Wilder's October 2016

Wilder, October 2016

Fall is my favorite time of year. I love the crisp air and changing leaves, the color of the light in the morning and afternoon, fall foods and beverages, sweaters, boots and holidays. Sharing this time with the birthdays of both my kids is just icing on the cake! Wilder turns 3 next month and the last few weeks we've seen him enter another stage of independence. We're learning how to parent as we go so it's been a bit challenging as he is pressing against boundaries.

But Wilder is also the sweetest little boy. He is intuitive and cautious. He's happy, observant, he loves to narrate his life and he enjoys his toys. He likes to read books, play trains, play and talk about his toy cars and push his shopping cart (and Sister's new stroller push toy) around the house at top speed.

Felicity got a bunch of toys of her own for her birthday, but Wilder loves playing with them. From the tea set to the stroller to the picnic basket--he thinks it's great fun. Luckily, Felicity shares.

He laughs with Felicity at times, though he does not like her touching his things. He's really reaching out in social situations. A couple of times this month he's just really put himself out there playing WITH and talk to other kids, whereas before he would just observe others and play by himself.

Wilder is becoming more affectionate with me. I love when he comes up to me, looks me right in the eye and tells me he loves me!  Right now he says things are "so cute" and "I like it very much!" In a sing-song voice when he likes them. He gets so much joy from the little things in life, from a toy car to watching a backhoe in the neighborhood.

We started potty training this week. Lord give us strength! I'll spare you the details, but it's definitely a challenge.

Here are some photos from yesterday morning. We had fun!

he looks like a teenager here. WHAT??

This series of photos of Felicity cracks me up. She's got my phone (doesn't know how to work it), her toy remote and my camera lens cap.

She saw an airplane, but the pose is hilarious. SUPERSTAR.

Happy First Birthday Felicity!

One year old!

Just after midnight, a year ago today, labor started in earnest. I'd been having contractions for days, but things started moving. We arrived at the hospital at 5 am and after many similarities to my days-long labor with Wilder (including the same overdue gestation length to the day and even the same delivery room at the hospital), I reluctantly settled in for what I thought was going to be a very long delivery. A mere three hours later, Felicity was in my arms, and life changed again. I remember looking at her face in wonder thinking "I don't know you yet!" but I would.

Today, our sweet Felicity is a year old, and what a wonderful year we've had with her. She is a delight. She loves to explore her world, she is a stranger to none and she's completely content in a crowd. She's my little sidekick--we go all over the place together: photo shoots at horse barns when she was a non-bottle taking newborn, shopping, baby showers--she's so easygoing and fun. Felicity thinks her brother is the greatest, and now that she can stand up on her own, she tries to get into his toy trains and cars at every opportunity. He's still learning to be graceful... ;-) Felicity LOVES her daddy. Nobody can make her laugh like daddy. They are just two peas in a pod.

She crawls really quickly and loves to get into things. She can climb up one or two steps.  She loves to roll toy cars down the ramps, rock her baby doll and read books. She loves reading and you can often find her looking over a book on her own. She loves lights and lamps and loves turning the light switch on and off. She talks and talks in her own language. She's very communicative! She points at things she wants you to take her to. Felicity can say mama, dada, mimi, bye bye, ball, bubble and meow, among other things.

She sleeps through from 8 pm to 6 am usually, unless she's teething like last week, then she gets up at least once. She's doing better on two 90-minute naps per day. She eats pretty much anything you give her, and her favorite foods are meats: chicken, shrimp, meatballs, chicken sausage. She also loves strawberries and apples. And of course, cheerios. 

Felicity weighs 17.5 pounds, she's 30.5 inches tall and she has six teeth!

My heart was full with Wilder in our life. I love being a mama to my tender-hearted boy. But God really blessed us with Felicity. This little ray of sunshine is precious and she adds so much spunk to our family. We look forward to watching her grow every day! I'm off to get emotional about my baby stepping over the baby threshold! Here are some more photos from our shoot yesterday.