Two Years

Lee Bear,

How did you get to be such a big boy all of a sudden!  You are two years old and growing up so fast.  What a fun year this has been.  We have seen you start to walk (but mostly run), talk non-stop, laugh, play with friends and so much more.  You are so much fun at this stage and also very challenging at times.  

Right now, you love to play with your toys, especially your train table, tool bench and grill.  You still love to read and you have a new found love for the library.  We have been going to the library to check out books…I was mainly motivated to do this because I get tired of reading the same books over and over and over.  You think it’s so much fun to pick out new books and return your books down the chute.  You also LOVE stickers.  Stickers have become a must have in your backpack when we go out to dinner.  You can just sit there and put stickers one on top of another on a piece of paper for a good hour.  We love it because we can eat and talk and you are perfectly happy. 

You are a little talker.  You talk and talk to us about anything and everything.  We tell people that you like to narrate through life.  You tell us “I’m walking now”, “I’m running”, “I’m eating”.  We have also decided that you do not have mommy’s sense of directions (which is a good thing).  When we are in the car, you tell me when to turn to get to our house or nanny’s house “this way mommy”.  You also tell me where to turn to get to the doctor (yes, we go there a little too much).  You say “I love you, Mommy” and “I love you, Daddy” and there really isn’t anything sweeter.  You also talk to Mollie (aka Mollie doddle bug) a lot and boss her around…  “Stay Mollie”, “Go outside”, “Get up”.  You have so many words and phrases and it is so much fun having conversations with you.

You have really started playing with friends, which has been so much fun to see.  You talk about your friends a lot and you ask us to go see your friends.  You also are really into birthday parties lately (mainly because you love cupcakes) and you have been talking about all of your friend’s birthday parties non-stop. 

You are also such a big boy.  We went to your two year appointment and you were 36 3/4 in. (97%) and 32.8 lbs. (90%).  We always get comments about how tall you are for your age! 

We had your 2nd birthday party at our house and we did a Mickey Mouse theme.  You love Mickey Mouse and ask to “watch mouse” as soon as you wake up in the morning.  We had a great time celebrating with you and weeks later, you were still talking about your birthday party. 

 

We all love you very much and you are such a joy to our family!

Christmas

We had so much fun celebrating Christmas this year.  Lee still doesn’t understand everything quite yet, but he had fun opening his presents and he would get excited seeing Santa all around.  Most of all, we celebrated how thankful we are for the birth of our Savior.  What a wonderful time to reflect on the grace we have been freely given and for our salvation that came through Christ.  We enjoyed spending this time with friends and family and reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas! 

We had a busy holiday as usual and started off this year at Cole’s PawPaw’s house in Fort Worth.  We stayed there two nights and enjoyed our time with the Robertson/Bates/Jones family!

Lee LOVES his books.  And, these matching pjs were actually not planned believe it or not!  But we all look pretty cute – ha!

Family pic before going to Corky and Jan’s house on Christmas Eve.

Robertson Boys

Robertson Pic

Robertson Girls and Lee

Grandkids/Great Grandkids with PawPaw

Annual Cousin’s picture at Corky and Jan’s house (in age order of course!)

We left out cookies and milk for Santa and Lee didn’t understand why he couldn’t have one!

We opened presents Christmas morning at PawPaw’s house and had a great time.  Lee loved opening the presents and playing with all of his new toys. 

After breakfast, we headed over to my parent’s house and had Christmas with them.  This was Rusty and Ali’s Christmas to spend with Ali’s family but unfortunately they spent most of Christmas day at the hospital with Ethan.  They had to take him in because of a high fever.  He ended up getting to go home that evening, but we were all worried and felt awful for them!  My dad spent Christmas Eve in and the few days before that in bed sick too.  Luckily, he felt better and was able to celebrate Christmas day with us! 

Lots of fun with Gramma and Pops!

Lee preferred to watch the snow from inside the nice and warm house. 

He feels the same way about the cold as his Mommy does…

We went to my cousin’s house in Dallas on Christmas afternoon.  We had a great time celebrating with my mom’s side of the family and then my parents spent the night with us rather than brave the icy roads back to Arlington.  We had a great Christmas this year!

Growth Stats

Wow, I’m really far behind on updating about Lee.  The last time I blogged was for his first birthday.  I had a crazy semester at school and Lee keeps me busy, so that’s my excuse.  Now that I’ve been on winter break, I’m finding time to catch up on all of the things I’ve put off for months now.  Lee turned 18 months on Christmas.  We went to his 18 month well check today and here are his stats: 

Weight:  29 lbs.  (85th percentile)

Height:  34 in. (92nd percentile)

Head:  47.6 cm (50th percentile)

The doctor said Lee looks great and is developing wonderfully.  He checked out his ears and said the ear infection was gone.  Lee had his first ear infection the week before Christmas and an eye infection  right before that.   He caught a cold that lasted 2 1/2 weeks and just did a number on him.  Thank goodness he was feeling better for the Christmas festivities!  The doctor said his language is developing great and he just makes sure that a child Lee’s age can say 5-10 words.  Lee is talking up a storm.  I’ve recorded all of the words he can say and it’s about 45.  My favorite thing he says right now is when he looks at me and says “Hi Mom”.  He just started doing that and it’s oh so sweet in his little voice.  He has recently gotten really good at repeating the words we say.  He is really just taking in the world around him and it’s fun to watch him learn new words everyday! 

Lee has been taking one nap a day since right after he turned one.  He is not a great napper….I’m happy if he will sleep 1.5 hours.  He still goes to bed about 8:00 or 8:30 and sleeps until 7:30 or 8:00. 

As far as eating, Lee can be picky at times.  Chicken nuggets, turkey or ham melts, sweet potatoes, raisins and any type of fruit are his usual.  I have to limit his fruit intake or it really causes some digestive issues. 

We are having fun with our active little 18 month old.  I don’t know where the time has gone!

And since, I forgot to update his stats for 12 months and 15 months, here they are:

12 months:

Weight:  24.10 lbs. (75th percentile)

Height:  31 1/4 in. (90th percentile)

Head:  46 cm (35th percentile)

15 months:

Weight:  26.14 lbs. (80th percentile)

Height:  33 in. (95th percentile)

Head:  47 cm (45th percentile) 

1st Birthday Party

We had Lee’s first birthday party last Saturday, June 23.  We had a great time and ended up having about 55 people at our house.  It was crazy, but we feel so blessed that Lee is so loved by our family and friends.  We had hamburgers and hot dogs and the kids just played outside in the water.  They all seemed to have a great time.  Lee had a blast and that’s what really matters!  Here are some pics from the party.

Happy first birthday sweet boy – we had a great time celebrating with you!!

One Year

Baby Lee,

How has it already been a year since you were born?!  I remember June 25, 2011 like it was yesterday.  I remember every little detail (except for the part around the time I took the Ambien, but that’s probably for the best).  I remember feeling so happy that I was going to meet you five weeks earlier than expected, but scared at the same time.  I just wanted you to be a strong, healthy boy and I knew you were when the doctors told me you were 6 lbs 9 oz and you only had to stay in the hospital a week before you were ready to go home.  You have proven to be such a strong and energetic little boy!

This year has been such a joy to your dad, me and all of our families.  We have gotten to watch you grow, develop and discover the world around you.  You put a smile on our faces every day.  You have a way of doing that to everyone you see.  You are so social when we go anywhere.  You wave to everyone you see and flash your precious smile.  You get so excited when you see something you like that you flap your arms up and down and make little gasping noises.  Everyone always tells us we have such a happy baby. 

You are all over the place and we’re constantly on our feet chasing you around.  You just started walking right before your birthday, but you have been on the move since about 7 or 8 months.  You have lots of energy and you just seem to be a typical little boy.  You love to be very active…you love to swim, play in the water table, play with the water hose, go to the splash park, go to Gymboree, and play with friends.

You are also babbling so much now.  You say mama all the time and it just melts my heart.  I leave the room or leave your side and you start saying my name wanting me to come back.  I know it won’t always be like this…there are surely going to be days that you want me to give you your space, but for now I’m enjoying the time you want me close by.  You have been saying dada for a long time too, but now you really know who your dada is.  When dad comes home from work you get so excited to see him and you want him to hold you before he can even put his bags down.  You have gotten a little confused lately and think that all food is “nana”.  You learned banana / “nana” because you eat a banana every morning.  Now any time you want to eat or want more food you say “nana nana nana”.  We’re trying to teach you the names of other foods, but it hasn’t quite sunk in yet. 

I have so many sweet memories of this year that I will always cherish.  You are such a blessing to us….words can’t even express it.  I’m constantly in awe of God’s blessings and that He created you especially for us.  We pray for you every day and our prayer is that you will come to know Christ at an early age and that you will grow up to be a man who loves the Lord with all of your heart, mind and soul.  Your mommy and daddy love you so much and you have so many other family members and friends that love you too.  You are so loved by many!!

This is you on June 25, 2011.  Even though these pictures of you make me sad because you have so many contraptions hooked up to you, it reminds me of what  a strong and brave little boy you were the day we met you!

Here you are at your 1st Birthday party!  You had such a great time and we loved watching you enjoy the day!

Eleven Months

 

How can it be…our baby is going to be one year old at the end of this month!  Here is what Lee has been up to this month:

Weight: I think Lee weighs about 24 pounds now.  All I know is that he’s heavy and it hurts my back to carry him.  I am ready for him to be able to walk!  I think Lee has had a growth spurt recently because we have had a lot of people tell us he looks big and a lot older than 11 months.

Clothing: Lee is wearing  mostly 12- 18  or 18 month clothes. He is still wearing a size 4 diaper.

Feeding: Lee is taking a formula bottle 4 times a day.  Although his afternoon bottle is usually just a little snack – 4 oz.  Lee eats breakfast, lunch and dinner also.  He usually eats all kinds of fruits and veggies or whatever we are eating if he can. 

Sleep: Lee is still doing well sleeping – about 11-12 hours at night.  He has gotten his wake up time back to about 7:00 or 7:30 which we like MUCH better.  Lee is still taking two good naps a day also.

Activities: Lee is pulling up really well, cruising around and he has started to stand on his own.  He’s not too interested in walking though.  He’s a fast little crawler, so if he sees something he wants, he knows he can get there quickly by crawling.  Lee has gone swimming a few times this month too.  He loves the water and floating around in the pool.  Lee is talking more and more.  He has said mama some, he says “nana” for banana, “ba” for ball and “da” for dog.  He also continues to frequently say dada.  He also has been saying “lalala” a lot.  I realized the other day at Gymboree that we sing a song that has “lalala” in it.  I guess that’s where he picked it up because when we were singing it in class he was saying it along with us!  So funny!  Lee is still very social, waving to everyone.  He can put a smile on anyone’s face by giving that little wave – it’s so sweet.  This month, Cole and I went on our first vacation without Lee.  We went to Turks and Caicos for 4 nights and my parents and aunt Nelda came over and took care of Lee while we were gone.  Lee did great and they all had such a fun time.  Cole and I had a great trip and were able to relax and sleep in which was much needed!

Ten Months

This picture just about sums it up.  I’m not sure how I even got this shot, because I had about a nano-second before he was trying to throw himself off the chair.  Lee keeps us laughing and on our toes.  He’s into everything these days and we can’t take our eyes off of him!

Weight: I’m guessing Lee weighed about 22 to 23 pounds at 10 months.

Clothing: Lee is wearing 12 – 18 month clothes.  He is still wearing a size 4 diaper.

Feeding:  We worked on getting Lee weaned this month.  He was officially weaned a little bit after he turned 10 months.  He seems like such a big boy now that we just give him his bottle and he can give it to himself with no problem.  I just look at him when he’s taking his bottle and can’t believe how big he has gotten!  Lee has been eating a lot more solid foods too.  He loves turkey, avocado, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, sweet potatoes, peas, spaghetti (messy, messy)….really pretty much anything we give him.

Sleep: Lee is still doing well sleeping.  He went through a little stint where he decided to wake up early (like 6:00 or 6:15). We would just leave him in his crib for about 30 minutes because we didn’t want him to make that his new wake up time schedule.  Well, it turns out when he was in there, he was chewing on his crib – ugh!  There are teeth marks ALL over it.  We had these grand plans that we were going to have this nice furniture that we would be able to use for a long time…I never thought a baby could be so destructive with their furniture.  Lesson learned.  I guess we will just have to get it refinished at some point.   Also, he gave us a little scare this month.  During his nap one day he reached through his crib and yanked the cord to the video monitor out and pulled it into his crib.  When Fran went in there, he had the cord all wrapped around his hands – so scary.  All I could say is thank you Lord for protecting Lee and we are baby proofing more and more.  We moved the crib really far away from the wall so he can’t reach the cord.  I just had no idea he could even reach it in the first place.  Again, lesson learned. 

Activities: Lee continues to say dada all the time.  He also loves to wave.  We go to the store and he just sits in the cart and waves to everyone – it’s really cute.  He seems like he is going to be very social!  We also started going to Gymboree this month.  I felt like Lee needed an activity to get some of his energy out.  This has been great for him, he absolutely loves it.  He loves interacting with the other babies (and moms – yes, he’s not afraid of anyone).  On the first day of class, he went over and crawled in another mom’s lap.  Also, during parachute time, he took off to the other side of the parachute  to hang out and wasn’t concerned at all about where I was.  The class wears him out and he always takes a great nap afterwards.  We are staying busy and trying to do lots of activities to keep Lee busy!