9 Months - Baby Girl

9 months old means you've been out longer than you were in. That fact is still hard for me to wrap my head around.  I mean 9 months ago we welcomed you into the world and after 10 long days in the NICU we welcomed you home.  Home ...Where you have continued to make us smile and keep us on our toes, even more than your brother did or does.

You're pulling up on everything and anything these days and just recently you've started letting go and trying to balance.  I imagine you'll be walking before your first birthday, that should be fun.  You also have really found your voice and not just for crying, you found it for that not long after you entered the world.  You're always babbling and cooing and laughing.  You LOVE to laugh, sometimes at nothing at all.  I hope you keep that quality about you.  The ability to laugh at life will make your disappointments easier to handle and your successes that much sweeter.

As I look forward to the next 3 months before you turn 1 I can't help but wonder about the little girl that you're sure to become.  Will you be as laid back as your brother was at 1?  I somehow doubt it but that's okay.  How will your relationship with your brothers develop.  I worried that the Bean wouldn't adjust to you being here and in his space but oh how he adores you and your older brother feels the same. 

9 months doesn't seem long enough for me to love you the way I do but really I've loved you since you we're conceived.  The baby girl I prayed and wished for.  I love you forever and always sweet girl.

August

How in the world is it August already?! I feel like we were just celebrating Memorial Day down in Corolla and now it's almost back-to-school time. This year is a big year in the Swiftly Growing house, the teenager starts high school! The Hubz is more I denial than I am but it's still hard for me to wrap my brain around the almost 14 year old we have and the 3 year old he was when I first started dating his Dad.

The start of high school means so many things for him and us. Before we know it he'll be off to college which means we have 4 years left to get him ready to be a psuedo adult. For him the next four years will start to really mold him into he man he will become.  High school is a time of making memories and choices that will, in one way or another, impact your life more than anything before this ever has.  

I'm excited and nervous for him and us. He's our test subject for how we'll likely handle the others. Although as I'm learning every kid really is different so his experiences will likely be his and only his and the others will all be handle in their own ways, when this chapter comes for them.