Seasons Greetings!

 We took Holly for her holiday photos on Black Friday and we were there on time for a 10:15 appointment.  We ended up waiting an hour before we had our turn.  There was only one couple ahead of us with their child and the photographer had arrived ten minutes late.  So that put us at an hour behind schedule?  Yikes!  I love Olan Mills' work, but I'm not entirely certain I want to return if they're going to do that again.  I was extremely irritated about the wait, although I had to commend the photographer for her professionalism and how well she worked with Holly.  Plus, Holly spent the time waiting happily in the aisles, touching clothes, banging on advertisements and making other shoppers smile and laugh at her antics.  I'm delighted to have such a happy, wonderful little girl!  I have to admit that I am also very satisfied with how the session turned out (once we got in there) and the photos were definitely well worth the wait!  We walked away with a good deal and every photo on a CD to take home that day.  You can't beat that!

In other news, Holly continues to grow in language development.  She is beginning to say "Thank you" and is continuing to say "Don't!"  She even manages to say them at about the appropriate times.  "Don't" has been used when she doesn't want us to do something or when she knows that she's not supposed to do something, soooo ... I guess it works out!

I can't guarantee that I'll update this again before 2013, but who knows?  I am, however, pretty darn certain that it's going to be an incredibly busy month in December and my free time is limited.  So!  From our family to yours - Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love Her!

I really don't have anything new to report, other than the fact that I should update this or my uncle will have a conniption because I didn't.  Again.  For months on end.  He's like that, but I love him anyway!  ;)

Holly is continuing to do grow and change every day and I find myself looking back at her newborn photos and seeing just how much she has changed over the past 14 months.  It's incredible and I'm so blessed to get to experience it.

She's walking like a pro now and she's getting faster and faster.  I know she'll be running soon and then I'll be in all sorts of trouble!  She's a mischievous little monkey and curious about everything.  She's just tall enough now to peek over tables and see what's there and try to reach for what looks attractive (basically everything).  Once she's satisfied one curiosity, she's onto something else and explores anything and everything!  She's also starting to get the hang of coming down the steps backwards, although she still prefers to have someone carry her down.  Going up by herself is fun, but make her work to get down the stairs?  No thank you!

Holly also loves to talk.  Most of what she says is gibberish, but every once in awhile you'll hear a word that sounds semi familiar.  Grammy has said on any number of occasions that once Holly starts to really talk, she'll never shut up.  I believe her!  I look forward to hearing what my daughter has to say, though, and recording it for her to read when she's older and laugh.  :)

For now, it's peaceful and calming to lay her in bed writing this as I listen to her lullabies playing over the baby monitor and knowing that she's safe, healthy and content.  She never fails to make me smile and I love that.

P is for Pumpkin (and photos)!

 I was being "reprimanded" today for not having posted more to the blog during the summer.  I would like to think that I will eventually be forgiven for leading an extremely busy life as a working mother.  Right?  Yeah, we'll see.

Last weekend Pat and I took Holly to the farm to see all the pumpkins and pick her up a couple.  She had a wonderful time and we came home with two pumpkins for Pat and I are a very special little one (that she's holding there in the photo) for her!

We couldn't have asked for better weather.  Last weekend it was cool and very brisk and we enjoyed it immensely!  This weekend we had more of an Indian Summer, but still acceptable in our book.  We are definitely looking forward to having a true fall and not skipping over the season.  Last spring was just insane.  I don't know when Mother Nature decided that skipping a season was okay, but I would rather it not happen again any time soon.

This weekend Holly and I traveled back to W-town to see Pat and Grandma N and Poppa J and the kitties.  We're currently house shopping in the new town, so for the time being, Pat and I are living apart during the week and visiting on the weekends.  It's not easy, but we're making it work and we are day dreaming about being a complete family again (hopefully by Christmas)!

When Holly and I returned home, we went over to my aunt and uncle's with her boys for a mini photo shoot.  P and B are excellent with her and Holly couldn't ask for better cousins.  As my aunt said, those boys are incredibly cooperative and good with her!

Holly's now taking between five and ten steps and she's getting more and more brave every day.  She still crawls like a bandit, but I see that transitioning into a running fiend by Halloween.  She's growing so fast and watching her develop is incredible.  I remember this time last year how small she was and it's almost hard to comprehend how much she's grown since then.  I was reminded of that over the weekend as I held my brand new nephew.  He was born last Wednesday at 9 pounds, 22-1/2 inches (two pounds less than Holly's birth weight and three inches longer) and he just seemed so small when I held him!  What's incredible is that you wouldn't expect 9 pounds to be small, but it's fairly average in our family and compared to Holly's 22 pounds, my new nephew's a peanut!
 
Not much more to add, but there are plenty of pictures to look at, so enjoy!

Happy Uncle J?  ;-)

Long Overdue

So I realize with a jolt of guilt and perhaps some shame that I have not updated this blog since JUNE!  Yikes!  Time has truly gotten away with me and I really have no other excuse.  I apologize for not updating sooner, but I can assure you that this will happen again.  Many times and on multiple occasions.  It's a drawback to being a parent and being involved.

So, lets see.  July, August, and September has seen quite a bit of growth and forward momentum!  She now has twelve teeth, a full year under her belt, and still loves food.  A lot.  She is most definitely a healthy eater!  There is very little that she will turn away.  She tried pickles for me one day and liked it, but then was sick later that evening.  Ever since she has refused pickles.  She's starting to refuse cheese, which I blame her father for, but I love them both anyway.  She'll still eat pizza, mac and cheese and au gratin potatoes though.  Not a total loss!  She's gone from crawling to standing, to walking with support around furniture, people and toys.

Her first birthday party was a giant success celebrated with friends and family.  She totally had a blast with the cupcakes (definitely belongs to our family, considering the sweet tooth that she has) at the party and then again cake the following weekend on her actual birthday.  I say she has a sweet tooth, but I should also add that this child puts down cooked carrots like a champ and then demands more.  I hope that she can eat enough carrots to keep away the glasses fairy!  I would hate for her to succumb to the family curse of near and far-sightedness, but if it's in the blood, she'll just have to suffer right along with the rest of us.

Holly's vocabulary is growing, although she hasn't put it to the verbal test yet.  When you talk to her, you can see how much she understands.  It won't be long before my little pumpkin will be jabbering along with the rest of the family.  :)  She'll put in her two cents ... only as long as it's politically correct and it won't get us kicked out of her grandparents' house!

Our newest bit of news that is extremely exciting for us is that Holly has finally taken her first steps this week!  She has shown off for both Grammy and Pah, her Aunt H, mommy and daddy and a couple of her teachers at school.  She hasn't taken more than one or two steps, but it's just the beginning.  I suspect that by the time Halloween rolls around, she'll be a little more sure on her feet!

In addition to everything else going on, Holly's also started at a new school towards the end of September and has transitioned very nicely.  She is sleeping well, continuing to eat well, and plays well with her friends.  Not only that, but one of her classmates is a second cousin and you can't beat having family in school with you!  They'll get to have a Halloween parade this month and I look forward to having her dressed up as a pumpkin and wearing a costume that her cousins P, B and E wore when they were that age!

Swimming? Yes, please!

 We had an exciting and busy day today!  Pat and I started off with taking Holly out to get a few pictures taken (just because she's cute, y'know) and when we put her back in the car to find another good spot for photos, she sacked out.  That was around 10:00 (I would like to point out that this amazing child slept from 7:30 last night to 7:30 this morning - woo hoo!).  So we drove around for a bit, enjoying the beautiful day and looking for another good photo spot.  Didn't really pay too much attention to the surrounding scenery, so we didn't find a good photo spot, but we did happen to swing by Toys'R'Us and pick up a lap pool for our water baby.  After that, we headed down to City Park for the Multicultural Festival that was currently going on.  At this point it was 11:00 and Holly was waking up, so it was good timing.  We strolled around and browsed the merchandise, listened to the music and ate chicken-on-a-stick for lunch.  Holly really enjoyed that.

Afterwards, we packed her back up and headed on home.  We were barely in the car when she had fallen asleep again, so she put in about a half hour between City Park and home.  Woke up at home, got her changed into her swim suit and filled up her pool for some fun in the sun!  She loved it!  As you can see in the pictures, she loves her rubber duckies.  The little blue and yellow ones were squirters and every time they were filled with water and she put it in her mouth and chomped down, water would squirt out the side.  She was slightly confused, but continued to happily chow down.

Her newest accomplishment is pulling herself up on things (mostly myself or Pat) and standing.  She also gets up onto hands and feet like a bear crawl.  She is so desperate to get up and walk, but she's just not quite there yet.  We both predict that she'll be taking steps by the end of July.

 

Poor Bailey

I call this series "Poor Bailey" because "poor Bailey" keeps getting chased after by a devilish little munchkin who would love nothing more than to play with her kitty-kitty!

Oh boy, table food!

 Holly is most definitely our growing little girl.  She's eating more and more table food (or what we've termed "big people" food).  A couple of nights ago she had about 1/4 cup of scrambled eggs, 3/4 of a slice of bread and a 1/4 of a banana.  Last night she ate almost a whole filet of tilapia, maybe an 1/8 cup of peas and 3/4 slice of bread.  She's definitely a bread girl, because she was eating bits of my hot dog bun tonight.

In addition to eating "big people" food, she's drinking out of a regular cup (we're foregoing sippy cups) fairly well.  She'll still get her bib or the front of her shirt wet when she lets it dribble down her chin or if she spits it out, but she's practicing at each meal with us and she's doing beautifully!  Pat and I are so grateful for this little munchkin because she has yet to reject any food we've offered her (did I mention she's also tried bacon?) with the exception of corn.  She didn't reject the corn when we fed it to her, but it did give her some uncomfortable gas when she was four months old.  We're waiting a little longer before we try again, to give her body more time to adjust.

And, of course, it's not dinner without a show.  If you listen carefully, you might be able to hear Pat towards the end of the video commenting on his performance (or the result of it).

Water Play

Today was the first time Holly had water play at school and she had a TON of fun!  She's definitely a water baby (not that her nightly bath times didn't give that away).  There was also a sprinkler that I swung her through (the water coming out of the sprinkler was quite chilly, so she didn't spend much time there) and she had big grins on her face.

Folded

Today marks another significant milestone in Holly's life.  She has successfully pulled herself up multiple times today from her belly to a sitting position.  I witnessed her attempting the act last night and knew it was on the horizon.  I have actually yet to SEE her sit up, but every time I've placed her in her bed today (laying down) and have peeked in on her later, she's been sitting up.  She's not Houdini.  Yet.

Anyway, along with with sitting up, I've found her asleep - twice! - where she had folded herself completely in half.  It was like she fell asleep sitting up and leaned forward and was out.  I had to rearrange her to a more comfortable position, else she wake up screaming and unhappy.  Also when I peeked in on her, I discovered her cuddling up with Blue Bunny.  There's quite an entertaining story behind Blue Bunny (poor Blue Bunny) that used to belong to her cousin P, but that's a story for another time.  What's darling about this is that she's curled up with Blue Bunny Jr. that her cousins P and B had given to her for Easter.

Also of note, Holly likes ice cream sandwiches.  Who wouldn't, right?  The weather's hot, the ice cream is cool and flavorful.  Can't beat vanilla and chocolate.  More, please?

Catching Up

 Holly loves to be outside whenever we have the opportunity.  Walks, playing or just going from the house to the car - she loves it.  She's growing so quickly now that I find myself wishing more and more every day for this first year to slow down.  Just comparing her newborn pictures to now reveals such a dramatic change.  It's a bittersweet feeling I have and I'm sure all mothers will agree with me when I say that we wish they could stay little for so long, but then we wouldn't have their childhood and adulthood to look forward to and experience as well.

Holly's now sporting a total of six pearly whites.  Four on top, two on the bottom.  She keeps sticking her fingers in her mouth on the left side which indicates to me that number seven may be working its way through.  I hope it pops through soon, because I feel so bad for her having an almost constant runny nose.  All of April she had a runny nose and after those six teeth had come through she had a two week reprieve and now its begun again.

 Our little one is also becoming more and more mobile.  She gets frustrated because she's not crawling with abandon, but it's really her own darned fault (and her father's).  One little peep out of her that sounds anything like distress and her father's there to rescue her.  ;)  It's endearing, really, to see how much those two have bonded and I love seeing them interact and play together.  There's no doubt about it, she's going to be a Daddy's girl!

Part of her mobility now, though, allows her to begin chasing after the cats.  Poor Bailey, she doesn't know what to do about Holly and just this morning Pat was allowing Holly to crawl across our bed to get to Bailey.  She snagged her tail and literally worked her way up the tail like it was a rope to get to Bailey's butt before Bailey could escape.  Dallas, on the other hand, is a curious creature (although she will keep her distance carefully) and quite concerned whenever Holly will start to cry.  She'll come from another room to see what's up and give us her little feline glares as if to say, "Aren't you going to do something about it?"

 We're also introducing table food to Holly now, so it's not solely baby food.  She's had a few of our dinners blended and has gobbled them down with as much gusto as she does what comes out of the jars.  This pleases me because it helps tremendously to know that she won't be a picky eater as she continues to grow.  She's already eating a lot of foods that I don't typically like and that Pat doesn't typically like.  We both hope that this will continue and that she will always have a very healthy and generous appetite and an interest in a wide variety of food.

I think the other biggest news to note is that she pulled herself up to a standing position (she's yet to pull herself up from laying down to a sitting position, but I'm hoping that's not too far off in the distance) by using my hip as I lay on my side on the floor.  She delights in being able to do that and the freedom that she's gaining is making her both excited and frustrated as she's not fully obtained said freedom.  She still has a lot to learn, but she also still hopes that either myself or Pat will come to pick her up and take her from Point A to Point B.

Crawling 101

I can happily announce that we've reached another milestone this evening.  Also, Holly really wanted that rattle!

I "gnaw" think so!

These past five weeks have been extremely productive for Holly.  The beginning of April is when Holly's first tooth broke through and it seems to me like a dam just opened up and let the torrent through.  She now has both top and bottom central incisors and her top left lateral incisor.  Needless to say, we don't particularly want her gnawing and gumming on our knuckles anymore.  She'll start leaving marks!

However, this opens a whole new world of food to her.  We bought puffs for her to try and we're looking around to find some Zweiback cookies for her to gnaw on.  Pretty soon she'll be chewing her way through solid foods and I'm really looking forward to introducing her to our world of table food.

Holly's first time sitting out in the grass without a blanket.  She got a kick out of pulling up grass and having her Daddy pick it out of her hands.

She loves looking at colorful things, including flowers.

Post-walk nap is always good for tired little angels.  :)

Cheese!  See my toofers!

Week of the Young Child

The week of April 23 through 27 we celebrated the Week of the Young Child at day care.  Although Holly was only in school for two out of the five days, she still participated.

Monday was sports day.  Of course, we had to make sure Holly was sporting the appropriate colors.

Tuesday was Mismatch day.  Unfortunately, Holly didn't make it to school that day due to a fever, ear infection and teething.

Wednesday was Hat day.  We broke out Daddy's awesomely cool gypsy hat for Momma to wear.  Holly was feeling a tiny bit better after being put on medicine for the fever and ear infection, but it was a day she was off to visit her Grandma and Poppa Jack anyway.

Thursday was Yellow day, but it was too cold for her to wear the only yellow outfit she had AND she was visiting with Grandma and Poppa Jack again.  However, Friday was PJ day and she was back to school and raring to go!  You can't go wrong with PJ day.  :)

Loves Music, Loves to Bounce

Fighting Sleep

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter, Holly, from Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, Pah, Aunt H, Uncle G, and your boys!

Mommy and Daddy got you delicious peas, chicken and rice, and apples AND a brand new exo-saucer! Grammy and Pah got you two new beautiful outfits. Aunt H, Uncle G and your boys got you Blue Bunny.

The Butt Lift

Beautiful day at the park