Mercedes - 3 Years Old & Alexis - 10 Months Old

To my Princesses,

I missed the whole month of March, oops! Things are always hectic, particularly since you two seem to want to go in opposite directions. I LOVE being at home with the both of you, but man, it's exhausting! I can hardly find the time to shower, let alone write in your journal.

But I wanted to take this opportunity, before I go back to work in just a couple of weeks, to thank you both for the past year. It's had its ups and downs, there have been tears (from all of us!), a lot of sleepless nights, whiny tantrums, injuries, injustices, yelling (more than I'd like to admit), frustration, anger, overwhelming helplessness, illness... etc. But there have also been tears of joy, heart-melting moments, kisses, hugs, snuggles, laughter, milestones met, new things learned, unshakeable bonds formed, and an overwhelming amount of love.

I not only fell in love with you, my sweet Alexis - birthing you, breastfeeding you, cuddling you while you slept on my chest, snuggling you in our big bed at night, sitting up with you while you were sick, watching you grow and learn and discover all those wonderful things babies discover in their first months.

But I also re-fell in love with you Mercedes, my lovely big girl. Having this second chance to spend extra time with you has been amazing (frustrating and exhausting at times, but amazing). Taking you to gym class and 'math' class and playdates... doing crafts and baking and going on long walks and reading and doing puzzles and playing catch. I loved the time we spent together in your first year of course, but having this chance while you are older is something special and unique that unfortunately, I won't ever get with Alexis.

And most of all, I've loved watching you fall in love with each other. There is nothing like the looks you two give each other, the giggles you two share, the smiles you greet each other with. Of course, there have been bumpy patches in your relationship also - fighting for my attention, being told you aren't allowed certain things, and more recently, a biting baby sister who tries to steal her big sister's snacks. But in general, you two love each other so much that it makes MY heart hurt with how happy it makes me.

I can never get this year back, and I know that when I'm back at work things will be hectic and overwhelming and we won't get as much time together. But I'll always have the memory of how special it has been, and how much I've learned - both about my amazing girls, and about myself as a mother. I love you Mercedes, and I love you Alexis. My shining stars, forever.

Mercedes - 3 Years Old!

Dear Mercedes,

Happy Third Birthday my big girl!! It's hard to believe that three whole years have gone by - your life has flashed by in an instant, but at the same time, it's hard to believe you haven't been in our lives forever. You are such a delight... minus the tantrums, the whining, the sleep issues... but even those hard moments make you the little person that you are. Your vocabulary is astounding, and you have the best, funniest, most amazing conversations with us. You make jokes, you give great hugs, you are affectionate and loving with your sister and with Duke, and with us. You have these wonderfully long arms and legs and giant feet, which we affectionately refer to as 'clodhoppers'. You insist on being half-naked most of the time - ditching your socks and your pants almost immediately upon walking in the house. You have the same addictive personality as your father - when a show or a snack catches your fancy, you insist on it over and over and OVER again. You try to bargain with us daily for more snacks, more shows, more stories, and you try to resist bedtime like there's no tomorrow. But we love the nighttime cuddles with you, and we are enjoying this wonderful age of discovery, ups and downs and all. You LOVE to sing songs and you are slowly learning how to recognize the alphabet. You can count to 15 or so, and are getting great at recognizing your numbers from 1-10. You absolutely ADORE going to 'classes' - currently we are doing a 'math' class at the Ontario Early Years Centre, as well as Kindergym, and you are full of enthusiasm for both! I can't wait to see you in school in a year and a half - I just know you will love it!

I am so proud of the wonderful little person you have become and I can't wait to see what the future holds for my bright little girl. We love you so much Princess.

Love,

Mommy

Alexis - 8.5 Months Old

Dear Alexis,

You have two teeth! Yay!

Your lower right central incisor (common first tooth) and your upper right LATERAL incisor - a little out of order for a 2nd tooth, but you've always been a trouble-maker haven't you?? ;) Both are just BARELY cut, but perfectly explain the random evening screaming you've been doing lately when you should be sleeping. I have a feeling some more are on their way too... I'm going to miss that gummy smile.

Love,

Mommy

Mercedes - 35 Months Old

Dear Mercedes,

You are nearly three years old and your vocabulary and comprehension of things astounds me every day. You have the most wonderful conversations with the people around you, ask inquisitive questions, and have an amazing memory for fine details!

You say things that surprise and delight us and make us laugh and cry. Here is a sampling:

Me, to Alexis: I love you so much my baby girl!
Mercedes: Well, Mommy, she's not YOURS, she's MY sister. And MY baby. So you have to share Lexi with me, ok?? It's not nice to not share. She's MY baby.

Mercedes, while watching a Dora episode: Mommy, do we have a family?
Me: Of course, we are your family!
Mercedes: But I don't have a Boots.
Me: No, but you have Duke.
Mercedes: Yeah, Duke is my family, I love Duke. And Rusty. But where is Bruiser?
Andrew: Bruiser had to go away. He was very sick. But he loved you very much.
Mercedes: Yeah. He did. I love Bruiser too.
Me: *tears*

Me: Mercedes, who is your best friend?
Mercedes: Lexi is my best friend ever!

Driving in the car with Mercedes this afternoon:
Mercedes: Oh Mommy, there is a car coming, I'm scared!
Me: Don't worry, I see it. I always protect you don't I?
Mercedes: Oh don't worry, I don't need you to protect me, I can protect myself. All I do is close my beautiful eyes and I feel better.

And later... to a not-so-fast minivan:
Mercedes: Come on grey car, MOVE. Jesus, you're slow grey car.

Mercedes' new favourite way to tell me something important: Mommy, I'm just going to tell you a question okay?

Alexis - 8 Months Old

Dear Alexis,

Last week was a difficult one for you. Last weekend, you threw up a couple of times and started having the most DISGUSTING poops ever. Fun, I know. We stopped feeding you all solid foods and just tried to get as much fluids (i.e. breastmillk) into you as possible. Your big sister was sick with a cough/cold at the same time, but thankfully no one else caught your tummy bug. You exploded out of your clothes with every single poop, necessitating many outfit changes and a ton of laundry. But we kept a careful eye on you to be sure you were still seemingly hydrated - crying real tears, peeing also, soft spot looked okay, etc. You were still alert and happy and sleeping well, and non-stop moving of course.

And then on Monday night, we took you to the hospital :( You had a big vomit, and then immediately started seeming lethargic. You weren't moving around much, you were vacantly staring into space, and perhaps most telling, you refused to smile, even at your father! We immediately packed you up and took you in. I admit, I panicked a bit - I probably should have thought of just getting you some Pedialyte on my own, but I wanted the doctors to look at you to be sure. A whole bottle of Pedialyte later, you were smiling and charming all the nurses and the other patients in the department.

You've been slowly improving since, and last night we finally reintroduced some solid food to you again, which you ate with gusto! I am so happy you are feeling better - nothing is scarier than seeing you tiny baby sick and worrying that something serious could happen.

Mercedes - 35 Months Old

January 27th, 2012 – nearly 3 years old.21 Questions to ask your child:

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
You pick.

2. What makes you happy?
Playing makes me good. Like doing puzzles.

3. What makes you sad?
Lexi makes me sad. Because I want to check my email on the computer and if I check my email that will make me happy again and if I check my email Lexi will be happy too!

4. What makes you laugh?
Dukey like when he’s running around on the couch and having crazy time. That makes me happy.

5. How old are you?
3

6. How old is Mommy?
11

7. How old is Daddy?
3

8. What is your favorite thing to do?
Like, doing puzzles!

9. Who is your best friend?
Lexi is my best friend.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to watch tv when I wake up in the morning. And then I fix cars in my work.

11. What are you really good at?
I’m really good at playing my cooking.

12. What are you not very good at?
Checking my email.

13. What did you do today?
I don’t know what I did.

14. What is your favorite food?
Chicken and fries.

15. What is your favorite song?
ABCD

16. What do you want for (holiday or birthday) this year?
I’m going to look if they have Dora cakes.

17. What is your favorite animal?
Dukey

18. What is love?
Ceecee is love.

19. What does mommy/daddy do for work?
Daddy works on cars!

20. Where do you live?
Town

21. Where is your favorite place to go?
Park. Park is good, but I don’t like going on the slide. I like going on the bumblebee or the frog.

Alexis - 8 Months Old (almost)

Dear Alexis,

You are a girl on the move! You drag yourself army-styles, you crawl, you do downward-facing dog, you push yourself back up to sitting from lying down, you can pull yourself up on some things (like ME, all day long!). It's so fun watching you explore your little world, although it certainly makes things more difficult! You are eating EVERYTHING now and absolutely LOVE fruits and vegetables (hopefully that lasts, unlike your non-green-eating sister).


You babble and laugh and giggle (mostly at your sister) and try to imitate the singing that your sister does. It's such a joy to watch the two of you interact. As you get older and more 'fun' for Mercedes, she becomes more and more obsessed with you. She sings to you in the car if you start to cry, she has to kiss you good morning and good night and hello and goodbye each day, she picks up your cup when you drop it, she brings you toys when you want to play. She is such a great big sister, and the look of complete adoration in your eyes makes any headaches of having two young children worth it. We are so lucky to have two such wonderful girls.

Love,

Mommy