12 months - The Big ONE!

12 months

To Olen Ray,

 12 months old! How can this be? Has it really been a year since you were born, since you came into this world, since we held you for the first time, since you looked at us with those beautiful blue eyes, since you showed us the true meaning of unconditional love? My heart tells me it hasn’t been that long, those moments were just yesterday, but the calendar tells a different story.

Speaking of story, you write you own little chapter every day in the “Life of Olen Ray.” You have continued to become quite the comedian with your number one goal being to get the attention of others, if they laugh or smile at you, all the better. When we go somewhere (like a store or restaurant) and someone doesn’t smile at you, let the games begin! You continue to look at that person and smile in every way possible until they acknowledge you and accept that smiling at a baby (well big boy now) really will make their day brighter and heart happier.

Daddy is home! Yeah, the crazy work schedule has ended and he gets home most evenings around 6:30. We still meet him at the end of the driveway for a short ride before dinner. It is so nice to be able to eat dinner as a family and for daddy to help mommy with bath and evening routines. I love every moment with you doodle bug, but it is nice to get the dishes done and my email checked before 9:00 at night :-) When I tell you it is time to go meet “dada”, you grab some shoes (any shoes - mine, yours, daddy’s) and head for the front door. It is so great to see you excited about your dad. You love him SO MUCH! The feeling is mutual, because he would give you the world if you asked.

Speaking of heading for the door, you are walking. About two days before your first birthday, you started taking 3-4 steps without falling down. About 1/2 through your 12th month, you gave up crawling for movement on your chunky legs. When you fall down (which happens a lot), you push that bottom up in the air, put those hands on the floor, grunt a little, stand up, and off you go!

At your 12 month check up your weighed in at 26 lbs and height looks about 29 inches. I have the percentages somewhere and will add them if I remember. Dr. Thomas says everything looks great and you are super healthy!

You still LOVE to eat. It is great to enjoy meals with you as you eat anything we do. You have even started to want things in large pieces or “sticks” (like french toast or sandwiches) so you can practice your biting skills. So far, the biting is still only with food at the table. You still drink from a straw cup and refuse milk. I get it in you with frozen popsicles and smoothies. Although I am starting to think it might hurt your belly-belly a bit. The last few nights you have had smoothies before bed, have ended up being rough evenings. You cry and cry as I rock you until falling asleep. We are going to hold off on evening smoothies for a bit I think. Still nursing four times a day and that just makes me smile. It is such a special time we have together each day and I am not ready to give it up. Plus the fact that you don’t like milk gives me an excuse to continue a bit longer.

You had your first hair cut this month.  No more wispy curls behind the ears. I have some pictures and a really funny video of the whole process :-)

Let’s see, we have baby chicks now and you really enjoy checking on them. You run to their box and dance up and dance while watching them peep and play. If we head outside, you head straight for the chicken coop to check for an egg. It is so cute to watch you open the box and get excited to find one inside. Your play skills continue to amaze me each day. I can’t remember which ones I documented for last month but you can turn pages (and open) a book, throw a ball, kick a ball, scoop dirt, climb the ladder on your slide, put a puzzle together with help of course, and you love to carry around heavy/big items.

Your speech leveled off a bit as you perfected walking. You have a few new words though: neigh-neigh (horse), baa-baa (sheep), k-k-k (cookie), baba (bottle), ne (no), and hey. The others are still in the mix though, especially dada and mama. The stroller is not your friend anymore so I toss you up for a back carry when we are just going for a short walk. It is much easier to keep you happy that way. We all know the goal for a mommy is a happy baby!

Ok doodle, I think those are the big things for this month. I will get a post up of your party pictures soon. We love you. We love you. We love you. Every time I look at you my love for you just grows by leaps and bounds. Stay sweet and keep giving love to all you meet. Keep making, well insisting, other people smile. It truly does make the day a a little brighter. 

 
Love, Mama and Dada

11 months

11 months

To Olen Ray, 

Yet another month has passed!  You are eleven months now and getting closer to the big ONE with every day we share; your skills are showing your age little man. 

What a fun age (but I guess I would say that about every month) this is and what a fun not-so-little baby you are.  You are full of personality and love to still the attention when we walk in a room.  The stink face and your joyous smile gets them EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.  

Let’s see, daddy is still working crazy hours, but we keep the cell phone close by in the evenings awaiting his arrival time.  I through a jacket and hat on before heading out the door to meet “dada” at the end of the driveway.  You really know this part of our evening routine now. When I say, “let’s go see dada”, you head for the door. If I get your bundled up and then put you down, you turn into a not-so-happy little guy!   In your mind, it means we aren't going to meet daddy when really mommy just HAS to use the bathroom.  Daddy’s crazy work schedule means we still eat dinner “just the two of us” during the week and cherish our family meals on the weekends.  You love it when daddy is a the table because he feeds you from his plate, even though the same food is on your plate.  You share a lot of snuggles with daddy in the evenings and I can just see his heart glowing each time you lay your sweet head on his shoulder. 

Speaking of food, you are still eating like a champ; at the table and the boob.  The only foods you really don’t like are slaw or really anything with a lot of mayo in it.  You really enjoy the squeeze fruit pouches and I bribe you with those to stay in the stroller when I go running in the afternoon.  Still nursing four times a day and I am just as attached to those moments as you are, I must be honest here.  There was one random night when you refused to nurse before bed. I came out of your nursery in tears thinking that was the end. I even went back in after thirty minutes because you were still awake to try again, you still refused.  Haha, I was worried for nothing as you called for me twice in the middle of the night to make up for that loss of milk.  It was really odd because you haven’t done that again.  

Your sleep patterns are pretty consistent at this point unless we travel or you are adding to your collection of pearly whites.  Two naps a day around 10:00 or 10:30 and the other around 3:30 or 4:00. I usually wake you up by 12:00 to make sure we get the second nap in. In the bed (well, crib) by 8:00 or 8:30 without a peep most nights :-)  I can expect a call for “mama” or some crying around 4:00 or 5:00 with a request for some milk and then back to sleep until 7:30 or 8:00.   

A big change happened this month when Ms. Patty (your babysitter) told us she took another job.  Fortunately, she shared the name of another local babysitter that had an opening for a part time kiddo. You filled that spot and things are going great. Ms. Elaine keeps you 2-3 days a week from 8:00-2:00 while mommy works. She has you on a great schedule with a nice 2 hour morning nap.  You love the big boys there and she is impressed with all the food you eat.  Those tears you shed when I leave you in the morning really tug at this mommy’s heart though. I know you quiet down right away, but it is touch little baby, I won’t deny it!  

Skills, skills, and more skills. You are taking a few steps (1 or 2) independently, but not showing a lot of interest in walking yet. You can crawl on super speed and get anywhere you want to go.  You LOVE to play outside with rocks and sticks and whatever other random item you find. Even on cold days, we bundle up to soak up some sunshine whenever possible.  Your play skills just fascinate me! You put toys in AND out, try to stack blocks, can almost put a large puzzle piece in, open a book, push a car, throw a ball, stack rings, try to spin those rings like daddy, and push your motorcycle toy EVERYWHERE.  

Your words are pretty consistent with mama, dada, dog, woof, byebye, ah (airplane), da (all done), hoo hoo (owl sound), ti (stick), ba (ball), and I can’t think of the others right now.  Following directions is pretty easy right now and you seem to want to please, let’s hope that continues.  I can tell you “its time to take a bath” and you head down the hall to the bathroom. Some nights you go there after dinner even if I don’t tell you!  You are more than happy to crawl over to your chair at the table and attempt to climb in when I see “its time to eat.”  

I almost forgot, you have a second tooth!  Or maybe I already typed that, but who was time to read back through a blog post before clicking publish. Not this mommy! More teeth are coming through as you still chew on everything and you share your drool with everyone.

I am trying to teach you “no” and it is working, sorta.  You know there are some things you aren’t supposed to touch (the fire, the radio) and you head straight to them if I get on the phone or start cooking.  I can tell you know what “no” means because you look at me when I say it and try to decide if it’s worth it to keep touching them.  I can usually give you a little pop on the hand and redirect you.  The only time I have had to pop the cute behind is for standing up in the bathtub and standing up in your high chair.  I think your feelings get heart more than your bottom, but those crocodile tears hurt mommy too!  We just want to shape you into an obedient son while still letting you explore the world, hope we are doing the right thing. 

We are still so in love with you doodle bug.  Keep on growing baby, stay healthy, stay strong, let your joyous heart shine, and be patient with us as we learn how to parent.  

Love, Mama and Dada

10 months

10 months

To Olen Ray,

Oh my goodness. You are 10 months old! I am actually getting this posted before you turn 11 months, so someone better write that down in my "mommy book."  Don't worry though, I will get behind again since I will have to start planning your first birthday party, like tomorrow, and won't be able to blog during nap time 'till it's complete.

You started off your 10th month celebrating your very first Christmas.  I must say, Christmas has a whole new level of excitement with a little one around.  I will try to post some pictures of you Christmas morning and give more details there, but you LOVED it. We had you open a Christmas book every night the whole month of December and by the second week, you had figured out how to get the paper open if we just popped off the ribbon and tape. It was perfect practice for you to open your gifts on Christmas Day. "Santa" brought you a slide, swing, push toy, tunnel, and some cars in your stocking. We also gave you a stroller adapter for your snacks (because you HAVE to eat everywhere you go), books, and animal cards.  You were the center of attention for all three Christmas celebrations and it made me smile to watch you enjoy each moment.

A tooth, yes Olen Ray, you finally popped a little white speck through on January 4th.  Of course you did break a sweat, lose a little sweat, and have a fever because of the little thing.  I am sure most people didn't believe me when I told them it was there because you could barely see it.  It is your lower right incisor and it is about halfway through right now. You haven't really bit me yet while nursing, feeding you solids, or when you give me kisses. We shall pray that doesn't change anytime soon.  You really have to still look to see it though when you smile. I am thinking another might be getting ready to join it soon because you haven't slept well the last night or two. 

You still love to stand up and even let go off things for 3-5 seconds now. Your daddy said you let go of a drawer, took a step, and grabbed the cabinet door the other day, but I haven't seen it.  No, we don't let our baby play in the kitchen cabinets on a regular basis, just every time I am trying to cook dinner :-)  Crawling under and between things is still a fun adventure for you.  The slide, oh the slide. We have it set up on the screened in porch since the weather has been so crazy this month, one day it is 40 and the next 70.  You can almost climb the steps by yourself if I just hold onto your body.  It is so cute to watch you put the foot up there, grab on with your hands, and pull up with all your might.  The preferred activity with the slide is the toss your animals down it and attempt to climb up the "wrong" end, but you will figure it out.  WEEEE and off you go in the swing, which you love.  The fun element increases if we sing songs or make silly faces at you while you are swinging.  You are starting to enjoy riding on your little motorcycle or giraffe. It is cute to watch you put you feet up on the wheels so we can push you around the house.  

I have really noticed an improvement in your receptive language skills this month as well.  You starting to understand the names of objects like ball, car, paci, blankie, dog, etc.  If we are playing with something, I can tell you "bring it to mama" and you hold it up to place it in my hand.  Waving "hi" and "bye" is a new task for you and sometimes you do it just to play and get someone to pay attention to you. It is pretty cute to watch you open and close that little hand. You will give "high fives" too!  Let's see, every time Bailey barks, you crawl to the front door to check on her and see what she is barking at.  You LOVE that dog and Addison the cat too.  Anytime you have a bump to the head during playtime, a sure way to stop the fussing is a quick visit to see the animals. 

Now your sounds, oh my!  You are hilarious and such a chatter box.  There is a lot of jargon there, but lots of sounds too! I haven't noticed any new words, but you love to stick your tongue in and out and make a "nanana" sound over and over and over again.  Just today when I was nursing your before nap, you would stop, make that sound with your tongue, and nurse again. Such a funny kid! We still get to see the stink face, fish face, and always great smiles each day as well (I even caught one in your sleep on Saturday).  

Speaking of nursing, you are down to just four times a day.  Sometimes if you are really fussy in the night, I will give you an extra feeding so you can get some sleep.  When we are out and about, you get a little distracted, but it is a sure way to put some happiness back into you if you are not feeling well.  You can eat with a fork if we put a piece of food on it and otherwise your fingers are your go-to utensil.  I haven't let you try the spoon yet because we have enough of a mess with just the fingers.  You still eat like a champ anything that is placed in front of you! I am so thankful for that I must say. 

You are sleeping well at night from 8:00 to 8:00 with one wake up around 5:00 or so. Some nights you wake up other times, but usually fall back to sleep on your own within 5 minutes.  Most days, you will nap around 10:30 and 3:00, usually 1-2 hours each time.  We are trying to keep your pacifiers and blankets to "crib use only", so it is funny to watch you take off down the hall to your room to go find them in your crib.  You do love those things, and yes we do use them in the car as well!  Oh, another funny thing you love to do, is crawl around with a baby sock in your mouth. Not sure where you got that idea from, but you love to play with them, pull the pair apart, stick one in your mouth, and off you go!  

Such a little joy you are baby boy; to me, to your dad, and everyone you meet.  Stay sweet little baby, keep giving your mommy kisses (forever), and keep playing chase with your daddy (soon you will be chasing him and catching him).  Now that you are up from your nap (it was too short today), I should go get you I guess!

Oh, I should add that these photos are super funny. I do realize that pretty much everything is wrong with them when it comes to a photographer's perspective (back lighting, shadows in your hair, cold and windy day, etc) but everything is right when it comes to those cute faces!

Love, Mama and Dada

The Christmas Novel - 2012

In years past, I always felt the holiday season sneaking up on me. I LOVE the holidays, but never feel quite ready until the day of Christmas; then it is pretty much over. This year has been no different except there wasn’t a chance for any sneaking. I turned around and there was a tree in our living room.  The tree wasn’t surrounded by gifts because I hadn’t wrapped any.  Well, let’s be honest, I hadn’t even purchased any yet.  Really?  Already?  Christmas?  Excitement and fun here we come, ready or not!  Who doesn’t love driving around looking at houses outlined in lights, sharing cookies with friends, going to parties, dusting off the craft boxes to make gifts, wrapping presents late at night, and snuggling up on the couch by the fire? An amazing year full of blessings it has been, a year full of fun, a year full of learning experiences, a year with a few challenges, a year as a family, and most importantly, a year of spiritual growth.  What better way to end our year than to share our experiences with you in the form of Christmas letter.   Now, if I could just get my memory to work, I might be able to recall the exciting events from 2012. 

I started in our new house with my family here to celebrate the holiday season with us.  I was 7 months pregnant and starting to count down the days until the arrival of our baby.  The house was looking good with a few pictures on the walls and closets filling up.  Our family and friends were so helpful in getting everything set up so quickly. The nursery was ready right away as I had already made all the decorations.  Steven and I enjoyed dinner together after work looking out the back windows at the sky line speckled with city lights from a nearby town.  We would watch a movie one or two nights a week to relax.  Bailey loved running around the new property and thought it fun to have her new pal, Sampson, show her the cool spots to chase animals. I brought my cat, Addison, from my mom’s house and our little farm was started. We had 5 chickens and started getting 3-4 eggs a day by the beginning of February.  We met all the neighbors and felt like this was (and still is) the perfect place for us.

Olen Ray joined us on February 25^th, a few weeks early, weighing 7 lbs 11 ozs and measuring 20 inches long. It was love at first sight with our little baby boy and that hasn’t changed a bit.  God answered our prayers with a healthy happy baby; we are truly blessed.  It feels like our family is complete (for now) and we enjoy every moment with our “doodle bug”.  Our days quickly changed with the new focus being on the baby.  He is a champ when it comes to nursing and playing; sleeping, well, let’s not go there.  Truthfully though, he does well sleeping at night and napping during the day MOST of the time.  Every few weeks it seems that something upsets his schedule and it takes us a while to get back on track.  In case you didn’t know, sleep is just as precious for the mommy as it is for the baby.  Every day and every moment have been amazing with little Olen Ray.  Steven and I have developed a little routine for evenings so he gets to spend some time with Olen Ray after his long work days. It gives me a few minutes to clean up the house a little and walk around without a baby attached to by leg, hip, or back.  The routine has changed over the months as Olen Ray has grown, but a few things have stayed the same: dinner, bath time, meet daddy at the end of the driveway, play time, and then bed.  Let’s just say dinner together doesn’t happen much this time of the year with Steven’s work schedule, and movies, what are those?

I might as well share a little about Olen Ray now, for those of you that don’t stalk our blog. Yes, I know, I haven’t done a great job of keeping it updated, but I promise it will be updated before he turns 18.  Olen Ray has many nicknames that describe some of his personality traits: doodle bug, bubbe, sweetness, cuteness, and the list goes on.  Right now he loves to find things to crawl under or between, including areas he doesn’t quite fit through. He will pull up on anything in sight; a table, your pants, the glass door, Bailey.  Eating is easy for him as he enjoys table food three times a day and still nurses 4-5 times as well.  He drinks water from a straw cup and feeds himself finger foods.  His smile will melt your heart; it gets me a million times a day.  He loves to laugh at his daddy making silly faces, the balls on the pool table rolling by him, Bailey chasing the toy outside, and crazy games I create to entertain him.  Playing chase is a new favorite for him.  He will start to crawl away, look back at you, then crawl again. As soon as you crawl or walk towards him, he starts laughing and cackling and crawling as fast as he can!  The boy loves to take a bath and stands up on the outside of the tub shaking his naked little bum waiting for the water to flow so he can splash away. I think I should just bring a bar of soap in for me right now because I get just as wet as he does and I am not even in the bathtub.  He is still in cloth diapers and I really do love them.  I have started a collection of wraps and carriers to “wear” all 23 lbs of his sweetness.  Oh, I could go on and on about this little baby God blessed us with. He truly is the highlight of our lives and we love every moment with him.  He has such a joyous heart and sweet spirit; I pray daily that God gives us wisdom as his parents to nourish these qualities.  For now, he just shares a little bit of that joy with everyone he meets.  You will just have to read the blog for more specific details so I can share a little about the other events and topics of our year.

Steven is back at work at Middling Cotton and right now is the busy season. They will gin over 50,000 bales of cotton this year. For those of you that don’t know much about farming, that is a lot of white fluffy stuff to put through a machine.  The season will be long, that we know for sure.  He took a break from the cotton over the summer to try another job. He worked for a small grading and clearing company for a few months. The work was exactly what he loves, but the environment wasn’t ideal.  It did give Steven a taste of something else and hopefully some inspiration to find a job he will find rewarding (and one that pays the bills) day after day.

Goodbye Rehab Center and oh how I miss those girls there.  I turned in my resignation there as my maternity leave came to an end in May.  It was a wonderful place to work with amazing therapists; I just wanted to be home with Olen Ray.  I have continued to run my business, Kid Connections, with four speech pathologists working for me now.  Each therapist is amazing and a great addition to our team.  Two days a week, I take Olen Ray to an in-home daycare to treat a few patients and get paperwork done. He loves going to see Mrs. Patty and watch the big boys play all day. It really is a nice fit for our schedule and a good balance for me as a mom right now.  Working with other kids is very rewarding and I love the families I get to spend time week after week.  It reminds me to cherish the time I get to spend with Olen Ray.

I still try to capture many of life’s moments on film and spend a lot of time doing “mini-sessions” with Olen Ray.  One day I was taking pictures of him when he was a few weeks old and Steven said “you like having your own little model available for photos at any time, don’t you?.”  I love freezing many of his developmental moments and silly faces with my camera.  Holiday sessions still filled my weekends this fall for other families.  It has been fun to watch some of these kids grow up over the past few years and to be a part of their holiday traditions.  I think I ended up doing about 20 sessions, 4 of those with Olen Ray in an Ergo on my back. He was actually quite the little helper making silly faces at the kids and getting them to laugh.  Next year?  Not quite sure what I will do with him as a toddler when trying to work with my camera in hand.

Our big vacation this year was a trip to Washington to visit our Stehekin family and attend a close friend’s wedding. It was so much fun for them to meet Olen Ray. He did amazing on the plane and on the boat on the way up lake.  He was almost 6 months old when we traveled so he was still able to nurse a little and fall asleep in my arms with the sound of the airplane engine roaring outside the window.  We were on six different flights and he only fussed on one of them. I was very proud of him and I must brag a little to say other people on the airplane were impressed as well.  We even made some pretty tight connecting flights with baby in hand!  Our time there was a little different as we tried to work around nap schedules and meals.  We visited with so many friends and took a lot of walks to show Olen Ray some of the familiar sites in the valley. I doubt he will remember sleeping in the stroller beside Rainbow Falls, walking past the bears in the school yard, or dipping his toes in Rainbow Creek, but we will cherish those moments.

Our families are doing well.  Steven’s mom continues to work at the local school and Sharon is back to work as a school nurse.  Drake, Jesse, and Cameron are enjoying public school now and the afterschool activities that are available.  Sharon and Michael take turns playing taxi driver, at least for another year before Drake get’s his license.  My mom still works at ECU as a professor and a lawyer with Guardian Ad Litem.  Is she every going to slow down? Probably not!  “Mimi” and “Grandpa Steve” spend every extra minute with the grandchildren, even if it means a five hour car ride to our house.  Heather and Kip welcomed their third baby in October; Norah Elise.  She was born at home and Heather says someone in the house is always holding her.  She is a precious little one and we were happy to meet her during Thanksgiving.  Kyson and Sayla are growing up way too fast; it is fun to watch their little personalities develop.

Every year I always wonder if I am going to have enough to write about for our mini-novel.  Just looked at the print preview and I am on page three….HA!  I guess that means it is time to wrap this letter up so I can go wrap some gifts while Olen Ray is taking his afternoon nap.  I am watching him on the monitor with his bottom up in the air and one blankie under each arm.  He really is the cutest, sweetest, happiest (not so little) baby.  We pray for happiness, grace, and spiritual growth for each one of you this year.  Remember to slow down and enjoy moments with your family, as life is too short to be in a hurry all the time.  May God bless you this Holiday Season and may you remember to thank God for all your blessings in the New Year.

Love,       Steven, Heidi, and Olen Ray Bozard
www.heidibozard.blogspot.com