I never did a birthday post for Amanda or Katie, so I'm going to play catch up.
Amanda at Three Years Old!
Amanda is probably my most affectionate child. She loves to hold my hand, give hugs and kisses, and will often just spontaneously tell me that she loves me, or that she missed me. She loves to help Ellie and wants to be big enough to hold or carry Ellie (which usually just annoys Ellie as Mandy is holding her back when she tries to get away!)
Amanda is quite emotional, which often translates into much tears as we enter the "trying three's". She still stumbles a lot (which we attribute mostly to her left foot still having some curvature) and every little spill usually takes much love to get past. After a few minutes, she's a real champ to show me her happy face and move on.
Amanda still loves her lamby and it's still the original lamby! We found a replacement and hopefully when the time comes for this lamby to retire, she'll handle it well. Lamby has seen some serious miles and pulled Amanda through many illnesses, tears, long nights, etc. She's been a faithful friend.
Amanda is learning to be independent. She can dress herself, is great at going to the restroom by herself (but in true girl form, often asks me to go with her just for company!), can get on her own shoes, jacket, etc, puts away the clean silverware from the dishwasher, and CAN make her own bed, but hates to. Amanda
loves to pull out homework whenever Katie does. She recognizes all the letters now and is improving on number recognition. 2 and 5 are tricky! She can spell her name at computer class (given multiple choice what the next letter is) but can't quite recite it out yet. She knows our phone number perfectly, and her birthday. She can also tell you her parents names. Amanda loves to sing. She can sing many primary songs that she's learning in nursery, and also has been practicing lately making up her own songs.
Amanda is often found playing make believe with her dolls. If Katie is around, she'll gravitate toward the activity that Katie is doing, but while Katie is at school, I see more clearly some of Amanda's own interests (which are definitely still influenced by her big sister). Amanda carries around a baby, sometimes putting it in the stroller to go shopping, or to the library. She'll simulate story time or church and will pick up her baby and rock/bounce her while she shushes her "It's okay baby." She loves to load up baskets full of blocks or puzzle pieces while she "shops". Sometimes the puzzle pieces or blocks become food, and she'll set an elaborate table, the dishes full of blocks/puzzles. Interesting in that we have a huge play food set, but that's never the food!
Amanda loves to play outside too. She's gotten much more confident riding her new bike (with training wheels). She loves to ride her three-wheeled scooter but tires on it quickly. She loves to swing and can get on the swings independently but can't pump yet. She loves to go on our daily walks to drop off and pick up Katie at kindergarten, and still sometimes gets upset that she can't stay (kindergarten DOES look pretty fun!).
Amanda has beautiful blonde hair that is silky and still has a tiny bit of undercurl. She has a gorgeous, broad smile and light blue eyes. She is so beautiful. She has dropped considerably in appetite and so is losing any of her remaining "baby fat" or roundness she might has still had lingering. Although she can still sniff out the most remote treat, and then hides under the kitchen table or family room table to eat it!
Amanda is usually the first one up in the morning, and often has a hard time staying in bed at night. Katie and Amanda often stay up giggling after bedtime, and Mandy will finally come out and want to go to the bathroom, or wants her music restarted. She gets the sillies and has the sweetest giggle.
For her birthday, we took Amanda up to Heber and rode the Heber Valley Railroad. It was loads of fun, but really hot. We only took the 90 minute ride and I think 60 would have been enough. During the ride, the train made a stop and two "train robbers" demanding the "money box" got on the train. They had handkerchiefs over their faces and play guns. They had all the passengers put their hands up and almost took our seat neighbor as hostage. We laughed and tried to keep it light, but still play along. Amanda was pretty worried about it. Long after the robbers got off and the train departed again, Amanda kept her hands up and asked repeated where the robbers were, if they're gone, etc. She kept a close eye out the window for them.
Amanda loves her sisters. If we're getting ready to go and her sister (usually Katie) isn't ready and coming quickly, Amanda is often telling us to wait for Katie, don't leave her! It's funny! She always wants to give her kisses to Ellie at night too and if Ellie goes to bed early without a kiss, Mandy's sad about it.
In Family Home Evening and scripture study, whenever we ask Mandy a question, she says Jesus. If that's not it, her next try is Joseph. She loves to pray and is pretty good at doing it without help. Sometimes that means, however, that she'll start looking around and telling stories in the prayer (like what we did at the park). But I guess that goods too. I'm sure Heavenly Father loves these child-like prayers and appreciates the relationship she has with him.
It's funny to watch how the girls' play has shifted now that Ellie can crawl and follow Katie and Amanda where they play. If they're building trains or lining up cars, Ellie, of course, comes a long to crash and destroy. Mandy will repeatedly tell Ellie (very reasonably) to go play over there, to leave her cars alone, to not crash her train, to here, play with this instead. It's funny because each time, Mandy fully expects Ellie to understand and obey! And she gets so frustrated when Ellie just continues to sit right there and pull things apart! So far she has not taken the frustration to a physical level, which I think is a tribute to her gentle, loving nature (which is sometimes overcome by other three year old tendencies!).
Amanda is often my store helper and I think she's my preferred shopping companion. She's pretty good about staying close and playing some little games with me to stay happy. She's also a good helper to find things, carry things, and make selections. She's getting more outgoing and rarely has profound shyness. She's interacting more with others her age. She talks about playing at church with friends and we've had few play dates. Only occasionally has she had a bad case of the "mines" during these play dates. She's trying so hard to be big and I want her to slow down! I'm sure that's only going to get worse and worse!
I love Amanda dearly! Being in the middle of three girls, I hope she never feels lost in the shuffle because she is so special and unique to me. I think I see a lot of me in her, personality-wise. I love you Amanda!!
I realize that I'm more than a month overdue, but I had to make some notes on Ellie's first year. I am sad to report that I've written in my journal less this year than for more than a decade and therefore, I've probably missed recording so much of her first year, but it's been such a fantastic year with Ellie. I love Ellie so much and I'm so grateful to be her mom and have her in our family. Ellie is a fantastic little sister, which means she loves to follow around her sisters and try to get in on the action. Katie and Ellie love to play doggie, and they both crawl around on their knees and bark. When Katie hides around a corner and then comes out barking to chase Ellie, Ellie startles a little, then laughs and crawls away as fast as she can. It's hilarious.
Ellie is a great people watcher and on a few occasions when the older girls have an activity that Ellie can't participate in, she will usually be content to sit on my lap and watch the action for quite a while. This has made church a bit easier too, although we are now reaching the limits of that (only 4 1/2 months until nursery!). Ellie loves to put necklaces on. She loves to scribble on the magnadoodle that Charlotte and Levi gave her for her birthday. We pulled out the princess ride on car a week ago and Ellie has already figured out how to get on and off by herself, and push herself forward on it. This is despite the fact that she's so small her feet barely reach the ground!
Ellie loves animals and loves to make animal noises. She loves to play with the animal magnets from Grandpa and Grandma Greer. She LOVED going to the zoo for her birthday party and seeing the monkeys and an active tiger that growled back to her! I love her "WOW" that is so breathy and takes up her whole face--eyes and mouth that are just big O's.
Since about 9 months old, Ellie has been a great sleeper, although she's an early riser (exacerbated by her excited sisters going in each morning to "see if Ellie's awake"). Katie and Amanda love to get in Ellie's crib with her in the morning. They make her lie down so they can read stories to her. She doesn't always appreciate it!
Just this past week we played the "Foot Book" game with the Dr. Seuss book. (on slow feet, quick feet, we put her foot in the book and first move it slowly across the page, then quickly across the page). Now, every book I pull out, she puts her foot in it! Poor Ellie inherited her dad's sweet tooth. Her older sisters were pretty good vegetable eaters--preferring carrots and broccoli to watermelon! But Ellie is hard to get veggies in and she gobbles fruit. She's started saying Banana (nana) and I think is trying to say Manda. She still says lots of wow and uh-oh. Ellie signs "all-finished" when she wants to get out of the high-chair (when she's finished or doesn't like the menu!~). Ellie signs "milk", which sometimes means drink or food. She signs "hungry" and a version of "more"-which is one finger into the other palm of her hand. Ellie folds her arms to pray too (at least for the first 15 seconds of a prayer!).
What a year 2011 has been! It's been so fun and I've done poorly at recording more, but here's the recap in a nutshell:
Let's begin at the beginning: New Year's found us with a one week old baby daughter! Noelle Anne (Ellie) was born December 22 at 6 lb 15 oz, and came home from the hospital on Christmas Eve. Needless to say, Christmas 2010 for me is a bit of a sleepy blur. We love having this beautiful girl in our family. She is a little Momma's girl and cuddle bug. She knows her name and "no no". She is beginning to learn some sign language to help us communicate. She is famous for her "gimpy" crawl (right foot, left knee) and she loves to climb (my first big-time climber). She climbs up on stools, stairs, and rocking chairs, etc. whenever she is given the chance. She is adored by her sisters (sometimes competitively). She loves rocking and having stories to read her, playing cars with Amanda, dancing with Katie (I love the baby tooshie dance!) and her pink penguin, Penny. Ellie is well-loved and our sweet Christmas baby who is growing up so quickly!
The second big event of 2011 came in April. We officially ended our financial relationship with the universities, in the form of Brett's graduation from BYU Law School. It came with great joy, and mild (bordering on hysterical) trepidation, as Brett still remained unemployed. After applying all over the nation, he ended up 2 miles from home working for a small business law firm in downtown Provo! It's a relief to know we can start paying back those student loans with something! He has a lot of independence in setting his own work terms, which is nice. I'm enjoying the lack of homework, but it's been sad to give up the holiday breaks and the flexible hours (that was a two-edged sword). I'm so proud of Brett and all that he's accomplished. I'm also glad that his schooling is over! :)
Third big event: Katie entered kindergarten in the fall. She thinks her teacher is grand, and so do her parents. She has already taken another jump toward reading and writing. She loves art and learning new songs. She has a great time making new friends. If she could, I think she'd love to go to school all day, every day! Katie mastered riding a two-wheel bike this year, as well as tying her own shoes. She loves dressing up and dancing, pretending to cook (we all know real cooking isn't as much fun!), and acting out stories with sisters, dolls, animals, etc. I can't believe I have a child in school, but she's great to face new challenges.
Fourth big event: Amanda and Ellie took their first family vacation for their first time at Disneyland! We've waited for years to be able to get traveling again and it was a joy to see Amanda experience all that is Disneyland! She loved having many rides that she could go on (a few were still too big) and loved the characters and princesses. We plan to go again next year, and I think Ellie will enjoy it more and more too. (Yes, I know I still need to post the trip!)
Amanda enjoyed becoming the big sister this year. She loves to read stories to Ellie every morning, and insists on pushing the stroller when we go out. Amanda loves to put together puzzles, play at the park, dance, sing, play with cars, and tag along her big sister. It's been hard to be left home when Katie goes to school each day, but once we're home she does enjoy being the biggest kid at home with no one to boss her around! Amanda has enjoyed more opportunities to play with friends her age. She is usually very cooperative and sharing with her friends and sisters. What a joy to have our Manda-Panda.
We feel so blessed as we look back on an eventful year. We have been buoyed up and provided for at every turn. We know these are blessings from our Savior and we rejoice in celebrating his birth and life. We hope you and your family find joy as you also remember the Lord whose birth we celebrate, and whose life saves each of us.
Ellie loved her first Halloween. She didn't fight her "mane" and she loved Trick or Treating. I stayed home to pass out candy and Brett took the girls around the neighborhood. I expected him to drop off Ellie within an hour but they came home well after dark and Ellie was having a grand old time. She loved watching all the costumes, going to the door with her bucket, and growling like a true lion.
Katie just kept going and going, dancing the night away. I made them come in and eat some dinner when they finally brought Ellie home, but they wanted to go back out again so Brett took the older two out again and Ellie was asleep within half an hour. It was lots of fun.
I never did a birthday post for Amanda or Katie, so I'm going to play catch up.
Amanda loves her sisters. If we're getting ready to go and her sister (usually Katie) isn't ready and coming quickly, Amanda is often telling us to wait for Katie, don't leave her! It's funny! She always wants to give her kisses to Ellie at night too and if Ellie goes to bed early without a kiss, Mandy's sad about it.
I feel like Ellie is really blooming lately. Her personality is just coming out and it is so much fun! Today, we put her in the jumper chair that hangs from the doorways. She had so much fun jumping! I think she felt so big and more like she could control what was happening to her. She has been playing lots of cause/effect games. She loves to shake her head (like saying no) and wait for you to do it too, so she can do it again. She laughs and thinks that's so fun! She also loves to clap. Anytime we say "Yay!" she will clap for herself. Many times, like tonight in the high chair at dinner, she alternates--head shake, clap, head shake, clap. It's darling! And of course, she waits for you do it with her each time. Today we went to the park and I put her in the baby swing. As soon as I gave her a little push, she just started laughing like it was the funniest thing all year! It was hilarious! Each time she'd go away from me, she'd catch her breath, and as she swung closer to me again, she laugh again so hard! She loves to go down the slide. I hold her with a hand in front and a hand in back, and when she's ready to go, she leans forward and lunges down the slide with a big, adventurous grin! She's so brave and fun! She loves playing in the wood chips. Of course, she still tries to eat them, but once I block her feeding hand once or twice, she's pretty good to just play in them and crawl in them. She's never been bothered by sitting in grass, even bare legged. She is quite the tactile girl. I still can't put anything in her hair because whenever she's sleepy, she fingers her hair to go to sleep. She sometimes will finger mine if I'm rocking her. Now that she's bonded with Penny the Pink Penguin (thanks Uncle Aaron and Aunt Jenny!) she's doing better about sometimes rubbing Penny and resting the hair. She's got the thinnest hair so far of my girls, and I'd hate to see her lose any more of it, even self-inflicted!
I think she bonded with Penny when we were trying to sleep train her to sleep through the night and go to sleep on her own. Less than a month ago, I finally got her to sleep through the night. I had tried before but I couldn't take listening to her and finally went in to her. This time, she'd wake up at 1 or 2 am every day. I let her cry (I could see her but she couldn't see me). She would cry until 6 am. Every day! For four days! I finally went in to her at 6 because I figured it was getting light by then and I couldn't take her sad crying anymore! So I went in and got her out and changed and fed her, etc. So, on the fifth day, I woke up at 2. Ellie did not! Ellie woke up at 6 am from then on! Awesome! It's an early start, but I'll take it over 2 every day! I have gradually got her to now sleep until about 7 am, which is even better! It was harder to get her to sleep through the night than with her sisters. So, Katie slept through at 5 months, Amanda at 7 months, and now Ellie at 9 months. I hate to think what that pattern might predict!
Ellie has enjoyed exploring my face a lot lately too. I get lots of fingers in my eyes, pulling my eyelids, pulling my earrings, in my nose, in my mouth, grabbing my teeth, trying for my tongue. I love watching her face when she sees my tongue move! And then she'll looks at my eyes and smile like "That's a pretty cool trick you do, Mom!" She's still a momma's girl, which I love! Now that she's sleeping through the night, I love the sleep I get, but I miss rocking her more. I'm trying not to get her hooked on being rocked to sleep, but it's hard to put her down when she's so drowsy and snuggly! I just love my Ellie-Bellie. These second nine months have gone so much faster than the pregnant ones! She's growing so fast, she's my little butter ball girl. I love to see her reach for me or snuggle me or say "MaMa" when I enter the room!
She's practicing her little sister skills. She follows around her sisters and tears apart their toys--pulls apart train tracks, scatters lines of cars, crashes block towers, pulls down tents, rearranges the kitchen and wakes up napping baby dolls! I laugh. Katie and Mandy don't!
