Update

Dorothy is now wearing the outfit that Valerie was wearing in my last post. Valerie was three and a half in that picture. Dorothy isn't even two.

On Toddlers Who Are Growing Too Fast

Babies outgrow clothes so quickly. It becomes an almost daily routine for those first few months - trying to put something on, discovering that it's too small, and tossing it in the "outgrown" box. Once a month or so, I would sort through that box, pack things away, and dig out the next-size-up box. (I suppose this process involves a lot more shopping in some homes, but we rely mostly on gifts/hand-me-downs.)

Toddlers don't outgrow clothes quite so quickly. The "outgrown" box sits unused for months at a time; I almost forget that it's even there. If it weren't for the changing of the seasons, I might forget to switch out clothing entirely, and my poor kids would be going to high school in stretched-out 2T pants.

But the weather turned cool, and I started reaching into the back of Dorothy's closet for the long-sleeved shirts that had been shoved back to make way for the tank tops and sundresses. And they all seemed too short, so I pulled a few shirts out of the 3T box, laughing as I did so - there's no way 3T shirts will fit her! But they did. So I dug a little deeper, and pulled out a sleeper. It seemed so ridiculously huge, I brought it down to show Jeremy. "Look at this sleeper! There's no way it's going to fit her! It would practically still fit Valerie!" I put it on Dorothy to prove my point. But, um, er... It fit. Perfectly.

So, I tackled the Big Project. Weeding out most of the 2T clothes, and transitioning the 3T into the closet. And they all seem so BIG. She can't possibly be that BIG! But she is. It seems like Valerie was just wearing these shirts! Most of them hadn't even been sorted into the 3T box yet, they were still sitting in the "outgrown" box, waiting to be sorted. I looked back through my pictures, and I was stunned to find pictures of Valerie wearing these very same clothes from within the last YEAR.

I don't know why it's hitting me so hard to notice Dorothy growing up all of a sudden. Maybe because my attention is divided this time, so it happens without my noticing. Maybe because she really is bigger than her sister was at the same age (she's not yet 2, and she's already wearing clothes her sister was wearing at 3). Maybe because Dorothy was already a toddler a year ago when Valerie was wearing those outfits. Or maybe because I bought them cute, little matching outfits, and seeing Dorothy in Valerie's half of the set is that much more surreal.

I found a shirt in the 3T box that I remembered having matching shorts. I went to Valerie's drawer, and there were the shorts, still in Valerie's rotation. And I suddenly remembered that pre-schoolers grow, too, even more imperceptibly than toddlers. Those pants Valerie was wearing yesterday really did show a bit more ankle than they probably should. And far too many of her shirts barely cover her belly button. And the Big Project of sorting and purging Dorothy's clothes suddenly got a whole lot bigger. It looks like I'm going to be sorting a lot of clothes this weekend. You know, when I'm not looking through (not-so) old pictures and shaking my head with dismay.

More Wakeman Family Quotes

I just posted quotes yesterday, and already I have enough to post again! I think this might be Dorothy's first appearance in a quotation post. My girls sure are a lot of fun.

JA: Valerie, guess who just peed in the potty!
V: Who?
JA: Guess!
V: Dorothy?
JA: Yes!
V: Hooray! She can be the next student in my potty school!

V: Dorothy, are you done?
D: No, I Dody!

V: Look at my yellow monkey!
JA: Wow, I never saw a yellow monkey before!
V: Actually, ephemeral orangutans are yellow.

V: (playing with playdough) And then Jesus crushed the volcano!

One Year Old!

Dear Dorothy,

You are one year old, now!

We went out for dinner on your birthday, and both you and your sister fell asleep in the car on the way there. But, we let you nap for a bit, and everyone was in a better mood for dinner. You had your first cupcake and you thought it was the best thing in the world.



The highlight of this month was a trip to Houghton for Homecoming. This year was Mommy's and Daddy's ten-year class reunion, which is pretty hard for me to believe. You had a lot of fun, and as a special treat, Grandma was there, too, for her slightly-more-than-ten-year reunion, so you got to see your Grandma, too! We all had a very good time, and the most exciting part of the trip was on October 8: As we were getting ready to go to church, you took your very first step! You didn't really realize you were doing it, but you were standing at a chair with a doll in your hand, and you wanted to get to Mommy, and you let go of the chair and took one step before you realized that you couldn't quite reach me, so you dropped to the ground and crawled the rest of the way.



You got three new teeth this month, bringing your total to six. I was starting to worry a little bit about the tooth behind your cleft lip, because it took a really long time coming in (the two lateral incisors on the other side came in before it, out of order), but it did finally cut through while we were in Houghton, and it seems fine, so that's a relief. The big downside of all these new teeth is that they seem to have changed your upper lip on their way in, pulling your frenulum down pretty low. This isn't a huge problem, but it does make it hard for you to stay latched on when you are nursing, so I have to be very vigilant about your latch the whole time. I probably should call the surgeon to get it clipped, which is a very simple out-patient procedure, but I've been putting it off, because I still have the memory of your sad little face coming out of your cleft lip surgery, and even though I know it's not the same thing at all, I can't quite bring myself to go back there.



You know a lot of words. You can sign for milk, food, more, and all done. You can say Mama, Daddy, nursies, more, all done, up, yum, yay, yeah, this? (as in "What's this?" or "May I have this?"), boo (peek-a-boo), hi, and baby. I'm pretty sure you have said Nana and Valerie (Wawie), too. I think there are other words that I am missing, though, because you love to talk, and you seem pretty confident that all the sounds coming out of your mouth (and the gestures you are making with your hands) are real words.



You continue to be a very happy baby. Whenever we are out, people always ask me, "Is she always like this?" And you pretty much are. Although, after 12 months of your sister sitting on you and taking things away from you, you finally have started to get upset when she does these things, but I can't blame you for that. In fact, I remember when you were younger, how hard it was to convince Valerie that she was hurting you, because she would always respond, "But she's still smiling!" So I must admit, from a parenting perspective, I'm a little relieved that you have started to express your displeasure when something upsets you, but I'm afraid you might be turning into a drama queen like your sister. Sister sitting on you? Good reason to cry. Mommy took away the book you were trying to eat? Not a good reason to cry. Let's work on that.



Things are going pretty well in the sleep department, too, although I'm sure part of that is just my perspective when I compare you to your sister who was such a terrible sleeper at this age (and now sleeps 11-12 hours straight every night - there is hope!) You go to bed at about 10, then sleep until 2ish, nurse, then sleep again until 5ish, nurse, then sleep again until 7ish. I'm happy with this arrangement for now, although I am hoping that your first stretch of the night gets longer soon so that I can put you in your sister's room. Naps are a little more rough. You used to nap so consistently, but now you seem to pretty much only nap if you fall asleep in the car or if I put you in the Ergo on my back. If my dishes are ever clean, it's all your fault for refusing to fall asleep unless I strap you on my back and don't sit down, so I often wash dishes until you fall asleep. So, there is an upside to it after all!



You are a pretty good eater, although you are starting to get more choosy about what you want. For a few weeks, you would ignore everything else in front of you and only eat meat, and you would cry if the meat was gone. Then you abandoned meat for a while, and only wanted carbs. Currently, you seem to be on an apple diet. All you want is apples, and if I turn my back on you for a minute, you will climb up behind the kitchen table and steal apples from the fruit bowl. But, there are worse vices, so I don't stress about it too much.



Some of your favorite things in life right now:

• Your baby doll, Lily, (actually Valerie's doll, but you have basically appropriated her). You love that baby doll so much. You cuddle her, and pat her back, and she was the doll you were holding when you took your very first step, because you didn't want to put her down.
  
  


• Climbing. You haven't really progressed much past that one accidental step (other than repeating it on a few occasions), because you already have a way of getting across the room. What you want is a way to get to that thing up there that I thought was out of your reach. But almost nothing is out of your reach anymore, because you can always climb onto that chair, and then onto that other chair, and then onto the table. Fortunately, you learned to climb down almost as soon as your learned to climb up, so I can usually just let you climb and enjoy it. You love the stairs, and you go up and down like a pro, such that I don't even have to spot you anymore.
  
  


• Eating things. Especially things that aren't food. Or things that were food yesterday, but now are dried out and gross. Or food that other people are eating. And occasionally, food that Mommy puts in front of you, if Mommy was lucky enough to guess your food-of-the-day.
  
  
  


• Mommy. Sometimes no one else will do.


• Daddy. You get so excited on Saturday and Sunday mornings when you wake up and he's still there. He also possesses a magic touch to make you sleep when Mommy can't. I'm more than a little jealous of this talent.


• Valerie. Even when she sits on you, you still love her to death and keep going back for more.
  
  


• Being tickled. Especially when you're tired and extra giggly.
  
  


• Putting things into other things. I know this is a normal baby thing to do, but your sister only ever played the dumping-things-out game, so it's novel for me to see you voluntarily putting toys back into the toy box.


• Pretending that things are hats. Especially bowls.


• Peek-a-Boo. We play "Where's Dorothy?" with blankets, and you giggle with glee every time you reveal yourself. We also play "Peek-a-Boo" with our hands, and you will say "boo!" when you open your hands.


• Mommy's computer. If I walk away for a second and forget to close my laptop, I will come back to find that you have deleted a blog post I was writing, or reset my homepage, or changed some setting that I have to spend five minutes figuring out how to undo. I suppose you see me spending a lot of time playing with it, so it must seem like the coolest toy in the world to you. (And it totally is.)

I love watching you learn and grow, and I love watching the gap close between you and your sister. There is only one size of clothing in the "too big for Dorothy but too small for Valerie" section of the closet right now, and that is so surreal to me. Before I know it, you will be best friends and co-conspirators. I can't imagine life without you.

Love,
Mama.

Ten Months Old!

Dear Dorothy,

You're ten months old, now! How did that happen?

We had a busy month, again. We seem to have nothing but busy months, lately. It's nice to be going so many places and doing so many things, but it makes keeping up with my blog nearly impossible. We were out of town when you turned nine months old, and we were out of town again when you turned ten months old.

Here are a few of the things we did this month:

We stopped by Vermont on our way home from the YARR camping trip, and got to visit with your cousins there (and bonus Grandma, who was also visiting for N's birthday!)



We attended the wedding of two friends.



Trips to the shore, Sesame Place, and the zoo.



A visit from Grandma for Valerie's birthday, and a trip to Walton, NY to visit Great-Grandmom and Great-Granddad for the county fair. I'm worn out, too!



This was a big month for you developmentally, too. You can stand unassisted, now, and you cruise all over the place. You'll even push things around while walking behind them, and I'm starting to brace myself for you walking. You love to climb: stairs, the back of the couch, chairs, into boxes, you name it, you'll try to climb it.



Your vocabulary has increased a lot this month, too. You consistently (and appropriately) use the signs for nurse (milk), more, and all done. You've started branching out and using those signs for other situations, like telling me you are "all done" being in a swing, or that you want "more" when you want to steal my food. You also started waving "hi" this month, and wave excitedly at other people and at photographs of people on Mommy's computer. You're speaking a lot more, now, too. You consistently say, "Mama", "Daddy", "Hi", "all done" or "done", "yeah", and "yum". You have also said "up", "ducky", "ouch", and "om nom nom" a few times. I think you are also trying to say your sister's name, as I have heard you say, "Va" several times. You've called the bed and a ball both "ba" and I wonder how many almost words you have that I have missed. You babble constantly, and seem confident that your words and gestures have meaning, and I think a lot more of them do than I give you credit for. You're a pretty smart cookie.



Another big development this month has been in your ability to show affection. If I sit down near you, you crawl up onto my lap, and when I pick you up, you wrap your arms around me in a big hug. It's the best feeling ever.



You cut your third tooth on August 11, and tooth #4 seems to be giving you the hardest time of them all. It hasn't cut through yet, but it seems to bother you more than any of the others. It's also the one directly underneath your cleft lip, and I wonder if the gum is extra thick there or something. You love food, and you eat everything we put in front of you with near desperation, and lots of things we don't put in front of you, too. Changing your diaper is like a treasure hunt.

You spent a week or so of this month sick, which was no fun at all. You also developed a powerful Mama-attachment, especially when you are tired, which has made it difficult for me to do things like put your sister to bed and go to the bathroom. I can sometimes get things done around the house by strapping you onto my back, but your affinity for pulling hair makes this a painful option. Usually, you leave my hair alone if I put it in a tight bun, but you are starting to learn how to pull my bun apart, too. If your sister and I both end up bald, it will be because you pulled all of our hair out.



Hair-pulling, clinginess, teething, nap strikes, and illness notwithstanding, you're still an overall happy baby. When Valerie pretends to be a baby, she crawls around giggling and squealing delightedly, because that's what she sees you doing, and as far as she knows, that's what babies do. I love you, my crawling, giggling, squealing, happy baby.



Love,
Mama.

Nine Months Old!

Dear Dorothy,

You are nine months old, now!

This month was kind of a blur. It feels like I was just writing your eight month letter a few minutes ago. This one is going to be mostly point form, baby book style. Maybe someday I will write quality monthly letters again.

June 22: Tooth number two made its appearance.

June 24-26: First camping trip.



June 28: Signed "milk".

July 3-6: Mystery fever with no other symptoms.

July 4: First fireworks.

July 13-21: YARR Camping Trip!



I love you very much. I can hardly believe you're nine months old already. And yet it seems like you've always been part of our family. You are such a blessing and a joy.

Love,
Mama.

Eight Months Old!

Dear Dorothy,

You are eight months old, now!

Someday, you'll look back and read these letters, and I'll wish I hadn't apologized for writing them all late, because otherwise you'd never know. So, yeah, today is TOTALLY June 20th.

This month was an eventful one for you in the milestone department. On May 29, you did your first real hands-and-knees crawl across the room to get to a stuffed monkey.

On June 3, your first tooth started to break through. Several times throughout the day, you would spontaneously burst into tears, which broke my heart, because you are normally the world's happiest baby. I couldn't really get a picture of it, though, because your new favorite thing to do is to stick your tongue out to feel your new tooth.



One June 5, you pulled yourself up to a sitting position, and, at some point around the time you started crawling, you also started pulling up on things. So, basically, you are fully mobile, now, and you get into EVERYTHING. You also fall down and bump your head a lot, but you're pretty resilient.



This month, we took a road trip to Buffalo for my cousin's wedding. (More about the road trip here: June Road Trip Photo Post.)



We also visited with my friend Nicole, who has 6 kids (one of whom is only 2 days younger than you).



Right after we got back from our road trip, the Kings came to visit us, and we went to the zoo together.



And that was our crazy whirlwind month. Here we are, JUNE 20th, and you're a month bigger, a month more mobile, a month more food-eating-fiend, and a month more adorable. I love you, my little Dody Doe!



Love,
Mama.

Surreal Mama Moment

Every morning, when Valerie wakes up, she opens her door and calls for me from the doorway. Click of door handle, creak of door, "Mama!" I listen for this as my morning ritual.

This morning, after putting Dorothy down for an early morning nap, I heard the familiar, "Mama!" call, but not the preceding door noises. I wondered why she had called to me before opening the door. And how did I hear her so clearly through the closed door?

Just as I was about to open her closed door to see what was wrong, I heard Dorothy crawling around in my bed. Awake from her nap after only ten minutes. She can say "Mama" so clearly now, that I mistook it for her sister!

Nine months old and already messing with Mama's head. I'm doomed when they learn to conspire!

I think she's signing!

This morning, Dorothy was sitting on my lap, and I noticed her opening and closing her hand. This is the sign we use for nursing, so I asked her if she wanted nursies. She gave me a big smile, latched on, and had a good, long feeding. She only ever nurses when she is actually hungry, so I was a little less willing to write it off as a coincidence as I was the first time Valerie signed at me (since Valerie would nurse at any and all opportunities). Still, I wasn't completely convinced.

Then, at lunch, I put her in her high chair with some turkey, and she kept eating it, and looking at me for more. After her fourth helping, when she was finally full, she looked up at me, smiled, and stuck both hands straight up in the air - which is almost the sign for "all done". She kept smiling as I cleaned her up and got her out of her seat.

By George, I think she's getting it!

---

Seven Months Old!

Dear Dorothy,

Well, you're seven months old, and the whirlwind of summer is upon us. Your monthly letter is 12 days late this month, and even your birthday photo shoot was 3 days late. I promise we've been busy with fun stuff, though. I'm behind on my blogging, too, so this letter is not only late, but it is also a cheat, because I'm going to dump all of my "what we've been doing this past month" stuff in here, too. There's also a decent chance I will abandon proper sentence structure and throw a bunch of fragments up here. Good thing you're too young to care.

First Easter.


Too interested in the world around you (and how to put parts of it into your mouth) to look at the camera.


You started solid foods this month, and you are absolutely loving it. You are adventurous with new foods, and while you might pass over the carrots for the broccoli at one meal, you'll pass over the broccoli for the carrots at the next. You are also proving to be extremely adept at picking things up and putting them in your mouth, which is awesome when I put awkwardly-shaped food in front of you (and less awesome when you find random things like rubber bands on the floor).



Backyard weather and sisterly love.



So close to crawling!



Road Trip!

We decided to break in our new minivan, and took a girls-only road trip (Daddy had to work).

We went to Vermont to visit my sister and her family. First time meeting your cousins N. and T.!



Then on to Ottawa, to visit Grandma and my brother's family. I'm sorry, I forgot to get a picture of you with your cousins A. and J. (Wasn't it thoughtful of my siblings to name all of their kids with different initials?)

Mother's Day with Grandma.



Babywearing in the tulips.



Then a quick stopover in Watertown to visit some of Mommy's friends from college. You got to meet Mikey, who is only 10 days older than you!



Then, I blinked, and the month was over. We went away to Camp Nerdly for the weekend the day you turned 7 months old, and I was too busy to do a photo shoot all weekend. When we got back, I had Jeremy hold you up in front of a tree, and quickly snapped a bunch of pictures. It may have been our most successful photo shoot ever, oddly enough, which makes me wonder if all the preparations I usually take are worth it. Or maybe we just got lucky. Either way, we got a whole bunch of really nice pictures, at least one of which will be going on the wall. The trouble will be picking just one.








Sorry for turning your birthday letter into a huge photo dump post. I probably could redeem it with a good, sappy concluding paragraph, but the real life you needs me right now, so I'm going to sign off. I love you, sweet baby.

Love,
Mama.