Last week you turned three months old! I know, I know, I always say this kind of stuff, but I have to reiterate. I mean, just the blink-of-an-eye ago you were nothing but a growing belly bump:
And then you were here! A lovely little newborn babe, completely dependent on us for everything. So sweet, and calm, and warm. Well, now that you're 3 months old, you're still sweet and calm and warm (most of the time, unless it's cold in the house). And you're still lovely and little (though not AS little)...but now, you're not really a newborn anymore! You're a little lady, a charming baby, full of personality and light in your eyes.
You smile great smiles!
You giggle, you 'talk', you laugh!
You grasp items with your hands. You sit in your Bumbo chair, sit in our laps and hold your head up wonderfully! Your neck strength and muscle control has gotten so good! All that tummy time has really paid off! You're a sturdy little girl now.
You 'play' with your brother and seem to really be developing a relationship with him. You light up when he's around, smile at his jokes or when he's being silly and try to eat his nose!
You are such a precious, precocious little girl now, and while we can't wait for the next step, your mother and I both are thoroughly enjoying the three-month-old you (even with the occasional clawing and screaming, which is totally natural for a baby with sharp fingernails and a slight aversion to bedtime).
You are sugar and spice and everything nice, handing out smiles without restraint. You're Three months old now, and look how far you've come!
I mean, just look at that face! Those cute little eyes! That smile! Sorry, I'm biased. But, c'mon. You're just a peach of a little girl, my Princess Jules.
And everyone seems to know it! Even 'the boys' couldn't stay away from you during your all-important photo shoot!
It's amazing how far you've come in such a short time. And whether I want to believe it or not, it's happening all too quickly! It seems like we've never been without you, little daughter of mine, yet every minute that your with us (yes, even the slightly loud ones) seem like a new, amazing gift in our lives.
Last night I flew to the surface of Mars in a rocket ship.
I journeyed to the wilds of Africa and befriended a fierce lion.
I hid in a desolate cave with only a flashlight, a blanket and an adventurer.
I swam under the sea, while a wiggling fish tickled my toes.
I am a father. My children are my passport.
I have a hard time convincing Aidan not to 'smoosh' bugs. Once you smooshed a slug, and I felt awful. But life and death is a concept you luckily haven't had to learn about yet.
But, I imagine by the time you read this, issues such as life and death will be easier to understand.
This past weekend we lost someone. She passed away, but I don't want her to be forgotten. So I've written about her for you...and for me.
You might not remember her, but your Mother and I, Preston and Toby, and the two of you had a wonderful, unique, kind neighbor named Dorothy. She lived two houses down from us and had a special place in her heart for both of you and Luke and the kids across the street. She was like the neighborhood's grandmother, and a good friend. She cared about us and we cared about her. She is no longer with us.
Meeting Julia for the first time.
Dorothy really liked both of you kiddos.
Aidan, you got to spend more time with her than Julia.
You loved playing in her front yard. She had an awesome birdbath, windchimes, a wooden duck and lots of pin wheels. You really like her pin wheels. Once Dorothy gave you one of her pinwheels. You smiled so big.
At Aidan's Second Birthday
Dorothy had a special way of saying things. Every time we would say goodbye, she'd tell you that she loved you. She'd point to her eye. She'd cross her arms over her heart. She'd point to you. You never quite got the hang of repeating the gesture back to her. But you gave her plenty of hugs and high fives and talked to her a lot.
Miss Dorothy attended all of your birthday parties and was a welcome visitor. She didn't have much, but she did like to give you special toys and gifts from time to time, not just on your birthday. A yellow 16 wheeler toy. A coloring book. Crayons. A white baseball cap, which - on one of our last visits- she insisted that I take for you and give to you when you were older.
When we visited her just about 10 days ago when her health was already in decline, you were a gentleman, Aidan. You squirmed a bit and were kind of shy around a living room full of strangers, but you told Dorothy you loved her and gave her a kiss and a hug before you announced that it was "dragon time" (you had just gotten your wagon, and it was time to go).
Dorothy joined us for many tornado watches. We called them 'tornado parties.' When the weather got dark and the sirens started wailing, or if the weather report said that a tornado watch was under way, Dorothy always came over, umbrella in hand, to weather the storm with us. She made me feel brave.
She was so excited for you to arrive, Julia. She called to check on us while we were still in the hospital. She was anxious for your arrival. She bought you a pink hat from Seattle.
Hear Dorothy's Voice. This is the voice of a kind soul who, sure, could get off topic like nobody's business, but in the end, she meant business, and her business was caring about her neighbors.
You guys had a special kinship. When Dorothy got very sick, you made her laugh.
She talked about you to all her friends and showed off your birth announcement as if she were your own Grandmother.
Both of you kids made Dorothy happy. And she made us happy too. She was loyal friend, a good neighbor and a great person.
I'm so glad we got to know her, and spend so many moments with her. She was the first to really make our street feel like a home.
I'm glad we all got to say goodbye.
I want you to remember her.
You never know when your number's up. Dorothy was lucky in that she was pretty much told that her number was up. She got to make last requests, and two of those were to see the two of you. To hold you and kiss you and say goodbye. You both honored her request and put a smile on her face in her final days.
Being so close to a death always puts life in perspective. It makes you realize what you would want to do before you go. Now, rest assured, if I have any say in it, I'll be annoying both of you for a long, long, long time. I'll annoy your children and your children's children.
But, I want you to know that you, my children, and your mother are the best parts of my life. The best part of me. You make me feel whole and I love you forever and ever.
Dorothy is no longer with us, but her kindness and love will never be forgotten.
That's the thing to remember: Love goes on. Life goes on.
We all know that Aidan and Preston and Toby are partners in crime.
One of Aidan's responsibilities (as much as a 2 year old can have responsibilities) is to feed the dogs. He always saves one kibble for himself.
They play, kiss, they chase each other, they eat each other's food.
Mush, you Huskies!
Aidan watched with squealing joy as Toby got a bath and Preston got a bath and a haircut (two bits). For two days after he kept exclaiming "Pressie! Hair cut! Please!!!!!"
But Miss Julia, you are just now starting to understand the joys of having two of [wo]man's best friends hanging around the house.
They can be soft, and cuddly and good for napping.
Or they can be curious (and curious about you too!)
Now I know you look a little freaked out in the pictures, but you were anything but. One night on the couch, Toby decided to investigate. He slowly crept toward you, tail wagging. You started talking to him and smiling.
Toby leaned in even closer and started sniffing. That's when you started giggling.
And a new friendship was forged!
You're still a little young yet to fully grasp how much fun these little doglets can be, but you're certainly getting the idea of it! It's Puppy Love, all over again!
My babies, It's 2013 and we have a lot to smile about.
Julia, you're 12 weeks old, and already so responsive. I can make you smile just by smiling at you!
Aidan, you continue to amaze and impress us. I love it when you say "Daddy, Let's play! Playtime!" It's almost heart breaking when you say that right before bed. But, there's a whole new year of play times ahead of us.
You're getting better at going pee pee and poo poo on the potty, and collected enough stickers on your sticker chart to get to see a BIG movie. You offered some insightful comments loudly through out the movie, explaining it to us ("Sparky, night night"...sparky was actually dead..but he came back. The movie was "Frankenweenie"). But, the look of amazement on your face when we sat down in the theater (now your 4th or 5th time at the big movies) was pure gold.
If only you knew that that's how your Mother and I look at you sometimes. Pure awe and amazement.
In fact, that's how we feel about both of you, Julia and Aidan. We are constantly amazed that we made you...that you are from us, but already so different from us. So new and awesome and unique in this world.
And that's what a New Year is all about, I guess.
But, with amazing kiddos like the both of you, every day is New Year's Day.
So smile, kids! It's 2013, and we have a whole new chapter in our adventure today. And I won't make you wear these hats again...until next year.
Julia, 'Twas your very first Christmas, and you were such a good baby.
Aidan, 'twas your third, and 'twas a bit crazy.
That's the end of my attempt at a rhyming Christmassy poem.
But, this Christmas was epic. It deserves a poem. It goes in the record books! So, forgive me if I bust out into sporadic, awful rhyme. I can't help it.
First, we had a Christmas primer with your Godparents and Aunts and Uncles. We dub thee, Friendsmas.
Turkey, Stuffing, Twice Baked Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Veggies all potlucked.
Amazingly sweet gifts and cuddles for all of the kiddos (even young Asher, who celebrated his negative first Christmas in utero).
The boys got to play and watch Madagascar 3 and Toy Story 2 while the grown ups relaxed and stuffed their faces. Then, of course, presents and cookies and sugar highs!
Then, with a few days rest til Christmas eve, we worked out, stayed in, baked cookies and did as we please.
And before we could blink, 'twas the night before Christmas.
And off we did go, to Yaya's and Baba's (and Sandy's and Simon's with presents in tow).
Christmas eve pizza and fried cinnamon sugar donuts were had.
(a few too many by Aidan...and his Dad)
Gifts were shared, and so were great cuddles.
Julia got dolls, clothes and diapers (for puddles).
Aidan got a wagon, a hat and Toy Story Potatoes!
'Twas a wonderful night, that was over too soon. But we had to get home, before a young toddler turned into a loon.
(But we were a little too late...by the time we got home, Aidan, you were begging "Bedtime...please!!!!!!!!!!!")
But, on Christmas Eve a storm rolled in, and it rained and thundered and lightninged all night long. Harsh weather for Santa, and even harsher for Aidan (you were scared by the "scary wonder..."), but when we awoke on Christmas Morning....Santa was able to come to give gifts to both of you after all, even if he did eat too many cookies the night before!
Oh my Goodness! And what did Santa Bring us?
Santa delivered gifts in the living room...
...Gifts in the office...and a bit of inclement weather too...
And Santa even delivered gifts upstairs!
Aidan, you had to tell Jessie about the scary weather...
But the best gift of all was just being together on a rainy Christmas morning, together. It was about this moment that I realized how far we come as a family. There are 4 plus 2 pups of us now. We're all growing older and wiser (except for maybe the dogs, they probably maxed out on wisdom). Our first holiday season as a family with Julia, and we're doing pretty darn good.
It may have been gray and rainy outside...and a bit of rain inside, but there was some real magic on Christmas morning as we opened gifts and played the morning away. I mean, no present could be better than moments like these:
But Jessie potato head is pretty awesome. Probably a close second.
And then we headed out in the rain to Yaya and Baba's house for Christmas day lunch and family time, and the magic seemed to follow us.
First, the two of you got some great cuddle time with family, especially you, Miss Julia! Everyone wanted to get some Christmas snuggles with you! Aidan, everyone wanted snuggles with you too...but before your nap you were a bit too busy playing, trying not to nap, and watching Frosty The Snowman.
We opened gifts in a flurry of paper and hugs and thank yous and kisses.
And then the magic continued...what started as rain the night before got heavier and heavier and then turned into honest-to-goodness flurries of snow!
I scooped you up, Aidan, and ran outside to experience it with you. Pops came too and helped us capture the moment! It was beginning to snow! I was more excited than you were at this point.
But then, these flurries began to stick and gather and before you knew it. We had a White Christmas. A few hours later you and I went out again, and I couldn't get you to come inside!
You were in a winter wonderland!
Stomping the snow!
Throwing the snow!
EATING the snow!
A White Christmas. How fitting for this epic Christmas. A grand gift for all of us: food, snow, family. What more could you want?
If only there was a poetic, epic way for me to finish this off.
Oh, I got it:
'Twas Julia's first Christmas, and Aidan's third.
City-wide our laughter and merriment was heard.
We hung up our stockings and tucked you in tight.
A very Weinstein Christmas to all, and to all a good Weinstein Night!
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