Tohi
Nicknames: T, Little T, Toe-weenie, Mamachio, Big Momma, Miss No Naps, La Jefa--cuz you think you're the boss. (and cuz you kinda are)
Milestones:
You are strong, girl. You are similar to how Woody was in the fact that you want to go, to move. You grab anything that you can reach and you are surprisingly strong in what you can pull out of my hands. You can roll over both ways. You rolled from front to back in early May. Seriously, I thought it was a fluke but you continued to do it from then on so it turned out to be a legit skill! You rolled from back to front a week before you turned four months old. Those first rolls were the cutest, most determined rolls. There were lots of legs kicks to get that momentum going! You love that you can do it and now I'll lay you down to change your diaper and by the time I turn to grab a new one, I look back at your bum because you have rolled over so fast. Just the past few days, you have started rolling more than once to get across the blanket. You are surprisingly mobile for not being able to crawl yet. I'll put you down on a blanket and turn to do the dishes and I'll look back to check on you and you have rolled off the blanket and scooted yourself backwards and are trying to get one of Woody's airplanes in your mouth. Surprisingly mobile and dangerous. You had a big day about a week before you turned four months old. Not only did you roll over but you laughed as well! It was a pretty big day around here! Woody made you laugh first. And for an entire week, he was the only one who could make you laugh. Conor and I would try but you would just stare at us and smile but then Woody would bark like a dog or something ridiculous and you would think that was hysterical and we would hear that sweet giggle! I must confess, I was trying really hard to get that giggle out of you. I would do the exact same thing that Woody was doing, whether it be bark like a dog or some other silly sound and you would look at me as if I was a fool.
What you are like:
You are absolutely fantastic. You are so smiley and animated and so full of love. You are your cutest/happiest in the mornings. You wake up so happy to see everyone. Your face breaks into the hugest smiles all morning long. You are crazy for your brother. You watch him with such amazement and excitement. Your face says, What amazing and hysterical thing is this guy gonna do next?!? You are strong. You want to stand and go and walk and crawl. You've started to get your legs under you in that beginner crawl stance and you can't wait to figure out the rest! Oh my little Tohi Girl, you are not a very good sleeper. You usually nap in 16 minute increments and you prefer to nurse ALL.NIGHT.LONG. You are insulted when I try to use a pacifier and despite my best efforts to offer you your thumb, you are not interested. You are thriving and growing and happy so whatever. You'll eventually sleep. You just just love your mom and want to snuggle at all times.
What you are like physically:
Your weight is unknown because there are no awesome Publix scales to weigh you on here. But you are a solid little mama. Your 6-9 months onsies are tight--skin tight. I found a few 12 month onsies packed away the other day and when I put you in one you looked at me like, "aahhh, thanks mom, these are so comfy!" You are not a rolly polly baby, (well, your thighs are a bit) you are just long and solid. You have beautiful blue eyes that seem to be staying blue so far. At times, they look a bit dark grey around the edges but they are bright and happy eyes that grab the attention of most people you meet. We get a lot of comments on how beautiful your eyes are. Your hair is strawberry blond. It depends on the light. Sometimes you look blond, other times red. It is getting a bit longer and I think you are going to have curly hair, wavy at least. You still have that sweet swirl on the back/top of your head that if I wanted to I could put a hair tie around it's so long now! Around four months old we noticed you are starting to get some teeth! That's right, plural. I kept checking for days because I was so surprised that there could possibly be teeth in there already. I actually counted on my fingers how many months you are because I panicked that maybe I had missed a month and you were really five months old. Nope, four months and getting teeth. Nothing has broken through your gums yet but your gums bother you, you drool like crazy, and there are white hard things I can see and feel under your gum. . . so I'm not sure what else that could be.
Tohi, you are just the smiliest, happiest, most full of love little butterbean. We are so crazy for you.
Elwood
Nicknames: Woody (obviously) pumpkin, love muffin, and Senor Preguntas.
Milestones:
You have hit the curious three year old stage, hence the Senor Preguntas. You do not do the simple "Why?" Your questions are full sentences and most of the time they deserve an answer. For instance lying in bed last night we are reading a book and you ask me Do flamingos have tongues? I answer yes. You respond with, Why do we have tongues? I answer with why do you think we have tongues and you respond with So we can lick things! So we can eat popsicles! Pause for thinking. about popsicles??? Why do we have teeth? I have a lot of teeth. for chewing? chewing up our food and our vitamins! Who do you think has stronger teeth chimpanzees or flamingos?
Me: Chimpanzees for sure.
Your newest skill is you know how to snorkel and you love it! It's so adorable. At first you wanted to hold hands while we snorkeled but you are getting braver and go swim and explore and look at stuff by yourself. You've even dove down to grab things a few times. You don't like me to be too far away from you because you are still not a confident swimmer when you can't touch but we are working on that too!
What you are like:
You are our joy of life, pal. You are so fun and loving and friendly and funny! You crack us up all the time. You are truly a joy to be around. You have your moments, oh boy do you! But we work through them as a family and talk about what behaviour is acceptable and what behavior is not. Mostly, you are naughty when you are tired and I try to remember that and be patient, but some days are tough. Whenever you are getting close to being naughty, we usually can catch it and we ask you to go lay in the bed and re-set. You bring some toys or books in there and do your yoga breaths. Its not a punishment, you can come out when you feel better and you do. When you are whining or being too rough with Tohi, you go in and re-set and come out as a nice boy! A majority of the time, this technique works. Sometimes you get a time out and we have a talk about what behaviour made the time out happen. It all sounds very calm and patient and loving and that's what we are striving for, but I am human and sometimes there are mean voices and threats of throwing toys away but overall you are a wonderfully behaved boy. You are gentle and kind and thoughtful and you love your family. You have so much love for me and Dad and your sister. It makes me so proud how much you love and want Tohi around. At times we can't do things or fun activities get cut short because Tohi is with us or she needs to nap and you never, not once, hold it against her. Although you are annoyed that we have to stop swimming in the ocean because Tohi needs to nap, you never show resentment or anger towards her. This is not something we have told you to do, it's just who you are. Kind, loving, understanding, caring. Sometimes when we remind you to be gentle with Tohi, you look at me with these hurt eyes and say, "I kiss her hard because I just love her soooo much."
You are our outside buddy. You love going on adventure walks looking for red frogs and exploring the jungle by our house. You LOVE going swimming. You are so fun in the water. You are brave in the waves and after a few warm up waves that you jump over, you are ready to dive under.
We have about 15 books that we read and you can recite almost all of them word for word. You love to read. If I need you to be quiet and entertain yourself I will get you comfy on the couch and put a stack of books next to you. It's hard for me to do whatever task it is I need to complete because I just want to stare at you and listen. You "read" each book with such animation. I just love to listen to your little voice read out loud to yourself. And you are literally saying every word that is on every page. It cracks me up. You also love your airplanes and cars. You zoom them all around the house and talk to them and for them in different voices.
Your imagination is really taking off and it makes playing together that much more fun. Before, I had to come up with a lot of the ideas or games that we would play. But now, I just let you lead the way with whatever adventure we are on. You come up with all sorts of ideas that are way more creative than mine. You use different voices for your airplanes and stuffed animals and you "answer" for Tohi all the time in this funny high pitched voice. We have been working on your letters and with some assistance you can write your name. You love to write "W's" and when you are bored with me helping you practice writing your letters you ask "Can I just write "W's" all over this page?" Sure pal, go for it.
Woody, you are our boy. We just could not love you more. It has been a year of big changes for you. You lost your uncle and dealt with and saw big emotions from yourself and your family. Your life changed from being Dad's and my whole world to having to share that with a little sister. We moved to a different country where you don't have family or friends and people speak a different language. And, Pal, you have met every obstacle with such love, kindness, compassion, and maturity. We are so proud of you.
