Felicity Grows Up: TWO YEARS OLD!!

(Photo Credit goes to the incredible Kerri O'Neal of KO Photography.)
I cannot believe that my baby girl is two. In fact, we brought her home from the NICU two years ago yesterday. I am still so thankful for her every breath. What a gift she is to our family!
Felicity is a quiet (at least in public), tender, slightly aggressive (especially with her sister), animal-loving, smiley, nurturing love bug. She likes to take care of others, is very attentive to the needs of those that she loves, and always has one of her babies nearby. She's fiercely protective of what (and who) she thinks is hers, she loves her people, and she loves to be at home (like her mama).  Felicity's Two Year Stats: Weight: 27.5 lbs (70th %) Heigth: 34.5 in. (70th %) Head: 48.5 cm (70th %) Talking: Felicity is still not a big talker. She has certainly increased her vocabulary by several words, but she still signs many things, and we still have to encourage her regularly to use her words. In total (words and signing) she has 38 words, and she can put together a few short sentences. (Ex. I want Daddy. What's that? That's mine.  I want that. Bubba want that. Etc.) Her favorite word in the world right now is "Bubba." She started calling him that out of nowhere, and he just lights up when he hears her little voice. While comparatively she isn't talking as much as Avaree was at this age, our pediatrician found her to be in the "normal" range with words for this age. She very clearly understands everything that we say, so we know that one day soon, she will just start jabbering non-stop and not look back. :) I'm looking forward to hearing, "I love you, Mama!"



Eating: Felicity is our good eater. She'll try just about anything that we put on her plate. Her very favorites are avocado, rice, chicken, cheese, and grapes. She also loves popcorn and m&ms for special treats! :)

Playing: Felicity plays all day long. She LOVES to take care of her babies. She is constantly feeding, rocking, or putting one to sleep. She loves to put her babies on brother's play mat or in his car seat and buckle them up. She tells us to be quiet when they are sleeping, and she "nurses" her babies frequently. I don't know where she got this idea, but she always takes her whole shirt off to nurse her baby. :) She also loves puzzles (particularly her "Felicity" puzzle and her shapes puzzle). Felicity's favorite shows are "Little Einsteins" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." She also loves to watch and sing/dance along to "The Wiggles" and "Laurie Berkner Band!" She reads books ALL DAY LONG. Her very favorites right now are her Elmo books, Are You a Cow?, Giraffes Can Dance,  Minnie's Bowtique, Mr. Brown Can Moo, the shapes, and the numbers. She's in that stage where she wants to read the same books over and over and over again. Felicity also loves to play with her "Bubba." She likes to show him toys, read him books, and pretend to take his picture. She snaps her fingers and calls his name to try to get him to look at her "camera." :) She of course loves her sister too. They are in an interesting stage where they are either having a blast together, or they are fighting. They love hard and fight hard. Felicity shows her aggression toward Avaree more than anyone else, and Avaree enjoys aggravating her, so it's been an interesting dynamic trying to navigate those sister waters. In our family prayers every night, I pray (aloud--where they can hear me) for God to give them a deep love for each other (and for brother) and not allow jealousy or resentment to take root in their hearts. I know that they love each other, and when they are sweet, they are soooooo sweet, but the fighting is hard right now.



Sleeping: Felicity is an incredible sleeper. She takes wonderful naps every afternoon, and she usually sleeps between 1.5 and 2 hours! Of course, there are exceptions, but, for the most part, she's a rockstar napper. :) She also sleeps really well at night! She only wakes up at night if she is sick, but she regularly sleeps from 8pm until 7am. We think that's pretty awesome.

Sizes: Felicity is wearing 24 month or 2T clothes, and we just moved her to size 5 diapers.

Milestones: Sister is VERY interested in the potty. She successfully goes to the potty at least once a day right now, but she sits on it frequently. She will sometimes tell us if she needs to go, and she always goes potty before bath. One side effect of this interest is that she is constantly taking her diaper off, especially if she isn't wearing pants. If you know Felicity, you know she loves to not wear her pants when we're at home, so this has caused a "you must wear pants" rule! :) Thankfully, we have only had one accident since all this started, but I am waiting a couple of more weeks until I have brother in a little better of a schedule, and I know that I can devote at least three full days to be at home with a helper and get this going. :) In other milestone news, Felicity's last molars are coming in. She's handled that like a champ, but it is crazy to brush her teeth now and see her little mouth full of baby teeth. She also knows her colors and can count from 1-5 when prompted with her fingers!



Looking Forward to: EVERYTHING! I can't wait for her to say she loves us! Daddy can't wait for her to say more to him than "Dada" over and over again! They have become quite the pair lately. I love watching their relationship grow, and I'm excited to see how that plays out. I also can't wait for her to learn more every day! I can't wait to watch her continue to interact with her "Bubba" and sister.

Dear Felicity, 

You are sunshine in our lives. Your smile can light up the whole room, and since the day you were born, your eyes have told a story. You love us well, and you give the very best hugs. May you always know how beautiful you are. May you understand how deeply you are loved by God and loved by your family. May you never feel less that completely loved and adored. May you continue to have a heart for others and learn healthy ways to take out your frustrations. May you know where to turn when you are scared and how to cope with change. May you continue to be the precious little sister and big sister that you are. May you never ever feel like the stereotypical middle child, but instead feel like the gift that you are to so many. 

I love the verse that God gave me for you. I was becoming fearful at the fact that you weren't talking much yet, and then I had such peace knowing that so many seeds have been planted in your little heart, and one day you may just spout out scripture to us. I woke up on your birthday with this scripture on my heart: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my rock and Redeemer." --Psalm 19:14

In this next year, as you add vocabulary and content to your sweet little life, may you add words that please him, and may your little heart continue to be filled with the seeds of His great love for you.

I love you, sweet girl.

Mommy

Felicity Grows Up: 18 Months

I'm super behind on this, but I've been super busy taking and editing pictures to supplement our family income, and all the other daily tasks of life with little people and ministry! :) (Felicity, forgive me? I love you!) And, yes, Felicity is currently 19 months and nine days old, but I have had this ready to go for a bit… :)

Felicity's 18-month stats: Weight: 26 lbs (87th percentile)
Height: 33 inches (85th percentile)
Head Cir. 47.2 (75th percentile)
Felicity's Favorite Things (and how she asks for them): 1. Mommy (ma ma) 2. Daddy (Da Da) 3. Avaree (sih-der or Aaaaye) 4. Elmo (melmo) 5. Ball (bawl) 6. milk (mill) 7. baby doll (dah) 8. book (buke) 9. Fresh Beat Band (bee bee) 10. Mickey Mouse (me mowel)
Talking: Felicity has about 32 total words. She speaks 18 words clearly, and she signs the rest. The pediatrician has not been concerned and has told us that it's a combination of Avaree talking for her and being the second child. We have a very language-rich home, but she is just content to stay a baby a little while longer. :) She does make lots of sounds that we aren't sure of yet, so she is making the attempt to talk more, which is the important thing! 
Eating: Felicity still loves her old favorites of avocado, turkey, cheese, peaches, mashed potatoes (tatoes), fruit snacks, anything pumpkin, apples, and she is very good about trying anything that I make! She only has 5 teeth, but that doesn't stop her! She loves her milk, apple juice (half water, half apple juice), and water that she can get from the fridge by herself!
Playing: Sister loves to run! She loves to play with her baby doll and take her in and out of her little stroller. She loves to read books, and her favorite is still Are You a Cow? :) She also loves, loves to play with all of her little animals from her Noah's Ark, and she loves to sing! Her favorites right now are "Itsy Bitsy" (she asks for this by saying my name and doing the motion for the spider going up the spout!) and "Twinkle Twinkle!" She loves to run and dance with her sister in the living room! She is happy ALL of the time, unless she is tired or hasn't slept well! 
Sleeping: Felicity has played Spiderman out of her crib a couple of times, and now she is finally sleeping a little better in her crib! Last night she didn't even make a sound, and she is finally starting to sleep through the night again! Huge thanks to her Daddy who can get her back to sleep in less than a minute! When I go into her room, she wants me to hold and rock her. We are trying to get a solid routine back in place before baby brother comes! We even started adding her to our family prayer time, as she can close her eyes and put her little hands together. She takes one nap a day, though she still wants to take two sometimes, and I let her if we are able. Her one nap usually starts around 12:30, and she is usually up by 2-2:30 pm! I love her sweet, sleepy face when she wakes up! When she wakes, she wants her blankie, dolly, and cuddle time! It's my favorite. She also gives kisses and hugs (upon request and spontaneously) that will melt you to the core. 
Sizes: Felicity is wearing 18 month and 24 month clothes. The 24 month and 2T things that we have are a little big, but we roll them up, and we wear them when we need them! :) She is wearing size four diapers!
Looking forward to: Seeing Felicity with her real life baby doll coming in January! :) I am anticipating a very difficult transition, so anything better than that will be a Gift from above! Felicity is very much still a baby, and I don't want to take any of her babyhood away from her. She is my little snuggle bug, and I love, love snuggling her and watching her play with her big sister. They can drive each other crazy, but they can also be so loving and sweet! :) I'm sure that's just a small glimpse of our future with those two! :) 

Felicity, 

I can't imagine our family without you. You are a precious little lovey, and you make life so much more full of love and life! You keep us laughing, and you give more love to us than we could ever give to you. I'm feeling very protective of your babyhood right now, and I want you to know that you will never be a "middle child" to me. You (like your sister and brother) will always simply be my baby. You will never be expected to meet any social or cultural understanding of "the middle child." I promise you that we will work extra hard to make sure that you get all of the love and attention that you need and deserve. May you never ever feel less than completely loved and safe. I am so very, very blessed to be your Mommy! You make my heart overflow with warm fuzzes. Your little grin and introvert tendencies make me love you even more. 

I love you forever!

Mommy

Felicity Grows Up: ONE YEAR!

My baby is ONE!

New Developments: Felicity is standing from a sitting/crawling position without holding on to anything! She is also taking 5-10 steps on her own! We're pretty sure that she continues to crawl because it is just so much faster. This girl could seriously win a crawling competition in the Baby Olympics! She is soooo fast! She can also do tricks on her knees! She can walk for several feet on her knees, make a complete turn on her knees, and of course dance on her knees! ;) She  has added a few new foods to her repertoire, and she loves to read even more as well! More on that below! She has also added a new word(s): "night night" (nigh night), and that is really sweet! I'll say, "Felicity, do you want to go night night? And, she will giggle and say "nigh nigh" if she's ready. She'll grunt or scream if she's not. I must say that we are ready for some words around here. She just hasn't picked up the signing like Avaree did, and she very much wants to speak. I'm pretty good at anticipating or quickly discovering her needs, but sometimes we still have some frustrated baby screams. I am so looking forward to seeing what she calls Avaree, and how she says "I love you!" Can't even wait!

Eating: Felicity loves to eat. So far, there has been nothing that we have put in front of her that she has declined to eat! ;) Her very favorites have remained consistent: avocados, mashed potatoes, apples and squeezes--her favorites are kale and mango or anything with purple carrot! She can drink out of a hard top or a soft top sippy cup lately. She has absolutely been wanting more water during the day. She only nurses two times a day now, with an occasional afternoon mama milk snack if needed. I can always tell when she needs it. She certainly screams and points at my chest sometimes too! I'm so very, very thankful that I was able to make it for one fully year nursing! I feel so blessed to be able to say that! Breastfeeding is a huge commitment, and it is certainly not easy at first, but it's a special bond, and it certainly helped our budget! Felicity has been a great nurser, and I'm looking forward (albeit bittersweetly) to weaning her completely in the next month or so. I will slowly add in some whole milk to her diet this month, and I will eventually drop our remaining feedings as well. I have a small stash of frozen milk that I will mix with cow's milk as well. Hopefully that will help ease the transition. 

Playing: Felicity LOVES to play! Her very favorite game is Peek-A-Boo! She loves to throw a blanket or scarf over her head, and then pull it off with a big grin on her face! She also will exaggeratively try to hide her face behind objects, and then get really close to me with a big grin, as if to say, "Pee-Pie!" :) She is absolutely even more in love with her dollies as well. In this picture, she only has one dolly, but for at least 70% of the day (and while she is sleeping), she has two dollies, and she cuddles them close! If she crawls, she crawls with them. If she plays, they play next to her. If she is being held by one of us, she holds them. This girl loves her dollies fiercely and pats them so sweetly. She also loves to play legos with Avaree, and is IN LOVE with her favorite book, Are You a Cow? I seriously have to hide it every day. She cries to read it, and she will put it in my face until I read it to her. I love that she loves to read, and I'm so happy that she's chosen a favorite! Like her big sister did with her favorite book, she cries when we get to the next to the last page, and she wants to start over every time! 

Sleeping: PRAISE THE LORD that Felicity is sleeping better. If she is well, she usually on wakes up once a night--if that! :) She has slept through the night about 14 times in the past month! YAY! :) She also still takes two naps per day! Her first nap is usually around 10am, and her afternoon nap is usually around 2pm!

Sizes: Felicity is still in size 3 diapers, and she is wearing 9-12 month and 12 month clothes! I love dressing her!!!!!!!

Disposition: Felicity is a super happy baby that loves her people fiercely. She gets jealous when Avaree is in my lap (and vice versa), and she loves her Daddy like nothing you have ever seen. Every afternoon, she stands at the window yelling his name and beating on the window while I make supper. I can always tell when his car is pulling in to the driveway because her tone changes! She gets so excited! :) She loves her Avaree, and no one can make her laugh like her big sister. She loves to give slobbery, open-mouth kisses, and she loves to snuggle with Mommy (and dolly). She makes me feel overwhelmingly filled with joy. She loves music, and her favorite songs right now are: "You are my Sunshine"and "The Hot Dog Dance" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  Her favorite things to watch are "Baby Signing TIme", Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" and "God Made Animals!" She loves to swing, play with her Jack in the Box, and she thinks the sunshine is there just for her! I don't have words to describe how much fun she is and how blessed I feel to get to be with her all day every day. She's precious, and I love her from the depths of my soul!

Felicity, From the moment that they put you in my arms, I loved you. Honestly, up until that moment, I wasn't sure that I would be able to love another baby as much as I loved your sister. But, I was wrong. Those first eight days of your life bonded us like no other. I remember the first time that I was able to walk by myself down to the NICU. You were about 18 hours old, and I walked what seemed like a million steps to a very intimidating room full of beeps, machines, tiny babies, and nurses. I hadn't seen you since they had put the CPAP on you, and I wasn't sure what you would look like. I walked up to your bassinet, and almost immediately all of your monitors started going off and your nurse rushed over. They told me that it must have just been my presence. You smelled me and you knew I was there. I hadn't spent more than five minutes with you before they took you away, and yet you knew that I was your Mommy and that I loved you. The bond that we have is so special, and I feel so very, very, very blessed to have my two precious, beautiful girls. I think I have the two most amazing girls on the planet. :) I love so many things about you, baby. I love how you snuggle into the crook of my neck, and how you lean in when you are being shy. I love how you want to be with your people more than anything in the world. I love how you follow your sister around, and you look at her like she's your hero. I love your story. I love that your life is my forever reminder of God's goodness and mercy. I will always treasure this year. Even though I was in a sleepy and crazy at first, this past year with you and Avaree will forever go down as the year that I learned the most about God's love, about marriage, about parenting, and about the deep, deep love that I have for my babies. I pray that you grow to know the depths of God's love for you. He has healed you twice so far, and I know that His plan for you is amazing. I can't wait to see it unfold. I love being with you, and I love being your Mommy. Will you always be our little sunshine?  I love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, and wider than the horizons!  Love,  Mommy 

Felicity Grows Up: ELEVEN MONTHS!

Eleven months!!!!! My BABY is E-L-E-V-E-N MONTHS old!!!! How did this happen? We are now officially one month away from being O-N-E!!!!! Just thinking about it makes me teary! This is my last update before she turns one. I don't even know if my heart can take it. Here we go! 

New Developments: My baby is growing up so fast! She continues to stand up on her own for as long as she wants! She walks holding onto our fingers, and she effortlessly cruises around the furniture. I'm just not sure I'm ready to stop hearing her speedily crawl across our hard wood floors. She also does this precious little quirky thing when she is crawling. Whenever she has something in her hand (a ball, dolly, a toy, etc.), she will keep it in her hand and crawl with it. It just scoots across the floor clutched tightly inside her little hand. She is also obsessed with her Daddy right now! She said "Da Da" about 3900 times per day, and she gets VERY upset if she can't get to him. He's on mission trip right now, and while we were face timing with him this afternoon, she lost it. She had her little arms out trying to reach him, and she threw herself a royal fit that she couldn't get to him. Her little face was so sad, and I think it really upset him too. He got off the phone pretty quickly after that. I'm guessing their reunion will be really sweet this weekend! :) 

Eating: Felicity LOVES to eat! Her favorites right now include her fruit/veggie squeezes (she gets one per day, and she loooves them. She can hold them herself, but sometimes she wants me to hold them so that she can play with the big green cap! It's large enough that she can't choke on it. Another thing I love about the Happy Baby brand!) Felicity is very into mashed potatoes, nitrate free all-turkey hot dogs, avocado (still her favorite staple), chicken, tortillas, black beans, carrots, beans, and anything that I am eating! She had her first taste of a popsicle this month (thanks, Daddy), and she LOVED it. Now every time Avaree has a popsicle, it is not her own! ;) We have also started to drop mama milk feedings. She typically only eats from me three times a day now, and sometimes she still eats at night, but not every night. I am so hanging on to every little thing with her. I feel like I have had to fight to breastfeed both of my babies--(I was a working mom with Ave, and I have had health issues this go round), so I don't take giving it up lightly, but my goal has always been one year. We are almost there, and (ready or not) the weaning will begin! I'm so thankful that God gave me the desires of my heart in this area!

Playing: Felicity LOVES to play! Her favorites are her DOLLY (She has two little bitty dolls that she just loves. She crawls with them, sleeps with them, plays with them, and I always have one of them with us!), Peek-a-boo, playing anything with her sister, playing anything in Avaree's room (notice a theme here?), puzzles (a new favorite this month), anything that plays music, books, singing songs, and any silly game that Mommy makes up! :) We also got added a baby swing to our swing set this month, and Felicity LOVES to swing! :) You also love to watch (and dance to) the opening and closing songs of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", and you love the theme song to "Sofia the First" and (mama's fave) "Gilmore Girls!" :) You immediately hold your hands up for me to pick you up so that we can dance together through the songs! :) You, Mama, and Avaree have dance parties every single day! :)

Sleeping: Felicity has become an excellent napper!!!! She goes to bed for her morning nap between 9:30 and 10am, and she sleeps anywhere from one hour to two hours!!!! Her afternoon nap begins any time between 2 and 3, and it usually just lasts one hour. She is then ready for bed at 7pm! She is almost always asleep by 7:15-7:30 at the latest, and she is READY! :) She dropped that last little mini-nap that use to help her make it to bedtime, so she's ready for bath and bed by 6 or 6:30, and I push her to at least seven when I can. While we still have crazy nights sometimes where she is up and down alllll night, she typically wakes up two times every night now. Sometimes I still feed her one of those times, but it really just depends on the night. I stopped Avaree's night feedings at six months, so it seems crazy to me that I am still feeding her at night some, but she really wants it, and I don't mind. I've considered that if i stop this feeding altogether, maybe she would start sleeping through the night (she seriously hasn't done that yet--ha!), but some nights I am desperate for sleep, and she seems desperate for mama milk, and I just feed her. :) She will sleep eventually! She typically wakes up for the day around 7am, and this has become her special time with her Daddy! She wakes up, stands up with her Dolly, and starts hollering, "Da da Da Da" as soon as she wakes! :) He loves it, and unless he has an early meeting, or has had a super late night, he almost always goes to get her, and they have special cuddle and play time! :) (And Mama is super happy to get a few quiet moments before my day begins!)

Sizes: Felicity is still in a size three diaper, and she is almost out of all nine month clothes! The other day I put her down for her morning nap still wearing her (nine month) footie jammies from the night before. She woke up with a whole in one of the feet, and her little piggies were poking out! I guess it's time to move to 12 month jammies and clothes!! 

Disposition: Felicity is a happy, happy baby! She has an infectious little laugh, and she lights up your world when she smiles at you. My very favorite Felicity quirk is that when anyone says hello to her or acknowledges her while I'm holding her, she leans into me and buries her little head in my neck. She is such a cuddle bug, and I just can't get enough of her. She is the happies (like Avaree was) when we are all four playing on the floor together, having a dance party, or in Avaree's room for prayers. :) 

My little lovey, You represent so many answered prayers in my life. Everything about your little life points to God's great grace, and I pray that you grow to know Him and love Him! Writing this update makes me want to go pick you up out of bed and hold you for just a little while more. (And you know what, I might do just that.) You light up our world, my little sunshine! As your world continues to grow, Mommy, Daddy and Avaree will always be here to guide and love you! Just don't grow too fast, okay?  I love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, wider than the horizons and back again! Mommy