One Year Old

Dear Boo Boo,

You are one year old! How fast the time did fly. The last two months have been a whirlwind of development for you and getting ready to go back to work for me - craziness. As always, you have handled  all the change splendidly. Your caregivers adore you, you are your normal happy self, and just a joy to be around, whether we are playing, laughing, crying, or snuggling up. 

Through October, we enjoyed the final weeks of our music class, where you were just a little social butterfly. We usually got to class first, and now that you can get around with the funniest little crawl, you would greet each baby and mom as they arrive, very much like this...

You also would go around to test out all the different babies musical instruments during song time. It was adorable and lucky for us, everyone thought it was cute and fun! 

We had a nice long fall this year, which was so great, and I liked to take you outside to play in the leaves.

Thanksgiving was a blast because you got to hang out with your distant (but close) cousin, and the two of you are making fast friends.

And you also, stood all by your self for the first time!

Halloween was next and you rocked a kitty costume!

And then we were soon outfitting you for winter!

Then it was time for mommy to go back to work. We have a great childcare arrangement that allows you to be cared for by a loving woman and spend time with your great-grandfather, as well as see lots of your grandma and grandpa. I love that you have this opportunity to know your grandparents and that they will know you in some of the ways that I know you.

The first week you cried when I dropped you off, but three weeks in, you go willingly, with no tears. You are happy and secure in the presence of your caregivers, and I'm just so proud of you. Leaving you with others, even family, has been much harder than I ever imagined. I miss you, even though we have special time together everyday. I want you to know that even though women can have it all these days, there is always some sacrifice, and it isn't easy, but I want you to know that you have the choice to be and do whatever you want, in whatever way you want to do it. You want for nothing, and you have many, many people to love you and care for you - but always remember, no one will ever love you like I will.

Happy birthday, my beautiful, funny, cheeky girl.

Love Mama

Loving you birthday gift from Mama and Dada

cheeky

who me?

So typical, get a gift, play with the box!

"ooooo"

Ten Months

Dear Boo Boo,

You are exploring the world in new ways now. You are crawling, pulling up to furniture and walking around it, and getting into drawers and cupboards with a sense of curiosity and determination that is both adorable and frustrating.

Then there are the quiet moments while I snuggle you as you drink your bottle or drift off to sleep, which I enjoy so much now that you don't want to be held as often because of your need to explore. Those are the moments that I stop and appreciate the way you hold on to my fingers as you drift to sleep and marvel at the beauty of your small hands, you soft hair, and your big brown eyes with those thick dark lashes. I stoke your belly as we play All Around the Garden...Tickle you under there and we share smiles and giggles as you settle into your nap.

I also enjoy your playfulness, and the way your nose and eyes crinkle up when we are bouncing on the bed while singing, and when you are delighted to copy your grandparents or dad or me by waving, clapping, or throwing your arms up in the air while we say hurrah! You also cover your eyes now to play peek-a-boo and you look so proud of yourself when we clap and laugh with you. You get so excited and do a little bounce dance on your bum - very cute!

Your Abeulo and Tita from Mexico came to visit you this month and we had lots of fun with them. You were delighted to have two more people in the house to love you and play with you. You made them laugh and smile and I bet this was one of their favourite visits with us. We showed them the river valley in our little city and took fall photos of you.

Then we took you and your grandparents to Drumheller to see the hoodoos and dinosaurs and then off to Banff to enjoy the mountains in the fall. You travel so well and we had so much fun.

You are truly the love of my life (next to your Dad) and I cherish your sweetness, energy, health, smiles, laughs and every milestone along the road. As you graduate to toddlerhood, childhood, and adulthood, I hope you will always remember you are my baby. Whatever you grow into you, I loved you before you had anything to prove, or became whatever you will become - and I will always love you. I know these are days you'll never remember - but I will keep the memories and sweetness of this time for both of us.



Love Mama

Nine Months

Dear Boo Boo,

This month you are becoming quite the little mover. You haven't quite figured out crawling yet, but you are so close. Although, if you have someone to crawl over or up, you are quite proficient! You have also mastered push with your arms while on your belly, sending you backwards - much to your dismay! You are pulling up on everything, and even letting go with one hand, and quickly learning that you will fall if the other hand is tempted away from whatever you are keeping your balance on. Luckily you're a tough kid and bounce back quickly.

This month, Grandma finally wore me down and I cut your bangs so your hair wasn't always in your face and now you really do look like you're up to no good.



You are an adventurous eater and have taken to wanting to feed yourself when mealtimes come, no longer wanted mommy to spoon feed you. You really gobbled up the curry squash, tomato, chicken, rice dish we make - that was a mess!

You are staying up longer between naps now, but when you are really worn out, you like to really take it down a notch and relax.

And finally, we met up with our friends, Jordan and Kim, and their kids and took you camping in Drumheller. You did amazing in the tent and really it seems like we can take you anywhere and you are happy to oblige. Although this time you wanted Mommy in the backseat with you to play with and keep you company.

Love you so much!
Mom

Eight Months

Dear Boo Boo,

Time is speeding up. Eight months ago, the days and weeks moved past like a dream in slow motion - enjoying every minute of cuddling you, and caring for you, and those quiet night-time feedings while we listened to lullabies by Jewels, but always looking forward to the days when I could play and laugh with you. Those days are here now, we play, we laugh, we go places together and I get to see you become a little person with likes and dislikes. Your face lights up when you see people you love, and you shy away with strangers now, waiting to see if they can coax a smile from your lips. You love other children and get so excited when I bring you to the mixed age music class - I know you just want to get up and chase those kids and have fun with them. They love you too - and come to hold your hands and dance and sing for you - and you LOVE IT!

You have also discovered that you have a "friend" in the mirror. Oh how you get soooooooooo excited when you see yourself in the mirror. You have never been a baby who spontaneously laughs, you usually need someone to tickle you first, but earlier this month, while we were coming home from the store, we heard you laughing your head off, we turned to see what was so funny, and could see you in the backseat mirror waving and laughing at the baby in the mirror. It will be a few months before you realize it is you that you see - but I am glad that you like what you see. Since then we have spent more time in front of the mirrors in the house, and you always have a smile and wave for the baby in the mirror.

This month, you have mastered waving, and getting onto your hands and knees from a sitting position. You keep throwing your toys away from you and then challenging yourself to go get them, reaching further and further each time. You are creeping a bit on both your stomach and back. You get further on your back, on your stomach, you just mostly go in circles, but I know that you'll be crawling soon. You are also pulling up on everything you can get your hands on, which is kind of terrifying, as there have been a few spills, but they haven't left any marks....yet.



 Your daddy and I love you so much and we are so happy to have created a family with you. We are very happy and will do all that we can to remain so.

Love Mommy

Seven Months

Dear Boo Boo,

Last night you surprised us all. While playing with a fun toy at Grandma's you learned that in order to activate the mechanism that spins the wheels, you need to put a ball into a hole. Daddy showed you how it worked a couple of times and in no time, you were doing it yourself - you were sooooooo excited to make the toy work. Your fine motor skills are really picking up now! Another fun moment from last night, your Daddy was blowing your hair out of your eyes, which was making you laugh and then during the last "blow" you fell back. While we were all worried that you would cry - you smiled and laughed instead - ha ha - Daddy blew me down!!

I'm starting to enjoy dressing you up in girly clothes, and you look so adorable. Grandma and I picked out 4 new dresses for you yesterday, and I can't wait to bring you to a family wedding next month to show you off. You like playing with the skirts! And you really are such a pretty baby.

Oooh! Pretty!

This month, you have had some firsts - your bottom two front teeth are coming in - and as per usual, except for a couple of night wakings and a cranky day, you are handling it so, so well. We are able to see them when you smile now, that is, when you get your tongue out of the way, but haven't been able to catch them on camera yet.

You are also starting to wave and clap your hands together and life is getting so fun with you. You are also making strides towards crawling and can rock back and forth on hands and knees and sometimes try to pull up using some toys for leverage. Pretty soon, you'll be on the go - I better get baby-proofing!

Love,
Mom

Watch out! I'll be on the move soon!

Sometimes mom just doesn't understand the difference between tired and hungry.

Six Months

Dear Boo Boo,

You've come a long way in six months, baby! In short six months, you have gone from this

to this

You've reached that magical age of babyhood where smiles, giggles, laughs, babbling and playing are the epitome of baby cuteness and you bring joy to everyone who encounters you. We often go to Tim Horton`s to meet Grandma, Grandpa D, Great Auntie June and Uncle Ray for coffee and all their friends and many strangers come up to tell us what a good baby you are. You never cry there, and enjoy playing with a paper cup and having Grandma make you laugh while Grandpa D gets to make funny faces at you. You always have a big smile for Grandpa D.

You're eating habits have changed now that we have introduced you to solid food. Your favourites so far are banana, apple, mango, and peas. Sometimes you would rather just chow down on your bowl though!

Your Grandpa E. likes to come over some mornings to help me feed you. You melt his heart every time.

Grandma often reminds me that each baby is unique and personality traits displayed now will continue to become more apparent as you grow and that I should try to remember as much as possible from your baby days - and oh - I so want to remember every bit.

You are a very sweet-tempered baby - really only cranky when you`re tired, which you probably get from me. You are cautiously willing to try anything so far, all the food you`ve been presented with, the toys from the exersaucer to the jolly jumper, long car rides, etc. You are happy and seem to be content with your life - a quality I hope remains with you. You already have the ability to exercise patience, a trait you have probably received from your father who is the king of patience. You are very bright and curious as well, which is a common baby trait, but one I hope to nurture anyway.

Recently, you have become quite interested in people, particularly other children. Whenever you see another small person there is always a smile, a hand reaching out to connect, and a watchful gaze as you grasp that there are lots of little people in the world.

You`ve become more independent in the past few weeks, which is making it easier for me to get more done around the house, although you often find me at your side to play and laugh with you. You love patty cakes, and kisses behind your ear that make you laugh. You are sitting independently now and we have built you little play nests in the living room and office where you and sit and examine your toys.

You have also been trying to get into the conversation with shrieks, coos, and babbling of which na,na,na and da,da,da have become frequent. It's so adorable and a welcome addition to the cozy noises in our home.

Continue to grow, learn, and love.

Love
Mommy

Five Months

Dear Boo Boo,

Sorry about missing the the Four Months letter, but we were on vacation - in Mexico - enjoying your first real dose of nice weather and sunshine - it was glorious, so who wants to sit inside at a computer when you can sit on a beach, play with you, and have ice cream? So you will just have to forgive me.

You have already gone further than I ever did by time I was 21, which was how old I was when I first boarded an airplane; you were just under four months. You travelled really well and didn't even seem to notice your ears popping. I love your easy-going nature and am glad that a major change in rountine for a couple of weeks didn't wreck havoc with it.

Your Tita (it's a nickname for little grandma) and Abuelo came to visit us at the resort in Puerto Vallarta. And you and Tita really enjoying seeing eachother again!

The next day, you were introduced to your new cousin, Alex. And your Tia (aunt) and Teo (uncle) got to meet you. Alex is two months younger than you.

Our trip straddled your transition from 3 months to 4 months and it seemed like you developed by leaps and bounds in just two weeks. With a little help from Daddy or Mommy, you can get from a laying down position, to a sitting position, to a standing position. It was so cute to watch you lay on the bed and try to sit up on your own - you can't do it yet, but it looks like you're doing ab crunches when you try. Soooo cute and your Auntie Sheri, who is the work out queen, will be very pround of your strong muscles.

You continue to be a social little thing and offer dazzling smiles to almost everyone you meet. And sometimes smiling at strangers gave us the opportunity to chat with some great people while on vacation. You remain fairly quiet but enjoy babbling from time to time. Laughing has come to you, but you usually wait for someone to tickle you and that doesn't always work. Just in the last week, you have laughed at things you think is funny - like my reaction to what's in your diapers - without a tickle and that was cute.

Lately, I've been thinking about how wonderful it is to be your mommy. Although I know intellectually that you are developing like most children do, I do think you are just spectacular. Although everyone agrees that you are very loveable, no one gets to appreciate you the way that me and your Daddy do. We get the radient early morning smiles, the snuggles, the quiet moments, the way you grab your toes while we're trying to change your diaper, the tentative way you approach bathing. I am just at a loss for words when trying to describe how lucky we are to have you and how you continue to endear yourself to us.



Love Mom

Three Months

Dear Boo Boo,

Yes, your official nickname now is Boo Boo, not Bebo - you've evolved! You are growing so fast and becoming so much more social now. You have discovered how to make new sounds, and you are cooing, gooing, ah-ing, and razzing while trying on different levels of volume. I can tell you have a lot to say, although I can't figure out what yet. Your "talking" seems to be pretty content so I thinks it's okay. You're dad really likes to interpret your talking though, which is usually pretty hilarious. Who needs Bruce Willis (aka "Look Who's Talking") when we have your dad. You dad is so adorable with you - he's teaching you valuable lessons like how to scatch your butt and wear pants on your head.



Your hair, your crowing feature and the one everyone stops to comment on, is getting long enough now that it doesn't stick up any more, but that doesn't stop me from making it stick up in the bath tub.



But don't worry, you are cute as a button again after the bath.



One of my good friends was finally able to come by and visit you. A series of events made it seem like it would never happen. But she came to see us and gave you the cutest hat.



Later in the month, we went to see her - your first road trip! And daddy tried out the new baby carrier!

You are getting stronger everyday. You have excellent head control, and love sitting up (supported) and putting weight on your legs. In fact, you are getting less and less content in your little rocker chair and demand to see the world from our point of view.



Your smile continues to light up my world. I love you so much Boo Boo. Stay happy and healthy.


Love,
Mom

Two Months

Dear Natalie,

I bet you thought you thwarted my efforts to take a picture of you in the dress Auntie Sheri gave you for your two month photo shoot by letting me dress you and then going to sleep for 12 HOURS! But you were wrong! I let you sleep in this cute little outfit, and when you woke this morning, we snuggled while I fed you, and then we had an early morning photo shoot. I need a faster camera though, by the time our camera takes the picture, your smile has faded. You're still cute and sweet as a button though!

This month started off with an introduction to your first social smiles. Let me tell you how fun it was for your father, grandmother Lupita, and I to see you first tentatively lift the corners of your mouth, then break out into a full-out, open-mouthed, bright-eyed, dimpled smile in reaction to our exclamations, smiles, and excited baby chatter. The first time it happened, I literally started jumping up and down! This happened over the New Year's weekend, and the quest was on to capture this delightful new development on camera!

We also received a very generous gift from Grandma Pam: your father likes to call it the escalade of strollers or da' bomb. It is a Mountain Buggy. We christened it by taking you for a stroll through West Edmonton Mall, where you briefly enjoyed the spectacle of new lights and sights before settling into a nap.

By the way, you are an excellent sleeper and I feel very lucky that you fall into the average number of hours of sleep for a newborn. From birth you have continued to sleep for about 15 - 18 hours per day, making this whole parenthood thing a very easy transition so far. I'm actually starting to worry that I won't know what to do with you once you become more alert and active.

Of course, having Grandma Lupita around for weeks 3 - 6 also made it very easy on me - what with all the help she offered in making meals for me and your dad, generously contributing more than her fair share to groceries, and snuggling and caring for you so I could take naps, clean the house, and do errands. Initially I was a little bit worried about having my mother-in-law stay for so long, especially since I don't speak Spanish and she speaks very little English. However, we communicated just fine, due to her efforts to learn and practice her English skills, and by the time you turned one month old, I actually started to worry about what we going to do without her when she left on January 10.



Thankfully, you remained the easy, happy, sleepy baby your are after Grandma Lupita left, but we sure do miss her help and I'm sure you miss her snuggles.

You continue to grow and develop on schedule and it is a treat to watch you discover your hands and feet. Yesterday you were so cute as you couldn't take your eyes off your flailing foot in the bath tub. You have been taking swings at the hanging toys on your rocker chair and sometimes you even make a hit, surprising yourself. I can't believe how much you've grown since you were born, you are almost too long for your 3 month outfits and I have already retired two outfits. But then I see you in your father's strong arms, and you seem small again and I am reminded that we still have time, precious time, to enjoy you as our little baby. No matter how fast that time flies, I am grateful for each moment.

This month was all about learning to get out of the house with you. And Grandma Pam helped us along by being in a situation that really required us to go and visit her every day. You were a highlight to the dreary days she spend in the hospital, but snuggling with you on a daily basis helped her get well and hopefully soon she will resume her habit of coming to bring me coffee in the mornings and enjoying your smiley time of the day.

Speaking of smiley time of the day, I got it on tape.

Thank you for lighting up my life this month. I love you so much!

Love,
Mom