Week 70

Dear Jorie,

What a week! It went by in a blur of happy times and laughter. Your Father's birthday was this past week, so there was a lot of celebrating.

I actually went out with Jaimee (just the two of us) on thursday night for a bit. We spent a good amount of our time talking about you and Zetta!

Friday we celebrated your Father's Birthday with a low key dinner at Red.Robin. You ate your pizza like a big girl, holding the little slices and taking bites from them. You really seemed to like all the lights and sounds and people there. You even started to warm up to our waitress by the end of the meal.

On Saturday we went to the Genesee Valley "Hunt Races". It was a big agriculture festival with horse races and a track where people raced their dogs. We tried to see the weiner dog races, but after waiting for half an hour after the race was supposed to start, we gave up. You had a good time, although you were more interested in everyone's dogs than any of the animals in the petting zoo!

Saturday night instead of having dinner with my parents, Your father and I met some of his friends out to celebrate his birthday, so you stayed with Nannie and Grandpa, although you were ready for bed by the time we dropped you off. We got back really late, and didn't want to wake you up, so we spent the night there. You only woke up confused once, and all it took was hearing your Daddy's voice and you were back to sleep.

Sunday we had dinner at Nannie and Grandpa O's, you sure did see a lot of them this weekend! You even called my mom "nana" for the first time! You did it twice, then refused to do it again. But that's the way you are with things.

Tuesday at family dinner, you and Wes were tearin' it up in the living room! Wes is standing and just about to start walking, and you are finally getting to the point where you want to play with him. You love running up to him and giving him hugs and kisses. It's really adorable. You spent a lot of time picking up toys and handing them out to people, and climbing on the couch with your Grandma Ross.

Recently you like to say "Mama" a lot, and "Baby" and "Belly". You've said "hi" a few times, and You started using "Eat" lately. You're getting really good at manipulating drawing instruments, like pens and crayons. You still love having us read books to you, and will go get a book (saying "book" which always sounds like "boouh"and always said like it's a question), crawl into our laps and sit while we read, or sometimes while you "read" to us.

You've outgrown most of your clothes again, so this weekend I think we'll have to make a trip to the consignment shop to get you some new clothes. It seems like you barely get to wear any of your clothes before you outgrow them. You're getting longer and leaner lately. I think you'll be tall like your father. I'm still holding out hope that your hair will get curly, but so far no curls.

I love you baby girl!

Week 69

Dear Jorie,

Another week full. Full of family from out of town, full of fun places to go, and full up on sickness.

Your Great-Grandma Ross was in town this weekend, along with your Great Aunt Jean. On Saturday your Great-Grandma Ross (GGR) joined us at my parents for dinner. Sunday morning Jean stopped by for a bit to visit and then we all went over to your Grandma and Grandpa Ross', and had Sticky Lips BBQ for dinner!

Sunday you were running a low fever, so your father stayed home with you on Monday. You were coughing a lot, so we ran the humidifier which seemed to help a little. Your father said he had a good day with you, and we even got a chance to go visit over his parents on Monday night.

You were still running a low fever so I stayed home with you tuesday. And boy was tuesday rough. You were not a happy camper. You were coughing so much you woke yourself up from your (way too short) nap. You didn't eat much, and were just generally cranky. The fever went away, but the coughing was so bad I decided to bring you in to see the doctor.

We left a little early for the doctors, and I made a pit stop at a play ground near the doctors office. You seemed to be in a much better mood while running and playing on the slides. You did some swinging, and played in a "bouncy" car. You even went down a couple of the big slides (on my lap.)

At the doctors office you found some weebles and spent a lot of time lining them all up together. You seemed very amused by them as they wobbled around. The doctor said everything looked good, it's just a really bad cold, and should clear up in a few days.

You were still coughing a lot, and so very cranky tuesday night at family dinner, so we called my parents, who are watching you today. Hopefully we'll be able to send you back to day care tomorrow.

One of your new words, and new obsessions, is "baby" (although it sounds more like "Bee bee".) You find and point to every picture of a baby, proudly telling us you found a baby. Since we don't have any baby dolls at home, I dug out the lovey your Grandma Ross bought you, which you had no interest in before. It's kinda like a baby doll, but the body is a blanket. So you've been carrying it around, proudly saying "baby!" You will go find it if we ask you where your baby is. And you like to get a blanket and "tuck" the baby in.

The tucking in is a new favorite game of yours. If anyone lies down on the floor, you find a blanket and spread it over them, pat their back and say "nigh nigh!" You will do this for a long time too. The other night you were "tucking" your father in for almost half an hour! I've been told you do this to the other kids at day care too!

Even though this week has been very stressful for  your father and I, and you've been sick, it's also been full of a lot of fun memories. I'm so glad that you're growing up with such a loving, close knit family around you.

I love you Baby Girl.

Week 68

Dear Jorie,

This week was a lot more fun than the last one! Your father and I ran around like crazy people this weekend! Not much of it was of interest to you though.

Saturday morning we took a trip down to the Ellwanger.Barry Park playground, which is about two blocks from our house. You had a great time running around, and going down the small slide all by yourself. You even did some swinging, both in your own swing and on daddy's lap. Your favorite part I think was playing in the sandbox. You spent a good deal of time burying your legs by dumping sand in your lap.

Sunday was the busy busy day. After brunch with Farley, Your Father and I borrowed the van from Nannie and Grandpa O, left you with them, and went and bought a sideboard for the living room, to keep you from getting into the electronics. Then we went to Powers Farm Market so Aunt Becky and Uncle Michael could get pictures of you and Wesley in the pumpkins. We also took you guys on a "haunted" hayride (which was non scary enough for you.) There were also animals! You liked the goats, but weren't too sure about the Llamas. I think they were a little big for you.

Tuesday we were over Nannie and Grandpa O's again, we had a birthday dinner for Grandpa R there so everyone was there, Nannie, Grandpa O, Grandma and Grandpa R, Aunt Becky, Uncle Michael and Wesley! You didn't last much past dinner, and I think you were asleep upstairs by the time Aunt Becky and Uncle Michael showed up.

This week you've started saying Bubbles a lot. You do this really cute thing where you take a spoon and your ball (the one with holes all over it) and you "dip" the spoon in the ball and then pretend to blow bubbles with it. You were also doing that and then pretending to feed whatever was on the spoon to the dog this morning.

I love you so much baby girl. I'm so glad you've been healthy this week, and that we were able to do so many fun things with you this weekend (it doesn't sound like it listed out like this, but honestly, the best time is just playing with you on the living room floor sometimes!)

Week 67

Dear Jorie,

What a week! This letter is being written late, because you've been sick this week. You were home from Daycare Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Your father stayed home with you Tuesday, I stayed home with you Wednesday, and you stayed at Nannie and Grandpa O's on Thursday. Today you are finally back at Daycare. Even before that it was a busy week!

Saturday we watched your cousin for the first half of the day. It was great having both of you for that long, and letting you guys play. Wes was a sweetheart and very laid back all day. You did get a little jealous of all the attention he was getting, although you really seemed to enjoy actually getting to play with him a bit.

Monday after work, your father and I put you in the jogging stroller and got out for our first run in a long time. It was a great day for a run, and you seemed to enjoy zooming along in the stroller. We only did a little over 2 miles, but it was great to get out and run again!

Monday night, when I was putting you to bed you seemed rather warm, so I decided to take your temperature. It was a troubling, but not horribly worrying 100.5. We made the call to keep you home on Tuesday, and your father decided to stay home with you. Sometime in the middle of the night, your father woke up to check on you, and your temperature was higher, around 102, so we decided to start giving you medicine.

Your father stayed home and kept up the medicine all day on Tuesday. He let you watch some television during the day to keep you entertained, although you didn't really seem that interested in it he said. Your temperature came down with the medicine, but would start climbing as the medicine started wearing off. Late Tuesday night, before me and your father went to bed, I decided to take your temperature. When I picked you up out of the crib, you were very warm, and started to shiver. We had given you medicine a few hours before, and had a couple hours left before we could give you more. When I took your temperature, we were shocked to see it top 104. We called the doctor and got the ok to give you an additional dose of medicine, which thankfully brought your fever back under control.

Wednesday your temperature was really low, so I didn't give you any medicine all day. I got to stay home with you, and really enjoyed the extra time. You didn't really nap like you usually do, and you weren't really eating a lot, but other than being super clingy, you seemed like you were in a good mood.  I let you watch some television in the afternoon, just some sesame.street and then later we watched Lilo.and.stitch.

Your temperature came back up before bed to around 100, so on Thursday you stayed with Nannie and Grandpa O. They said you had a great time, you went for a walk in the stroller, and ate outside on the deck. When I came to pick you up you were sleeping. When you woke up and we went to leave you cried when I took you from Grandpa. You really love your Grandpa!

Luckily, your temperature did not come back, and you're healthy and at Daycare today. One of the things we learned while trying to keep you calm while taking your temperature is that you LOVE playing with the touch screens on our phones. We're debating getting something so you can play with one of our old phones. I'm hesitant because I have been trying to keep you from having a lot of screen time, since studies show that any screen time before the age of 2 can aggravate any predisposition to ADD, which is present in both sides of your family history.

I love you baby girl. Hopefully next week's letter will be full of more fun things, and no more of this sickness!

Week 66

Dear Jorie,

This week me and your father were busy bees. We decided on Saturday to clean all the carpets in the house. So we rented a carpet cleaner, and I spent the rest of the day cleaning carpets. We had planned on attending a birthday party for one of our friends children on Saturday, but he got sick, so the party was postponed.

Because we had planned on the party, we had dinner at Nannie and Grandpa's on Friday night, and then, because of wet carpets, again on Saturday!

On Sunday, we had brunch with Andrew and Micha and then we had Bill, Jamiee and Zetta over for a while. You and Zetta had a great time playing around each other on the floor while the grownups talked. The main reason for them coming over was so that Zetta and you would get used to being around each other, which we all hoped would help on Monday, since Zetta started at your day.care on monday!

Also on Monday, you had your 15th month check up. Your father brought you. You were a rockstar for the exam, but you were very upset by the shots. You are now 31 inches tall and weigh 26 lbs 4 oz. In case you care that's the 66th percentile for height and 89th percentile for weight. Not bad after the initial worry about you not gaining enough weight!

Last night and Grandma and Grandpa R's, you had a great time playing with a bunch of toys, and demonstrated that you most definitely know which parts go to which toys. You  put bat.man in his car and wonder.woman in her plane!

Your newest word is Bottle, although you are not very good at saying the "t" sounds. You also like to stick your tongue against your top front teeth and go "Ttttthhhhhh". You have recently shown an increased interest in your books too. You know what we mean when we say "go get a book" and will often say "bouh" (which sounds kind of like book without the k) and go pull a book down, bring it over and sit in our laps. Sometimes you want us to read to you, and some times you just want to sit in our laps while you "read." You've also started pulling your pink caterpillar by it's string around the room. I'm going to have to get you one of those pull along puppy toys!

Another super cute thing you've started doing lately is this all out dancing to music. Before you would kinda sway and bob your head, which was also super cute, but lately you've added in wildly waving arms. I'm hoping we'll be able to get a video of it soon!

It seems every time I stop and look at you, you've gotten bigger. It's hard to notice every day, but when I look back at pictures from a month ago even, you're so much bigger and more confident. The shyness is still there whenever someone new talks to you (or even someone you haven't seen in a while,) but when you're around people you know, you are a walking, babbling, happy go lucky kid.

The only times you're really not just a bubbly ray of sunshine is when you are tired, hungry, or teething! Recently you've had a run of teeth coming in (I think we're on numbers 7 and 8 right now.) They're coming in more than one at a time, which I'm sure is really uncomfortable. I can usually tell that's why you're cranky since you'll start sticking your fingers in your mouth, Usually you don't suck on your fingers. You're even down to just using the binky at night, and your father has been thinking about starting to wean you off of that. I'm not so sure I'm ready for that. I kind of like the bedtime routine we have right now.

I love you Baby Girl!

Week 65

Dear Jorie,

This week was all about recovering from Vacation, and getting ourselves back into the rhythm of our normal lives. It was hard to get used to being back from Maine. I still miss the smell of the Ocean, and the softer rhythm time had there.

This weekend my parents were out of town watching your Uncle Chris compete in an IronMan! Since they were out of town, Saturday we didn't do much, except the grocery shopping and some cleaning around the house. It was actually really nice to have such a low key day.

Sunday we had a Jamiee, Zetta, Your Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky and Wesley over for brunch. Your Dad made blueberry pancakes, Jamiee and Zetta brought Fruit Salad, and Becky brought this delicious Breakfast cakey thing from Wegmans. It was great having a relaxed breakfast with all you kids playing on the floor. You all seemed to play together really well too!

Your Uncle Mike and Wesley stayed after everyone else left to watch the Football Game. Now, when you're older you're going to find out that we are Fans of the Buffalo Bills, with all the pain and excitement that comes with it. It was a great game, but they lost unfortunately.

Now, all day I had been getting updates from my Parents about your Uncle Chris, and how he was doing. Once everyone had finally left for the day, I started following his progress online, on the Ironman.com website. We made the decision to stay up and watch your Uncle finish the race. We were watching the Live Stream around 11:45 at night (our time) when he crossed the finish line. Your Uncle is and IronMan!

After he crossed the finish line, Your Uncle proposed to his girlfriend (now fiance!) Kim. So much happiness in one day!

This week, you've been "talking" up a storm. You say Mama, Dada, Bye, Ball, and I think Blue. You have a word for doggie and a word for kitty. You recently added the sign for please to your repertoire. You have what sounds like full conversations with us, with your toys, and sometimes just with yourself. It's completely adorable.

The shyness is still around. You are very outgoing, as long as the person is more than 5 feet away, but as soon as they get close, you get shy. You warm up to people after a while though. We've also noticed that you get super jealous whenever Me or your Father is playing with another kid. As soon as I have Wesley in my lap, or your father is helping him walk, you will be right there, pulling on our arms or climbing in our lap. I'm hoping this wears off, since we're planning (hopefully) on giving you a sibling in a few years.

On Sunday, while I was waiting for updates on your Uncle, I made some food packets for you with our "packet filling station". I made two kinds, one with Quinoa, Applesauce and Spinach blended together and one with blueberries and yogurt blended together. So far you've loved both blends, and it was really easy to fill the packets, so I'm going to try to come up with some good puree's and fill some more this weekend.

This week we also made you your very first box fort. You love it, and really enjoy sitting inside it and poking your head out of the window your father cut in the side. He made doors on it, and you love opening and closing them. It's so much fun watching you play in the box and babble away.

Since Maine, you like to walk everywhere. You've gotten pretty good at following us when we tell you to, and walking while holding hands. Sometimes though, it's just easier for your Father to throw you up on his shoulders.

You've still got six teeth, but I can see another couple that are getting close to coming in. The teething is making you a little fussy sometimes, but it's hard to tell if it's your teeth or you're just cranky most of the time, since the cranks usually happen right around bedtime.

I love you Jorie Bear, stop growing up so fast!