Letter to my 12 month old

My dear Amelia,

My sweet baby girl...my one year old. I have spent every day of the past month soaking in every little thing that I could, and holding tight to a year's worth of baby memories. I have been very sentimental this month, often thinking of, and fondly remembering the day you were born. It was simply my best day. I loved everything about it; the excitement, the nervousness, the pain, the fear, the love, the moment of becoming a mother. The past year has been my greatest joy. I just do not have the words to properly describe how much I love you and how proud you have made me. I'm pretty sure that words do not exist, and only another mother could possibly know how I feel.

Once again, you have continued to amaze us all with how much you have learned and changed in one short month. This month:

• You learned to sign "more" and "all done". I know you have known what both meant for some time, but you have recently started signing back to me when you would like more or are finished eating.
• You learned to high five. You only like to do it when it is your idea, but when you are really proud of yourself, you give us a big high five and it is adorable.
• You can point out nose, ears and belly.
• You say mama, dada, bye-bye, hi, what's that, duck, dog and mooo.
• You sleep from 8 - 8:30 pm to 6 - 6:30 am.
• You watch everything I do and imitate my actions. You love to pretend cook, pretend paint, carry a purse around, brush your hair and hold the phone up to your ear.
• You love to dance.
• You cut another tooth. The tooth next to your top right center came in at the end of the month, making a total of 6.
• You have been extremely affectionate, giving lots of really tight hugs and slobbery kisses. When I tell you I love you, you nod your head yes.
• You love to be a helper. You are constantly picking things up from around the house and bringing them to me.
• You learned how to turn backwards and get down from the couch by yourself. We spend lots of time getting up on the couch and then getting back down.
• You still love to eat and usually eat what we are eating. You still have 2 or 3 bottles a day but are pretty much weaning yourself off those.

You have given us twelve full months of fun and laughs and sleepless nights and tears and milestones and more love than we could have ever imagined. I have adored every single second since the moment that you were born. I will always, always look back on your first year as one of the best times in my life. I am so excited to see what the next year brings. All my love to you, my sweet baby girl.

Happy Birthday Amelia Gayle!

Letter to my 10 month old

Dear Amelia,

Today you are 10 months old. You are the funniest, smartest, silliest, most independent 10 month old I have ever seen. You love to explore, dance, make us laugh and be the center of attention. Once again, you have amazed us all this month with the new things you have learned.

This month:

• You have become a pro at walking. Within just a couple of weeks you went from taking your first steps to full on running. You love to run circles around the living room and squeal with delight while we try to catch you.
• You love to climb and flip off things. I can't turn my back for a second without you trying to climb on top of something. I think gymnastics might be in our future.
• You FINALLY got your two top teeth! After months of them coming through and giving you trouble, they finally popped through. You are so cute with your four little teeth that show when you smile really wide.
• You still love to eat and are expanding your palate. You insist on trying whatever is on our plates, and continually surprise us with your choices. We have yet to find a food that you do not like. Right now you are transitioning from eating baby food at most meals to mostly finger foods.
• You say mama, dada, bye bye, dog, duck and what's that? "What's that" is currently your favorite thing to say and you must point at and identify every new object.
• You have started answering our questions with yes and no by shaking your head. When we say "Are you hungry?" You respond by shaking your head. Every night we settle down for the night and say, "Are you ready to go to bed?" You always shake your head yes and want us to carry you to your room.
• You sleep from about 8:00 pm - 6:30 am. You are currently sleeping on your elephant pillow and your favorite stuffed dog in the crook of your arm.
• You are once again sleeping through the night. Once those pesky teeth came through, you are sleeping through the night again with no problem. Yay!
• You experienced your first serious tornado on May 24 and it was one of the scariest days of my life. We prepared the bathtub with pillows and blankets, stocked the room with bottled water and your supplies, moved the dogs crates in and waited for the storm. Your daddy and I were scared as we watched the news, but you had a great time taking care of the dogs in the bathroom. Oklahoma experienced severe damage that day and lives were lost. That night we all hugged a little bit tighter and went to bed with grateful hearts.

This was such a fun month for me to share with you. Now that you are officially mobile we are always on the move. We have had a great time exploring every room in our house, all the streets of our neighborhood, and all the shops in our little town. I know there are lots of adventures in our future and I look forward to each one. You are such a precious gift and I love you with all of my heart, my sweet sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 9 month old

My dear Amelia,

You are 9 months old today, and growing up so fast! You watch everything we do and love to imitate our actions. You love to read books, pet the dogs, dance to music, and play outside. We go everywhere together and we are starting to have conversations where I can tell that we both really understand what the other is saying. You are turning into a toddler, and I don't know if I am ready for all the grown up things you are doing.

This month:

• You took your first step! At about 8 months and 1 week you took your first step. It was in Ardmore at Grams and Pop's house. Your dad and I were both there to see it and we were so proud of you!
• You are officially walking. At the end of your 8th month you can take 7-8 confident steps. You have no problem standing up and going, but you can't stop yourself yet, so you just have to fall down.
• You love to eat! Anything and everything! You love to sample whatever is on our plate.
• You love to give kisses. Especially to Suki and Sullivan, and all your books. My favorite moment of any day is when you lean over and give me a hug and kiss.
• You say mama, dada, bye bye, dog, and uh oh. You also point at things and say something that we swear sounds like "what's that?" I think you are going to be a serious talker!
• You had your first boo boo. You fell and bumped your chin and lip on the table while you were cruising around the living room. One drop of blood came out of your mouth and I almost cried.
• You are still going to bed around 8 pm and waking about 6:30 am.
• You still only have two teeth, but the top ones have been giving you lots of trouble so I think they will be coming through soon.
• You do not like to get in trouble. It only takes hearing NO one or two times for you to stop doing something you are not suppose to. I'll keep my fingers crossed it stays that way!
• You got to see Uncle Adam for the first time since you were about 6 weeks old. He was home for a month while on his way to Italy. He spent several days with us and you got to spend lots of time together.

Even though everything is changing much faster than I thought it would, I am loving every minute. I have always loved staying at home with you, but lately I have really appreciated all the small moments and big milestones that I have been able to witness because I am a stay-at-home mom. It is simply the best thing I have ever done and I want you to always know that. All my love to you, my sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 8 month old.

My dear Amelia,

I think the older that you get the more quickly time passes. The past month has flown by! You are so busy and active that the days go by quickly and you definitely keep me on my toes. We spend our days playing, and cuddling, and looking at, touching and experiencing as many new things as possible. You are still so curious and I can see your little mind soaking everything in. This month:

• You have totally mastered crawling and are a speed demon. When you are after something we have to run to keep up.
• You can easily pull yourself to a standing position. You love to stand up whenever possible.
• You "cruise" along everything. You walk in circles around the living room holding on to furniture and toys.
• You think you can walk. You often let go of whatever you are holding on to and try to take off, then get really frustrated when you fall down.
• You are getting really good at standing balanced. You can usually do it for a few seconds at a time, so I don't think walking is too far away.
• You spent your first night away from me. Your daddy and I celebrated our 5 Year Anniversary and spent the night in Oklahoma City. You stayed at our house with Grams and played all weekend. It was harder than I thought it would be to say goodbye, but you did a great job and I think it was good for all of us.
• You learned the word no. I told you no about touching something and you sat down, stuck your bottom lip out and cried.
• You went to your first CIRCUS! We went to the Shrine Circus in OKC with Grams and Pop, Paw Paw, Uncle Adam, Uncle Chris and Aunt Jess and Brayden and Austin. You LOVED looking at all the animals and had a great time!
• You are going to bed around 8:00 pm, but for some crazy reason you decided to start waking up between 6:00 - 6:30 am everyday.
• You love to eat and try new foods. You are still on a diet of bottles, cereal, and homemade and store bought baby food fruits and veggies. But you always have to try whatever we are eating. You like to chew food with your two tiny bottom teeth.
• You still love to be outside and we go walking or to the park whenever possible.
• You talk CONSTANTLY. You babble nonstop all day, throwing in a few real words. Vocabulary is still limited to mama, dada and bye-bye, but I am pretty sure you are tying to say dog. You love to talk and have conversations with anyone that will listen.

You are so much fun and so funny! I can tell you are going to be opinionated, independent and stubborn, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just love you more and more each day, my sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 6 month old.

Dear Amelia,

I am having a difficult time believing that you are 6 months old. It simply does not seem possible that so much time has already passed since we first brought you home. In these past days you have brightened the lives and filled the hearts of all around you. I remember those last couple months of pregnancy, anxiously waiting for your arrival and constantly daydreaming of who you would be. Now that you are part of our lives and I know your every laugh, every cry and every look that you get in your eyes, you are more than I could have ever imagined.

This month you have definitely come in to your own. Your personality has continued to grow and you have turned into your own independent little person. You are loving and curious and intelligent. You are also ornery and stubborn and mischievous. :) Our days have become much busier and more active lately as we spend our days exploring everything. To say you keep me on my toes is an understatement. This month:

• You have become a pro at sitting up. You no longer need any assistance, and can re-balance yourself if you begin to fall.
• You are teething. None have popped through yet, but they are getting close.
• You decided that I am no longer allowed to leave the room. When I do you immediately shriek like a banshee until I reappear.
• You are SO close to crawling. You get up on all fours and rock, but then flop back to your belly. I think you don't see the point in crawling when you can roll wherever you want to go.
• You have started new foods, although you prefer the real thing instead of baby food. Sweet potatoes, LOVE! Sweet potato baby food, no thanks.
• You go to bed around 9:30 pm and sleep until around 7:30 am.

At you 6 month well baby:

• You weighed 16 lb 4oz (50th percentile)
• You were 25 1/2 in (75th percentile)

I can tell things are starting to change. Your routine is diferent, your opinions are emerging, you are becoming more of a little person than an infant. This makes me slightly sad that the tiny baby days are ending, but I am so excited to see what the next month brings. I'm so proud of you already, my sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 5 month old.

My dear Amelia,

At this time last year, you were just a tiny heartbeat in my tummy. We did not know your due date, we did not know if you were a boy or a girl, we did not know what an amazing little person you were going to be. We only knew you were on your way and we were already madly in love with you.

Now you are 5 months old and another year is coming to an end. 2010 has been the most wonderful, exciting, scary and love filled year of my life. You have changed my world, my days, my perspective and my ideas on love. You are a constant source of joy for everyone who loves you and I am in awe of what a wonderful and happy person you are. I am so excited to spend the next year with you and watch all that you do. As always you are changing and experiencing firsts day by day.

This month:

• You started eating cereal, so far we have tried rice and oatmeal. You absolutely love to eat your cereal and are becoming increasingly impatient with the bottle.

• You are becoming a pro at sitting up. You can sit unassisted for longer periods of time, but still fall over frequently.

• You are consistently sleeping about 11 hours a night. Usually from about 9:30 pm to 8:30 am.
  

• You are trying so hard to crawl, and are getting so close! You can get up on your knees and and raise up on your hands, just not at the same time.
  

• You had your first visit to Santa.
  

• You had your first Christmas! And loved it! We spent a lot of time with family in Stillwater and Ardmore. You had so much and got way to many toys, but you love them all.
  

Amelia and Santa (Uncle Jon)

4 Generations
Great Grandma Hodson, Grandpa Hodson, Daddy, Amelia

Wooden rocking horse from Great Grandma Hodson.
Made by your Great Grandpa Dewey for your Daddy on his first Christmas.

Paw Paw

Cousin Braden, Aunt Jessica, Cousin Austin, Uncle Christopher

Grams

First family Christmas

The holiday season was so much fun to celebrate with you. Your smile and joy brought so much happiness to our family and renewed my Christmas spirit.

So much has happened and so much has changed in the course of one year. As this year comes to an end, I am so thankful for you, all the changes and all the blessings you bring to our lives. I know 2011 will be full of new firsts, new challenges, and new surprises. I have no resolution for the new year, but my goal is to always live in the present and treasure each day. I will spend the next year trying to be the best mommy that I can be. This is my promise to you , my sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 4 month old.

My Dear Amelia,

This month you have changed so much! You are growing so fast and becoming so many new things. Day by day you are changing from a sweet little newborn to an infant with a very big personality. You love to entertain and laugh and be the center of all attention. You are very curious about everything around you and love to explore new things. You are a charmer, you can give a little grin that will melt anyone's heart.

This month:

• You found your voice. You love to scream and shriek and make noise. You rarely cry, but you love to be heard and learn new sounds.

• You learned to (almost) sit up. You can sit by yourself for short periods of time, but don't yet have full control.

• You like to try to stand up by yourself. And can do so for approximately 1 second before you start to topple. But it makes you happy so we let you try.

• You became really aware of Suki and Sullivan. You love to reach for them, pet them and grab their ears.
  

• You found your feet. The left one is constantly in your mouth.

• You have become aware of food. You watch everything we eat and follow each bite of food to our mouths. We hope to start you on rice cereal within the next month.

• You go to bed between 8:30 - 9:00 pm and sleep until 7:30 - 8:30 am.
  

• Had your first Thanksgiving. Actually two Thanksgivings. We had Hodson Thanksgiving the Sunday before and you saw your first turkey, sat at the table and drooled over all the food. On Thanksgiving day we were in Ardmore with Grams and Pop, where we cheated and gave you a taste of cranberry sauce, gravy and sweet potatoes. You did not like any of them.
  

At your 4 month well baby visit you:

• weighed 13 lb 12 oz. (50th percentile)
• were 15 1/4 inches long (75th percentile)

During this month of giving thanks and celebrating our blessings, I am ever reminded that I am so thankful that you are in my life, my sweet sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 3 month old.

My Dear Amelia,

Another month has passed and you continue to entertain and amaze us. With every day, you change, grow and do something new. You are such a happy little person and it is so much fun to be around you.

This month:

• You had your first real belly laugh! It was after a very interesting diaper blowout, which evidently you found very funny. Your Daddy and I were both there to hear it and it was without a doubt, the best sound I have ever heard.

• You are still sleeping through the night. You usually go to bed between 10:00 - 11:00, but you are now sleeping until about 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. You love your sleep! I think you must take after your mommy. :) You have started to take naps during the day, usually two, sometimes three anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.
  

• You cried your first real tears.
  

• You started rolling from your back to your tummy. You now roll from tummy to back and back to tummy pretty frequently.
  

• You propped yourself up on your elbows. We were in Ardmore visiting Grams and you were lying on your tummy. We went to the kitchen and when we came back you were propped on your elbows watching TV and grinning.

• You found your hands, and now are completely obsessed with them. They are constantly in your mouth or clutched together at your chest. You are getting pretty good at seeing your thumb and sticking it in your mouth.
  

• You discovered the TV. You LOVE to watch TV, and your favorite thing to watch is football.
  

• You wore your first Halloween costume. We went to the Downtown Stillwater Halloween Festival for some trick-or-treating and you loved it! You were a skunk or "lil stinker" and you were so adorable! You were so excited to see everything and soak it all in...

...until you passed out.


You did not have a well baby appointment this month, but from weighing you at home, you currently weigh about 12 lbs. You are growing so much and changing so fast, and I am loving every minute of it.

Letter to my 2 month old.

Dear Amelia,

You have had such a fun and exciting 2nd month! You have learned new things, met new people and experienced so much in such a short time. This month:

• You made your first ever road trip. Over Labor Day weekend you went to Ardmore, which was your first long trip in the car, and you did so great! You love to look out the window at everything passing by. You slept most of the way and enjoyed the ride. While we were in Ardmore you got to meet Uncle Adam, Uncle Chris, Aunt Jess and cousins Braden and Austin for the first time. You also met Great Grandma and Grandpa Powell.
  

• You made your first trip alone with Mommy. We went back to Ardmore to say goodbye to Uncle Adam before he went back to South Korea for another six months. He is currently in his first year in the Air Force. Again you were so good on the ride down. During this visit you also went to Texas for the first time when we took a little girls trip with Grams to Sherman.
  

• You started sleeping through the night! Yay! You were 5 weeks old the first time you slept through the night and you have doing so consistently since you were 7 weeks old. You usually go to bed somewhere between 9:30 - 11:00 and wake up between 7:00 - 8:00, averaging around 9 hours a night.
  

• You stopped taking regular daytime naps. Evidently you decided that if you are going to sleep all night you do not need to sleep during the day. But, I'm certainly not going to complain because, oh how I love sleeping at night again.
  

• You have become so alert and interactive. You love to talk and interact with everyone. You love to smile and coo and giggle. Right now your favorite thing is the ceiling fan. You can spend forever watching and smiling at it.
  

At your 2 month well baby appointment:

• you weighed 11 lbs. (50th percentile)
  
• you were 24" long (95th percentile) wow!
  

You are growing and changing everyday. Everyday you do a little bit more and it is so exciting to watch you learn. I can see why everyone says it all goes by so fast. I already miss your tiny newborn days, but I love what every new day brings. All I can do is savor each moment of every day, treasure the memories and look forward to your future. I love spending my days with you, my sweet sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 1 month old.

Dear Amelia,

Right now you are sleeping peacefully in your nursery. I've been watching you sleep and thinking how perfectly wonderful the last month has been. One little month and one little person has forever changed me. You are such a blessing to our family and I have loved every minute spent with you. I love your sleepy yawns and your huge grins. I love the way you smell so sweet. I love your soft skin and the way you hold so tight to my finger. I love your contented sighs. I love the hours we have spent memorizing each others faces. I love every single bit of being your mommy.

I love watching as you grow and learn new things every day. You are so alert and attentive, soaking up every detail of your new world. In your one short month you have learned so much. You have learned how to express your feelings, you have learned to smile, you have learned to track things with your eyes, you have learned to roll from your tummy to your back, you are learning to hold your head up. Every day brings new adventures for you and it is so fun to watch as you discover them.

I know as the months pass you will continue to learn an infinite number of new things, and I will be there with you along the way. But out of all the things I want you to learn, the most important is this: you are very loved.

36 Weeks

Dear Amelia,

Your due date is exactly 4 weeks from today. The days have quickly sped by, leaving only a handful remaining. I'm torn between wanting the next month to fly by so I can meet your sweet face and wanting the next month to linger slowly so I can keep you to myself for just a bit longer.

I am continuously amazed at how much we have both grown in the past 36 weeks. I have watched week by week as you grew from a grain of rice, to a grape, to a peach, to a squash and now you are larger than a honeydew. I have read each week what you are doing and what new development you are making. I have watched my belly expand each week and felt your kicks and movements grow stronger and stronger. As much as my belly has grown, I know my heart has grown bigger as I learn a whole new kind of love.

We have 28 days left to go, and with every day that passes you are becoming more prepared for the crazy, outside world. I know that the next month will both fly by and creep along. I'm working hard to make sure that we are ready for your arrival. I can't wait to see your daddy hold you and I know the entire family is so excited to meet you. You are such a blessed little girl to have so many people who love and care for you.

But, for the next month I am going to enjoy having you all to myself, keeping you safe and warm.

Love,

Your mom

I'm in love with this face.

Dear Amelia,

I'm pretty sure you are the most perfect thing I have ever seen...










...and I can't wait to hold you in my arms.

Love,

Your mom

Between Us

Dear Baby...

I am sitting at work right now, working on sales leads, and feeling you kick and twist inside of me. You are moving around more and more lately. Sometimes early in the morning while I am getting ready for the day, sometimes while I am at my desk working, sometimes while I am in the middle of a conversation with a client, but mostly in the evening while I am relaxing on the couch or reading in bed.

Regardless of the time, whenever I feel you kick and move is the best part of my day. I have decided it is my favorite part of pregnancy. Feeling you move reminds me to focus on all the important and wonderful things in my life and forget the minor troubles each day may bring.

I love feeling your little movements. I like to think it is your way of talking to me, private little conversations throughout the day, just between us.

Love,
Your mom