Watch You Grow! Month 6

Dear Ensley,

Nothing really big happened in your development this month, but you did kick off the start to the holiday season as a monkey for Halloween! Oh, and you got so cute I could literally cry.

Month 6:

You are the happiest, most beautiful and wonderful baby! Every single day, we have so much fun with you. You are so independent and inquisitive. You slept in your pack and play at the end of our bed every night until this month. One night you decided you had enough of sleeping in the cramped little cardboard bed and refused to sleep in it. You cried every time I tried to put you down, so I took you into your room and laid you in your crib, and you fell immediately to sleep. I don't think Daddy and I would have ever wanted to actually move you out, so you had to do it yourself. I was so sad I slept on the floor of your room the whole first night. You were so good though. You didn't even need me. You slept all through the night and never looked back. I always wanted you to stay in our room or sleep with us, but you were such a big girl even then. You never cry unless it is when we put your jammies on after your bath. Then you cry for about 10 minutes until you get your bottle. This month is the first month you really don't like strangers. You HATE missing your bedtime and routine. Anytime we miss it, you FREAK out. I am so worried about how you are going to do next month during the Mitchell family Thanksgiving. It is going to be so loud and crazy, and you so enjoy our little, quiet life. We also had Liz Khiel come take gorgeous pictures of you this month! You were WONDERFUL while she did them, and they turned out better than I could have ever imagined!

Your firsts: This is the first month you really started laughing. I was the first one to really make you giggle by saying the word "poopie." It was so funny! Now, you love to laugh at Daddy the most. He makes funny faces and noises that can always make you giggle. You had your first meal this month. It was rice cereal. You hated it. We switched to oatmeal which you liked a little bit better, but not enough to get excited to eat it. Holiday: This was your first Halloween! We tried to go to the Jones' Halloween party (you were a monkey and Daddy and I were bananas), but you started crying the minute we got there and didn't really stop until we left.



Halloween...and hated every second of that costume. Lol!

Things you liked: Lovey: As always, you LOVE your Lovey. Your toes! You are always grabbing them and pulling on them. You love when we pretend to eat them or tickle them. Whenever you have footie jammies with faces on the feet you just stare at them and smile. Eating everything. No matter what it is, you want to put it in your mouth. Your favorite thing right now is a plastic red-ribbon bracelet that I got at school. Your walker. This is still your most favorite thing. We try not to put you in it too much because we want to encourage you to crawl, but you love the independence the walker gives you, and it is such a crack up to watch you zoom around in it. You are so quick now, and you have also discovered how to push the walker sideways so you can try opening cupboards and drawers. You are already into everything and you can't even crawl! We are in serious trouble when you are mobile. Sleeping in your room. You love your crib. You go to sleep so well and never cry, and you hardly wake up through the night now. You wake up in the morning and talk and play until we come to get you, and then you are all smiles. You LOVE the morning, and you are so happy when I come to get you every day. Your little smile makes my morning, and I never leave for work on time because I want to spend "just one more minute" with you before I leave.

You with your Lovey. This is another picture from Mimi. She always gets the BEST ones.

Some of my favorite 6 month pictures:

LOOK AT YOU!!!!! So cute I could burst.



Poor Foxy. This is the first month you started to really notice her. She wants to be part of everything, so she would hang out with us, but you would reach out and pull her ears and her fur by the handfuls. She would never react or bat at you or anything. She was so sweet and it was like she knew she had to be nice to you and let you do what you wanted.



Daddy introducing you to his love - softball. He LOVES this picture because you are so excited about the ball.

My angel.

I am so proud of you, baby. You are so beautiful and fun. Everyday I love you more and more. You are such a fantastic little angel. I hope you know how much you mean to me.

I love you.

Love,

Mommy

Watch You Grow! Month 5

Dear Ensley,

This was one of my favorite months! You gained so much independence and were so FUN!

Month 5:

Your personality is just growing in leaps and bounds! No more pictures of you crying this month. You are so happy and bubbly. We love that we can take you places now and you are fun, curious, and adorable.  Later this month, Nana Fish came to visit. She babysat you all week and was so excited to be with you. Daddy and I bought her a plane ticket for her birthday so she could come see you. She loves you so much!

Your Firsts: Your first overnight trip to Las Vegas. (9/15) You went to Las Vegas so that you could meet your Great Grandma Turner. She came out from Ohio to help Aunt Joan get her new house set up and unpacked. With all that we packed for you for the weekend, it almost seemed like we were the ones moving! We had almost our whole house because we didn't know what you needed and what you didn't. Grandpa Dave came with us to help and see Grandma. He was so excited. Ever since you were first born he has been madly in love with you. He came to the house almost every single week to see you, and being able to spend a whole weekend with you seemed like the best thing that ever happened to him. He even babysat you one night while Daddy and I went out on the town. I was absolutely panicked about taking you all the way to Vegas, but you were AMAZING! We gave you a bath and left at your bedtime in hopes that you would sleep the whole way, and you did! You were the most perfect angel. Great Grandma thought you were beautiful and perfect. You smiled at her immediately and reached out to touch her face. It was so sweet, and I was so proud of you. You were even perfect on the way home even though you were awake for almost half of it.

Our trip to Vegas to see Great-Grandma Turner.

 Your first Novi football game. We went to Homecoming to see if Daddy's softball player, Jocelyn, won Homecoming Queen - and she did! She even posed with the crown on your head. (10/3)

Future Homecoming Queen!

Your first trip to Oak Glen to walk around the apple orchards. We went to celebrate the beautiful fall weather and your 5 month birthday! :) (10/7)

Things You Like: LOVEY! I can't exactly remember when we bought Lovey, but I can only assume it was this month because she starts popping up in all your pictures around now. I plan to write a blog entry specifically dedicated to Lovey because she is seriously your most favorite thing in the world. Being silly:You love when I make silly noises and funny faces at you. You love to be talked to or hear us sing. Any kind of interaction with me and Daddy is your favorite. Your walker: You still really like your walker and puttering around the house. You are getting more and more independent and that makes you even happier. Books: You still love books, and you have started wanting to turn the pages and play with them yourself. iPad: We have been showing you the iPad at night for about a month or so, but this is the first month you get REALLY excited when it starts. We do Fisher Price apps that all start with a song and red background for the Fisher Price logo, and you get a huge smile whenever you hear it. Your favorite apps are the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors, and animal sounds. You smile whenever the xylophone comes on, so Daddy really wants to get you one for Christmas. Your routine: You are a baby who LOVES order. We still follow your routine to a T because you HAVE to nap at a certain time, eat at a certain time, and be in your own bed. This is why I was so nervous to take you overnight, but you did so well!

Some of our favorite pictures of you:



This is your happy, adorable face in the morning. You still slept in our room in your pack and play, so I was able to see your smiley face every single morning! It was such a joy to wake up to your enthusiasm and zest for life! :)





Mimi took this picture while she was babysitting. She always gets the BEST pictures of you, and you always look like you are having so much fun with her. She absolutely loves watching you and says it's too long before she gets to come back. I am so glad you guys are going to have such a close relationship.

 

You in your favorite thing - your walker!



Snuggles with Mommy.



I mean, are you the CUTEST thing, or what??

So interested in this book. It was one of your favorites because the plastic fish on the top could move, and you loved the bright colors of the fish. This is my screen saver at work because you are reading a book about fish - How much more perfect can a picture get? :)



You and Grandpa Dave. He LOVED coming to visit you all the time. You loved pulling his mustache.





Daddy eating your toes. Your favorite game!

I just can't believe how quickly the time goes. You are such a big girl and learning so much. You love all the independence you are starting to have. I just love all your cute smiles and fun giggles this month. You are such a joy and light in our lives. You complete our family and our hearts in a way I never dreamed possible. Thank you for all the JOY you've brought and continue to bring.

I love you my little blessing.

Love,

Mommy

Watch You Grow! Month 4

Dear Ensley,

This month was the biggest change yet; for the first time, I wasn't the one to take care of you all day. Big changes!
Month 4:

This month definitely had many highs and lows. I left you to go to work, which was the worst day of my life, but you grew and changed so much it was incredible to watch! This month was a bit of a blur because work took some getting used to and once I got home it felt like we never had enough time with you before you had to go to bed. We did so many fun things with you this month, but found out how much you demanded to remain on your strict schedule. The Tigers v. Angels baseball game that we took you to was way past your bedtime, extremely loud and bright, and scared the crap out of you. We spent most of the time taking turns walking with you out in the dark seating area outside the stadium. You made it all the way to the 7th inning stretch though like the little trooper you are! You were so much more mobile this month in and out of your walker. You would zoom around the house in it and crack us all up.

Your Firsts: Days without mommy. I went back to work on August 14th. The night before I didn't sleep at all. I cried all night and all the next day whenever someone asked me about you. I was so upset about leaving you and just wanted desperately to be a stay at home mom. Luckily, Mimi watched you the first day I was gone and sent me pictures and texts all day. We even Skyped so I could talk to you. When I got to work, Daddy had gone into my classroom and brought me flowers, candy, school supplies, and BEST OF ALL, pictures of you for my room. It made it a little easier, but not much. During the staff meeting our principal put your picture up so everyone could see you and I burst into tears. I missed you every second. That feeling never really goes away, but I guess I just learned to deal with it a little better.

This is the display Daddy set up for me the day I had to start work!



This is one of my favorite pictures of us of all time. I came home from my first week of work and was so excited to have a whole weekend with you, and you just stared at me an played with my face, and we stayed like that for about 15 minutes.



First Baseball Game. We went on your 4 month birthday to see the Angels play the Tigers. We went with Grandpa Dave and Grandma Carol. Like I said before, you didn't like it much because it was VERY loud and late. Everyone was taking pictures of you and talking about how adorable you were even when you were crying. My friend, Kara, made your little Tiger hair ribbon and Daddy and I both wore Tiger shirts so we would match as a family.

                           

First Time Swimming. We went swimming at Grandpa Dave's house during the hottest part of the summer. We just took you in your diaper because as cute as your little polka dot bathing suit was, I knew we wouldn't be in the pool for too long. The water was chilly and I expected you to scream, but you actually liked it quite a bit. You kicked your legs and splashed. You didn't like your hat or the sunblock though. I think we were in the pool for about 15 minutes, but then you sat outside with Grandma Carol on the swing outside while I swam with Josh, Daddy and Grandpa. When you got grumpy I sat with you on the swing and sang you to sleep.

                                

                       

Family Dinners. This is the month we started eating family dinners every night together. You are such a good girl and sit in your Bumbo and talk and play and Daddy and I get to eat and play with you. I really hope we continue to eat dinners as a family forever so we get a chance to talk about our days and share with each other.

Some of our favorite pictures of you:

Daddy LOVES turning the camera on the phone or iPad around and taking pictures of you two together. There are probably 100 of them. You really like it too and smile and giggle.

Your bubbly personality is just continuing to grow and bless Daddy and I. We are so thankful to have such a happy, healthy little girl. Every new adventure with you brings us such joy. Watching you grow and develop is more wonderful than I can put into words.

We love you princess!

Love,

Mommy