Matthew played in the band Easter morning so we had to do pictures a bit in piecemeal, but that is just fine...add them all up and it is the whole crew! Oh and......Easter Bunny came while we were at church LOL
The full festivities including dinner with friends Saturday evening followed by an indoor egg hunt and egg dying. They have four children also, so it is always chaos....but FUN chaos. The kids LOVED the indoor egg hunt!
Sunday we went to church, the Easter bunny came and we did a short little hunt with the neighbors. OH and we PLAY OUTSIDE....which is the greatest thing EVER here!
Caleb adores her :)
One day we will get a picture with everyone smiling AND looking
Addison, 5
Caleb, 4
Blythe, 22 Months...wearing Addison's dress from when she was the same age!
Blythe, 22 Months...wearing Addison's dress from when she was the same age!
Addison wearing the dress in April 2012
Addison wearing the dress in April 2012
Blythe, 22 Months...wearing Addison's dress from when she was the same age!
The Grant Gang
Matthew Playing
Excited about a superhero chapter book from the Easter Bunny
Priceless
I love how he is always excited for others
Stickers
My bookworms
My bookworms
Easter Egg Hunt
WHAT?!?! I can't eat all the jelly beans in the eggs??!!
Addison is still long and lean; she's growing well!
Height: 3 ft 9 in /45.51 in (93%)
Weight: 42 lb 3 oz (64%)
Bmi: 23%
Bp: 96/62
Blythe is a big big girl just as she has been since the day she was born!
Height: 32.18 in (97%)
Weight: 25 lbs 8 oz (98%)
Head: 46.8 cm (91%)
Blythe is surprisingly our biggest At one year; Caleb was 25 lbs at one and Addison was 21.5 lbs.
Unfortunately our well visits turned sick when we confirmed suspicions of ear infection and pink eye. Shes on omnisef for the ears and we are waiting to see if the pink eye gets better without drops.
I find this post surprisingly difficult to write....
It has been one year since Blythe Juliette blazed her way into our lives and caused the hearts of our entire family to expand 10 fold! Our lives are richer because of her, Happy First Birthday to the bright light of this family, Blythe Juliette Grant.
Weight and Height: We find out officially next week, but for now shes around 25+ lb
Clothes: 18-24 mo/2t depending on brand and type of clothes
Diaper: 4, but she needs five....I am putting it off as long as I can.
Feet: Do not care until she walks :)
Teeth: Four, but there are several popping thru.
Breastfeeding: I am proud, and shocked, we made it to a year! She is trying to wean herself because she loves her almond milk in a cup. The only reason we are hanging on is...well....me. I do not even love nursing, but to think this is the end for good is hard for me. It is not a feeling of relief at all.
Food: I can tell she is developing some preferences, but she still eats great. Oatmeal is not her favorite along with any other concentrated fruit. She loves almost any veggie I can give her but clearly likes some more than others.
Talking: I do not think she will be as chatty as Addison and Caleb, but she is still learning new words well...dada, mama, piper, cracker, bub (as in caleb-bub), paci, please, dog, baby.
Signing: I LOVE SIGN LANGUAGE; she learns and uses new signs everyday! Eat, water, milk, please, help, thank you, banana, more, all done, dog, bath, play, various body parts.
Independent playtime: Overall, she does fantastic with play pen time for up to 20-30 minutes daily or 15 minutes twice a day. I started working on blanket time, but decided I would wait until she walked like I did with Addison and Caleb. I started daily blanket time around 14-15 months with them and they both caught on and followed the boundary quickly. I totally believe in boundary training....it is an essential transferable skill!
Major motor: She crawls fasts and has just recently started to cruise. I think she will be walking by the end of May, which is EARLY to me---the other two did not walk until 15 months! My kids are usually a little behind the curve in this area.
Fine motor: Good pincer abilities, tries to stack objects, turns pages in books easily, can manipulate velcro and clips.
Separation anxiety: Despite having regular date nights with our baby sitter and co-op moms and church, she still struggles. When Addison is around, she is much more comfortable.
Words to describe her: Independent, opinionated, fairly serious, curious, active, sweet, daddy's girl, NOT snugly AT ALL, content
Loves......her daddy, her snuggle blanket, Caleb, Addison, eating, self feeding, exploring, looking at books, climbing, people watching, singing, copying
Does not love.....applesauce, pineapple, cuddling when it is time to sleep, nursing, waiting for food, getting ready for sleep, diaper changes, oatmeal
Looking back on the last year.......I have enjoyed her first year so much more than the first two children; I can see the forest, not just the trees this time. We also proactively prevented the PPD this time, that was HUGE. I truly relished so many moments and milestones this go round; I knew from AJ and CA that it would fly by in a blink. However, those two LONG months without the leader in this family, Matthew, were some of my darkest moments. I am not proud of how I handled it, but it made me realize a few things 1) I am so thankful we have a godly leader in our house who provides, loves, leads and cares for this family, 2) I am thankful our family has a father/leader in it 3) children are far more impacted by the absence of a father (who is just unavailable vs passed away) than I ever thought possible 4) children are emotionally resilient 5) my mother is a saint (I already knew this but it was made even clearer) 6) I cannot do it all and must ask for help 7) my husband is absolutely the most amazing human being I have ever met in my entire life. If I remove those two months from the last 12, this past year with Blythe in our family has been so rich, full and blessed and as close to picturesque as possible.
To my joyful survivor:
As silly as this sounds, each time I think of you I feel as though I could explode because of how fiercely I love you. This family is smitten with your big green eyes filled with wonderment, your contagious squnichy nose smile, your laughter which you carefully select to use, the constant curiosity and your angelic voice. My heart is so full when I see you look at your brother and sister with admiring eyes. Blythe, you are so blessed to have a brother and sister who love everything about you and love you more than anything. And your Daddy.....there is not a better one around. Truly.
I thank the Lord for you everyday. I claim the scripture hanging on the wall in your room...
Numbers 6:24-26“The Lord bless you and keep you;The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you;The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”’
I am honored to mother you. You will always be so special to this family; God was so gracious to daddy, Addison, Caleb and me when he let us be your family. There are still many days I wonder what it would have been like to have you and your twin Olive here. Sometimes when you are nursing and I day dream I can almost see our other crib in that room. In that same moment, I squeeze you extra tight knowing that while we lost one, we were give you and you baby...you are wonderful. I cannot wait to watch you grow and watch you become the person God called you to be. I crazy, fiercely, big, squishy love you my "Blythe-y". Always. Always.
Its all squishy nose smiles these days
Yoga
She hugs every stuffed animal...just like Caleb does!
Loves that bear
I can hardly breathe when I see this picture......
Big Brother letter her pull is hair :)
She can do no wrong in his eyes
I love that we can never get a perfect picture of the trio....because that is life, imperfectly perfect!
Addison turned FIVE and Blythe turned 11 months.....sniff, sniff! Life is flying by, but I guess thats what happens when you are having fun!
Happy 11 months!
Weight: 24.8 lbs per home scale Diaper: 4 Clothes: 18 months Teeth: I keep forgetting to mention this....four on top and four on bottom with pre molars cutting! Personality: Opinionated, but so so so so so joyful! Her name means happy and carefree---and thats her!!!
Life is more beautiful because of her....we are so thankful we have her. SO thankful. Words will NEVER in a million years be able to articulate how THANKFUL we are for Blythe!
Well aren't I a slacker??!! I took and edited her 10 month picture only a few days after she turned 10 months and never had a chance to post! She is AMAZING....that's all I have to say considering I am due for her 11 month post (and her big sisters 5 year old post) tomorrow! We love her.....she brings so much joy to this family!!!
In the words of my son, "OH MY BANANAS" I cannot believe this girl is 9 months old.
I couldn't decide between the two pictures!
The Stats
Weight and Height: Coming Friday at the well visit....... Diaper: 4 Clothes: 18 months; she can squeeze into knit 12 month pants but otherwise 18 months
Sleeping: There are some opportunities here. Due to preschool, her schedule cannot be quite ideal, but she is a trooper and is happy as can be even when she DOES get the 45 min intruder. She sleeps great at night 12-12.5 hours. Ideally she would nap 1.25 hours in the morning and 2.5-3 in the afternoon. The morning has been the tricky one lately.
Nursing: We are almost to the ultimate goal, one year!! She is already trying to wean so hopefully the transition to almond milk will be easy!
Eating: I am much more laid back with fun foods with her; she loves feeding herself and eating what the big kids eat. She likes fruits more and more each day but still prefers the green!!!!
Milestones: This is where things got CRAZY; in the past month...
Signed proficiently, regularly and with the intent to communicate vs just copying!
Sat herself up
CHUGS from a cup
Started crawling--Army style just like big sister
Said: daddy with recognition, cracker (cra-cra), bub
Pulled up in crib
FINALLY--giggling. She laughed plenty before now but it was only when something was hilarious, she realized this month that laughter is social.
Personality: Although she is clearly social, she is not overly talkative like Addison and Caleb. Words to describe her as of late: mischief, social, thoughtful.
Independence: I try for 15 minutes of play pen time 3-5 times a week. The reality of being the third, we have things to do. Since she has just got mobile, we are just now starting this. I really believe in blanket time, so I MUST get consistent.
Separation Anxiety: Here we are...facing it. Brutally. Just like the other two. The only difference is she is perfectly comfortable watching me leave when she is with Matthew. The other two had trouble off and on even when I left them with Matthew.
My darling Blythe, I find myself loving you with a depth I never knew I had inside me. I cannot even imagine how this depth would look had there been two of you! You bring so much joy to this family. Even in the most challenging moments, because we have those, you are a glimmer of sunshine with your squinchy nose, sweet squeal, joyful clapping and huge loving green eyes. My life is richer because of you. My life is more beautiful because of you...more fulfilling, more worthwhile....our Lord in heaven surely blessed me with the honor to mother you. As I think about this high honor, I am so humbled. I have said this many times, but I will say it again--one day when you read this I hope you will understand how much I love you, how proud I am to be you mother and blessed we are to have you in our family.
