I used to have a blog that I kept before we had kids, but I let it fall off when I got pregnant. Between morning sickness and fatigue and life just getting busy, I got so used to not posting, that it eventually became easier to just let it stay at the bottom of my to do list.
I decided in the fall of 2012 that I wanted to start blogging again for most of the reasons that people start blogging in the first place. I wanted a place to gather my often random thoughts and the comings and goings of my family. Well, that lasted approximately one post. I'm nothing if not consistently inconsistent.
Then, when I got pregnant with baby number two, I thought to myself, "Self, now is the perfect time to really get that blog going." I had a weekly topic and it was pretty easy. While I wasn't perfect in my posting, I definitely kept up with it and have a beautiful record of my pregnancy, Theo's birth, and the first six months of the little man's life - he's seven months old, but I won't let myself publish that update until I get this one out :-)
I hope to be able to get more posts out on things other than Theo, and I truly hope I can make this a place both of my kids can look to for memories. But, as seems to be the trend these days, I've made Instagram my social medium of choice. So the memories are there, they're just in a more brief format.
I'm not about to review the past 4+ years of my lovely girl's life, but I want to cover a few things that I've been thinking about lately.
This past year Noelle has dealt with more transition and upheaval than she ever has in her short little life. Starting on Thanksgiving morning in 2012 we told her the great news that she would be a big sister. She was just over 3 years old and while she got what was happening, she obviously had no idea what life would actually be like. In spring of 2013 we moved her into her big girl room - a transition that was easier than I could ever have imagined. We let her help with a lot of the decision making and that made a world of difference. I think it took her about three months before she stopped dragging every visitor into her room to show them everything - even if they had seen it ten times already!
On June 25 Noelle became a big sister to baby Theo. Again, she handled his arrival in the best way possible. The only time we ever noticed any behavioral issues was when we had visitors at home during those first few weeks. Noelle would suddenly turn into a crazy kid and run around and get really hyper trying to get everyone's attention. Thankfully that was very short-lived and she has had amazing behavior ever since.
Noelle has relished in her role as a big sister and I could never have hoped for a better relationship between my kids at this stage. Theo absolutely adores her and his eyes never leave her if she's running (usually dancing) around nearby. The feeling is more than mutual and the love Noelle has for her brother is just beyond her years. She has been an amazing helper and I find myself telling her to play or do something more "kid-like" because she takes on the role of parent #3 pretty often!
Crazily enough, the transitions did not end with Theo's arrival. In the span of about 9 weeks, Noelle went through these transitions:
--finished up her time at the only daycare center she's ever known, leaving behind great friends and some of the best teachers we've encountered,
--stayed home with me during my maternity leave (and became a master of self-entertainment),
--started 3K (darn birthday 8 days after the cutoff) at a new school,
--spent a few weeks coming home after three hours of school,
--and finally (!) started going to onsite child care at school when I returned to work.
Through it all Noelle never once complained or freaked out or did anything that would be totally normal for a four year old to do. This girl exhibits maturity way, way beyond her years on a regular basis. I am so proud to be her mom and beam every time I see her kind nature come out with friends and family.
Kind and caring and crazy and goofy are probably the top four words I would choose to describe my Noelle. She tells Bryan and I on a daily basis that she wants to be a mom and a teacher when she grows up. We knew that her transition to big sister-hood would be an easy one because she has been a mom to her baby dolls for a long time. She most definitely has a crazy side and plays hard at all times. Year-round she is covered in scrapes and bruises. This girl is very equally a girly-girl and tomboy. She has a basket of cars, trucks and toys right next to a basket of dolls and princess dress up clothes!
Noelle is also a music lover and is probably happiest when she's running (yes, running) around and dancing to music. We have always had family dance parties and it's something Theo now gets to be a part of.
Now let's not pretend life with Noelle is all puppies and unicorns and rainbows. The entire year of age 3 probably aged me 5 years. I describe the difference between the terrible twos and the year of the threenager this way: when they're two, kids don't really understand that what they're doing is wrong; they're just learning as they go. But when they're three? They know what they're doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. Most of Noelle's third year mixed with my pregnancy hormones and exhaustion in the worst way. We definitely butted heads quite a bit, but sometimes I think I've made more of an issue out of it in my head than the way it actually happened. Either way, I'm very, very glad that year is over ;)
My baby is growing up so insanely fast and I am loving every minute of it!
I hope to be able to get more posts out on things other than Theo, and I truly hope I can make this a place both of my kids can look to for memories. But, as seems to be the trend these days, I've made Instagram my social medium of choice. So the memories are there, they're just in a more brief format.
I'm not about to review the past 4+ years of my lovely girl's life, but I want to cover a few things that I've been thinking about lately.
This past year Noelle has dealt with more transition and upheaval than she ever has in her short little life. Starting on Thanksgiving morning in 2012 we told her the great news that she would be a big sister. She was just over 3 years old and while she got what was happening, she obviously had no idea what life would actually be like. In spring of 2013 we moved her into her big girl room - a transition that was easier than I could ever have imagined. We let her help with a lot of the decision making and that made a world of difference. I think it took her about three months before she stopped dragging every visitor into her room to show them everything - even if they had seen it ten times already!
On June 25 Noelle became a big sister to baby Theo. Again, she handled his arrival in the best way possible. The only time we ever noticed any behavioral issues was when we had visitors at home during those first few weeks. Noelle would suddenly turn into a crazy kid and run around and get really hyper trying to get everyone's attention. Thankfully that was very short-lived and she has had amazing behavior ever since.
Noelle has relished in her role as a big sister and I could never have hoped for a better relationship between my kids at this stage. Theo absolutely adores her and his eyes never leave her if she's running (usually dancing) around nearby. The feeling is more than mutual and the love Noelle has for her brother is just beyond her years. She has been an amazing helper and I find myself telling her to play or do something more "kid-like" because she takes on the role of parent #3 pretty often!
Crazily enough, the transitions did not end with Theo's arrival. In the span of about 9 weeks, Noelle went through these transitions:
--finished up her time at the only daycare center she's ever known, leaving behind great friends and some of the best teachers we've encountered,
--stayed home with me during my maternity leave (and became a master of self-entertainment),
--started 3K (darn birthday 8 days after the cutoff) at a new school,
--spent a few weeks coming home after three hours of school,
--and finally (!) started going to onsite child care at school when I returned to work.
Through it all Noelle never once complained or freaked out or did anything that would be totally normal for a four year old to do. This girl exhibits maturity way, way beyond her years on a regular basis. I am so proud to be her mom and beam every time I see her kind nature come out with friends and family.
Kind and caring and crazy and goofy are probably the top four words I would choose to describe my Noelle. She tells Bryan and I on a daily basis that she wants to be a mom and a teacher when she grows up. We knew that her transition to big sister-hood would be an easy one because she has been a mom to her baby dolls for a long time. She most definitely has a crazy side and plays hard at all times. Year-round she is covered in scrapes and bruises. This girl is very equally a girly-girl and tomboy. She has a basket of cars, trucks and toys right next to a basket of dolls and princess dress up clothes!
Noelle is also a music lover and is probably happiest when she's running (yes, running) around and dancing to music. We have always had family dance parties and it's something Theo now gets to be a part of.
Now let's not pretend life with Noelle is all puppies and unicorns and rainbows. The entire year of age 3 probably aged me 5 years. I describe the difference between the terrible twos and the year of the threenager this way: when they're two, kids don't really understand that what they're doing is wrong; they're just learning as they go. But when they're three? They know what they're doing is wrong, but they do it anyway. Most of Noelle's third year mixed with my pregnancy hormones and exhaustion in the worst way. We definitely butted heads quite a bit, but sometimes I think I've made more of an issue out of it in my head than the way it actually happened. Either way, I'm very, very glad that year is over ;)
My baby is growing up so insanely fast and I am loving every minute of it!
