Since daylight savings time, you've been staying up past midnight. Often, I can put you in your swing and you fall asleep by yourself. You sleep in a bassinet by Mommy's side of the bed unless Mommy is too tired to sit up and nurse you, then you snuggle in beside me to nurse and sleep. I didn't start doing that until you were over a month old. I think you would be ready for a crib and regular nap times soon. We'll see if we can find room for the crib, and if I can get you on a schedule. What we're doing now isn't bad.

You were a good at nursing right away. You're just picky about the angle. You have to be positioned just right, and when you are, you are a good eater.

You were strong right away too. You held your head up while we were still in the hospital. You love to stand and do squats. I think--and I'm amazed--that you're already pretty close to sitting up on your own (but I know it could take months for you to start doing this).

You are just starting to grab and hold things. I can tell you're holding and feeling the blankies, burp rags, or toys that are sitting on your lap. Sometimes, you reach out in front of you like you want to grab something and then pull your hands to your mouth. I think you're going to be very good at putting things in your mouth soon.

You hate tummy time. You have rolled over twice (weeks ago now) from tummy to back. I think you probably hate tummy time because you have acid reflux. Most days of your life, you've full on thrown up full meals once a day. It has gotten better lately.

You've just recovered from your first cold. It was awful to see someone so little go through being ill. You were hoarse when you cried, and coughing made you cry. Your throat was probably very sore. My throat was very sore when I was sick right before you. While we're listing your ailments, you have cradle cap pretty bad, but it's hidden under your hair.

Your hair! Your hair was the first thing everyone commented on when you were born, and when I take you out to the grocery store, little old ladies will stop to look at you and comment on it. It is lightening and thinning just a little. I still think you'll keep most of it and that it will stay brown.
Your eyes are so beautiful, Hunny. I think the color of them looks dark and metalic, sometimes more gray, sometimes more blue, sometimes more green. Your sweet smiles light up your face. You started smiling pretty early--about 4 weeks. I think you're pretty social. You are also very chatty. You like to coo at Mommy and Daddy and focus right on our faces.

Mommy calls you lots of sweet names, but the one I never used until you were born is "Little Love." Daddy loves you so much and is thrilled to have you as one of his girls.

I love you, I love you, I love you,
Mommy

Miss Clara's Birth Story

Really, things went pretty close (but faster!) to what I hoped and expected given Adlee's birth story.

Long story short, I dilate a lot and early. I have contractions daily for a long time. I don't know whether to call these Braxton Hicks, pre-labor, or early labor. Whatever. It doesn't matter. When the event arrives, it's short.

So, around 28 weeks those pretty hard contractions showed up again. I waited a few weeks before I started mentioning this to my midwives. Nobody (including me) was overly concerned since the contractions always stopped after an hour or so.

At 35 weeks I had hard contractions all day. There's something about that week! See Adlee's story. I called in, but didn't go in. In fact, I didn't even tell the receptionist that I thought I might be in labor, so the nurse didn't call me until an hour or more later. The nurse I talked to was very concerned and wanted me to come in the next day to be checked. So I did. Like I expected, I was 5 cm dilated.

That same night I started having terrible back pain and contractions. I finally decided to go to the hospital. Ryan was out of town, so I called a neighbor to watch Adlee. It turned out that I was in so much pain that she picked us up, took Adlee to her house for her husband to care for, and took me to the hospital. Praise God for friends like this! She picked us up after 10 pm and stayed with me at the hospital until 2 am. By the time we were on our way to the hospital, I was pretty sure I was having a kidney stone and not a baby (unless the pain caused me to go into early labor). I spent less than 24 hours in the hospital and passed the stone when I got home the next day.After my kidney stone, I had fewer contractions and felt great!

After that, I went to a couple of weekly appointments with the midwives. With Adlee, they were checking my dilation weekly, but this time they weren't. At my 38 week appointment, I explained to my midwife, I was already dilated to 5 cm three weeks ago, I was 7 cm dilated by 38 weeks with my last baby, I live a ways away from the hospital, and once my water was broken with my last one, labor was only 2-3 hours. She said, "Yeah, I'd be a little scared, too." I was SO relieved to hear her say that! She said she would set up an induction for the next week. Hospital policy says a woman has to be 39 weeks before she can be induced. A great policy for the average woman! So, the induction plan was just to break my water again if I was dilated enough and the baby was low enough. She checked me, and I was 7 cm. She asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes. I said yes. I left with orders to go in to the hospital if I had any contractions at all that afternoon or over the weekend, and with a scheduled induction for December 16.

So, I called my mom to ask her to come stay with us, and I went grocery shopping. That afternoon, I did have contractions. Some strong. Some not. Some consistently 5 minutes apart. Some spaced out to 10-15 minutes. Some painful. Some not. I put off going in until Mom was here to watch Adlee.

When my mom arrived, we visited for a bit, and I called in to the midwife on call at around 5:30 pm. She suggested I come in and get checked, but she reminded me that she really couldn't do much at 38 weeks because of the hospital policy. She said maybe if I was at 8 cm, she could make the case that I was in labor. So, Ryan took me in. They put me right in a delivery room and a gown. The midwife came to check, and I was indeed at 8 cm. Contractions were picking up a little. She and the nurse decided it would be best to break my water. She went to get the doctor's approval. Once she had it, I was officially checked in to the hospital.

My midwife broke my water at 7:20 pm. I remember looking at the clock at 7:23 pm. At that time, contractions got REAL. Thankfully, I only had four or five before I propped myself up on my elbows and pushed. My midwife told Ryan he had a minute to put on his gloves, then almost instantly afterwards told him to hurry to put on his gloves. My baby came down the birth canal still curled in a ball (I could feel it). My midwife told me to reach down and feel my baby, and I did rub that fuzzy little head. She said later that the look on my face at that point was beautiful. Baby's head came out but not the rest of her. Her shoulder was stuck, and I needed to push more. It was hard and painful and not the natural reaction of my body like the pushing up to that point. But that too was short. My sweet second girl was born at 7:38 pm on December 11. Yes, only 18 minutes after my water was broken. Although super FAST, it was peaceful and beautiful...

and, thankfully, at the hospital! What would have happened if I had waited for my water to break at home? I guess I would have had a baby at home!

Dear Adlee, 21 Months

October 23-28, 2014

Dear Adlee,

You are 21 months now, My Sweet Girl. You are curled up on my lap as I begin this letter. You still sleep best with mom. You are Mommy’s constant companion, and you’re a good girl. We start each day in bed together. Sometimes, I get up before you. You had a bad cold about a month ago, and you’ve been moving to Mommy’s and Daddy’s bed in the middle of the night since then. You start every night in your bed. Mommy reads you stories and sits with you until you fall asleep.

Back to the beginning of the day; for breakfast, we eat fruit and scrambled eggs or oatmeal. Sometimes, I let you have some of Daddy’s cereal. After breakfast, we shower together. I sit on the floor of the shower and play with you. We talk about the baby. You pat my tummy and say, “Baby.” For most of the past few months, we walked to the post office next, but that’s tapered off lately.

On Wednesdays, we go to the library for story time, and then to the grocery store. At the library, you’ve shown a greater understanding of what you should be doing. Now, you sit near Mommy and participate in the songs. You like to move closer when the story is read, and sometimes you stand right in front. For the past couple of weeks, you have gotten a shaker out for the baby boy whose mommy and sister sit near us. It’s very sweet that you want to take care of him. At the grocery store, you love to ride in the cart that has the car in front. Depending on your mood, you say, “hi,” to the other shoppers.

If we’re home at naptime, you cuddle up on my lap sometime in the afternoon and fall asleep. I was putting you up in your bed at naptime, but since that cold, you need me to hold you for most naps. Often, we play outside after your nap. You like to run to the other end of the yard with the dogs, and play hide and seek in the small evergreen trees. You still occasionally like to get in the chicken pen to chase the chickens. Sometimes, we’re still outside when Daddy comes home from work. You are always excited to see him, but your reactions vary from shyness to running up to him, from quiet smiles to shouting and jumping.

Throughout the day, you play with your toys but mostly with your dolls. You make beds for them, let them rest, and go back to pack them into your shopping cart. Sometimes you borrow some of your diapers and wipes so that you can take care of them. You love to write with pens on small legal pads or post-it notes. You do have crayons you use occasionally. If we watch TV, we watch Curious George episodes. You ask by saying, “Ah-ah.” Lately, you’ve been interested in fish, so we watch Planet Earth: Shallow Seas. You ask to watch that by saying, “Dish, Dish.”

We’ve had a potty chair around the house for a few months now, but on my birthday, you were suddenly very interested in using it. So, we’ve been potty training you. You do a great job when you are reminded to go. We have quite a few accidents, but that’s okay. You are good about going in public restrooms when we are out and about, you’ve even used a port-a-potty!

Your vocabulary is growing and changing. I couldn’t make a list of the words you say. You daily repeat words I say. You’ve said a few two-word sentences, like “Socks off.” You like to eat snacks much more than meals. You like Goldfish, fruit, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese, yogurt, and, recently, raisins. You have 12 teeth now. We’ve just started clipping your hair back because it’s long enough to get in your eyes. One of our favorite conversations happens when I ask you who has tails and who doesn’t. You really know. You are getting good at puzzles. You call all letters “B,” and you call all bugs “bees.” You are more and more helpful to me every day. You follow simple commands like, “Shut the door,” and “Bring me ______.” You still love all animals. You had no fear of riding a pony for the first time at the pumpkin patch. You like to name what things belong to Daddy, Mommy, and Adlee. It’s so cute that you think anything that flies in the sky, any truck, and any tractor belongs to Daddy. I could go on and on about how wonderful you are and how proud your daddy and I are of you!

I love you, Sweet Girl!

Mom-mom (or Mommeeeeee if you need something)

Dear Adlee, 18 months

July 10, 2014

Dear Adlee Mae,

Sweet Girl, you are now eighteen months old and a go-getter. You like to do things for yourself. You know how to move the kitchen chairs to get to the table, counter, sink, or hutch. You can open all of the bottom cupboards, and you get yourself snacks or straws as you please. Twice, you have dumped out the cocoa powder and played in it. I store that in a high cupboard now. You are great at holding your silverware (but still use your fingers often) and holding pens or pencils for coloring.

You help me by throwing away garbage, putting your dirty clothes in the dirty clothes pile, and sometimes by helping me put other things away. You are becoming more aware of the way things are supposed to be and you give me a worried, “OH!” when you spill something.

You eat scrambled eggs (normally two of them!) for breakfast. You like yogurt, cheese, and fruit. You also like crackers: Ritz, Gold Fish, and animal crackers. You like eating pizza. You love sweets. Twice since I’ve been writing this you’ve used your chair trick to get to a bag of candy Daddy brought home.

You and Daddy like to go on four-wheeler rides together. Sometimes you tell me, “Da vroom-vroom bbbpphh” which means Daddy took you on the four-wheeler to see the neighbor’s horses. You get very excited when he comes home and try to open the door for him, but you can’t reach very well and end up locking him out.

You love animals. You can make many different animal noises including wolf and bee. You beat your chest when we ask you what a gorilla says. You don’t say neigh for a horse, but you blow through your lips. You don’t say “meow” or “quack.” You call cats and ducks by name.

You say many words. I listed words in your last letter, and you stopped saying some of those and started saying others. You say, “Mom-Mom, Dad, hot, hat, hi, goodbye, eye, DeeDee (Adlee or Baby), don’t touch, this, that, cat (sounds exactly like that), duck, num-num, yeah or yep, jump, fish (sounds like deesh), treats (dog treats), all-done or all-gone.” And, we just bought a rabbit today. You call her, “Thump-Thump.” You have a sound and face for yucky, a face for stinky, and a face to represent the word cry (when we read it at the end of “Little Boy Blue”). You’ve started to just make sounds if you can’t say the right word, and you have the right intonation enough that many times I can tell what you are saying. It’s pretty cute. You still use sign language for more, please, and thank-you. You make me so proud when you say thank-you unprompted.

Your favorite movie is Curious George. When you want to watch it, you point to the TV and say “T-T, Ah Ahh.” You also like to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and other Disney Junior shows. They don’t keep your attention for long. P.D. Eastman is your favorite author right now. We read Big Dog, Little Dog, Go, Dog, Go!, and The Alphabet Book quite often. You also love your Baby Einstein books.

I take you to the library for story time many Mondays. You are getting better and better at doing the motions to the songs, and you often stand right in front of the book when the story time lady reads.

You started sleeping in a toddler bed in May. Daddy and I read and sing nursery rhymes to you. You love Daddy to give you a ride when we read “This is the way the ladies ride.” Then, I sit at the end of your bed until you fall asleep.

You are naughty sometimes. You feed the dogs your food, and you are constantly walking around on the table. Most of the time, though, I can tell you not to do something and trust you to obey me (at least for a while). You are very sweet and give great kisses!

A few other things about you: You only have six teeth. You now can remember and quickly become comfortable with people (like grandparents) from visit to visit. You are very shy around strangers or people you haven’t spent much time with. Except for being with new people, you are very brave in new places. You go down all the highest slides at the parks I take you to (and sometimes you climb up to them by yourself too).

I’m sure there are more things I could write, but I think this is most of it. I love you!

Mom-Mom

An Independence Day Post

I recently reread the Little House on the Prarie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was fascinating to read them from an adult perspective, and I highly recommend it.

This passage about Laura's thoughts about DeSmit's Independence Day celebration was one I will never forget. Enjoy.

I'm going to start quoting at the end of an Independence Day speech which was mainly the Declaration of Independence. If you want to skim the beginning part, I understand, but I personally carefully read the Declaration every July and think every American should. (Hopefully, I carefully typed it for you.)

"It's Fourth of July, and on this day somebody's got to read the Declaration of Independence. It looks like I'm elected, so hold your hats, boys; I'm going to read it."

Laura and Carrie knew the Declaration by heart, of course, but it gave them a solemn, glorious feeling to hear the words. They took hold of hands and stood listening in the solemnly listening crowd. The Stars and Stripes were fluttering bright against the thin, clear blue overhead, and their minds were saying the words before their ears heard them.

"When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impell them to the separation.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness..."

Then came the long and terrible list of the crimes of the King.

"He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States.

"He has obstructed the administration of Justice.

"He has made Judges dependent on his will alone.

"He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and to eat out their substance.

"He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people...

"He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, destruction and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation...

"We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by the authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare,

"That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full right to levy War...

"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

No one cheered. It was more like a moment to say, "Amen." But no one quite knew what to do.

Then Pa began to sing. All at once everyone was singing.

    My country, 'tis of thee,
    Sweet land of liberty,
    Of thee I sing...

    Long may our land be bright
   With Freedom's holy light.
    Protect us by Thy might,
    Great God, our King!

The crowd was scattering away then, but Laura stood stock still. Suddenly she had a completely new thought. The Declaration and the song came together in her mind and she thought: God is America's king.

She thought: American's won't obey any king on earth. Americans are free. That means they have to obey their own consciences. No king bosses Pa; he has to boss himself. Why (she thought), when I am a little older, Pa and Ma will stop telling me what to do, and there isn't anyone else who has a right to give me orders. I will have to make myself be good.

Her whole mind seemed to be lighted up by that thought. This is what it means to be free. It means, you have to be good. "Our father's God, author of liberty--" The laws of Nature and of Nature's God endow you with a right to life and liberty. Then you have to keep the laws of God, for God's law is the only thing that gives you a right to be free.

The Declaration must be read at every Fourth of July celebration, young people like Laura and Carrie memorized the whole Declaration of Independence. They held hands because to hear it read was glorious. Wow!

God's law is the only thing that gives you a right to be free. Amen, Laura.

Happy Fourth of July!
Jordon

Advice from an English Teacher about Reading to Your Toddler

As a pretty new mom, I wouldn't think of writing a blog post about how to parent a toddler, but as a teacher who taught middle school and high school for four years (and first grade for a few months), I want to encourage you to be intentional about the way you read to your toddler. Reading to young children may be doing more than you think.

To be intentional it's important to have a good idea of your ending point, your goal. Older kids and adults who are good readers and who enjoy reading use these strategies:

• They stop and ask themselves questions.
• They make connections to their own lives, the knowledge they have, and other books they've read.
• They go back and reread what they don't understand or don't remember.
• They periodically summarize what they've just read.
• They look at the pictures in the book or on the front of the book and think about how the words they are reading go with the pictures.
• They look up difficult vocabulary words or use context clues find their meaning.

If you're a good reader, you probably do this without thinking about it, and you may not realize you were taught to do this, but someone who read to you probably talked you through these strategies. You should be talking your child through these strategies as well. You can start doing this with a toddler, but it's still beneficial to continue to practice these strategies with older kids.

It's really easy to teaching these good habits to young kids. As you read to your toddler, stop and ask your toddler questions. For example, there's a dog barking in the story, you could say something like "Do you see the dog in the picture? The dog is barking. Woof. Woof. Do we have a dog? Where is our dog?" These questions help the child think about the picture, think about what's going on, make connections, and increase vocabulary.

The pictures in a children's book are very important. They allow a child who can't yet read words to read a book by themselves. The better you explain the pictures as you read, the better your child will be able to "read" and enjoy the book.

Besides these comprehension strategies, you can help your child to read all three ways that older children and adults read. The three ways to read are to have someone else read to you, read to yourself, or read to someone else. Obviously, you'll start by reading to your child and explaining the pictures. Then, your child should be able to "read" or summarize the book for themselves or for you.

I hope this helps!

Jordon