Santa Claus

We didn't take Fiona to see Santa last year.  I really wish that we had because it would have been a cute picture.  However, we were sleep deprived parents of a 1 month old who screamed 24/7 and Nathan was worried about germs.  So there was no cute Santa picture.

I was bound and determined we would get a cute Santa picture this year, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Fi would be terrified of the jolly man in red.  We decided to make the trek to the mall in Fort Collins while we were there.  Fiona seemed to be in a decent mood and from far away she seemed to really like Santa.  She kept pointing and waving to him.

This is what happened when we got within about 5 feet of him.

I didn't even attempt to put her on his lap.  She was just absolutely freaking out just being next to him.

So, no cute Santa pictures.  I guess there is always next year.  The trip wasn't a complete waste though.  There was a big Christmas tree in the mall where we stopped to take a couple of pictures.  There were also trains running around the tree that Fiona was fascinated by.

I Wasn't Ready

I wasn't ready for Fiona to be done nursing.  She has decided that she's done though.  She hasn't nursed in 2 days.  I think part of the reason she decided she's done is because my milk supply dropped.  After 2 days of not nursing I'm not engorged at all.  It just makes me sad.

I knew that someday we would be done breastfeeding.  My goal had been to make it to 1 year and then let her decide when to wean.  Well, we are 2 weeks past her first birthday and she's decided she's finished.

I'm just not ready to give up those times during the day that I got to sit and snuggle with her.  She's such a busy girl these days, I really loved when she would ask to nurse and snuggle up with me for a few minutes.  I really didn't think I would be so emotional about Fi weaning.  I guess it is just one more way she is telling me that she isn't so much a baby anymore.

I'm proud that we made it so far.  I'm glad that I was able to give her a year of breastmilk.  I just wasn't ready for it to be over.

I'm Still Here

I'm still alive.  I haven't been online as much these days and I definitely haven't been blogging regularly.  It's been a combination of a computer on the fritz, busy days, and some bloggers block.  So this is what it has looked like out our windows for a week

It's been a bit of a winter wonderland.  Last week we were stuck inside for at least a couple of days.  It was kind of nice, since school was out it was just Fiona and I for 2 days last week and all 3 of us on Wednesday.
It definitely makes it feel a bit more like winter and Christmas.

We've been busy getting in the Christmas spirit lately.  Last Christmas is such a blur to me.  I had a tiny baby who never slept and spent about 23 hours of everyday screaming.  We really didn't have money for gifts last year, because money was extremely tight.  I still remember feeling incredibly blessed that we were all healthy and together and we had this wonderful little miracle (even if she only stopped screaming for an hour a day).

This year things are looking much brighter.  Fiona is a happy little girl, who makes us smile and laugh everyday.  #2 is busy cooking away in there and we can't wait to meet him/her.  I have an incredible husband, who works long and hard to ensure that I get to stay home with Fiona.  We have had a rough year, but we made it through together.  We are all finally healthy.  We have wonderful friends and family.  Nathan worked very hard and got a really big client at work and got a very nice commission check just in time for Christmas.  This year it has felt really good to be able to be generous with gifts to each other and our friends and family.  Money definitely is not the key to happiness, but it definitely helps ease some stress.  We have so much to be thankful for this year.  It has been easy to get into the holiday spirit.

Fiona and I have been listening to lots of Christmas music, decorating the house, and wrapping lots of presents.

We are headed out to Colorado to visit family for the holidays.  We are really looking forward to it.  If I don't blog again before Christmas, I hope everyone has a great Christmas and has lots to be thankful for.

Wordless Wednesday: One Year Ago Today

First Birthday Celebrations

Fiona did a lot of celebrating for her 1st birthday.  First, she had a "casual" baby birthday playdate with her buddy, Ethan.  Fi has quite a few baby friends whose birthdays all fall within a couple months.  Here she is chowing down on her smash cake.

And here's a picture of all the babies partying in their hats and bows.  Aren't they all adorable?

Thank you so much to Jess for letting Fiona share the playdate with Ethan.  Jess is the best party planner ever.  You should go check out her blog.  Or you can head over to Megan's blog and look at more pictures of the party. 

So we didn't end up doing much partying on Fiona's actual birthday.  Nathan was sick and we had a minor car scare.  I did get a picture of her when she turned exactly 1 year old though.

Don't you love her birthday crown?  A blogging friend of mine made it for her.  You should definitely check out all the cute stuff she has in her etsy shop, Applesauce Crafts.  Amber was so nice to make the crown for Fi.  It made the perfect birthday accessory.

So finally, the day after her birthday we had Fiona's little family party.  Unfortunately, the stomach flu had hit my family hard and so not everyone was able to attend her birthday party.  We just may have to have a mini party with the family that missed the party.

The tired birthday girl.  By Sunday, it had been a very full long weekend and she was a little tired.  She looked awfully cute in her tutu that I made for her though.

Her Aunt Maggie decorated her highchair.  Fiona really liked the balloons.

Her Godmother, Eileen, decorated the cake.  Isn't it cute?

She loved unwrapping the presents.  Of course, it took almost an hour because she had to check each one out.  She got lots of cool toys and is one spoiled little girl already.

Then of course came the cake.  She wasn't a huge fan of strawberry cake, I guess.  I think she ended up throwing half of it to the dogs, which she thinks is hilarious.

We had a great time celebrating her first birthday with friends and family.

An Amazing Year

Dear Fiona,
Mommy can't believe that a whole year has flown by.  I feel like I barely blinked and you went from a tiny, snugly baby to a happy, busy big girl.  This year has been amazing and challenging.  I never knew that it was possible to love someone so much.  Your Daddy and I have loved you from the beginning.  That first day we got to hold you we knew you were someone special.  Every day we love you even more.

You didn't make life easy for us in the beginning.  You were a very colicky baby and Mommy struggled with breastfeeding you.  There was lots of crying (yours and mine) and not much sleep.  Somehow we managed to survive those rough patches and it only made your smiles and giggles that much more precious.

I love watching you grow and learn new things.  I get so excited about your "firsts".  At the same time I get a little sad that my baby is growing up so quickly. 

You are a ball of energy now and very independent aka, stubborn (I have no idea where you got that trait from).  You like to do things your way or not at all.  You don't let things like gravity slow you down at all.  You have no fear, my brave little girl (except of the vacuum cleaner).  You were determined to walk so you didn't let any number of bumps and bruises slow you down.  Now you are running all over the place.

You make us smile and laugh every day.  We are so blessed to have you in our lives and in our family.  I can't imagine my life without you and I thank God that He gave you to us.

 

You have grown and changed so much in this last year.  I'm excited to see how much you grow and change every day.  We love you so much!!  Happy 1st Birthday, Fiona!!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Fun

 

 

 

 

Practically Wordless Wednesday: Minnie Mouse

I was really happy with the way Fiona's Minnie Mouse costume turned out.  She looked very cute and I was incredibly surprised that she didn't mess with the ears at all.  Too bad she was not at all interested in smiling for any pictures (or even holding still).

 

Nathan was finally able to tickle her until she smiled, such a stinker .

A Month Away

The countdown has begun.  My baby will be 1 in a month.  I was sitting there thinking about it this weekend and about what we were doing one year ago.  I remember being very pregnant and wishing that this mysterious baby would should up sooner rather than later.  I was very impatient to meet this small person who kicked me hard and dug her toes in my ribs.  I was also very eager to be comfortable and be able to sleep again (hahaha).  It makes me a little sad to think that my baby isn't really going to be the baby anymore.  She looks more grown up every day and she keeps learning new things.  I really do love the stage that she is in right now though.  She's developed such a little personality and it is fun to watch her and play with her.  Little babies are fun to snuggle, but 11 month olds are much more fun to play with.
(My friend, Tina, took this picture.  Doesn't it make her look more grown up?)

Fiona is getting much better at walking.  Before if she stopped or slowed down she immediately fell.  It was like she stayed up because she was moving fast enough forward.  Now she is a little less wobbly and she will take a couple steps stop and grin at you and then take a couple more.  Her favorite game is walking back and worth between her music table and the couch.

This last month she had a babysitter at our house ( her Aunt Maura) for the first time.  Before she has always gone to Grandma's house.  I was worried about bedtime, but she went down easy without any screaming.  That is a major milestone.  Only within the last maybe 2 months has she really started to become easy to put to bed for me.  However, if I left her home with Nathan than she screamed at bedtime.  It's nice to know that we can actually go out occasionally and leave her with a sitter and she'll go to bed for them now.

 We're loving this stage and soaking up every second.  I know we'll blink and she'll be all grown up and won't even want to cuddle with her mama when she's sleepy.  I'm excited for her first birthday and sad all at the same time.

Happy 11 months Fiona!

Wordless Wednesday: Spaghetti Baby

 

The Solution to our Space Problem

Lately, I have been stressing out a little about where this new baby is going to sleep.  Granted, this won't be a problem for quite awhile.  I just like to be prepared.  I like to have a plan.  The new baby will sleep in our room in the bassinet for the first couple of months, but after that who knows.

We do technically have a 3 bedroom house, but the 3rd bedroom is the office/storage/dog kennel room.  So pretty much we've decided that Fiona and the baby will share a room.  However, this poses yet another problem since her room is pretty small.  How do we fit 2 cribs in her room?

The solution:

Cages!  I mean ... um, er ... bunk beds?

I know that I often jokingly refer to the crib as baby jail, but seriously this looks like a cell block for tiny prisoners.  Can't you just see them in their striped pjs with their little tin cups?  I would definitely feel like a prison warden tucking my kids into these things at night.

The crazy things people come up with.

Wordless Wednesday: Mommy's Helper

Gro Baby Bio Soakers

The Natural Baby Company is once again putting a new product in the hands of bloggers to test out.  This time it is their new Bio Soakers. 
Go here to check them out on their website: http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/gro-baby-biodegradable-soaker-pads-p-745.html 

Gro Baby Biodegradable Soaker Pads replace the snap-in soaker that you use with your Gro Baby shell.  You can go back and read a little more about the regular Gro Baby diaper here.   The Biodegradable Soaker Pads are the perfect solution for traveling.  Instead of having to wash the soaker/insert you just throw it away.

So basically the Bio Soakers are a hybrid between a cloth diaper and a disposable.  However, you don't have to feel bad about theses sitting in landfills forever because they are biodegradable and compostable.
You also don't have to worry about your baby being exposed to all kinds of nasty chemicals because they are fragrance and dye free, plastic free, and chlorine free.  They are made with natural ingredients that aren't harmful to your baby.

I am very excited to try these out for myself.  It is always very tempting to switch to disposables when going on vacation.  This system would provide the convenience of a disposable, that is better for baby and the environment.  Gro Baby is giving away a Bio Soakers Intro Pack (value $34.95) to bloggers who help spread the word about their new product.

Cloth Diaper Swap Goodies!

I participated in cloth diaper swap hosted by Megan over at Newly Wed, Newly Bred.  I was pretty excited because this was my first blog swap.  I had a great time shopping for my swap partner.  I was also kind of nervous about picking out something that she would love.

Kim, the brilliant mama behind Rockin' Green Soap and GAD diapers had my name in the swap.  I was ecstatic to get my package in the mail.  Who doesn't love fluffy mail, especially when it say "fluffy mail" right on the side of the box?  This is what was in my box of goodies:

I got a bag of Pumpkin Spice Rockin' Green Detergent, a GAD diaper, and a hemp insert and doubler.  How awesome is that?!
I have been really wanting to try out a GAD diaper, but didn't have one yet.  It has a really trim fit and I love the side snaps.  I've also been wanting to try hemp, but didn't have any of those either, so this was a great swap gift.  Especially when you include a bag of Rockin' Green.  I am totally in love with this detergent.  It smells super yummy and it has eliminated some stink issues we were having.
All I can say is, Thank You, Kim!!!  And  thanks to Megan for hosting this awesome swap!!

Pumpkins are Yummy

I've been a total blog slacker the last week or so.  I had hoped to have a busy weekend and then have lots to blog about, but instead this happened.

Yes, that is snow and lots of it.  It was a pretty nice day outside on Friday, and we woke up Saturday morning to this.  It is not supposed to snow on October 10th.  That is way too early.  We had a trip to Valas' Pumpkin Patch with Nathan's work and some outdoor fall pictures scheduled.  As you can probably guess those things didn't happen.  We stayed snuggled up inside most of the weekend.

We did go over to our friends' house and carve pumpkins before the silly October snow.

 

Fiona's Daddy was happy to be on baby duty because he hates carving pumpkins.  He is not a fan of the pumpkin goo.

Fiona is not squeamish about gooey things though.  She dove right in and had a great time taking out the pumpkin guts (except for one small scare when we thought she got a seed in her mouth).

She even thought the pumpkins were quite tasty.  She kept licking them and trying to eat the pumpkin guts.

Looks like we might have to carve pumpkins again just because Fiona had such a great time.

Here are the finished products.