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I'm a twenty-nine year old Army wife currently living near a large Army post. I have an unhealthy obsession with Dr. Pepper, the Internet, cloth diapers, and ridiculous TV shows. I'm a stay at home mom to two beautiful daughters, AJ and Amelia. We also have a 6 year old beagle named Abby who is as dumb as a box of rocks.

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Showing posts with label Happy Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Happy Birthday. Show all posts

Thursday, June 9, 2011

15 Months....

Its hard to believe that this little girl is already 15 months old!

Here she is almost exactly a year ago, the day we moved into our house at FLW.

She is definitely testing her limits and acting more and more like a toddler with each passing day. If the amount of attitude and tantrums we've seen around here lately is any indication of how the terrible twos is going to go, then just wish me luck, folks! I'm gonna need it!

A standard face in our house lately.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this in her 14 month post, but AJ's favorite thing to do when I tell her no or she doesn't get her way is to lean down and bonk her forehead on the floor. It doesn't matter if we're on carpet or in the garage, she does it. Part of me thinks its kind of funny, but then the other part (the mom?) is afraid she's going to hurt herself.

Here's the infamous face again. Can you believe that I won't let her run on the couch or play with chemicals? I'm totally unreasonable.

We're also really struggling with the whole nap situation. There are days when she can totally skip her morning nap and take a longer afternoon nap and be fine and there are other days that she absolutely MUST have two full naps (and she's still a crab). Don't get me wrong, I LOVE 2 naps a day, but I wish she would figure it out already!

I think part of the napping issues we've been having is that she is getting 3 (or maybe more) new teeth right now. If you can get a glimpse into her mouth, you'd laugh because she has the most random, haphazard assortment of teeth I've ever seen! She seriously looks like JimBob or some other hillbilly with her scattered teeth. At least I know she'll eventually get more, but its funny for now!

She loves climbing up on the ottoman and watching her "shows," Clifford and Sesame Street.

As far as food and eating goes, she is still a fairly good eater. Her favorite foods are hummus (yes!), watermelon (this is new for her), grapes, apples, goldfish crackers, rice, mac and cheese, eggs, ice cream, and sometimes chicken. She used to be big on yogurt, but I haven't been able to get her to eat it lately. She is eating more and more of what we eat (as I slowly introduce her to spicier things) and I think she's liking the new flavors!

Having some fun at breakfast!

She is starting to play correctly with her toys more and more now, which is so much fun to watch! When FIL was here a few weeks ago, we bought her a little adirondack chair and she loves to sit in it (all by herself) and carry it around the room! She also really likes to play with her big blue ball and put things in her purse! We've gone to the pool a few times in the past week and she LOVES the water as well. I think we're in for a FUN summer!

She loves to get on the living room couch and have a bottle before nap time.

One of her favorite things to do is unplug appliances from the wall. It (obviously) makes me super nervous and I'm not sure what to do about it (or how to get her to stop doing it). Suggestions, anyone?

Posing with Mama!

She has started talking more and more, and she will try to get my attention by saying, "Mom?" over and over again. So cute! She also says "Bee," "Ball," "TanU (thank you)," "Dada," "PupPup," "Baba," and a few others. She still doesn't ask for things specifically, but she signs for water (or milk) and runs to the front door when I say "Want to go outside?" and she runs to the pantry or fridge when I ask if she's hungry. She also knows the word diaper and will either grab me one or pat the one she's wearing when I say it!

A little lady on a mission!

She is at such a fun age that even though she's throwing tantrums a lot, I know its because she is frustrated with learning to communicate and test her limits, so I'm trying to be patient and bounce back quickly. We're having lots of fun playing together and she loves to help me out around the house! She especially likes to "clean" things.

"Cleaning" the couch cushions with a paper towel. Look how happy she is!

So now you have a pretty good idea of what my life looks like right now!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Happy 22nd Birthday, Baby Sister!

Today is my baby sister's 22nd birthday. Nothing makes you feel older than when your younger (in this case, youngest) siblings turn another year older, does it? Okay, maybe when your kids have a birthday.


In any case, today is Abigail's birthday and she is celebrating (hopefully) over in the land down undah! That's right folks, she is in Australia for the next 2 months. She is in her final year of college and as an Education major, she is required to complete a semester of student teaching. She decided to do half of her student teaching close to her university and then the other half in Australia! I'm not sure that I'd be brave enough to hop on a plane and move to another country {by myself} for 3 months! But that is exactly what she did!


On to the birthday post!


As her older (and wiser) sister, and having 5 whole years on her, as you might imagine, we didn't always get along. In recent years, however, we have become very close and I think of her not only as a sister, but as a friend. She was my maid of honor and is AJ's only aunt. She would do anything for me and I would move mountains for her.


She has a tender heart. She once cried while driving along the highway because when it started to rain she was afraid that the farmers wouldn't be able to get all their crops harvested in time.



She is a loving friend. She has friends from grade school that she is still close with today.


She laughs too much, too hard. When we were kids she used to get sent away from the dinner table on a nightly basis because she couldn't get a hold of her giggling laughter.


She calls me Betty. I call her Gail. We are friends by choice, but sisters by fate.


Happy 22nd Birthday, Gailey! Love you!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Happy 13 Months!

I don't know about you all, but I can hardly even believe that AJ is 13 months old today! I mean, seriously, I thought the first year went by fast and we're already a full month into year 2. Slow down the growing up, little girl!

Some highlights from the past month:

  • AJ has started being able to function with only one nap a day. We don't skip the morning nap everyday, but sometimes I have errands to run or things to do and we can go do them in the morning and not have to rush home to get back before nap time. Its wonderful!
  • The past few days I've noticed her being more social and really playing with her toys. She also likes to pet her dogs!

  • She has really started to imitate us in almost everything we do! When we are talking and one or both of us laughs, she will look at us and do a totally fake laugh to be a part of the conversation. Of course when she does this, we both crack up even more!
  • She finds herself to be endlessly amusing. She will copy something we do and then just laugh and laugh at how funny she is!
  • One negative thing she has started that I'm not happy about (and I think I mentioned this before) is that when she doesn't get her way or I tell her "no" she will just lay down on the floor and either cry or just lay there. I have a feeling that this is a sort of mini-tantrum and I'm not looking forward to the terrible twos!
  • She has finally started to relax a little bit on the whole clinging to mommy thing and will play with D or the dogs without me being glued to her side 24/7 (hallelujah!).
  • She has officially cut two more molars to bring the tooth total up to 9. She has top and bottom molars on her right side and just the top on the left. Add that to the three teeth on the bottom in the front and the two on the top and you've got 9 teeth! I should mention here that I hit the baby jackpot when it comes to teething. She seriously never even gets crabby when she is cutting a tooth. Sleep stays the same, everything is like normal. I have to feel in her mouth to know when she gets a new tooth!
  • AJ is for the most part sleeping through the night (7 pm-7:30 am). When she goes down for her naps she will lay in her crib for a while quietly until she falls asleep. Its an amazing (and welcome) change from the days when she would stand there and scream.
  • She loves, loves, loves her big, bouncy ball that Nick and Stacey got her for her birthday! When she sees it her eyes light up and she squeals! It is one of the cutest things ever. She also loves to carry around the baby sunscreen for some reason.
  • She has a few words now, including Daddy, Pup Pup, Mama, and baby. She mainly says Daddy and PupPup, but will say Mama if she feels like it. For the most part though, she is holding entire conversations in her own gibberish baby language, which is hilarious to watch and listen to!

So there you have it, folks! My 13 month old is growing up way too fast and before I know it, she will be driving headed off to school!

Monday, March 21, 2011

We Can Finally Relax

AJ's two week birthday extravaganza is finally over!

I think usually the first birthday party is more for the parents than the kid, and that was most certainly the case in our house, but I do have to tell you all that AJ had the most fun! She was a crazy woman, running the house yelling, playing and just having a ball.

She ate cake, got messy, ate spaghetti, got messy, played in the yard, got messy. It was like we were on repeat! She also got a bunch of new toys as gifts and had a good time playing with all of them outside in the beautiful weather we had this weekend.

Here are few shots of her eating cake last weekend when D's family was in town visiting. We also had another family party this weekend with my parents, where she ate more cake. She is obviously a ham, as you can tell from a few of these pictures.





Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Denial's Not Just a River In Egypt {Picture Heavy Post}

I'm in major denial.

One year ago today.


Today is my baby's first birthday.

Holding my daughter for the first time.


AJ's first car ride (home from the hospital).


Meeting Grandma for the first time.


I'm having a hard time dealing with the fact that I can no longer call her my baby. As my first child, she will always be my baby, but now my baby is a toddler.

Making googley-eyes at Daddy.


Hanging with Uncle Billy for the first time.


Napping on Grandpa.


Rockin' the shades.


One of my favorite pictures ever.


Making silly faces with Daddy.


Seriously, where has the time gone? I can't believe that a year ago today I was meeting my precious girl for the first time. It seems hard to believe that a year ago she was a stranger to us and now we feel like she has always been a part of our little family.

Moving for the first time.


AJ after getting caught in a rain storm.


AJ and Aunt Abby hanging out in FL.


AJ meeting my Dad's parents.


AJ meeting my Mom's parents.


Standing up in her crib for the first time.


Playing on Halloween.


Being silly at lunch.


AJ's first Halloween!


Swimming in FL.


I never thought I'd love someone as much as I love my daughter. Being a parent has changed my outlook on a lot of things, and now I am starting to understand how my mom must have felt when I was a baby.

Our new house (AJ's second move)!


AJ's Baptism.


Happy girl!


Eating breakfast at the beach in FL.


So, to the person who has changed my life more than anyone ever will, Happy Birthday, baby girl! Daddy and I love you very, very much.

My big girl.