Pictures from the last week or so...

First off, Blair is wearing this adorable onesie that I had made for her 1st birthday. Unfortunately it did not arrive on time as I had planned, so now we just have a cute, "Blair" onesie (with matching bow!). These are some pictures of Bug from last week, playing at Gammy and GranDad's, then some of our splash day.

I love this picture... she loves to kiss the baby in the mirror!

SPLASH DAY!

Caught in the act : temper tantrum

Literally the next picture Trav took about 2 seconds later... love the attention span!

Found the basketball and that, was that.

13 Months!

Eating - Blair's eating is getting better... she has recently understood what the fuss was all about with fruit. She used to not like anything with a "wet" texture, but now she isn't too bothered by it and likes pears, peaches and mandarin oranges. Since she seems to be over her aversion to slimier textures, I am going to try those Gerber pasta pick-ups to diversify her palette. I mean, how many sandwiches can you eat before it finally starts to get old? Now that we have those molars coming in, I think she is going to enjoy eating more foods. Another random thing Blair likes now: Blueberry infused Craisins. Loves them. In fact, I have them on my grocery list because we go through them. She has done really great with the whole milk and I think it has helped her keep weight on while she was sick last week. In her new class, they provide the snacks (morning and afternoon). I am not really wild about this because the other day, I saw on her sheet that they had pretzels. And another day was animal crackers. I don't have anything against animal crackers or pretzels - for myself. I am not so sure that they are the best idea for a one year old. Pretzels are loaded with sodium and are hard on baby gums. Why not offer up fruit? Or zucchini bread? Not pretzels. I am going to continue sending in her snacks to supplement what the school provides.

Sleeping - Eureka! Blair is now sleeping through the night. I think she was ready for it. Even though Travis and I were really going to be working hard on it, she just kind of took to it. This weekend, we have tried to mimic her routine at school as far as naps. At school, all of the kids nap at the same time, at noon after lunch. Sure enough, she'll sleep for a good two hours. Amazing. Now we just need to work on getting her to stay up later. These days Blair will go sleep around 6:30 - 6:45pm. I will take it!

Growth - Blair now weighs 25 pounds and is 30 inches tall. How cute is that? Two and a half feet tall. She is going to be a tall girl. We recently moved her up to Size 5 diapers. Whew, that was necessary. She is comfortably wearing size 24 month clothes (and some smaller 2T items) and size 6 shoes (give or take a half size).

Teeth: Officially, she's got 6 in the front and 2 of her 4 molars. Unofficially, another molar is about to cut through if it hasn't already.

Coordination / Movement / Motor skills: B's speed increases each day and we'll have her running the 40 (yard dash) in under 4 (seconds) in no time. She loves to run up and down our long hallway (especially when chasing Raleigh) and never sits still for more than a second or two. She is always busy and on the go. Bug is still a little clumsy and bumps her head at school at least once a week. I think I am going to enroll her in a class at the Little Gym or Gymboree. That kind of thing is right up her alley. It would be a fun activity we could all do as a family.

Speech: Blair is "talking" up a storm. Some words here and there - but still lots of sounds (like she just can't say the word). She has these two lovies that have the same goodnight prayer. At the end of the prayer, they say "Amen." Sure enough, Blair can say "Amen" and it is the sweetest thing your ears have ever heard. I am going to try to get a video of her doing this because it is precious.

Other things Blair is doing: She JUST learned to drink from a straw. She has never understood the concept (though in all fairness my Mom said that she had to stick straws inside of bottle nipples [that were cut] for us as babies). I had bought this really cute Elmo cup with a straw lid, in hopes of enticing her learn / use it. She was definitely interested, but again, no sure what to do with it. Then, I decided to lay her down with it and treat it like a bottle and that totally worked! Success. She has been carrying that cup around all weekend (and drinking from it!).

Last weekend, we bought Blair a set of those foam blocks. So far she just likes to knock down what ever we build. Ha! And after playing with Zoey's Leapfrog alphabet toy, we had to get something similar. It was so neat - and it has this handle so she can tote it around. She loves to carry things. She'll carry her green chair up and down the hallway... only pausing every once and a while to sit in it (making sure it still works). And she likes purses too! Love this! And I love that she will sometimes pick out her clothes. Makes a Momma proud.

My super helper... she is constantly picking up something and giving it to me. If it is something that can be thrown away (like a dead leaf off the ficus [that is constantly losing leaves]), she will go and put it in the trash. Ms. Donna said that Blair does that for her too. Anything on the floor that is outta place has to be dealt with! Blair also loves to help do the dishes. Her job is to bang on the dishwasher door (while it is down) and holler loudly.

The funniest thing she is doing now, is making monster sounds. It is hysterical and it comes out when you aren't expecting it. She has a great sense of humor!!

Well, that is what my little bug has been up to. For me, it doesn't get much better. Travis and I are just a month away from our trip. We are so pumped! The island is only 34 square miles, but we have so much planned. There is some food that I am DYING to eat again... Gwen's coleslaw. And chicken. And ribs. And cheeseburgers. Yes, I will take one of each. She has the best beach food. Gwen's Reggae Grill is on our favorite beach (Shoal Bay) so we plan to eat there often. It was the first place we ate at, on our first night in Anguilla. We are so very excited!!!

Here are some pics from today...

Love this sweet little face. Love.

The only shot with her bow on (we are not big into bows these days)

Always time for a Daddy hug

Remember the monster sounds?

This one would've been really cute if it weren't blurry!

A Good-bye to Sleepless Nights?

Well, just days before my little Bear turns 13 months, she has decided to sleep through the night! Travis and I have been getting up with her since birth, and WE ARE TIRED! Haha. I know a lot of that was my fault, giving into her, but with her being constantly sick over the last 6 months I just didn't have the heart not to get up and comfort her.

The night before last, she only got up once. But last night, oh glorious last night, she was so pooped from a long day at school and the draft party, she gave us what we have long waited for. Sleep. I hope that this is a continuing trend with Blair.

Oh Happy Day!

"Go bye-bye!"

Today, we celebrated the NFL draft with our annual draft party. This year, my parents hosted. We had queso, salsa, Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, pizza, beer, daiquiris and Patron. It's a celebrated thing around these parts... something that my brothers and husband wait for all year.

When we left our house to head to the party, Blair said, "Go bye-bye!" She pointed towards the door and was ready to party with Zoey. I am going to chalk that up as her first legitimate sentence. The party was short lived because Bug got tired. Quick. Since she has been spending longer periods of time in the toddler class, she has been working hard. She is keeping up with toddlers up to 18 months! That age difference seems like so much. In the toddler class, she naps on a mat (oh my gosh is she no longer a baby?!?) and sits at a table for snack and lunch. Tear. I feel like a growth spurt is in the near future. I also think that she is going to explode with new developments and skills as she adjusts into the new class with Ms. Rikki and Ms. Kelly. On Saturday, the school is hosting a "Spring Fling" event - so we are looking forward to attending that. :)

I felt today was a good day to make note of her first sentence!

Another Molar...

 I am working from home today and playing with my silly girl (I am SO glad she is back to her old self). She let me feel inside her mouth and she has another molar that has come through. This one is on her left side, on the top row! Yay for another one - though boo it came while suffering from the HFM. :(

Hand, Foot and Mouth

Ugh. Where to start? I guess I should start by reminding you that the Friday before last, Blair got pink eye from school. Fun times. The good news with pink eye is that after about a day of the drops, her eyes clear up drastically – like there was nothing ever wrong.

Last Wednesday, Blair’s cough (which had been progressively getting worse since the beginning of the week) had gotten so bad that I decided to take her in to see Dr. Kavin. Luckily he determined that it was just congestion (see posts below).

Then, on Thursday, Gammy and Grandpa picked up Bug around lunch time from school, to play. When we got to their house that night for dinner, they told us that she wasn’t feeling or acting like herself and wouldn’t eat. I could tell she was super tired from playing all day (and in about 2 mins swinging, she was out like a light), and wondered if this was part of her congestion, some teething and just being tired.

Fast forward to 9pm, we went from a soundly sleeping girl to a screaming, crying baby. She had a fever and wouldn’t stop crying. I finally got her fever down and had her sleeping again. By this time, it was after 10pm and I was hoping that the Tylenol would help her sleep better. Not the case. Bug was up again about an hour and a half later, crying and inconsolable. She did this through the remainder of the night. My Mom came over in the morning and watched Blair so I could go into the office for a few hours to get some work done.

When I got home around 1pm, Blair was happy to see me, but really let me know she didn’t feel good. She cranked at me a lot and wanted me to hold her no matter what I did. The evening and night was much like Thursday night and Trav and I were exhausted. Truly sleep deprived. I had to host my company’s family picnic at the zoo and Travis took Blair to the pediatrician. The verdict was Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, a common day care virus.

There had been signs up around the school that another child had it, but Blair only had a diaper rash (which is common when they are about to cut teeth), was drooling and had a low grade fever. I chalked up these symptoms to her one year molars coming in. By Saturday morning I had convinced myself that something was wrong, that this wasn’t just teething. By mid-Saturday, the rash began to spread to her arms and legs. I was devastated because the doctor said her little throat had blisters in it (thus the reason for the drooling and refusal to eat)! I felt awful! I had been giving her milk and yogurt because it was the only thing she would eat or drink – and no wonder!

The worst part about this virus is that there is no way to treat or prevent it. And it is extremely contagious. Adults are usually only carriers, which is good. The only thing we can give her is Tylenol. The doctor gave us this remedy of Mylanta and Bendryl to help coat her throat, but she is not a fan.

Poor, poor Bug. The day care will not let her come back until all of her symptoms are gone (which is mainly the rash). Travis stayed at home with her today, and I will stay at home with her tomorrow and hope our girl gets better soon. Today was the first day in about 4 days that she has tried food other than yogurt. I tried to give her a bite of a Wendy’s frosty the other day and she gagged and made this awful face! Haha.

One Year Molars

Blair has not been sleeping well the last few nights, which has been hard on us (and her!). I guess we found the reason why! In the last day or two, her lower right one year molar is coming in. Between that and the pink eye, she has been really congested. And she has this gnarly cough at night time. I finally took her to the doctor today. I was worried that she might have one or two ear infections (although no fever), since every time she starts to get sick, the fluid builds up in her ears and we are a day or two away from an ear infection.

The verdict? Her ears looked good and Dr. K said the tubes looked like they were in a good place (whew). So that was a HUGE relief.  We are now giving Bug Allegra (instead of Zyrtec) and Mucinex. Hopefully she will get better soon. Sleeping has been rough.

I got laryngitis this week, so communicating has been a little... strained? Everyone keeps asking me if I feel as bad as I sound. I don't, thank goodness, but I would like to be well for the Company picnic I am organizing this weekend (at the zoo!). We shall see. I am excited that we are getting to take Blair back to the zoo. And since a few of the women I work with have had kids around a year or two of me, there will be kiddos there her age!

B has been working on her "g" sounds and "n" sounds. She has said "no" a couple of times - but not in a negative way. The word just kind of came out. We are testing out the water on two and three word sentences. Sometimes she repeats the words, and sometimes she doesn't. So cute nonetheless. She is such a busy person. Always on the go, chattering away. She is super big into sharing these days, especially with her food!

I spoke with Blair's teacher the other day and she said that she is doing really well in the toddler classroom. She will be over there full time starting in May (hello tuition reduction!). My sweet little bug is growing up!

Pink Eye(s)

Well, yesterday I intended to take off work for a little "me" day. The plan was to take Bug to school, get a massage, then relax at home for a few hours. As you can see from the title of this post, that did not happen. Poor B had very crusty eyes, which meant it was time for a bath and time to call the doctor.

I guess we should have expected this to happen. The day before she had spent a few hours in the toddler room, just getting used to being around the "older" kiddos. We are very pleased they are already transitioning her... she needs it! We think she is bored and needs more socialization and challenges. This will be a big step for Bug, as they are treated like big kids in the toddler room. No more cribs! Weird!! I wonder how she will do with that.

Travis and I recall seeing a pink eye letter up at the school last week or so. I'll bet that it was in the toddler room. Gross. Next, she'll get a cold because of the new germs. The real nail biter is whether or not she gets an ear infection. I wasn't expecting to test the tubes out quite so quickly, but here we go...

15 Things to Give up to be Happy

This comes from the website - PurposeFairy.com. I haven't had much time to peruse the site, but I LOVED this article... although I would consider myself a happy person - these are lessons I can still learn from. Enjoy!

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.

“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame. Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk. Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining. Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism. Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others. Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take of all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change. Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.
“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels. Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears. Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.
“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses. Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past. I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment. This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations. Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves. You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.

Some recent changes

So Blair has been learning (?) or doing some different things and I need to document them!

• In the last week or so, she has begun to hold my hand (sometimes, and when asked).
• She will sometimes play squatting down. Hurts my knees, but she doesnt seem to mind.
• Her sharing has improved. She definitely offers up her toy, or whatever object, a lot more frequently.
• Girlfriend loves egg, bean and chorizo breakfast tacos... just like Daddy!
• Her sleeping is getting better, getting up once a night, maybe two if it is a bad night.
• Is becoming a little bit more "bored" of Travis and I.
• Enjoys wearing shoes and sometimes picking out her own clothes.
• If we lay a blanket of hers on the floor, Blair likes to sit and lay down on it. It is very cute!
• The other day, Blair would run up to Trav and I (sitting on the living room floor) and want us to do a "family hug," then she would run off. One minute later, she would be back, wanting another Blair sandwich hug, then again would run off. She did this over and over about 20 times. She is going through this stage where she will do something silly - and do it over and over.

Ok, those are just some things that I had noticed and felt the need to mention!

Happy Easter!

Today we celebrated Blair's 2nd Easter. This year she was much more aware of what was going on. Plus, she gave me a good dose of what it feels like to have a one year old. Exhausting!!!

We started off the morning at church. Well, right outside of church. She didn’t even want to be carried as we walked in from the parking lot. Sigh. So we let her run around outside while we waited for the rest of our family to show up. Since it was Easter service, we were directed to the overflow hall, which meant a walk near the outdoor play area and basketball goal. Well, that was all Blair needed. She saw the basketballs and went right for them. In her brand new smocked dress. Granted this thing was a little long (I am guessing that they weren’t expected the kiddos to run around and try and play with them), but she must’ve tripped in that dress a dozen times. Luckily it didn’t rip, but it was pretty dirty (thanks to the dew on the grass). It was all fun and games until we tried to pick her up and head inside. Big mistake, though not as big as trying to bring a one year old to a church service. Bigger mistake. Travis and I both looked at each other and decided it was time to go.

So we packed up and headed back to Katy (we met Travis’ Mom out in Waller at her church) to change Blair’s dress before heading to brunch.

By this time, I realize that our little angelic one year old was ready for a nap. Not that she napped in the car or anything. J

We arrived at Landry’s to meet my family while we waited for Grandma Nancy, Grandpa Robert, Aunt Loren and Uncle Shaun. B did a pretty good job sitting in her seat or being passed around. Our major challenge is keeping her from wanting to walk around. If you have ever had to follow around (and attempt to hold a toddler’s hand as a form of direction) a toddler in a restaurant, you might be sympathetically nodding your head right now. Luckily, she lasted up until the very end.

I will mention that there was an Easter bunny there – and Bug didn’t freak out. I decided not to push it by forcing a picture, so we just waved at the bunny – assuring Blair all was ok and we will try for next year. Why do they make the Easter bunny costumes so scary with those huge eyes? Ugh, it is enough to give any child – or adult – nightmares!

After lunch, it was nap time! While Blair caught up on her beauty sleep, the adults made some delicious mixed berry margaritas (we used strawberries and blackberries) and opened presents for Grandma Nancy’s birthday.

By 3pm, both Blair and Zoey had rested and were ready for “Part 3” of the celebrations – the egg hunt. I had allowed Blair to play with the eggs a few weeks before Easter so she would be familiar with them and would effectively hunt for them. We headed to the BP buildings because they have these duck ponds and shaded areas that are perfect for this kind of thing. My parents actually used to bring us here every year to hunt for eggs (I think that one year Craig found an actual bird egg to which my parents had to confiscate), so we thought it would be a great place to do it. My lack of preparation was a misstep. They were doing construction all around the area so it made things a bit more of a challenge.

We started off just feeding the ducks. Most of the ducks were not interested (probably thanks to earlier groups of people feeding them), but there were these massive catfish in the pond that didn’t mind being fed at all. So we did that and let the girls just run around, holding the eggs. Let’s be honest here, you can’t really expect a one year old to completely grasp the concept, so we just enjoyed hanging out and getting pictures with the girls.

All and all, it was a fun, but exhausting day. Despite it being a little drawn out, the naps were sooooo necessary! You really can’t underestimate the power of a good nap. Ever.

The Easter Bunny came and bought Blair all kinds of fun things including a new GREEN chair, a Princess tent (currently taking up residence in our living room), books, a green duck loofah, bath fizzies and confetti, sidewalk chalk, and other fun stuff.  Mo- I mean, the Easter Bunny, goes way overboard. It is a terrible habit. Call it “guilty working parent” syndrome. Can’t judge until you have walked in my shoes. J

Blair was blessed to have been given all kinds of fun Easter baskets from her family – so a BIG thank you to everyone for your kindness and love you show B. She LOVED everything!

Ok, so here are the photos of the action. I so love her little smocked bluebonnet dress. It is so precious. Precious for my little precious. Enjoy!

See what I mean??

 

 

 

Love the face she is making here - so silly!

 

 

On to the hunt...

 

One for the ducks, one for Blair...

Pops and Bug

 

 Playing with Uncle Nonner

 

Walking with her Daddy

Busy girls!

 

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

Birthday Celebration!

Travis and I took off from work on Blair's birthday so we could spend the day celebrating as a family. We took Blair to the downtown Aquarium. She loves fish, so we figured it would be perfect. We got an "all day pass" for about $16 per person. We even went on the ferris wheel, though B didn't seem too impressed.

After we got home and little Miss napped, we let her open her gifts. The first was a rocking chair, my old rocking chair to be exact. My parents gave it to me on my first birthday, so I thought it would be appropriate to give it to Blair. She loves chairs. I think all kids do at this age.

Lots of things to read and things to make NOISE!! Perfect for a one year old!

Happy Birthday to my sweet angel baby, Blair!