nella: 2.25 years

I don’t always write updates for the girls at their quarter or half-year marks. It’s on an “as inspired” (or as needed) basis, and at this time, for Nella, I feel like writing. My third precious daughter might not get quite as many blog posts or photos as she might’ve if she was the first child, but she’s not any less beloved or cherished. Because she’s been growing and changing so much these past few months, here’s a little post just for her.

Dear Nella,

You have already changed so much since your birthday, sweet girl. Your already-strong personality has blossomed even more, and to say that you “march to the beat of your own drum” is definitely an accurate description these days. You are so independent, playing on your own much of the time, perfectly contented. You come up with your own ways to play, which usually involve taking care of your baby dolls or stuffed animals. You’ll set them up in the toy high chair, and then you’ll go over to the kitchen to make them a plate of toy food. I think it’s so funny that most of the time, playing “mom” just means making everyone food.

You don’t watch many shows, but you very much love any and all characters that you’ve seen. Favorites include Daniel Tiger, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Minnie Mouse. You’ve been taking Kaelyn’s plush Minnie every day lately to play with, and I’m just glad she’s so good at sharing with you.

Your favorite books are Jingle All the Way and Daniel Tiger: Meet the Neighbors (although any Daniel book will do)!

You are obsessed with the Baby Shark song, and you’ll ask for it by saying “Doo doo doo” until we put it on. If you can’t have that song, you’ll usually settle for Elmo songs.

You love picking out your own clothes now, although, to be honest, you’ve spent most of winter (and some of fall) wearing pajamas all day long. You are obsessed with your “dodut” (donut) pajamas and will always want to wear those if they’re available. If you’re wearing real clothes, you choose your pink unicorn sweatshirt or camo hooded shirt (you like that it has a “HAT!”)!

You’ve already had two haircuts, and although you look completely adorable any which way, I sometimes still feel a little sad that I had to cut all your curls off. They were wild and crazy and went just perfectly with your personality. However, you were eating your hair and having some digestive issues, so we decided that cutting your hair could help. It seems like the habit is now broken, so hopefully, when the hair comes back in, you can keep it. When I brought this up with your pediatrician, he suggested that eating hair could be a sign of iron deficiency, so we now have you on a multivitamin. You also get two fiber gummies each day at lunch.

Sometimes, I give you a little piece of cookie dough with your lunch, and when we were out of it, every day you kept asking me for “DOUGH, doooooough!” Ha!

You take all the pacifiers that Eve doesn’t like and pretend to be a baby yourself with them.

You’ve started to tolerate having your picture taken (and almost even like it), as long as I instantly show you the photo after I take it. You’ll usually laugh when you see yourself, and then I can sometimes get another photo or two.

You’re hilarious and you try to make us laugh by dancing or just acting crazy. You’ll do this slightly-forced little laugh to get us to giggle with you and I love it.

Along with all your charm, you’ve also figured out how to throw some serious tantrums. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say these are the worst ones we’ve had to handle out of all the kids so far. You’ll just scream and scream at the top of your lungs without stopping for extended periods of time, which earns you a timeout. Usually, you’ll calm down, and when we open the door, you give the sweetest hugs. Being two can be really tough, so hopefully this will get a little easier with time.

You also make the cutest little grump face at us when we say something you don’t like. You scrunch your eyebrows and lips and say, “no!”

You are talking a LOT! At your birthday, it seemed like you weren’t saying much of anything, but suddenly, you found your voice! You try to say most things that we ask of you, and even some completely unexpected phrases (like today, I called your name, and you yelled back, “Right heeeere!”)! You call Kaya (and yourself) “Ya-ya”, Kaelyn “Yay-yeh”, and Eve “Eeee”. When you want a snack, you’ll say “bowl”. I just love your little voice, which sounds so serious and definitely a little lower than your sisters’ for now.

You’ve started drawing scribbles and coloring, and sometimes, that’s what you’ll do while your older sisters are doing their schoolwork. It never lasts long, though. Last week, you used a couple of colors on a blank sheet of paper, and then came over and handed it to me, just like your sisters always do when they make a surprise drawing for me. Awww.

You love all of us, but I think you might love Daddy the most right now. He seems to especially love this age (as he has with all our girls). You’re just the perfect size for tickling, cuddling, and carrying around.

When you see me putting on makeup, you run for the step stool and join me as fast you can. You usually try to smear concealer all over your face before I can catch you. You also really love using up all the chapstick and insist on powdering your face. You make a mess, but I love how much you love to be close by and copying your mama. I love you so much, Sunshine Girl. Keep on shining.Love, Mommy

happy 2nd birthday, nella!

Dear Nella,I hope that when you’re older and read this, you’ll forgive me for being so late to wish you a written “happy birthday!” You’ve been two years old for three weeks already, and I still can’t fathom how those two years went by so quickly.

Everyone says little girls are “sugar and spice”, and while you’ve always had “sugar” as part of your personality, you’ve also developed a lot of “spice” lately. You are spunky and independent in all things. You want to do everything you can on your own, and you contest us when we tell you that you need to do something our way. You’re strong-willed and determined. 

You love baby dolls and play with every single one we have just about every day. You frequently demand for us to change your baby’s clothes (although sometimes you want her to wear your own clothes, which are comically large for a doll). You nurse your babies, feed them bottles, sing to them, shush them, and bounce them up and down on your tummy. It’s amazing to see how truly nurturing you already are.

You also love your Beagle, who you call “Bah-bull”. You need him to sleep and want to hold him anytime you feel sad. I love that you love him so much, because he was mine when I was younger. You’ve chewed part of his nose off, but I’m glad that one of my daughters can enjoy him.

You are obsessed with puppies. Scout is your favorite, of course, and you frequently hug and kiss her throughout the day. You also love to feed her, even when it’s not mealtime. You are probably Scout’s favorite person just for this reason (she also really likes to try to lick you clean after you eat).

You are a big helper. You are the quickest to do any chore I ask of you. You love to sweep, get a diaper for yourself or Evie, take things out of the dishwasher, and throw your clothes in the hamper.

You might not be “the baby” of the family anymore, but make no mistake, I love holding you, snuggling, breathing you in (you somehow seem to still have a sweet baby-like scent), and playing with those gorgeous blond ringlets. You will always be my baby, no matter how big you get. Seeing you transition into the role of big sister has been a lot of fun, too. You love Eve with all your heart and never skimp on the kisses, hugs, and attempts to put her pacifier into her mouth.

You give everyone these big, LOUD kisses at night time. I look forward to that small moment each day.

You still suck your thumb when you’re tired.

You love to say “no” all the time. Sometimes, I’ll start asking you tons of questions just so I can her you say it softly like you do.

Sweet girl, you’re developing so many new traits and abilities every single day, but from the moment we met, you have had the exceptional gift of giving us pure joy. You have brought so much happiness, laughter, and love to our family. You’ve shown me what real happiness is.

Nella Joy, you will always be my little sunshine girl.

Love, Mommy

nella: 24 months

I can’t even believe we’re at her last monthly post. How have 24 months flown by so fast?

Height: 33 inches (26%)
Weight: 21 pounds (low%)
Head Circumference: 18.25 (23%)

Clothing size: 2T and 24-month everything. She does wear some 3T bottoms (that cloth diaper takes up a lot of space)! She also uses 3T capris as full-length pants sometimes. Size 5 shoes!

Eye color: Blue.

Hair: Blonde, curly, and super fluffy on the top. This girl’s got volume! Unfortunately, we’ve also discovered that she sometimes eats her hair. We’ve never seen her do it, so it must be during nap or bedtime. I really don’t want to cut her hair, but if she keeps doing it, we might have to try something.

Teeth: 16! Still missing those 2-year molars.

Eating: She still loves food. She’s ready to eat as soon as she wakes up in the morning and will often beat all of us to the table for meals. We’ve still been doing a reduced-dairy diet for the most part, and also started her on fiber and probiotic vitamins to try and help with her tummy troubles.

Sleep: She has had a rough month of sleep due to night terrors. We’ve never experienced this with our other girls, so it’s been hard to see her go through it. She’ll wake up screaming and upset, and Daddy will go to comfort her, but because she’s not actually awake and aware of what’s happening, she gets angry, screams more loudly, and even tries to hit him! She doesn’t want him in her room at all, but then there’s not much we can really do to help. I feel bad for her because I know she isn’t getting quality sleep very often (and neither are we).

Words: She has said so many new words this month! They’re all random, and it always surprises me what she tries to say. We’ve heard: castle, taco, diaper, purple, yum, me, done (although she says it as “dumb”), up, down.

Favorite things: Playing with her sisters, being independent, snuggling (but only when she wants to), her Beagle, Scout, and holding Eve. She’s also been engaging in more pretend play and seems to really like the toy farm.

Dislikes: She’s sensitive about being told no. If she thinks she did something wrong, she curls up in a ball and hides her face. It’s the saddest thing. Other than that, she doesn’t like holding hands when we’re walking (since that takes away some of her independence), and she only wants to do things her way. If you tell her she needs to do something, she often throws a fit and starts crying.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, and “Troublemaker”.

Milestones, etc.: -She can climb really well these days, and has no trouble getting up into her high chair herself. She’ll move the step stool or a kitchen chair over to the counter so she can access whatever it is she wants. She also started walking up the stairs, but realized it’s still easier and faster for her to crawl up them, so she reverted back to doing that.

-She’s starting to get interested in coloring (although she always tries to do it anywhere other than coloring books)!

-She’s learning a lot of new vocabulary, and can point to whatever you ask her to in a picture book.

 

nella: 23 months

Clothing size: Mostly 24-month and 2T items. We finally went to our used kids’ clothing store and picked up three pairs of 24-month jammies, which fit her with some room to grow. Size 5 shoes, which she wants to wear all the time, even just around the house. She goes into the closet and puts them on all by herself. I’ve never seen someone so obsessed with wearing shoes!

Eye color: Blue.

Hair: I think she officially has the curliest hair of anyone in our family. She’s got a head full of perfect ringlets, which I love, but if we go even a day without conditioning it, she gets mega knots and frizz. It also seems to be getting lighter and lighter blond!

Teeth: 14! Two new ones came in this month.

Eating: She is still willing to try any food. However, after some digestive issues, she’s now on a “reduced dairy” diet. We’ve been giving her almond yogurt and milk instead of the traditional ones, and it has helped a whole lot. She’s regularly drinking diluted prune juice, and I’ve given her some pumped breastmilk in a cup, which seems to be good for her tummy, too.

Sleep: She sleeps about 12 hours at night, and then takes a nap in the afternoon, which is typically 2 to 3 hours long. Naps have been on the shorter side lately (we’ve been starting nap later after finishing up our schoolwork, and sometimes her sisters wake her up before she’s ready). Honestly, I feel like she still really needs that full three hours.

Words: She’s started saying “yeah”, which is so funny, and actually helpful when we’re trying to figure out what she needs. She clearly says “no!” when she doesn’t want to do something. Usually, we’ll ask her a bunch of yes/no questions just to hear her vehemently say “NO!” She’s also surprised us by saying a few new words, like “up”, “muffin”, and “Sockie” (the name of my parents’ dog who just passed away).

Favorite things: Her Beagle, playing with baby dolls (and pretending to rock and feed them all day long), driving in the Cozy Coupe (she can only push herself backwards), playing on the swings, and running around in circles/dancing to music. She is obsessed with books (especially I’m a Big Sister by Joanna Cole) and loves to look through them on her own. She used to never care about watching any shows, but she very much loves Daniel Tiger and the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Dislikes: Being told “no” to anything she’s doing- she’ll either throw a fit because she isn’t allowed to do something she wants to, or she cries because she feels bad about whatever it was we told her not to do. She also wants to be so independent that she doesn’t even like holding hands when we’re walking in public, which can be a little difficult at times.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, and “Troublemaker” because she is seriously into everything.

Milestones, etc.: -She hums and tries to sing and it’s completely adorable.

-She is pretty good at following instructions when I ask her to do anything.

-She worries about Evie (“Baba!”) all the time and constantly gives her her pacifier.

-She went down the slide on her own for the very first time!

-She still says “Maaamaaaa” anytime she thinks she’s doing something cute and wants me to look at her. I love this little GIF because I can see her little mouth saying exactly that!

Dear Nella,

My goodness, Nella, you are one of the spunkiest little girls I’ve ever met. You are an independent little lady, wanting to do things your way and on your own. You’ve even become a little sassy lately, but I’m hoping that all these strong traits help you to become a good leader when you’re grown up. I have no doubt that you’ll be able to forge your own path in life and be able to accomplish so much. You are one determined and self-sufficient little girl!

Your smile will forever be one of my favorite things.

Love, Mommy

nella: 22 months

Suddenly, she has these long, skinny arms and legs, which make her look so much more like a big kid! She still has those baby cheeks though, and I’m hoping they stick around for a long time to come.Clothing size: Mostly 24-month and 2T things, although we’re still squeezing her into 18-month footie pajamas, only because we don’t have enough of the bigger size. She’s ready to move up to size 5 sneakers.

Eye color: Blue.

Hair: Blonde with ringlets! It’s getting pretty long in the front, but I’m not cutting it. I want it to keep growing and even out.

Teeth: Still 12, but she has a canine that’s about to pop through, and she’s definitely been showing signs of teething this past month.

Eating: She’ll eat just about anything we give her, but her favorites include: salad, Greek yogurt, muffins, mini wheats, taco salad (she loves anything with salsa on it), and goldfish crackers. She’s really self-sufficient, so if she’s hungry, she’ll just open up the cabinet, grab herself a bowl, fill it up with crackers, and sit at the table to eat it. It’s adorable and kind of hilarious.

We’ve also been regularly giving her prune juice (about 30-50% diluted) to help with some chronic digestive issues. She actually really likes it!

She also had her first Ring Pop this month. She thought it was the best thing ever!

Sleep: She still sleeps so well, with about 11-12 hours at night and a 2.5-3 hour nap in the afternoon. We’ve been running late compared to our usual afternoon schedule, so nap has been happening an hour or more later than it used to. She gets so tired that she climbs into her bed all on her own right after I change her diaper and basically puts herself to bed.

We converted her crib into a toddler bed this month, and she has been so great with the transition! She stays in her bed all night long and only gets out to play after she wakes up.

Words: It seems like she’s trying to say a lot more words. Some really cute ones lately: turtle, hamper, quack, “dogga” (doggy), “naaaah” (neigh, like a horse), “baba” (baby, but it can also be used to reference anything, really), whoa, wow, and yay.

Favorite things: Dogs (especially Scout), Minnie Mouse, and babies! She plays with those three things all day, every day.

Dislikes: Time out!

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, and “Troublemaker”.

Milestones, etc.: -Every day when I get her dressed, I’ll say “arm!” or “leg!” when I’m putting her shirt or pants on, and she’ll copy me and say the words, too. Then, when she’s all done, I hand her the dirty clothes, and she’ll say “hamper!” in the cutest little voice.

-Just about everything she does is completely adorable. I really do love this age so much.

-She is becoming a little jokester. She’ll throw her baby on the ground and wait for us to react, and then laugh. She’ll poke herself in the face with her spoon at dinner and giggle. She throws toys out onto the floor, making the biggest mess, while laughing maniacally. She knows that we think she’s cute and that we’ll laugh at almost anything she does.

-She takes care of her baby dolls all day long. She especially loves to put them up in the toy high chair and put toy food on their tray. One day, she noticed that I had made cookies for everyone to have later, so she climbed up on the step stool, took a cookie, and gave it to her doll. Like I said, she’s self-sufficient!

-She has become a biter, never to her parents, but to her sisters. She’s the first of our kids to do this regularly, so it’s been something new for us to handle. She bit Kaya particularly hard a couple of days ago, and she was really upset to go to time out for it. She’s always very willing to give “sorry” hugs after she does anything wrong, though.

-She’s an amazing big sister already. She stops playing to say hello to Eve all the time, and loves stroking her head softly while she tries to say something in a high-pitched voice. She gives her really loud kisses, and always makes sure Eve has her pacifier.

Dear Nella,

Where do I even begin? I have so many conflicting feelings about how fast you’re growing. I love seeing you starting to talk. Your little voice is so sweet, and the hugs, kisses, and pats on the back you give us are beyond endearing. Our days have been a little different since Eve was born, and right now, I miss having more time with you. You’re acting more and more like a big kid every day, but I still see you as my little baby. I think I need to take you on a mommy-daughter date, just the two of us, soon.
I always make sure to give you extra hugs and cuddles when I can, since you really seem to respond to touch as one of your “love languages”. You light up every single day of my life, and you will never know how truly grateful I am for you. I hope you’ll always stay true to who you are, because you are wonderful.Love, Mommy

nella: 21 months

Her smile! She just lights up my whole world. I’m a couple weeks late on this, as usual; this month, it’s because we have a brand new baby and not a lot of extra time!Clothing size: She’s really wearing a huge mix of sizes right now: 24-month onesies and pants (although they are still pretty big), 2T shorts and dresses, and size 4 sneakers that are just about too small now. She’s also really funny because she thinks she needs her sunhat anytime we go out at all, even just in the car. She’ll grab it out of the closet and put it on all by herself.

Pants are still optional at this age, right?

Eye color: Blue.

Hair: Blond, curly, and wild. I’m pretty much obsessed with her little pigtails, but she’s so busy that I usually just make a quick pony on top of her head. Sometimes, she’ll actually sit still for me to do her hair now, though, which is pretty helpful. She usually puts her food (mostly yogurt) in her hair, so I feel like it doesn’t stay clean for very long after her bath… who needs hair gel?

Teeth: Still 12! No teething going on here. She is still absolutely obsessed with brushing her teeth (which mostly means chewing on her toothbrush if we let her try to do it). She still tries to eat toothpaste straight from the tubes (all while saying, “mmmm!”), so we’re constantly moving those out of reach.Eating: She still eats pretty much everything. I love having a non-picky eater! She loves salad, Greek yogurt, Goldfish or Cheezit crackers, mini wheats, shredded chicken, pepperoni, cheese, salsa, ketchup… The list could go on and on. She is still kind of sneaky and will try to get into the chocolate chips from my baking cabinet, or marshmallows out of the pantry. She’s also still the messiest eater EVER. Sometimes she’ll stick her entire fist in her yogurt, grab a handful, and then eat it that way. Yuck.Sleep: She’s still my rockstar sleeper, and I hope I can always say that about her! She sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes a 3-hour nap in the afternoon. She loves when Daddy does her bedtime routine now, because it involves bouncing up and down on her mattress and singing a couple of songs. She usually yells, “AGAIN!” because she’s having way too much fun and wants to do everything as many times as possible.

Words: The only new words I can think of are: hello, diaper, and Daniel (as in Daniel Tiger)!

Favorite things: She’s still all about babies and puppies (Beagle remains #1), and recently, she’s also really into Minnie Mouse. We have these two plastic Minnie figurines, and she loves getting them dressed, rocking them in her arms like babies, “swaddling” them, and putting them to bed.

She also loves kissing and hugging Eve anytime she sees her. She’s really been a great big sister so far. When Grandma Gina was here for a couple weeks, she really got attached to her and loved all the extra playtime and attention. It was so fun to see them really forming a bond. (She also really loves being bounced on the exercise ball!)

Dislikes: She just hates being told no, and she’ll scream and start to throw a fit if you don’t give her what she wants. I think that at this point, she needs to hear “no” more often so she gets used to not always having her way.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, Troublemaker, and The Destroyer because she makes a big mess everywhere she goes.

Milestones, etc.: -She’s still a big helper with picking up her laundry and throwing out trash. She even brings Kaya’s stuffed animals to her all the time. She’s just generally good at following verbal instructions now, too.

-She tries to sing along with us when we’re singing to her, and although she can’t say any of the actual words, it’s the cutest thing to listen to.

-She’s starting to get interested in coloring, but she still has a short attention span, so she won’t do it for very long.

-She also really likes Daniel Tiger now! She loves to read the Daniel books we have, and she’ll sit still for about two-thirds of an episode of the show.

-She RUNS! She’s fast, but she still trips a lot.

Dear Nella,

I can almost hear you laughing when I look at this picture. Your giggles radiating through our home is one of my very favorite sounds! I’m so grateful for the innate joy you have and freely share with everyone around you.As soon as we brought Eve home, you instantly looked so much older to me. You will always be my baby, but I’ve started to see you becoming an amazing little girl, with so much personality and skill. You still give the very best hugs and snuggles, and I cherish every time you come over to me and wrap your arms around my legs, or lay your head on me.

We love you so much Nellbells.

Love, Mommy

nella: 20 months

I’m later than late on this due to being sick… but this cute little girl makes up for it, right? And look at those long, lean, toddler-like legs she’s getting!Clothing size: I packed up her 18-month stuff since the majority of it was long sleeves (and it was a little sad to do, since most of it was so nice and new), and took out the 24-month onesies and pants, although they are a little big on her still. As it turns out, we have only one pair of 24-month footie pajamas that we saved from the other girls, so I ended up pulling her 18-month jammies back out (they fit better anyway)! Most of her little shorts are size 2T, which is unbelievable to me, but great for the added length. She’s still in size 4 sneakers and size 5 church shoes.

Eye color: Bright baby blues that melt my heart and probably let her get away with more than she should…

Hair: Her hair is WILD! Hands down, it’s the craziest of all three girls. She and Kaya have the same curly texture, but Nella has a lot more than Kaya did at this age, so it’s just all over the place. She really could use conditioner and a wide-tooth combing every morning, but she’s so busy that usually I just grab her and make a little ponytail as fast as I can. We always get it nice and tame after her bath, though!

Teeth: Still 12 as far as I know, but she isn’t a big fan of letting me look long enough to count. She loves brushing her teeth, and I can even persuade her to crawl up the stairs just by asking her if she wants to. We still have to keep tabs on the toothpaste though, because she’ll do whatever it takes to grab it and try to suck on the whole tube. Bleh.

Eating: She’s still an eating machine! I even gave her lemon Greek yogurt today (which I thought she didn’t like), and she ate it. She is getting so good at using a spoon, and she can eat her entire yogurt cup in about 5 minutes flat. She also really loves shredded chicken with cheese and salsa on top, and she enjoys a salad with Italian dressing every day for lunch, too. She begs for a cup of milk several times a day by going over to the refrigerator and whining… we’re still working on using words.

Snacks (usually crackers, grapes, or apple slices) make her world go around (and this crazy, goofy smile makes mine)!Sleep: She’s still a great sleeper, and honestly, I’m really grateful she has her own room, because I know that her sisters’ shenanigans would most definitely keep her up. She sleeps for about 12 hours at night and seems the happiest when she gets a 3-hour nap in the afternoon, although sometimes Kaya and Kaelyn are a little too loud and wake her up too soon. Also, she always sleeps with Beagle on her face! Her crib is full of puppies, and I love it.

Words: She’s getting really good at making animal sounds (moo, roar, horse lips, meow, ruff, tweet, hoo [like an owl]) and vehicle sounds (choochoo, brum-brum [vroom-vroom]). She also says “eyes” which is one of her clearest words and so adorable. She is suddenly obsessed with the word “uh-oh” and says it (very loudly) at just about everything.

Favorite things: Puppies and babies are her WORLD! She pretends to feed, bathe, and change any baby doll she can find all day long. Sometimes, she even pretends to drop the baby and then acts concerned. I have no idea where she gets this stuff from!

After I took the picture of her in the chair above, she got down, grabbed all these animals (and her sippy), and sat down for another picture. This one is SO her!She loves her Daddy more than ever, and she even begs Kaya to pick her up sometimes. I love how much she enjoys being with all of us. She also loves to read books, be bounced up and down by her Daddy, and hear us all sing to her at bedtime.

Dislikes: She hates to be told “no” to anything and will sit down and throw a screaming fit about it. Pretty normal for an almost-2-year-old! Otherwise, she’s a pretty happy girl.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine, and Troublemaker.

Milestones, etc.: -She tries to be a big helper by putting things in the trash (thankfully, she can’t open the lid unless we help her, so nothing goes in there without our approval), putting her laundry in the hamper, and pushing the broom around to “sweep”. She also loves to pull all her cloth diapers off the drying rack and bring them to me in a big pile… which isn’t exactly helping, but she seems to think it is.

-Kaya usually gets her out of her crib after nap time, and if I’m still asleep (which is every day at this point in pregnancy, let’s be real), she runs to my room, pushes the door open, and comes right up to my side of the bed saying, “Mama”. She’ll lean her head in for me to scratch it or play with her hair for a minute.

-She definitely has touch as one of her “love languages”. She’ll come over for a cuddle, or just put her arm around you and scratch your back for no reason at all. I love it and hope she stays so snuggly forever.

-She discovered the guinea pigs this month and is now obsessed with going downstairs to visit them. She’ll climb up on the step stool and just watch them. When we hold them, she gives them tons of gentle pats and kisses.

-She also tries to yell at Scout when she thinks she’s doing something she isn’t supposed to. Nella was in her crib, just about to take a nap, when Scout started barking. I could hear Nella screaming “Ahhhhhht!” (which is how she tries to say “Scout”) from her room.

-If she just has a diaper on (which seems to be happening a lot lately because it’s been hot), she pulls on it so much that it practically falls off. She’s also sometimes started indicating when she wants a new diaper, so potty training is probably not far away (although I am in absolutely no hurry).

-Also, her lip is busted open in so many of these pictures because she fell in the driveway. She was holding her snack container, so when she tumbled, it spilled all over, and she started crying about that instead of the blood coming out of her lip. Snack-crazy baby!

Dear Nella,

This might be my last letter to you before you reach another huge milestone- becoming a big sister! I just know you’re going to be amazing at your new role, and I can’t wait to see you hold your newest best friend. I’m guessing you’ll probably scream, “Baba!” over and over again, and maybe even try pointing to her eyes, nose, and mouth. It’s definitely going to be a big change, and part of my heart aches to think that you won’t be my littlest anymore. You have given so much joy and love to our family.You’re wild, you’re crazy, and you make the biggest messes, but I wouldn’t change a thing. You’re looking so big to me lately, and although sometimes I wish I could freeze time, I’m excited to see the person you’re becoming. You have such a big personality, and I know that with your zeal for everyday life and your sweetness, you’re going to grow up to be one amazing girl.We love you, Nella Joy. Keep on smiling.

Love, Mommy

nella: 19 months

Clothing size: 18-month everything; size 4 sneakers, and I’ve pretty much given up on making her wear shoes to church because she takes them off so much that I just know we’re going to lose them one of these days. She has been wearing some 2T dresses, and I’m thinking soon it’ll be time to switch over to her 24-month things, especially since she has a lot more summer-appropriate outfits in that size. I’ve also started moving her diapers up to the next-tallest snap setting.

Eye color: Blue.

Hair: It’s blonde, thick enough for pigtails, and the curls are just out of control now with the humidity. I was backing up pictures from January and noticing how straight it was, even just those few months ago! She also wakes up with the most insane bedhead and tends to get these mega knots on the back of her head. These curls make me swoon every day.

Teeth: Still 12! She really doesn’t like me looking in her mouth, so I had a hard time counting this month.

Eating: She’ll eat anything except lemon-flavored Greek yogurt and bananas! She has recently become obsessed with mini wheats and will eat a TON of them in one sitting… but I try to limit her intake, because that’s a lot of fiber for a little girl. Her favorite Goldfish crackers are the cheddar and pretzel ones (which happen to be my favorite, too), but she’ll eat only the pretzel-type ones first before she even touches the rest. She is also really good at using a spoon and feeding herself her yogurt!

Sleep: She’s a great sleeper, and will still sleep for about 12 hours at night. She needs a 3-hour nap in the afternoon, but sometimes her sisters wake her up before she’s completely ready, so that’s been our most recent challenge. She has also gotten her leg stuck in the bars of the crib a couple of times now- that’s a pretty good reason to wake up screaming! Poor baby.

Words: She tries to say words all the time, so it’s really hard to limit it to a list. She still mostly uses “baba” to ask for anything she wants. Some of her cutest new ones: cheese, uh-oh, ta-da, mmmmm (as in yum), “gain” (again), “go dahhh!” (go dog!), hey, baaaah (bye), “dah-puh” (diaper).

Favorite things: She is more obsessed with her Beagle than ever, and she officially needs him to go to sleep (which poses a problem when she wants to do everything with Beagle in her arms, because sometimes that means he ends up in the water table, soaking wet…)! She has loved playing out on the deck since the weather’s been nicer, too. In the mornings lately, I usually just let her run around in her diaper because she ends up drenched from pouring water in and out of the water table.

She’s still obsessed with babies, loves reading books and singing songs.

Dislikes: Getting her face wiped and getting rinsed off in the bath. She also hates to be told “no” (something she’s been hearing a whole lot more these days), and she’ll scream and cry when you say it.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine. Her new nickname lately is “Troublemaker” because she is seriously into everything.

Milestones, etc.: -She gives the sweetest hugs, and as she puts her arm around you, she’ll even stroke your back! It’s the best thing.

-She gets soooo excited to see her “Daaaa!” every evening when he comes home. She runs to the door and gives him a giant hug.

-She plays pretend in so many ways now… anything can be a baby doll, which she’ll rock and kiss; her Beagle gives out kisses to other people, and she likes to bring us pretend cups of water to drink.

-She’s already hamming it up for the camera. I ask her to “say cheese!”, and she makes the most giant, scrunchy-faced grin she possibly can.

-She blows KISSES! She does it so loudly and it’s just the most adorable thing ever. She mostly only does it when she is pretending to “leave”. She’ll say “Bah-bye” and walk away blowing smooches. Once, she even put my running watch on and then did it. I guess she was going for a run!

-She’s obsessed with her toothbrush and toothpaste. It takes her about a split second to grab the tube of toothpaste and start sucking on it, so we are always making sure it’s out of reach.

-She still loves putting things in the toilet… cups, stuffed animals, her arm… So the bathroom doors need to remain closed!

-She points to body parts on request: nose, eyes, hair, teeth, mouth, and belly button! I asked her where her belly button was for this picture…

-We’ll ask her all the time where the baby is, and sometimes she’ll point to mommy’s tummy, but other times, she’ll point to herself first!!! Sometimes, she’ll point to herself and then my belly, as if to say we have two babies.

-She’s become a little more sensitive about going to nursery at church. She sometimes gets upset after Daddy leaves her, and then usually falls asleep on one of the leaders each week.

-She loves drinking out of other people’s cups and eating everyone else’s snacks. It’s like these things taste better when they aren’t yours!

-We usually sing her “I am a Child of God” before we put her to bed, and she tries to actually sing with us now! It’s more like a humming sound, but it’s adorable.

Dear Nella,

Today, after nap time, Kaya took you out of your crib, and I heard you running down the hall to my room. You pushed open the door and yelled “Mama!”, with the biggest grin on your face, as soon as you saw me. You are always that happy to see me, and it just makes my day, every day. I look forward to your first smile every single morning.I’ve been telling your Daddy that you’re “too cute for your own good” lately. But for every ounce of cuteness in you, there’s a pound of mess-making and getting into everything! You have been keeping us on our toes lately, little girl. I love how independent and resourceful you are, and even if right now that means you’ll try to sneak yourself a cup full of chocolate chips, I know those skills are going to come in handy in the future.

We love you so much little sunshine baby.

Love, Mommy

nella: 18 months

I always take her monthly pictures on time… it’s just getting all the text put together with it that takes me so long. We also only just had her 18-month check-up two days ago, and of course, I wanted to include her statistics!Height: 31.75 inches (45%)
Weight: 18 pounds 6 ounces (4%)
Head Circumference: 17.75 inches (19%)

Clothing size: 18-month everything. Grandma Gina did bring her some new dresses this month that are size 2T, and they fit perfectly! Size 4 sneakers, and size 5 church shoes. She really doesn’t like her church shoes though… I don’t think she’s worn them for more than an hour because she’s constantly taking them off!

Eye color: Blue.
Hair: The curls are really coming out! For her pictures this month, I just scrunched a little water and conditioner in there and this is what happened! I tried some texturizing spray on her a couple days ago, and that worked even better. I love her curls so much, but right now, her hair is still short enough that she wakes up with the most insane bedhead.Teeth: 12!!! I can see another one up top just under the gumline, too. It’s been a little bit of a rough month with teething… It breaks my heart to see her cry and not feel like her happy self.Eating: She’s still eating just about EVERYTHING! She is now obsessed with my homemade muffins and starts asking for one as soon as I put her in the high chair (“Muuuuh muuuuuh”)! She really loves her whole milk, which is so important now, because she officially weaned from nursing a few weeks ago. I was pretty emotional about it, despite knowing that it needed to happen soon, anyway. I just cherish our snuggle time so much! I think she really wasn’t getting much milk at all for a while there before she quit.Sleep: She’s still a super sleeper. We get about 12 hours at night and a 3-hour nap in the afternoon.

Words: I don’t even think I can list them all, because she basically will try to repeat almost any word you say to her. Her favorite word of all is “baba”, which she uses to mean “baby”, but she recently has started using it to just indicate anything she wants (i.e. she will point to an object and say, “baba!”). Other words include: bye, hi, hello, puppa (puppy), dog, go, mama, dada, diaper, uh-oh, and she even said “Socky” (my parents’ dog’s name) when we visited them!

Favorite things: BABIES! She’s obsessed and pretty much has a monopoly on all the baby dolls in the house. She also loves dogs, balloons, books, and riding on her rocking horse. She can even climb on and do it all on her own! Peekaboo is her favorite game.

Dislikes: Getting her face wiped and taking baths! I’m really sad she doesn’t like bath time anymore. She likes to splash in water (don’t let her anywhere near the dog’s bowls!), but she doesn’t like getting washed and rinsed off.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine.

Milestones, etc.: -In the last few days, she has FINALLY, OFFICIALLY, started WALKING! She is trying to walk everywhere now instead of crawl. I’m so happy and feeling a little relieved that we’ve finally met this milestone!

-If she sees me or Daddy sitting on the floor, she will almost always crawl into our laps. She is our most cuddly little toddler!

-She pretends to “read” books and will babble as she turns the pages.

-She’s gone to nursery at church once, and she was completely fine with it! Michael took her in, and as soon as she saw a baby doll, she was ready to go play. She didn’t even care that he left! It’s nice to have an easy transition to nursery, but it breaks my heart a little that she’s so grown up and doesn’t “need” us there with her.

-The TOILET… she’s obsessed with putting things in it. Ugh. I keep our master bath toilet closed all the time, but it just takes a second for her to walk into the girls’ bathroom and drop something in there.

-I can ask her to say “cheese!” for a photo, and she makes the funniest little grin. I love it.

-She’s getting really good at climbing, and can easily get onto our dining chairs and then up to the table. I’m just crossing my fingers she doesn’t figure out how to get out of the crib like Kaya did at this age!

Dear Nella,

It’s been a little bit of a rougher month for you. You are becoming so independent, and you have your own ideas about everything, so some days, we end up with big tantrums. You’ve had a few timeouts!You are still my little sunshine girl, though. Your smile melts away any stress or worry from the day. I love you so much, and I love how easy it still is to get you to laugh (you were just rocking in the chair in this picture)!You have a baby doll with you at all times these days, and you absolutely love looking at pictures of babies, so I think it’s safe to say that you’ll be such an amazing big sister. I can’t wait to see you hold your little sister for the first time. I just know you’re going to be best friends!

Love, Mommy

nella: 17 months

Clothing size: 18-month everything.
Eye color: Blue.
Hair: Blonde, curly, and crazy. She usually needs extra baths just because she thinks food is the newest hair accessory these days!

Teeth: 11!!! She has about half a mouthful of teeth now, and I just love how her smile is looking.

Eating: She tried spaghetti, strawberries, and chicken nuggets this month, and loved them all, of course. She pretty much eats anything, but she does seem tired of peanut butter sandwiches. She’d rather pretend her sandwich is a phone (yes, she even says, “whooooa?” for hello as she holds that jelly up to her ear)!

She also has discovered how amazing marshmallows are, and quickly figured out where I store them, so she’ll frequently climb into the pantry to get them. She then drags them around with those big hopeful eyes of hers pleading for anyone to open them!

She loves whole milk more than any of my other girls ever have. She even does a little dance when she sees me pouring some into her cup! As far as nursing, we’re down to just morning and night. Honestly, there are times when I feel like we’re not going to be nursing much longer, but then there will be moments when she seems to really need/want to nurse, and I wonder how much more time we have. With all the pregnancy hormones, I’m not really even sure how much she’s getting any more.

Sleep: She’s still a great sleeper. She does about 12 hours at night and naps for 3 more in the afternoon. Of course, she’s got to have her beagles to snuggle!

Words: She tries to say new things all the time, including: ruff (like a puppy), meow, yay, bye, “hoooo” (woohoo), “muh” (muffin), “Ahhhhh” (how she tries to talk to Alexa, the Echo Dot. So funny!), “baba” (baby, which is exactly how Kaya said it at this age… hence Kaelyn’s nickname from birth)!

Favorite things: She gets excited about a lot of things, but the top three would have to be babies, balloons, and books! She snuggles everyone’s baby dolls, sometimes even two at a time. She rocks them and loves them so much, and when she sees a real baby at church, she is just as excited. I’m really looking forward to seeing her with her new baby sister in a few months.

She also loves dancing and gets soooo excited as soon as we just say “Alexa, play music”. Her little fingers go up and she dances just like her mama. I’ve taught her well!

She is still super in love with puppies. Puppy stuffed animals are her favorite, and of course, Scout is pretty popular with her, too.

Dislikes: Getting her face wiped, seeing us eat something she doesn’t have, wearing a bib, being buckled into the car seat, when we brush her teeth (she likes doing it on her own, a.k.a. she just chews on the toothbrush), and actually getting washed in the bathtub. She loves playing in the water, but as soon as you start shampooing/rinsing her hair, she’s done. She also really likes to try to play in Scout’s water bowl, and gets pretty upset every time I have to reinforce that we don’t do that.

Nicknames: Nellbells, Nels, Nella Bella, Nellie Belly, Nellie, Nella Sunshine.

Milestones, etc.: -She’s WALKING!!! Sort of. Only when she has something to hold onto, but we’re getting there. Goodness, I keep thinking she’s got to be so close to doing it on her own, but we can only get her to take one solo step at a time. -She’s started trying to undress herself, but usually her arm just gets stuck.

-She climbs and stands on her own really well. She was even grabbing a ball, standing, and trying to throw it into the kiddie basketball hoop at Kangaroo Kids.

-She folds her arms for prayer, and it’s just the sweetest thing ever!

Dear Nella,

You are growing up so fast! You want to do everything your big sisters do these days. They usually try to help you with whatever it is you need, and you still think they are the funniest people in the world. I just love how much you all love each other.You are obsessed with books lately, and even like to hold one while you’re nursing sometimes. You’ve started joining Daddy and the big girls for story time just before bed, and you love to sit right on Daddy’s lap, in the middle of everyone (and with the best view of the book)!

You’re really starting to fall more in love with your Daddy lately, which I love, although I’m kind of still hanging on to these days when you’re still mostly a “mama’s girl”.

I make some pretty crazy faces and noises to get you to smile, and although you look a little unsure here, you seriously love it. You are just as wild as the rest of us!We love you little princess!

Love, Mommy