3 years

Ada is 3 years old! In the last 6 months, she has grown so much. She's quite tall, pretty much skipping size 3T and going right from 2T to 4T, especially in pants. She loves babies right now. She met John's cousin Samia's daughter in October and fell in love with her. Her doll was immediately renamed Baby Kennedy. Additional likes right now include apples, pears, Potbelly, reading books, watching Daniel Tiger (and reading Daniel Tiger books), and riding her bike and scooter. Grandma Jul got her a strider bike as an early birthday gift. It took her awhile to get the hang of it but now she's pretty good at it.

She really doesn't have that many dislikes. She's not a fan of spinach. She definitely doesn't like when Grandma leaves. And she gets upset when Kelvin knocks over her block towers...but sometimes she builds them just for Kelvin to knock over. 

Ada moved to the 3s classroom at school in September. I was a little nervous for her to move up so soon but she moved with three of her friends and she's doing great! We had two of her friends over for her birthday party and it was really fun. They played really well together and it was fun to visit with the other parents too.

Ada Jo, you're smart, sweet, and determined. You challenge me to be the best mom I can be and reward me with your smiles, hugs, and kisses. Keep growing, baby girl. I love you.

6.4.2019

7.6.2019

8.20.2019

9.28.2019

10.14.2019

11.5.2019

2.5 years

Ada is 2.5 years old! Once again, her vocabulary has exploded recently. She often speaks in full sentences and uses new words every day. She knows that she's two and a half years old. She knows Starbucks. She knows I take the red train to work and she takes the red train to "Kickers" and it goes in the tunnel and it gets dark. It blows my mind.

She still loves reading books, the color purple (and pink, so she said on May 10th, at least), and going to the park. She loves to eat, especially chicken fried rice, tacos, and fruit. Oh, and m&ms. m&ms are definitely her favorite! She's getting pretty good at riding her scooter and can't wait to get a bike. We're moving next month and have been telling her we'll get her a bike after we move to our new place. 

Ada isn't always a fan of sharing me with her brother but overall, she's a great big sister. She likes to entertain and comfort him...and occasionally pushes him over too. It's been fun to see them interact as Kelvin has grown. It's going to be really fun once he can get around on his own!

Recently, Ada has become afraid of some things, like her shadow and thunder. She noticed her shadow on the way to the park one day and seemed to think it was cool but then that night, she wouldn't lie down in her bed because there were "two Adas." I had to put a dark blanket down first so she couldn't see the shadow before she would go to sleep! John immediately looked up books about shadows on Amazon and found a really cool one that shows you how to make shadows. We looked at it with her a few times and since then, she's mostly been okay with the shadows.

My grandma died in April and I was so worried about how to explain it to Ada and what she would think of the funeral. I looked up a lot of advice online and we ordered a few books. She handled it really well but I'm not 100% sure how much she understands. She likes to sing "Happy birthday" to "all the family" each night that I put her to bed. After Grandma's funeral I stopped including her in the song. For awhile, our conversation would go like this:

Ada: You not say Great Grandma.
Me: No, I didn't. Do you remember why?
Ada: Great Grandma died.
Me: That's right. Great Grandma won't have any more birthdays. But she had 90 birthdays!
Ada: Wow, that's a lot of birthdays! 

A few other random things...she called John "John" instead of "Dada" for awhile but hasn't in the last few days...today she told me I was her best friend (I didn't even know she knew those words went together)...she loves trains and will put any variety of things together to make trains (books, toys, flashcards, hair ties)...she can recite the alphabet pretty well, recognize most of her letters, and almost correctly count to 20...she loves school...her favorite TV show is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood...and we're trying to get her into movies but she's not quite there yet.

Ada Jo, you are such a smart, sweet, determined little girl. Some days you drive me crazy but every day you make me love you even more than I did the day before. I love you so very much! Thanks for choosing me to be your mama.

My favorite pics from each of the last 6 months:

11.11.18

12.25.18

1.29.19

2.5.19

3.30.19

4.21.19

2 years

Ada is 2 years old! I just reread my post when Ada was 21 months old...wow, a lot has changed in 3 months! Obviously, the biggest change is that Ada became a big sister. Kelvin Sy Lenz was born on August 6th. It was definitely a transition for all of us to become a family of four but we're getting the hang of it. Ada has been very interested in her brother from the very beginning but was pretty rough with him at first. She's still a little rough at times but now she's often pretty sweet too. The sweetest thing is when I put Kelvin to bed, Ada carries the boppy pillow and my phone back to the bedroom for me, turns on the sound machine, gives Kelvin a kiss on the head, and then closes the door. In the last few days, she also wants to hold Kelvin's hand when we walk from one room to the other. I hold Kelvin down low so she can hold his hand while we walk. Adorable.

8.10.18

8.24.18

8.26.18

The next biggest development for Ada is that she's potty trained! We decided to potty train her on Labor Day weekend. We may have been insane but John thought it would be best to do it while I was on maternity leave and also while I was waking up at night with Kelvin. It definitely wasn't easy but she's doing so well with it! At school, I don't think she's had an accident since the second week or so. At home, she still has them occasionally, usually when she's super busy playing (or when we forget to prompt her). We did night time training too and it's going well. John usually wakes her up before he goes to bed around midnight and then she usually makes it the rest of the night. We have so many potties...and we take one with us everywhere!

9.8.18

We had quite a few visits from Grandma Jul and Grandma and Grandpa Lenz in the last few months. Auntie Natalie also came with Grandma and Grandpa Lenz to meet Kelvin. We traveled to Door County in September for the GA Lenz Annual Meeting. It was quite a trip with two little ones, one of who was new to potty training, but we made it! We also spent 10 days in Cochrane with Grandma and Grandpa Rohrer. We attended a friend's wedding in Minnesota, visited Great Grandma Rohrer, and celebrated Kelvin's baptism while we were there.

10.11.18 - Helping Grandma bake cookies

10.14.18 - Ada with her "TWO Grandpas!"

10.21.18 - Walking through the leaves with Grandma Jul

Ada still loves going for walks (and doing the walking), playing at the park, and her friends and teachers at school. Purple is her favorite color. She loves her cousin Ella. Her vocabulary is exploding! Since her birthday, her favorite song is "Happy Ada" aka Happy Birthday. She also knows the numbers 1 and 2. She's not consistent on the answer to "How old are you?" but she's getting there. This girl is a force. She can be so, so sweet but also so, so strong willed. She is smart and observant, picking up on little things we do all the time. I pray every day that I can be the Mama she needs me to be.

10.28.18 - Lakeview East Trick or Treat

10.31.18

10.31.18

Happy 2nd birthday, Ada Jo. I love you so very much.

21 months

Ada is 21 months old today! Once again, she's changed so much in the last 3 months. It really is amazing to see how much she learns in such a short period of time.

We had a busy start to our summer with trips to Disney World and Washington DC in May. John's parents went along with us on our week long trip to Disney. Ada loved spending so much time with them. She was a big fan of the buses as well as the characters (except Princess Tiana). She never cried on a ride but finally seemed to enjoy them on our last day when she signed "more" after getting off Ariel's Undersea Adventure. She was pretty good on the plane too. It definitely helped to have Grandma Kathy sitting next to us!

Mickey Mouse! 5.13.18

We had a great time in Washington DC too. We all flew out the Saturday before Memorial Day. John and Ada flew back home on Tuesday when my American College Health Association conference started. Aubrey, Andrew, and Finley joined us for about 24 hours of our trip. It was so great to see them again! We visited the National Mall, National Air and Space Museum, and walked by a few of the monuments. (I did a more formal tour of the National Mall and the monuments during my conference which was awesome!)

Washington DC 5.27.18

In June, we spent an evening with Ben and Heidi while they visited Chicago, road tripped up to Cochrane for a long weekend to celebrate Great Grandma Rohrer's 90th birthday, and hosted Annie, Ben, Ella, and Natalie for a night. Plus, Grandma and Grandpa Lenz stayed with us for a couple of nights before and after their trip to Spain.

Heidi and Ben visited Chicago. 6.8.18

With Grandpa Lonnie during Great Grandma's birthday party - 6.16.18

Visiting Great Grandma - 6.17.18

Showing Ella some Disney World pictures. 6.24.18

Our July was pretty low-key with a visit out to Geiner and Marcela's to see Laura, Paolo, and Zulay plus a couple of days with Laura and Paolo at our place, and a quick visit by Grandma Jul so she could see Laura and Paolo too. 

Laura, Paolo, and Grandma Jul visited! 7.10.18

Ada took a gymnastics class through the Chicago Park District in June and July and also started Lil' Kickers soccer in June. She really seems to enjoy both classes. She still loves her daycare, especially Mr. Jesse. She also enjoys going to see the Old Town School of Folk Music Wiggleworms performances and is even starting to sing along sometimes. Ada still loves going to the park and is getting pretty good at climbing. She loves to walk instead of ride in the stroller, especially when it means she gets to pet the neighborhood dogs. Her favorite dog is Moose, an old chocolate lab. Moose's owner thinks Ada is something too!

Lil' Kickers 7.3.18

Gymnastics 7.3.18

Playing in the water after Wiggleworms 7.31.18

It really, truly is a joy to be Ada's Mama, even though it's tough sometimes (like when she's kicking and screaming to not be put in the stroller or to not have her diaper changed). But, we're figuring those moments out too. Tomorrow her baby brother will be born. I think she senses there are big changes happening because she's been a little extra clingy to me lately and a little tougher to put to bed. But, I think she'll be a great big sister and adjust well to this humongous change. Fingers crossed!

Our last photo as a family of three. 8.5.18

Grandma Jul 8.5.18

18 months

Ada turned 18 months old on Saturday! We took her pictures on Sunday after we ran the Race to Wrigley. Once again, she has learned so much in the last 3 months. It's incredible! She loves her Mama and Dada (and says those two words innumerable times each day). She's obsessed with her cousin Ella. She wasn't too interested in Ella when we met her on New Year's Day but at Easter time she was all about her...and long as mama wasn't holding Ella. Ella's birth announcement is on the fridge and every now and then, Ada will go over to the fridge and point to it saying "Ella." Every baby she sees is also Ella. Hopefully she'll be this into her baby brother when he arrives!

Ada holding Ella on Easter Sunday 4.1.18

She also really likes going to the park, climbing anything and everything, playing with balls, saying new words, and eating grapes (and really anything, especially fruit). Mr. Jesse is her favorite teacher at school.

Chicago Children's Museum with Grandma and Grandpa Lenz 3.9.18

There aren't too many things she doesn't like. At least, not that she doesn't like for more than a minute or two. The main thing is when Mama holds other babies. She's not a fan of that!

Chicago Flower & Garden Festival with Grandma Jul 3.16.18

I don't think she really understands that she's getting a baby brother. But last night when I asked her where her brother was, she pointed to my belly and then gave my belly a kiss. I thought maybe we were making progress but later she did the same thing to John's belly. 😂

Accessory game on point thanks to Grandma Jul 4.24.18

We haven't traveled too much in the last few months. We went up to Oshkosh for Easter and Ella's baptism and then went to Madison the last weekend in April for Crazylegs. Grandma Jul and Grandma and Grandpa Lenz all came down to visit us a few times. John also went out to Montana skiing with his dad and sisters. But, we're going to be busy the next month with a 7 day trip to Disney World, a long weekend in Washington DC (with Mama staying for a conference and Dada and Ada coming back home), and then another long weekend in Cochrane to celebrate Great Grandma Rohrer's 90th birthday. Whew! After that, it will be time to stay home and get ready for the boy!

Hugs for Mama 3.17.18

More and more each day, I feel lucky to be Ada's Mama. There are challenging times, of course, but overall, it's an absolutely amazing experience to be her mom. Baby Girl, thanks for making me a mom, for challenging me to be the best mom I can be, and for all the smiles, hugs, and kisses you give. You are incredible.

15 months

Ada is (a little over) 15 months old! She has grown so much in the last three months. She's starting to talk and definitely comprehends a lot. She currently says hi, dada, mama, hat, and hot pretty well. She also started trying to say sock in the last few days but it comes out more like "ock" which sounds pretty similar to hat and hot. Her gross and fine motor skills are great. She can walk and run, even outside in the snow! She also loves her shoes (and boots) and will bring them over to John or me when she wants to wear them. The teachers at her daycare know her by her cute pink Sperry boots from Auntie Natalie. She's still eating really well, currently liking avocados and rice. She still loves music and dancing. Apparently she had Zumba at daycare one day which led to a few new moves. Ada loves putting things into a container and taking them back out again...over and over and over. She's starting to enjoy reading as well, especially lift-the-flap books like Where's Spot? and Dear Zoo. She is also starting to play pretend with her stuffed animals and dolls. She will pretend to feed them with a spoon, saying "mmm", and also hold her baby doll, rocking her and patting her back. It's pretty darn adorable!

Ada's first time in the snow 1.15.18

She's not a fan of falling down, even when she's clearly OK. We try not to pay much attention to these minor types of falls and tell her she's OK. She also does not like being told no and definitely throws little tantrums. Luckily, they're short-lived...for now, at least. She doesn't like having her diaper changed either though the last few days I've been letting her play with a little container of baby body butter while I change her and that keeps her entertained.

Playing Scrabble with Grandma Jul 2.3.18

Our only travels since Ada's first birthday have been up to Wisconsin for holidays. We spent the long Thanksgiving weekend in Oshkosh. Ada and I went up to Stoughton for the Spindlerish Girls Weekend in early December. That was our first car trip with just the two of us and it went pretty well...aside from Ada having a major diarrhea blowout diaper in Janesville on our way home. We spent time in both Oshkosh and Cochrane over the Christmas holiday, finishing up our visit by meeting Ada's first cousin, Arabella Elise, who was born on December 28th. While we were in Cochrane, John and I even managed to sneak away for a couple of nights, leaving Ada home with Grandma Jul and Grandpa Lonnie. So far 2018 has been pretty low-key with two visits from Grandma and Grandpa Lenz and another from Grandma Jul in early February. But, there's excitement coming...we booked our first trip to Disney World as a family of three for May! Grandma and Grandpa Lenz are coming too.

Meeting Baby Ella 1.1.18

1.30.18

Our biggest news is that Ada is going to be a big sister! Baby Lenz #2 is due July 30, 2018. We are so very excited!!