Sloane the Stupendous

Dear Sloane,

Your mommy and daddy adore you. Now, please stop making your daddy crazy. Your mommy needs him to be sane.

lovingly,
your mommy

Atlanta

It's been a really, really busy week, but we are all settled in to our apartment in Midtown Atlanta. After living in a house, living in apartment again is a bit... beige, however the building and its amenities are fantastic. We have already made use of the pool, the putting green and the fitness center (and boy, am I woefully out of shape!).

We really like Atlanta so far. We've checked out Decatur, East Atlanta Village, Buckhead and Druid Hills. We've been to the playground at Piedmont Park three times. We've been to Ikea, Walmart, Whole Foods and everywhere in between. Sloane went to Ikea with Grandma and Grandpa and they had to buy her a stuffed dog (named after my childhood dog, Kuzi) of which she wouldn't let go.

All of my fears about the move being traumatic for Sloane were completely unfounded. She is happy as a clam, eating well and sleeping well. As I type, she is a few feet away in her new Ikea high chair (we couldn't fit her real high chair in the car), eating chicken soup, carrots, cauliflower and whole wheat noodles. This afternoon, she ate grits and eggs. This morning she ate a whole banana, half a peach, cheerios and then a burrito with cheddar and tomato omelet in it. We don't know who this child is!! Of course writing this has probably jinxed us.

I start my new job on Monday and I'm very nervous, but excited. So far, everything we're experiencing is reinforcing that this is the right decision for us.

Here are two videos of the munchkin this afternoon:

What can I say, the Munchkin is toothbrush obsessed

PB&J

Finally! Something she will eat.

Fifteen Months

Dear Lolli -

I can't believe it's been fifteen months already. I know I say it every month, but time both flies and stands still since you have come into our lives. We are incredulous at how fast you're growing and learning new things and becoming this amazing, bright, joyful person in your own right. Yet, we also can no longer remember what our lives were like before you were in them. I know for sure that my world was nowhere near as wonderful, nowhere near as surprising, nowhere near as full of love as it is since you graced me with your presence. I do feel that I am the luckiest person in the world because I get to spend my life shaping YOU and being shaped by you.

This has been a month of significant intellectual growth for you. You are on the cusp of talking to us and mimic a lot of what your daddy and I do. You can run and climb and sort of dress yourself. You can respond to simple commands and you know your shapes and some colors. You are a wonder to us.

This has been a stressful month for mommy (and daddy too!) and I think you may be feeling the stress even if you don't know why it's there. At the end of this week, we're uprooting you and moving to Atlanta and I am scared that this disruption to your world will be hard on you. Just know, when you read this in many years, that this was done to give you a better life.

You are the most wonderful and special person in the whole wide world and there's no one I'd rather share my life with.

Love,
your mommy

Mommy Meetup in Central Park

Yesterday was my meet up with the mommies from my internet mommy group. This meetup was about three months in the making and coordinating logistics for six busy moms, their husbands and there toddlers was a a bit challenging. In the end, it all worked out and we had an absolute blast. The kids played nicely side-by-side (at this age, they don't really socialize yet), the husbands all seemed friendly with one another and the mommies chatted and laughed and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

We met in Central Park and had a picnic and then strolled to the Ramsey Summerstage area for a family concert. Once we got there, however, they were making you check your stroller (which no one wanted to do) and it had gotten pretty late, so we called it a day.

We got stuck in traffic for two hours coming back and completely threw off Sloane's sleep schedule because she slept in the car. It took us until after 9 pm to get her back to sleep!

Nonetheless, a fun day!


Left to right, mommies: Zina, Irit, Lynne, Jenn, Luisa, me
Left to right, toddlers: Ryan (being held), Shannon, Alex, Ethan, Luisa's cousin Melissa, Brody, Sloane









No pictures of the husbands or of Irit's adorable eight year old twin boys.

Mall Playground

They just put in a great new play area at the mall. Sloane had a blast and didn't get overheated (it's really hot outside!).

Serendipitous Sloane

A few pictures and videos from this week.


we were at Sears getting paint for the house and Sloane insisted that she get to sit on this lawn tractor


watching the squirrels frolic in the tree outside her window and showing off her new kneesocks


It's important to practice your stomping skills


red ball, blue ball, yellow ball

Brushing all Six Teeth

Sloane adores brushing her teeth and gets really, really mad when we try to take away the toothbrush. Let's hope she keeps this up when she's a teenager.

The Totri Crew

For Father's Day, they took pictures of Sloane's class at daycare. We got a lovely framed photo of Sloane and a picture of the whole class.

Sorry for the quality, they're pictures of pictures:




(front, l - r): Kate (10 months), Matthew (9 months)
(back, l - r): Jack (17 months), Alex (14 months), Miles (16 months and Sloane's best friend), Sloane (14 months)

New Skills

Sloane is obsessed with putting on her shoes. Here she is putting on one shoe, then trying to put the other shoe on the same foot, then getting frustrated.

Pediatrician Update

Sloane had her 15 month appointment (two weeks early because of the gap in medical insurance between my old and new jobs). She is developing normally and is healthy and happy.

She weighs 23 pounds 4 ounces (52nd percentile); she is 33.75 inches tall (above 95th percentile); and she has a head circumference of 18.75 inches (95th percentile). So, once again tall, skinny and with a big head!

Although she's only gained exactly one pound since her 12 month visit, Dr. Coy was not concerned. She said that weight gain slows down dramatically when a child become mobile and more active. Sloane is definitely the epitome of "active." I can't believe that she's grown nearly two inches in only two and half months -- wow!