Say "Dees"

Dear Baby,

You're 15 months old and as smart as a whip. We've been really working on crawling and walking still but one thing is for sure: You can TALK! Your mind is a human sponge and you are developing at a pace that astounds me. For Christmas, we gave you a princess camera. You now crawl around the house holding it up to your face and saying "Dees" (Cheese).

You can copy just about any word you hear, but here are a few things you are saying and actually know the meaning for. "More" when you're thirsty, "Baby" when you're talking about yourself, "Nigh Nigh" when you go to bed. You also play with your dolls in your dollhouse and put them to bed telling them "Nigh Nigh". You can say "Noah" as clear as day and "Wa-Wa" is what you use for Elijah. You still favor "Uh Oh" and "Oh wow" and "bye bye" as you wave. Every morning when we come in to greet you, you wave and say "Hi Mama!". When your daddy comes into the house from work you say "Hi Dada" with such enthusiasm, he has to run to you and give you a kiss. You can point to your nose and say it, and your mouth and say "mouth" and eyes as well. You also point them out on your baby doll. And just the other day when you were playing with your dolls you learned how to say "What are you doing?" I kid you not, I almost fell over. An entire sentence?

You LOVE to sing and make up songs and frequently do. And when we're alltogether in the room you babble like a crazy person to keep up with us. While all the other babies your age are totting around down a hallway, you are just suited to sit on the floor, or crawl to where you want to go. But make no mistake: you are no lazy bum, no you're just lightyears ahead of them when it comes to communication. I LOVE that about you and I have this sneaking suspicion that you are going to be one of those girls that talks incessantly. I love this new phase in your development girly and am so proud of how smart you are and how fast you pick up on things!

First Ponytail

You are 14 months old now and your hair has gotten so long on the top that I got a chance to experiment with ponytail holders. I have to admit, you were quite patient with me while i struggled to get it tight. I just felt the need to document this moment in history: Olivia's first ponytail. It was actually much easier to put your hair up then it was to take a picture of it!

My sweet girl, this is just the first of many many hours, days, weeks and years that I will fiddle with your hair, I'm glad you're at least STARTING off patient!

Love, your mama

One Year Celebration

Dear Baby,

You turned one! I thought about what this moment would be like for a long time, and it's finally arrived, my last baby turned a year old. We threw you a very pink Parisean themed celebration where you munched on croissants most of the day and absolute chowed down on your pink cake. You looked gorgeous all decked out in the puffiest pink dress and tutu and you were such a good girl and wore your party hat most of the day!

We had a little scare with you and gaining weight a few weeks before your birthday, but we fed you lots of whipped cream and cheese and milk and you were happy to eat it. We loved watching your cheeks get chubbier and your personality start to really come out.

My dear sweet sweet baby girl, we are so blessed to have had you in our lives this past year. And as I pack up all the tiny baby clothes and blankets, I am so looking forward to what this next year will bring with it. Playing with dolls, and doing your hair, learning to walk and having conversations with you. You are becoming a toddler and saying goodbye to babyhood. But it's not the baby part I loved, it's been you I've loved. So I celebrate this special time when you grow a year older and I look forward to all the possibility this year brings for you and the world around you. You are the joy of my heart, the final piece that was missing in it, and I feel so complete and contended watching you grow. Your smile Olivia, brightens up my life, it's absolutely amazing. I loved watching you get your first 2 bottom teeth and look forward to watching you get all the rest.

Olivia Violet Cosette Warkentin.... your mommy loves you, and I wish you the happiest of birthdays!

11 months and a whole lot of words!

Dear Baby,

It's been a hard month for us. Getting you to gain weight has been tricky (one day this will bode well for you). It's been a month of extreme development for you as we've seen more and more of your personality shine through. We've discovered that you are quite opinionated. You don't mind telling us exactly what you think at any given moment (something you've undoubtedly inherited from me.) Watching you interact and understand us more and more when we talk to you has been amazing. You're understanding so many words and even sentences. When we say, "Do you wanna go?" you instantly drop what you are doing and excitedly kick. When we ask you if you want to eat, or want more you are also very responsive. Equally you understand night-night which is both a blessing and a curse. But it was the two week visit with your grandparents in Georgia when we discovered just how much you could communicate. In just two weeks you learned how to say "Bye-bye" and wave, "hi, and hey" depending on how well you know the person (also accompanied by a big grin and a wave). You say "Uh-oh" when you drop things and also "Wow" when something is fascinating. You mimic almost everything we say and you get alarmingly close to words like airplane and happy. You are dying to have conversations and any time you can you throw out all the words you know in a rythmic flow. It's incredible how socially adept you are and how fascinated you are with interaction. You daily amaze me with what you learn and how well you retain information. We are so excited to celebrate your first birthday soon and all the amazing milestones that the age of one brings. As always, you are a delight.

Love,

Mama

9 months old and a bucket of cuddles

Dear Baby,

You love your dad. The other babies were fiercely loyal to mama for the first year at least, and you definitely love your mama. But you also have a softspot for daddy. He can make you smile like no one else can. You love it when he throws you way up high and you love to play games with him. Your daddy feels so connected with you Liv, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it has to do with the fact that you are his little girl. You spend time watching football with him (yes you really do, and I am sure he will remind you of this when you are older and don't care for watching football with him.) And you love to cuddle with him. This is brand new to him. Babies don't usually like to cuddle with daddy. But not you, his baby girl, you love to cuddle with him. And if mommy can't be present, you are perfectly at ease with being with daddy. I love watching this bond between the two of you. It was a bond I wondered if he'd ever get to experience. And even though he loves his boys, and all the boy things he gets to do with him, I think he would truly be sad if he missed out on his little girl. You are so treasured; by your father and I both!

Love, Mama

8 months old and mother's milk

Dear Baby,
You're 8 months old now and it is a mystery to me how you got so old.Weren't you just a tiny newborn only a few minutes ago? Though everyone says you're still so tiny, I see it....the growth in you. How chubby your little cheeks are, how you can see me from down the hallway. How you know your father's face when he comes home from work. I see evidence of your growth everywhere.

But in one area, you're still very much my little baby. Liv you've always loved to breastfeed. I've never really had any trouble with you at all in that department. I went away for 5 days on a vacation with your daddy a few months back and was worried sick about leaving you and losing this connection I have with my little baby. But as soon as I came back, we went right back to normal and I cannot believe we've made it this far. I have to say, that after 2 different kinds of experiences with breastfeeding, it's nice to have somewhat of a success story with you.

I love the time we spend together. I love how you gently brush my face with your hands, or how you giggle at me when you're full . I love the connection and bond it brings in us, and am so thankful for it.

You recently got a tooth, and on occasion you like to "try it out" on me, which makes you laugh. It's not pleasant to me, but I'm thankful you don't really do it all the time.
Olivia, I'm not sure how long I will get this time with you, but I am really enjoying it. You are precious and I treasure you.

Love,
Mama

First Fry (8 months)

It's every mother's nightmare to lose the precious moments of a third-born due to business, or inability to pick up a camera. I vowed a long time ago to not let the story of your childhood go untold simply because I had two other children. You are special, you are dear, and you are just as important. And it's my job to document your life; every small victory, every adorable thing you do.

Today, you had your first In-n-Out french fry. And you didn't stop at one. No my dear, you ate half of my share of fries. It was so cute. And I was so excited that I was able to catch it. You see, I have a picture of each one of your brother's first In-n-Out french fry eating experiments as well. And I was so pleased that I didn't miss the opportunity to catch YOUR special day as well. Will it seem silly to other people, and maybe even to you one day? Oh probably. But today, was a special day... for me. The day my baby discovered french fries.