On the morning of Thomas’s sixth birthday, he came downstairs and found four lightsabers on the mantle. Bursting with excitement, he handed one to each of his siblings. He didn’t for one second think all four lightsabers were his, or care that his siblings were getting presents on HIS birthday. He wasn’t thinking about equity
Every morning, Thomas starts his day by slipping out of bed and silently making his way through the house. When he gets to my room, he opens the door without a sound and tiptoes to my side of the bed where he whispers, “Hi, Mom. Do you want to Beyblade with me?” That’s how I
Most families don’t talk about this, but there is usually one family member that takes up most of the energy and patience. Sometimes it’s the oldest, sometimes it’s the toddler, sometimes it’s the mom. For the past month, it’s been the almost-two-year-old. It happened out of nowhere. One day I was talking with Tom’s mom
Have you heard the joke about the interrupting cow? It’s one of my favorite jokes, and it goes like this: A: Knock, knock. B: Who’s there? A: The interrupting cow. B: The inte- A: MOOO! Living with Anna feels like living inside that joke, all the time. Anna isn’t talking a ton yet, but it’s
Anna is 22 months old, but I’ve started telling people that she’s almost two. When David was Anna’s age he had a baby sister, was about to start preschool, and was running for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates. Anna’s almost two. It’s high time all you people accept that she’s not a
A lot happened this month, but few things are more monthly-update-worthy than international travel. After flying with a 20-month old I can confidently say, zero out of five stars DO NOT RECOMMEND. It’s not that she screamed the entire time, it’s just that she didn’t stop moving, not once. She seemed like she was in
As I sit down to write this, Anna is babbling in her crib. I put her to bed five minutes ago, and I’m wondering what will happen. Will toddler Anna babble and play and put herself to sleep? Or will baby Anna babble, and fuss, and cry, and eventually need Mama to come in and
On the morning of Mary’s sixth birthday I woke up, made Mary cry, went for a run, came back and surprised her with cinnamon rolls and a gift I’d been excited about for weeks. WEEEEEE! Having kids is a wild ride! Perhaps that is an odd way to start a birthday letter. Mary will probably
Last month, when Anna turned 16 months, I decided I’d skip her monthly update. She had just broken her arm (somewhere, Mary Virginia is correcting me, “IT’S HER WRIST!”) and she was whining a little more and sleeping a little less. Plus, she decided she couldn’t feed herself and so for the first time in
At Anna’s 15-month well-visit last week, the nurse let me know that my happy, smiling, gurgling baby had a low grade fever. Um, excuse me, what? A few minutes later we had a diagnosis of two bulging ear infections, one emerging molar, and an otherwise growing, healthy bald baby girl. Happy 15 months, Anna! I
Recently we visited a friend one afternoon, and when we got home I exhaled dramatically, “WHEW! That was crazy! That house is NOT set up for a toddler!” We’d spent the entire evening chasing Anna around their house, keeping her from the stairs, out of the toilet, away from drawers and cabinets and from pulling
I’m not going to use that cliché, the one parents always say at the end of the first year. The cliché I used when David turned one, the one I am so very tempted to use. I am not going to say that this year flew. The phrase implies that time slipped through our fingers
Oh, hey there, month 11, where’d you come from? I spent this month reminiscing about this time last year when I was very, vey pregnant. I was so huge and exhausted. Making lunch and folding laundry, and just getting out of bed felt like walking up a mountain through three feet of water. I was
As I type this, everyone in Richmond is traveling from grocery store to grocery store, looking for bottled water and batteries in preparation for Hurricane Florence. And me? I’m prioritizing my girl’s 10-month update, because my neighbor told me that the last time a storm this big came through, our neighborhood lost power for TWELVE
Anna is nine months old, but when I sat down to write this post I accidentally wrote “8 months” in the title. I don’t think you can blame me. No one, not anyone, could be expected to keep track of the months when they’re moving as fast as this. I’m not exactly sure what happened
One afternoon David got off he bus, and as we walked home he asked, “Mommy, what kind of train does a Pokémon have?” “I don’t know, what kind?” I answered. “A PIKA-CHO-CHOOOOO!” I laughed hysterically, twice as long and as loud as the joke warranted on its own merit. But, you see, I’m not used
There comes a time in every baby’s life when they realize they are destined to be bipeds — descendants of homo erectus. As soon as the baby realizes this, it is the only thing they can think about. Practicing standing becomes the baby’s only focus, their sole pastime. It’s their browser home screen, their phone
When people read the title of this post, I imagine them doing the same thing I did, “Seven months? That can’t be right.” Then holding up their fingers to count off the months, “November, December, January, February…” Sure enough, seven months with sweet Anna Leigh. But it can’t be seven months… (By the time I
Mary started preparing for her birthday weeks in advance. She decorated our house with little scraps of paper stuck in cabinet doors and along our shelves. She accessorized her stuffed animals with special clips and jewelry, and she did what Mary does best: she verbally processed. She talked about who to invite, what she would
On the morning of Thomas’s birthday he woke up at 6 a.m. Everyone else was still asleep, and instead of doing what his siblings would have done at his age — stay in bed and scream until someone got him — Thomas got up, quietly walked around our house, then came into my room and
Tom’s dad has always called Anna Banana. I mean, almost everyone calls her that but he really commits to a nickname. One day he was holding Anna, saying, “Hi Banana! Such a sweet banana!” David walked by and said, “Pops, why are you calling her ‘Banana?’ She doesn’t look like a banana, she looks like
Even though I still feel like Anna was born yesterday, or maybe even five minutes ago, this month she has transformed. She is no longer my sweet, cuddly newborn, but a babbling baby that chews on her fingers and trills when she smiles. So many of the parts of the newborn stage that were so,
Anna is three months old, and the best way I can sum up the past month is: everything has changed, and everything has stayed the same. Certain things are the same. Anna still prefers to be held, fights naps, and wakes up at least twice at night to eat. And just like every other month
We call her fat face. It’s a nickname that stays in the family, though. We wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands and resurfacing just in time for middle school. But, for now, if the shoe fits, ya know? This month sweet Anna Leigh had her second cold, celebrated her first Christmas, started smiling,
On the weekend before Anna turned one month old, we got a snowstorm. In the morning we had bacon and pancakes, then bundled up to go outside. Tom helped the kids make an adorable snowman family in our yard (Mary Virginia’s snowgirl is holding snowbaby, Anna) and then everyone came in and warmed up with
Thomas turned two over a month ago, but still whenever he hears the word “birthday” he immediately shouts, “IT’S MY BIRFDAY!” Nothing starts a fight in our family like someone saying it’s their birthday. Almost IMMEDIATELY Mary Virginia says, “NO IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!” and David shouts that it’s actually almost Berkley Grace’s birthday! And then
Oh, Mary Virginia, where do I begin? I’ll begin by saying this: before I hit publish on this post, I’m going to read it and re-read it and then send it to my friend Candace to check for errors, because Mary Virginia, at age four, already corrects my grammar. “Mommy. You don’t NEED to go
Thomas turned 23 months old this week. Since I didn’t write a 22-month update, I’m left with the task of writing about all the way he’s changed in the past two months, which is an impossible task my friend. Toddlers. All they wanna do is grow. One thing I realized while preparing this post is that
This month Thomas gave me a nose bleed. This isn’t completely out of the ordinary for toddlers. When David was this age he gave me a black eye. In fact, I’m sure many caregivers reading this are nostalgically remembering their own black eyes, bloody noses, and chipped teeth. That’s what living with a toddler will do
Last week I was home alone with Thomas, and he was chasing Brigham around the house. Then I saw Brigham walk casually into the living room without Thomas behind him. I looked around the corner and didn’t see Thomas. I kept walking and Thomas was no where. This happens all the time. I lose Thomas
Oh jeez, where do I even begin? Thomas is 17 months old, which means we’ve survived another month. Another month of doing nothing but putting things away and taking Thomas off the table. And while we’re taking him off the table? He’s emptying our drawer of cloth napkins. And while I’m franticly throwing the (unfolded) napkins back
Thomas turned 16 months two weeks ago. I considered skipping this month entirely, but I’m going to do an update because Thomas has reached the age that all he does is change and learn and in two weeks or probably even by the time I finish typing this, he’ll be doing and saying a hundred new things.
David is worried about getting older because he’s worried that, when he grows up, he’ll like hot sauce and football. He sees how his father and his father’s friends consume hot sauce and football and so it seems inevitable that eventually his weekends will be full of Sriracha and shouting, “COME ON! THAT WAS HOLDING!” And yet, that didn’t keep
This month Thomas got a new nickname. We’re calling him Screamy. And it’s not an affectionate nickname or a clever nickname, it is a very literal nickname given by two parents who are exhausted by a sweet little imp named Screamy. Thomas has hit his stride as a toddler. He’s realized that though he is
Thomas is 14 months old. By the time his siblings were 14 months old, I was already pregnant, and so they both remember month 14 as “the month Mommy fell asleep.” But this time I’m not pregnant, and I’m still exhausted. Which makes me wonder, was I exhausted the past two times because of pregnancy?
This is Thomas’s 12-month update, even though he’s 13 months and two days old. I wrote most of it when he was 12 months — before his birthday, before we moved, before Mary Virginia’s birthday — and then it sat unfinished in my drafts folder. Even though he’s 13 months old, and he’s standing on his
I’ve been putting off this post for a long time. There are two reasons. First, I have a lot to say. A lot. Second, I’m not sure how to say it. Describing a baby every month is different than describing a toddler. And describing a toddler is different than describing Mary Virginia. I could not, would
I usually try to keep these posts under, say, 5,000 words, but I can’t make any promises this month. Month 11 has been big. HUGE. Thomas has been BUSY and there is a lot to catch up on. He’s hitting milestones like a college senior who checked the syllabus on the last week of the semester and
Before I say anything else, I want to say this — month 10 has been so fun. The weather has been warm, and we’ve been playing outside. Thomas is learning more and he’s the happiest, sweetest baby ever. But month 10 has also been brutal. It started with me getting sick. Very, very sick. Sicker than I’ve ever been.
This has been a big month for Thomas. I’d even say it’s been “full of firsts” except that’s what I said last month. I suppose Thomas has hit the stage where all he does is learning and growing. A few days ago, I was cooking and Thomas and David were in the living room. I stuck my
Things are a little crazy around here, so this will be quick. But because every day is so hectic, keeping up with these updates actually feels like more of a priority. Since I don’t have time to give him actual individual attention, the least I can do is write a couple hundred words each month. Also, I
“He had a broad face and a little round belly, that shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, and I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.” I know, right? I can’t think of a more seasonally appropriate poem to
Thomas is six months old, and I can hardly believe it. Six months is when things start to change, it’s the edge of when your baby becomes something entirely different. They start to eat solids, sit up, and soon he will crawl. In no time my sweet little ball of sunshine will be a mobile,
I think Thomas has hit the cutest baby stage. But I thought that last month, too. I thought, “No way this baby could get more adorable IT IS NOT POSSIBLE!” But then he nuzzled his head under my chin and giggled as if to say, “You thought I was cute before? Watch this, Ma!” He is
Every month before I write these, I go back and read about Thomas’s siblings at the same age (Mary Virginia, David) and here’s what I’ve learned: Thomas is big like his brother, sweet like his sister, and like both of his siblings, he looks great in blue. He looks enough like his siblings that I’m hoping
I started a draft of this post back in June, because I figured that’d give me enough time to create a snapshot of David, my biggest boy. Since then I’ve been procrastinating and now this post is a whole month late. It’s because it took me that long to realize the task is impossible; a personality can never be
I love month three. It’s when you get your first real glimpse of your baby’s personality as they start to shake of their newborn newness. It’s all so wonderful that I almost don’t mind that my hair has started falling out by the handful. At the very end of this month, Thomas started sucking on his fingers and waving
When I wasn’t looking, Thomas outgrew his bassinet. A friend stopped by and when she saw him she said, “Wow, he’s almost out of that thing!” Sure enough, she was right. The same thing happened with 0-3 month clothes. I put on a doggy sleeper that was one of my favorites when David was a baby, and he
Reaching month one feels like such an accomplishment. It’s the first mile marker — your chance to pause for a moment, take a breath, look around, and pump your fist in the air because WE’RE DOING IT! WE’RE REALLY DOING IT! From the very start, Tom has encouraged me to take this whole “mom of three kids”
Before I begin, I’d like to answer the two questions people keep asking me about Mary Virginia. First, Mary Virginia has been sleeping like a champion. A CHAMPION. Well, ok. Maybe not a champion, but she’s been sleeping like a normal toddler. She wakes occasionally at night, but no one is singing nursery rhymes from midnight to