Lily and Rio: 06/01/2012

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Tonight after dinner I watched you deliberately go to the kitchen and open/close a few cabinets looking for the food cabinet. Once you found the right one, you stopped, looked at me and smiled. Then you proceeded to get out the goldfish and eat them. I am convinced that you knew exactly what you were doing all along. Lily is 3 now and has never once gotten her own snack. This is going to get interesting.

Fun

Dear Lily and Rio,

There has been a change between the two of you recently. You have been laughing and playing together like you have never done before. I don't know if it's because Rio you are older now or that Lily has finally accepted that Rio is part of the family. Lily, you have been including Rio in all your games. You share, you help out with him, and are genuinely concerned about his safety. Lily, you are taking your job as a big sister very carefully and Rio clearly loves you for it.

Even though it's almost July and summer has not quite arrived in Seattle, much fruit in our backyard is starting to appear. This tree is full of cherries but it won't be for much longer if you two keep eating them at the current pace.

Rio you love, love, love this ball toy you got for your birthday:

We have been having fun practicing our silly faces:

And our smile faces:

Yes, you are cute:

Love,

Your proud Mama

Monday, June 25, 2012

Father's Day 2012

Since Rio was born on Father's Day 2011 I don't think he will ever get a better gift, but spending Father's Day at the Mariner's game may be the next best thing.

Rio's First Haircut

Rio,

About one week before your first birthday you got your first haircut. You did great! Not one complaint. It helps that you were sitting in a little car with a steering wheel. Such a big boy!

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Happy 1st Birthday Rio!!

Dear Rio,

Today you turned one year old! When you become a parent, people often stop and say, "enjoy them, they grow up so quickly." As a parent of a newborn I thought that's ridiculous, I'll be changing diapers for the rest of my life. Those people are right, it does go by fast. I know this because today you are one and it feels like just yesterday we brought you home from the hospital. It's hard to keep up with all that growing you do. You are long and lean with long fingers that never stop exploring. Every morning when I bring you in bed you crawl up to my head and wrap your arms and little fingers around my neck while giving the greatest squeeze.

It took almost a year but your eyes are definitely brown. Your skin and hair are the exact same color as mine. The genetic lottery completely skipped over your dad's dark features. For now, you are physically so different from your sister. Your personality and temperament are starting to become more clear. You are social and don't like being alone. You are most comfortable seeing the world while in my arms. You get frustrated with toys that don't comply with your demands yet you calm down easily without too much fuss. You love the outdoors. When outside you feel the need to touch every plant, flower, and piece of dirt.

You are very close to walking but not quite there yet. Your top two teeth broke through last week. You eat like an adult. You much prefer real food to baby food and you can eat a surprising amount of it. You probably eat more than Lily. However you are not always eager to eat. You don't love your highchair. You put your hands in front of your face to block any food from your mouth until you decide you are ready to eat. Daddy calls this t-rex arms. This can change from minute to minute during meal time. You are good at communicating what you want without the use of words. I know when a toy is out of your reach, when you want more of something, or when you are all done just by your vocalizations. Even though you understand so much more now, you still don't point to your body parts or do any cool tricks like your sister did at your age. You are skilled in a very different way. You can explore a toy to figure out how it works, you can throw a ball, and climb stairs. Your interests are very different than Lily's and I am thrilled to be able to play with you in a whole different way than I am used to. You are however saying a few words: this, go, Scout.

We had your birthday party last weekend. We celebrated at home. Here you are opening your presents. All the big kids got a little too excited and and opened them for you but I don't think you noticed.