20 Months

Dear Autumn,

Twenty months means 4 months away from turning 2! It really does seem far off because it is next year, but 4 months goes quick in AutumnLand. Things seem to be going pretty well overall. Happy, happy girl!

You have 16 teeth! That is a lot of teeth! The latest on top have poked through rather nicely and the bottom two have both just started poking out. You have your fingers in your mouth a lot more lately so I can tell they are bothering you.

Over the past 2-3 months or so there has been a change in your morning routine. For the longest time you were happy to be brought into our bed after you woke up to play. We'd play and laugh and just have a ton of fun until you started getting hungry. Daddy would get you up, change you and then we'd just have fun. Now when Daddy brings you into the bedroom and tries to put you on the bed you throw a fit! Clinging to him and telling him to "Walka walka" out of the room. I don't think it is that you are really hungry, I think you just don't want Daddy to put you down and leave. So if Daddy has to run back upstairs for a conference call I have to do some heavy coercing to get you to stay in the room.

You are still enjoying Mother's Day Out but drop offs have still been a bit hard. I know you stop crying within seconds of me leaving, but you still cling to me as soon as we enter the classroom. The last time I dropped you off one of the teachers was out so there was a substitute and the other teacher, but they were both busy so no one could take you. You did cling to me for a bit, but I was able to set you down in a chair, hand you an Ernie doll, give you a kiss and leave. Since no one was paying attention to you I didn't want to leave. I figured out that there is another window that I could peak in. Fortunately you were sitting in exactly the right spot so I could see you. You looked around for a little bit, but then I saw you handing the doll to someone. That meant that someone had acknowledged you and so I left! When I came to pick you up the teacher told me that you were "happy all day and well adjusted". I think that is great! I'm happy with "well adjusted".

Eating is still bad, but we're going to a feeding evaluation on the 23rd and we should find out more on that.

Naps are still the same. Usually about 3 hours. They still interfere with your lunch because you're tired and all you talk about is a nap. "Autumn sleep?" You make snoring noises and rub your eyes and there is very little eating. It doesn't matter when we start lunch because you have equated lunch with "almost nap time".

Here are my monthly notes:

August 24
Rubber Duck!
I cook?
I fall
I jump

August 31
You went to your very first Meet the Teacher this morning. You walked holding my hand across the parking lot, down the hall, around the corner, down another hall and then you put the breaks on at the door to the room. Miss Diana came out to meet you, but you wouldn't go in, even when you saw the butterfly curtains. I had to pick you up and bring you into the classroom. You sat on my lap while I filled out paperwork. Eventually you did get down and start playing. We met the music teacher, Miss Kitty and the bible teacher, Miss Vogt. You even went to the director willingly when she mentioned she would take you outside! You did very well today, and so did Momma!

September 2
You had your first day of Mother's Day Out. And you did very well!

Hand
Dirt
Nah (nothing - as in, what's in your hand? Nah)

September 3
I fall down

Autumn has discovered what her voice sounds like when she plugs her ears with her little fingers. She'll be walking around saying, "Hi hi hi hi hi hi" over and over and then she'll walk into view and that is when I finally realize she's not talking to me...

Sept 10
Big truck. big truck, come? come?
Yellow ghool buh (yellow school bus)
Watcha George?

Sept 18
Polka
Dot (She doesn't say Polka and dot together)
Ping-gone (penguin)

Retrospective Perspective:

September 21, 2008
Eating watermelon

September 22, 2007
#5

September 23, 2006
Moving out of the apartment!

September 22, 2005
Leaving for Hurricane Rita. Lucas is in the back there...

Love,

Momma and Daddy

Happy Birthday, Gram!

Or as Autumn says, "Happy Dooooooo!" Too cute. Gram and Gramp-ma (Grandpa) came down to celebrate Gram's birthday on the 11th.

True love between these two!

19 Months

Dear Autumn,

19 months. Unfortunately as I am writing this you are 19 months and 2 weeks, plus a few days. I had all the pictures uploaded before the 22nd, but we're in th emiddle of getting the house settled and it is difficult. You have sailed through the move like it was nothing! Any of my concerns have been proven unfounded. You took over the new house. It is yours! You knew where everything was within the first day and you were settled. You slept in your pack n play for the first week and a half because we couldn't find the screws for your crib! But you did wonderfully.

Your two upper teeth have come in and are slowly moving in fully. I can't see anything on the bottom yet, but I think they are close to the surface.

I've been trying to get you ready for Mother's Day Out (me too!). More on that later.

Since things have been in an upheavel, I'll just move on to the things that I have recorded that you do day to day:

"Momma come, Momma come"
"Momma sit, sit, Momma sit"
"Momma help"
"Wrap Baby, wrap Baby" - you want us to wrap Baby in a blanket
You give kisses to Phoebe
After calling me in for my part in the bath "Mom-MA!", once I appear in the bathroom you smile and say, "Phoebe!"

Lowgurt (yogurt)
home
Chomp Chomp
Tall, I tall? (while standing on something)

You just picked up Daddy's Hawaiian shirt and dragged it over to me saying, "Dada!"

George
Man Hat (The Man with the Yellow Hat)
Hunley (Hundley)
Gno-key(Gnocchi)
Com (Compass)
Griuel Squirrel)
Chark-ie (Charky)

Thunder
Goat (with a very pronounced "t")
Fruit bar

New House

Retrospective Perspective:

August 21, 2005

Hopefully I'll be more on the ball for your 20 month post!

Love,

Momma and Daddy

18 Months

Dear Autumn,

We're moving! We did it. We sold our house and have selected a new one for you to grow up in. I still get emotional about leaving this house. I wish I could explain the situation to you, or be sure that you understand that when we go to the other house we will not be coming back to this one. It is hard having you be only 18 months at this point. You have just enough understanding and words to communicate a LOT of things, but this whole process has been impossible to explain to you. Your concept of "home" is me telling you, "We're almost home!" and you saying, "Phoebe! Luke!". I hope that since home is where the cats are, you will not be too confused. You adapt so well to new situations and places it makes me wonder what is going on in your head. If you will ever think, "Okay, well, these stairs are really cool, and I like this backyard, and Phoebe and Luke are here, but what about that other place where Momma and I used to sit by the side of the house and wait for Daddy to come home, or the closet in Momma and Daddy's room where I like to lay on the floor with Momma, or the place where I know all the rules of where I can go and what I can touch, or what I can try to press my limits on and see what Momma says this time?" We all are just going to have to take this process day by day. The cats know something is up, but Luke is the only one that has made a move with us previously. The house is a mess, which is in stark contrast to those few weeks where we had to have everything shine. We're packing things up slowly, trying to think everything through and make this easier on everyone involved.

Those two upper teeth of yours are slowly coming through. One side has poked through and is taking it's sweet time, the other is just barely through. Your appetite changed about 2 weeks before you turned 18 months and that is when the teeth seemed to make their appearance. I'm still waiting on your appetite to get better...

Still struggling with getting you to eat a variety of foods. For awhile we were concerned with getting your weight up almost anyway we could. You're no longer on the "critical list" but we are still keeping our eye on you. You weighed 23 pounds at your 18 month appt, which put you in the 26th percentile. That means you are on your way up instead of down, just barely, but it is a good sign. You are 31 1/2 inches tall, which continues to put you in the 50th percentile. You've grown 1/2 an inch in three months. Since you are no longer on the "fatten her up" diet plan, I have been trying to get you to eat more unprocessed foods, things I expected you to eat easily before you developed your picky tendencies (about 6 months earlier than the doctor said is normal, by the way!).

Naps are still going well. You start to get tired around 12:15 and if we aren't already eating lunch I have to convince you that it is lunchtime and not nap time. It is especially hard when we have been out and are coming home to eat, those droopy eyes in my rear view mirror inspire some loud singing and laughing and tickling on my part. Sometimes I don't know why I bother keeping you awake for lunch because the tiny amount you consume could not possibly make a difference. But everyday I marvel at how easy it is to put you down for a nap. I must still have your infancy ingrained in my brain, because this is a cakewalk! Most of the time you point to your room, make snoring noises (honk, suuu, honk, suuuu), and when I set you down on the floor after getting you out of your high chair you run in there and point to the crib. I usually have to pick you up and take you out to change your diaper, the whole time you're making the sleeping noises and pointing in the general direction of your room. After we say "good nap" to the cats, Sully, and anything else on our way into your room, I put you in your crib, with your two pacifiers (one in your mouth and one in your hands), I tell you, "Good nap, Autumn, good nap!", touch your forehead and cheek and leave. It is odd to hear another peep from you until you wake up 2-3 hours later. It is awesome to have such a great napper!

Your attitude had improved over what it was at the end of June and early July. Of course, I tend to notice a correlation between my attitude and stress level and your outwardly behavior. Those weeks were a very stressful time for me with having the house on the market and having to be out in the heat. It was all very hard for Momma, and I really saw how that affected you. Of course, throw in some teething, being 18 months old and wanting to do everything yourself and you can see what you brought to the table during that time period. We spend so much time together that we really feed off each other. It is going to be a big transition for both of us when you start Mother's Day Out in the beginning of September. Even though I can tell myself it is just 4 hours two days a week I know it means more than that.

Here are some things that you did over the past month:

You have started to mimic our words when counting as noises. You will point to things and make noises that sound like numbers.

You've started making noises that sound like the letters in your name. I'll say, "A-U-T-U-M-N" and you'll say, "It's Autumn!"

When asked a question you'll say, "Uh-huh!" instead of "yes".

Carrying Momma's teddy bear from when she was a kid, Smokey

Wearing Daddy's belt as a fashion statement

Retrospective Perspective:

July 23, 2006

A window in the family room

July 22, 2007
#3 - Sissy

#4 - Rudy

The Clan

July 22, 2008
Fun with G.G.

Looking forward to our new house together!

Love,

Momma and Daddy