Madeline is 2

Dear Madeline,

This past year for year has been a big one! You learned to walk, say many words, and eat and cook lots of different foods. It's amazing how coordinated and well spoken you are in just a year. You are silly, helpful, and a little crazy sometimes. And your energy level is off the charts, as it should be. Sometimes you just run around the house in circles. What really amazes me is how much you love to take care of things. Whatever I do with you or Amelia, you do with your babies and stuffed animals. You took your monkey to the potty today, sat him on the toilet, flushed it, told him how proud you were of him, and gave him a sticker. And you are constantly turning the light off in the living room because your animals are sleeping. You like to take care of daddy to. You make sure he wears a hat outside and he's careful around the hot stove. Your personality is definitely shining through. You are tough, helpful, smart, curious, and playful. You are more than we could have imagined. We can't wait to see how much you grow in the up coming year.

All my love,
Mommy

Amelia's 3 Months!

Oh Amelia, you are such a joy to have in our household. Your first smile when you wake up in the morning is the most wonderful thing I will ever see. 

You are growing quickly, just like your sister. You still love your sister and want to watch whatever she is doing. Madeline likes you, but doesn't like it when you take her toys. 

You are so laid back and ready for anything. You are happy to watch the world around you but I can tell you want to be apart of it all. Keep growing little monkey!

A look back:

1 Month

2 Months

Amelia at 2 Months

You're 2 months old little drool monkey!

Length

  22 inches

Weight

12 pounds 11 ounces

Special talents

Sleeping, you are great at putting yourself to sleep and staying asleep! You have also started to pull yourself into a sitting position when we hold you. Sitting straight up is your preferred position.

Crying

You rarely cry, just when you are hungry or tired and don’t have your pacifier.

Sleep

You sleep great at night only waking up once or twice. You still sleep a lot but are starting to fall into a 3 hour rhythm during the day: eat, play, sleep.

Dislikes

You do not like being hungry! You also do not like to be held close. It makes your stomach upset and you tend to throw up.

Likes

The black and white pictures and whale mobiles make you very happy. Seeing Mama and Dada make you really happy to. We love to see your smile!

Firsts

You went to the baby sitter for this first time. You go for a few hours once a week and enjoy playing with the other baby there. Your laugh has really developed as well, which we all love.  

A look back:

1 Month

Amelia is One Month Old!

Amelia, you are a month old already! Let's back track for a moment though...

You were born in the middle of the night (3 am) by the only person in the labor and delivery ward, a nurse. The quickness of it all was scary for your parents, but at least it was over with in a few hours! 

Madeline was excited to see Mama and Daddy again, but didn't know what to think about you. She quickly warmed up once we got home.

Now, let's see how you've grown!

When you first came home:

Length

Birth: 19.5 inches

Now: 21 inches

Weight

Birth: 7 pounds 6 ounces

Now: 10 pounds 15 ounces

Special talents

Making your big sister share with you, getting love from the cats, keeping yourself happy

Crying

You rarely cry, except at night when you are tired or you’re hungry

Sleep

You sleep most of the time! You are awake mostly in the evening but sleep for long stretches at night (3-4 hours).

Dislikes

Loud noises, jerky movements, baths in the sink, throwing up (which you do every few days), and sunlight in your eyes

Likes

You love your sister. Her voice always makes you smile and laugh. The picture frames behind the couch, sitting upright, and singing make you happy too.  

Firsts

Smiles, laughs, and holding your head up. You were also visited by Grandma and Grandpa Crank, Grandma and Grandpa Boehle, and Uncle Travis this month. You are very loved.

Christmas 2012

This year for Christmas, we stayed home in Vermont and enjoyed being together without any other obligations for 4 days in a row! It was relaxing and fun. Christmas morning was the best part. Seeing Madeline's face and excitement when she saw the tree all lit up with the gifts underneath it was priceless.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We picked out our Christmas Tree a few days after Thanksgiving. Jonathan went with us and helped us chop it down. We opted for small hoping it would be safer for Madeline, but she actually did great not tearing anything off of it or playing with the tree.

And we made a Madeline ornament like we did last year. This one was much simpler---her profile printed on shimmery, textured paper and tied with a ribbon.

Christmas weekend it snowed---A LOT. Madeline loved watching it fall and playing around in it later.

On Christmas Eve, we opened our stockings. Madeline loved pulling everything out, regardless of the stocking. Grandpa Boehle sent Madeline chocolate covered marshmallows and I promised to give her one of them. Here's the proof! She loved it :) She also got coloring pencils, a pad of paper, a book, a broom, and a princess crown...and that was just her stocking! Spoiled rotten she is! (These are almost all of the gifts we got her though.)

 

 After Madeline went to bed, I started putting gifts from our family under the tree and Andy finished putting together Madeline's learning tower. The tower to is help her reach the kitchen counter so she can help us chop and stir and whatever else we do up there. She has always taken an interest in seeing what we are doing and wanting to help...and it is getting hard to hold her for too long (25 lbs of baby will do that). 

Are these for me?

Something new to push around!

New shoes! With heels! Oh my.

An awesome hat-purse with a shiny new personalize dish for us!

Once she found the tower, she was in love with it! She kept climbing up and then asking for help to get down.

Cookie cutters

Her new table with her pencils make for a great end of Christmas!