Snow!

Four Month Update

Dear Holland,

Yesterday you turned four months old. I know! I can’t believe it either. You are getting so big. This month we had a lot of holiday festivities on our plate. We started things out with a visit to Santa at Pioneer Place. I didn’t even bother scanning your photo with santa like I was planning. Because I hated it. It didn’t even look like you!  But I guess that is about all I can expect from a mall santa and the 14 year old employees taking the pictures. I have taken better pictures of you with my phone. Like this one, for example:

That dress you have on? I bought that back in February, well before my 18 week ultrasound confirming that you were in fact a girl. I broke down and walked over to Gymboree one day at lunch, and found that dress on sale. I snatched it up, hoping I wasn’t jinxing myself. I envisioned you wearing it later in the year for Christmas, and like always, it still amazes me to see all my daydreams about you coming true.

That bow I put on your head for the picture lasted just about as long as I expected it to:

So…it got really cold this month. December 2008: Brought to you by…HATS!

And of course, who could forget ARCTIC BLAST 2008! Two weeks of the coldest, deepest, most annoying snow I have ever experienced in my life. We braved it a few times to get downtown to do some christmas shopping, but mostly stayed in where it was warm. Mostly.

One of the most exciting moments of the month was the day I discovered the Moby Wrap. After reading my update last month, full of complaints about how much you and I hate the Bjorn, my coworker Scott’s wife Annie pleaded with me to not give up on babywearing, and even let me borrow their Moby Wrap. I was a little nervous to try it at first, given our rocky history with babywearing, but when the snow kept falling and you and I needed a way to get around downtown without a stroller, I thought I would try it out. I figured it out after reading some simple instructions online, and carried you around happily for hours. We trudged through the snow, shopped, stood in line at Chipotle, and hung out with your uncle and your dad at Rockbottom. You happily looked around at the lights and activity, slept peacefully and even had a bottle, all snug in the Moby. It was amazing. As soon as I have a chance, I am getting us down to Bella Stella and buying us one of our very own.

Other milestones of the month…you have have been REALLY into your hands for a while, but have only very recently discovered your feet. I have a feeling it’s only going to be a matter of time before you manage to get them into your mouth (as your other main interest of SUCKING ON ANYTHING remains unchanged). You started drinking exclusively formula this month, as my attempts at keeping you on breastmilk have failed miserably since returning to work. I felt like a bit of a failure, but I did try my hardest. You have been much happier since I started you on formula, and jumped from 3 ounces per feeding to 8 ounces in less than two weeks. You attack each bottle like it’s the last you might ever see, and I think we have that to blame for the CHEEKS. Oh the cheeks.

We did try out solid food this month. My mom told me that she started me on solids when I was much younger than you are (I think you get your ravenous appetite from me…it doesn’t go away…sorry about that) so I figured it was worth a shot with you. You had about three bites and then lost interest. But we will keep trying. Because I hate the way formula smells. And really, sometimes you watch me while I eat and I just KNOW that you want a french fry.

And of course, who can forget about Christmas. You slept through most of it and got more presents than anyone.

We’ve (almost) made it through 2008, Holland, and I know 2009 is going to be a good year for us. You are a very busy girl and I can’t wait to see what else you have in store for me.

Love,

Mom