Merry Christmas, Y'all!!

Love, Us

5 months

Blythe turned 5 months on the 11th...And she JUST melts all of our hearts! This girl is the smiliest little love muffin EVER! Even her cry is not that loud or urgent (yet)...The 2 men in this house fight over her constantly...and I'm really not kidding. Brett and Harrison are always smothering her...Thankfully I get a few minutes to myself with her daily, and I stretch them out as long as I can. She is pure joy!
This month I didn't write a TON down, but Blythe had her first modeling gig (posted below) She laughed for the first time on November 17th. She rolled over again (but, she only does this a few times on one or two days right around the new month mark...definitely not rolling consistently).
Right after 4 months, I dropped the dreamfeed, which I probably could have dropped lots earlier because she slept 12 hours like a champ. However, she continues to be sick (for almost 3 months now), so she started waking up again almost 2 weeks ago. So, I picked back up the dreamfeed, which I still don't think she needs, but we will see.
She still has blue eyes, and I see some red in her hair (oh, what I wouldn't give for a little redhead--that would be SO FUN!) She is SO alert, LOVES her brother...smiles at EVERYONE, and is often the one initiating the smile. Has settled into 3 naps a day, sleeps 12-13 hours at night. Waking up some--boo! Continues to put weight on her feet a lot, coos, laughs, smiles...still nursing (thankfully), wearing 6 month clothes (for a month now), still squeezing into some 3-6 month clothes, wears medium or large diapers. Weighed 16.5-17ish pounds. And she is looking SO much like her brother, which means she will be looking like Daddy.

We love you to the sky, Blythey Bell! You are so precious!

3.5

Harrison Case,Today you are 3.5. For the past 4+months you have been the best big brother in the whole wide world. But, before that, for 3 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day, you were all mine. My buddy, my sidekick...we went everywhere together...you and me. I think maybe I have been booted from my role as your sidekick. I think you may prefer MeiMei (Little Sis) in that role now. I love that. And I love her...wouldn't trade having her for anything, but I am so thankful for every minute I had with just you.

Today you're a bit sick, so you snuggled up to me on our cab rides and on the couch. You are still pretty cuddly, but only about half the time. You are finding your independence, but it is so cute, as you run around, I see you constantly looking back to see if I'm there. I know that won't always be the case, and as much as I want to encourage you to explore and run and play, I take every opportunity to tell you, "Mommy's here."

You are cautious to the nth degree...you are careful, thoughtful, methodical, and SLOW to do anything. But once you do it, you are committed! You are loyal to the death. Daddy says that means you're like me, but I think you are far more loyal. If I'm honest, I worry that you will get your heart broken by the people you love most because you will literally give those special people the shirt off your back. I hope and pray your friends love you as much as you love them. You are going to be a good friend. The best.

You are right handed, and you have the BEST belly laugh in the world. You're SO ticklish. You are getting faster at running...you used to be more of a speed walker. You play hard. You like movies. You love cars, trains and trucks. Some of your favorite movies are Cars, all the Toy Story movies, Curious George, and more. You also like to watch PBS kids on the internet.

You have been in school about 6 weeks now for 3 mornings a week. It's all in Chinese. This week was the first time you said you wanted to go. All other times you did not want to go, but when I picked you up, you always said you had a blast. You don't speak a ton of the language, but you understand A LOT.

You are a little narrator, repeating everything we say and relaying it back to us. You are kind, tender, compassionate and sensitive. Again, sometimes I worry you're too sensitive. The things I worry the most about you are the things that are most like me. I love how God made you, and I am learning to embrace it, even if and when I see my own shortcomings in you.

About 9 months ago, your eyes turned from blue to green. Now they are more of a hazel...some days they look gray, some days green. But, all days, they are so handsome, and my heart does cartwheels when I look at you...especially when you're sleeping, or when you smile at me.

Also, about 9 months ago we started potty training you. Notice that we haven't finished yet. You can pee in the potty like no one's business, but your poop gets another post all on it's own. You have a lot of fear associated with this, and it is hard. It has been really, really hard. I have done a horrible job, and I pray I have not scarred you in this area. But, I'm proud of you...no matter what.

Whoever said the 2's were terrible never met 3 year old Harrison! Your 2's were angelic, until about 2 years, 9 months...You sure do know how to throw a tantrum, and you sure can get angry! But, you are also just as sweet and precious. You almost always understand why you have to get a consequence and you are quick to apologize...

And you're even quicker to forgive...

You have been most challenging at this age, but the MOST fun ever. I love you so, so much.

And no matter what, no matter where, whether you're looking to see if I'm there or not...

Mommy's here, buddy.

I love you to the moon and back. Always. Exactly how you are. No matter what.

I'm a model, you know what I mean...

We got Blythe's 100 day pictures taken when she was around 100 days old (duh!)...not sure if I posted any on here, but they're pretty adorable...I will have to get on that stat. Anyhow, after the photo session, the people at the studio asked if they could take more pictures of her for a Chinese advertisement for their studio. They offered to give us her 100 day pictures for free, as well as the pictures for the ad, as well as the 6 month photos. Um, let me think about it...SURE!

The pictures are about as cheesy as they come, but, like I said, they were free, and her adorableness makes up for it....Chinese people really like hats and teddy bears and flowers.

So, here is our munchkin model, shakin' her little toosh on the catwalk....

please notice the arm rolls...are they not THE yummiest thing you have ever seen??

4 months

this is the funniest picture of Harrison ever!!

Our Blythe turned 4 months last week!!

Some things I forgot to put in her 3 month post were that we stopped swaddling her and she got cold # 2!

Some memorable things from Month 4 in the exciting life of Blythe Hayward Dooley::

::You started wearing socks! Now, this is probably not exciting for most...I for one, love little baby feet...I cannot stand to put socks on those little piggies. But, the weather started getting cooler, and the Chinese grandmas will not let you get home without telling you that your baby does not have enough clothes on if they do not have 5 layers on once the temperature dips to about 75 degrees. And I am not exaggerating. at. all.

::October 13...you rolled over again. It appears that you roll over close to your month birthday each month. You roll over a handful of times within one or two days. Then you stop. So, I definitely can't say that you are rolling over, but you have indeed, rolled over.

::Cooing a lot! Smiling tons! And your smile is a melter!

::On October 27th you weighed 15.5 pounds

::Got cold # 3, which was BAD...

::You lost your voice for the first time and that turned into bronchitis/strep, so you...

::took your first antibiotic!

::On November 9 you weighed 7.5 kg with your clothes on (about 16.5 pounds) and you were 63 cm long (about 25 inches)

::Your eyes are still blue!!

::Still sleeping great. Although with your sickness, I gave into feeding you at night sometimes and decided not to drop the 10 pm feed to keep you hydrated.

::You still love your brother, and oh, how he loves you!

::Your 'ride' is the baby ergo or mommy's arms.

:: You are a squirmy wiggleworm! I don't think you will be a snuggler, which is sad for me, but don't worry, Daddy and I will find a way to snuggle you every day for as long as we can!

::I think you take 3 naps a day...but, we are mostly on the go, which means you take 4 shorter naps. You sleep 7-7ish.

And, we love you so very much. You make my days so much busier, but life feels so, so much better with you in it, Blythe! You are precious to us, and we will hold you as long as we can and love you even longer!!

Happy 4 months!

Meeting Grace

We got to meet Grace briefly this morning!!

It's SO hard to be so far away during times like these.

I'm SO thankful for Skype!

Grace

Grace Caroline Fierer

November 10, 2011

9:12 am

6 pounds, 15 ounces

19 3/4 inches long

Cary, North Carolina

Born to proud parents, Chris & Lindsey Fierer.

My first niece.

Perfection.

My heart aches to hold her.

I miss her so much and I have not even met her yet.

Wish I wasn't half a world away.

You just wait until I get my hands on you, my Gracie Goose!

I promise to love you all the days of my life.

I can't wait to hold you.

You will make me laugh and cry all at the same time,

just because you're you.

We may never be close in distance, but our hearts will never be far from yours.

We love you to the moon and back, Grace.

You are precious.

With all the love we have,

Aunt Lulu, Uncle Brett, Hare Bear and Blythie Bug