1 year stats + pics + party!

Clara had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday. Here's the invite. The rest of the photos, videos, and a vendor list are on the "photobooth" page above.  (They aren't watermarked, so if you borrow, please give credit.)

She received some lovely gifts, like:

a cool wooden xylophone from Seamus

a giant, awesome cat board book from Christy

Today she had her 1 year check-up.  21 pounds (~50th percentile) and 29.5" (~62nd percentile).  Dr. Barron said she's meeting her milestones and to just keep doing what we're doing. They are amazed at how healthy she's been. (We've only been in for one sick visit, long ago, and that turned out to just be unexplained infant fussiness.)

She got 2 shots and a terrible finger prick. She stopped crying by the time we got to the car, and slept most of the rest of the day. She did perk up to play in the yard for awhile, though, with the bean bag toss from her party:

We have gotten so many nice compliments on the party and Clara - my heart is bursting with pride. We feel like the luckiest parents alive :)

G.

happy 1st birthday precious girl!

1-27-11

yesterday

Our baby turned 1 today! We are overjoyed at the sweet, funny little girl she has become, and feel so lucky to be her parents.  She has inspired us to be better in every way.... and we're going to pay her back with the most awesome party ever tomorrow :)

G./mama  

video catch-up

clara is walking so well now!  (sorry for poor quality - taken with my phone)

a quickie of playing feather toy with bailey (late December)

crazy dancing at the children's museum! 

AWESOME children's museum

we recently visited the new Mississippi Children's Museum for the first time. It's a little pricey (though memberships are a good deal - we're going to get one), and of course most of the exhibits are geared to older kids.... but it was still AWESOME and Clara had so much fun!

the nail-biting excitement of racing cars
{and yes, dada wore a "Life is Crap" shirt to a kids' museum. lol}



dada: Clara, this is a cow. this is where your milk
will come from.... uh, eventually  :-) 

 

learning useful skills like putting up siding

hey, what's my name doing here??

mama, the king is creepy. can we play Scrabble again?

dancin' like Frankenstein

they have laundry here??!! oh em gee!

play farmer's market = my favorite thing ever
(except cats... and dada... and oranges)

dada can you show me those breakdancing moves again?

in other news, Clara's birthday is this week!!!!!! I am so sad! but, also thankful for our amazing daughter and how healthy she's been and how fun she is at this age.

have a great week, y'all!

G.

I am old and my daughter is a wild animal.

You know it's bad when the doctor says things like "You're not 20."  In my one week of running as hard and fast as I could, I managed to develop Pes Anserine Bursitis in both knees.  Now I'm in PT and they are using this weird electrical device to deliver cortisone to the inflamed bursas. The good news is that I should be able to start running again -- at a less intense level, since I am old and crippled -- in just 2 more weeks!

We've been busy but good. Clara is hyper and hilarious. Definitely keeping Dada on his toes.  Some recent shots:

Can you stand on your tiptoes this long Dada?



my motto: play hard, sleep hard

silly Dada trying to fold clothes

most hilarious lunch ever: Olive Garden salad + supermodel stare

Dada working on super secret birthday party project

Mama, what do you mean the elephant won't work if I put blocks on it?

Mama working on another super secret party project

Have a great week, y'all!

G.



p.s.  Many of you bloggers have probably already heard that Baby Tripp passed this week, after a 2+ year struggle with the most horrible disease I have ever heard of - E.B.    His mother Courtney is an inspiration for her strength and her commitment to stamping out E.B.  You can read about Tripp's last moments and his condition at Courtney's blog: http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/2012/01/heavens-little-drummer-boy.html   (This is upsetting material so you might not want to read it if you're pregnant or at work.)

overdue holiday pics + fitness: 1, me: 0

 hi all!  so... week one of my new fit lifestyle, I managed to injure my knee! trying heat and rest and hoping I just pounded too much pavement too fast. we'll see.  Scott's doing infinitely better with his training, though to be fair (to myself - ha), he was in much better shape to begin with.

anyway... contrary to what you might think from reading my blog of late, we did celebrate Christmas! here's some (adorable) proof:

mama and dada gave me tissue paper!

just kiddin.  look at my sweet drum they santa brought!

with my grandmother on Christmas day

everyone in the family opens Christmas Crackers and wears the silly awesome crowns

 I was so happy to get some pics with my sweet girl, the best Christmas present ever!  hard to believe that last Christmas, I was 9 months preg with her:

{same shirt.  less wrinkly/tired but also less crazy-happy face.}



thanks for indulging my belated photos. hope everyone's having a great week :)

G.

baby steps

Clara is pretty independent, with the exception of still liking to be fed a bottle like a tiny baby - cradled and you holding it for her! It's funny, but I don't mind at all since she's growing up so fast.  However, as of Wednesday, there's officially no denying she's now a toddler:

lots o' updates and a few pics

• Scott and I have started running (see our widgets to the right). It's been a few years since he's run regularly; I've never exercised much, despite some pretty serious health issues that would really benefit from it.  I've just never enjoyed it, but now that I have Clara to think about, I want to suck it up and get in shape so I have the energy to keep up with her! Plus, it will instill good habits in her early on to see us exercise and eventually get involved herself.  Scott is doing some of his running with her in the BOB stroller. Now THAT is a workout!
  

  

  don't worry Mom, I didn't get mugged

  

• I'm also trying to force myself to have a little bit of a life outside the baby. This is hard for me since I work all the time and really don't get to spend much time with her, but I know it's important. For Scott's birthday last week, we went to dinner and my friend from work Brandi babysat Clara. Brandi has 2 kids and I trust her 100%, but I was worried Clara would freak out being left with a "stranger" (she'd previously only been babysat by my mom).  Well, she did perfectly fine and we had a nice dinner. Totally worried for nothing.  Just a couple of days later, Brandi and I went to a local art studio called Easely Amused, which is kind of like paint-by-numbers for grown-ups, with alcohol. It was a blast, and not just because of the pitcher of chocolate martinis Scott sent with us!  That was the first time I hadn't put Clara to bed in many months, but we all survived, obviously :)

• Clara is now 11 months old. She's staying up a little later, usually til about 7:30, and sleeping til about 7 am.  She still takes 2 naps. She nurses twice a day and has about 1.5 bottles during the day, plus assorted solids. She's cutting down on her milk intake so much that I'm starting to think I will have to donate milk before it spoils (after 12 months in the deep freeze - but we have more than 2000 ounces I believe).  She'll probably have enough breastmilk to last her until she's nearly 2, which is crazy, but awesome!
• At 11 months, her favorite food is mandarin oranges (Sundia brand in the fresh section). She is obsessed with books and our cats.  She's not walking yet but can stand up for awhile without holding on to anything and can stand up from sitting now.
• Her bday party is going to be rock and roll themed and I cannot WAIT to post all about it!



sharing blocks with Bailey (who is less than amused)



yes, I'm this happy even with a busted nose





my first Christmas ornament! (from Little Sapling @ etsy)

I like expensive handmade things like mommy

Happy New Year everyone!

G.