Jaclyn's 1st birthday party and whats to come! :)

FIRST OFF- I know I'm behind. I'm so far behind it isn't even funny. So far behind I don't even know how to catch up. However, I'm determined to, so hopefully for the next few days in a row I'll actually have a daily post until I'm all caught up for her 14 months! :) Jaclyn had her first birthday party and it was SO much fun!! You'll see in the pictures that she had NO CLUE what was going on and what all the fuss was about. She didn't even smile much at all during her party. It was more like "what the heck are these people doing here, and why am I getting tossed around from person to person like a hot potato" look. We just had a hamburger and hot dog bar. I kept it SUPER SIMPLE because I didn't want to be so busy that I couldn't enjoy the day with who it was ALL about! We just had our family and a few of our closest friends who treat Jaclyn like she is theirs too. hahaha. I'll close with her pictures from the party. My next few posts are Fathers Day, MOVING, and getting up to date with her 1 year stats and what she's up to at 13 months! Stay tuned... :)

Jaclyn, you are ONE!

Jaclyn-
      I don't even have words without tears on this first year of your life!! To say you have blessed it, is an understatement.  You came into this world so easy, and then cried for 24 hours straight.  Yep, straight out of the womb- you know when most babies don't even wake up enough to eat- there you were, screaming nonstop, with every visitor, with every cuddle, with every moment- you were not happy.  I laugh- because apparently some things don't change.  Your entrance into this world is exactly your personality!!!  You are laid back, take things on easily- but you are ATTACHED to me, and if i'm not right there, you are letting me know about it!! hahahaha.  Sometimes, I get frustrated, sometimes I remind myself, "you just love your momma!" hahahaha- right?!!? 

I feel guilty sometimes, because it's never just been me and you during the day.  But then I remind myself how much more lucky you are because you have your sister around who is probably blessing your life more than anyone!  If there is one thing that I have tried to soak up every moment of, is watching you grow to LOVE your sister!!  You adore her, and let me tell you- the feeling is mutual!!  You guys are going to be best friends, and I get tears in my eyes just thinking about ya'lls future together!!  She has been such a mother hen to you, and it shows!!  You trust her with you, more than I do!!  And that just goes to show that you already know she will take care of you! :) 

Your eyes, your smile, your belly giggles, the way your ticklish under your arms, your chubby cheeks, your toes- so much of the first year that I just pray I took enough pictures of to remember all the things I want to! 

You've made our family complete.  Your daddy and I talk ALOT about how we don't know what we did before you!!  We knew we needed you!!  You were sought after, and longed for- don't ever forget that!!  We prayed for you before we even conceived you!  Every month I wanted to be pregnant, but wasn't yet- I knew and reminded myself that God was still perfecting you!!  And oh my gosh, did he go over and beyond with you!! This last year has been the best of my life, with having this whole family together and feeling such joy!!  You are such a great baby, and I can only tell your personality is going to go so far in this life!!  I hate to watch you continue to grow up, but I also can't wait either!!  You are going to bring so much laughter and joy in this world!!  How awesome is that!?!!

We love you, Jaclyn Brooke!!  Happy 1st Birthday!!

Love, Mommy, Daddy, and Jaycee!

1st year of preschool through pictures.

Jaycee has just completed her first year of preschool.  It is so weird for me to say that.  Granted she still has 2 years of it left, but it's still monumental for this mommy!  She LOVED school this year, and is ALREADY asking when she can go back!!  I'm SO glad she loves school so much!  She was ready for this stage of her life!  So that makes this all much easier on me. 

First day of school: -                                                                               Last day of school:-

Oh I could just look at these pictures forever!!  She definitely does not have that baby face anymore that she still had at the beginning of the school year!!  She has changed so much inside and out during this school year- and I couldn't be prouder of who she is becoming!! :)

Here are more pics of her school year.  It's full of her friends that she talks NONSTOP about!! :)  I love hearing her stories about what her and her friends did and played at school that day! :)

(this was orientation day).  She had NO CLUE what was going on! haha.

Her class at the pumpkin patch! :)

Her first day ever on a bus.  We followed the bus there, but I don't think I've ever prayed so hard.

killing time in the carpool line at school! :)

Her "BFF" Hadley, before their Halloween performance.  These two are two peas in a pod! Every story begins with "Me and Hadley..."

We are in trouble if these two grow up BFF!! They are both adorable! (i'm slightly partial though! :) )

End of the year school performance.  She seems so grown up here, hugging up on her friends for pics!  Oh geez!! :) 

I'm so proud of this girl, and I pray so hard for her to not only have an eagerness to learn and love school, but to have great Godly friends, and just overall stay on the path that God has laid out for her! :) Watching her life unfold is so exciting!  

I gotta get this in before she turns 1!

So miss Jaclyn Brooke is almost 1.  Actually in less than 3 weeks!!  She's growing and changing so much before our eyes, and I just can't keep up with her AND this blog lately.  It's one or the other, and so I have a feeling I will always be trying to play catch up on here.  And that's ok. Here's a current picture of her:

I crack up at her!!  I am still (11 months in) clueless at how to parent her.  I sometimes CANNOT figure this kid out!  She's the most content, can entertain herself, smiley baby one minute, and all it takes is a glance in her direction, and she's blood curdling screaming, head slamming on the ground between her legs, which then goes to the head getting thrown backwards so hard, she loses her balance, and falls completely back on her head -TEMPER TANTRUM!!  And while I'm running to pick up a screaming baby, in my head, I'm thinking, "what on earth just happened here?!?!?!"  I know we are at a stage, and I think it's because she gets sidetracked with toys, but the instant she realizes that mommy is not right in front of her or holding her- she throws her fit!! hahahaha, and bless her heart, I don't mean this in a mean way, but it's almost comical!! hahahaha.  She's so stinkin spoiled, she's rotten! :)

She is learning SO much new stuff lately, and is turning more and more into a little toddler, instead of a baby.  Here are some new things she's doing at 11 1/2 months:

*Still takes 4 bottles a day, and eats 2-3 meals a day

*The morning nap is ever so quickly going out the window!!  How am i supposed to get ready now?!??!

*Still one of those hit and miss sleepers.  I get excited if I only have to get up once in the middle of the night, or even if it's more, and I just have to pop in the paci- it's a good night!!  There are some nights, that she awakes, and it's a good hour or so before I can get her back to sleep and in her crib.  (I promise, we've tried crying it out on several occasions.  She either hyperventiliates until I can't take it, throws up, or will continue to do what is needed for up to 2 hours one day!)  What would you do at 2am?  Let her cry for 2 hours or put her on your chest, and both take a snooze until you awaken 45 minutes later to a sleeping baby on your chest, and get to "hopefully" lay her back down! hahaha.  I'll take the latter any day of the week at 2am, especially when you're 3 year old is up and barking orders at 630! :)  hahahaha.

*On a side note of what is above- yes, I wish she was like Jaycee and slept through the night from 7 weeks on.  I wish we had trained her to cry it out before she knew how great her lungs worked- HOWEVER- I often time remind myself when I'm awake at 2am with a baby going back to sleep on me- how many parents would kill to have a baby to wake up for, or how many parents would love to just have their baby at home with them instead of in the hospital to put back to sleep- so I tend to find myself with alot of prayer time in the middle of the night, and so thankful that even though she's not a great sleeper- she's here, she's healthy, and I believe- just loves her cuddles!! :) 

* Her updated word list: "momma", "dada", "hi!!", "heewwwooo (hello)", "bye bye", "ball", "nack" (for snack, or whenever she sees food), "mo" (which I belive is more, b/c that's what comes out when there is no more food on her tray! hahaha) And I think that's it. 

*She's GREAT at shaking her head NO! hahaha

*She is cruising everywhere.  She is SOOOO close to walking.  She will let go of one couch to take 2-3 steps to get to the other, and she does great.  She just needs more confidence.

*She still idolizes Jaycee!  My heart STILL melts watching them play together and hear them giggle together!!  Oh, I just love watching them grow up together.  Jaycee taking her for a ride in her little barbie mustang outside, just makes Jaclyn light up in a way that nothing else does! 

*LOVES LOVES LOVES TO DANCE!! 

*Size 3 shoe, 12 month clothing, size 3 diaper.  At an appointment a week or so ago b/c of her ears, she weighed in there at 20 lbs!  but that was fully clothed and not a dry diaper!

I think that's about it.  We are having a birthday party here in about 3 weeks to celebrate the big day, and so hopefully I'll have a good "BIG 1" blog update with fun pics! :) And probably a few pics of me crying that my sweet little baby is already having a birthday!! :(

Wordless Wednesday

:)

9 months!!! I'm so behind....

Oh good grief. For a second, I actually thought, "oh forget the blog, it's too much to keep up with now!"  And then I slapped myself out of that negative attitude, and realized that I will miss this one day if I don't continue it!! 
SOOOOO....I'm so far behind I don't even know where to begin, so I'm not even going to play catch up, I'm just going to tell ya where we are at now!!!
Jaclyn is 9 1/2 months old!!  And boy have things gotten interesting!!!  This girl is INTO EVERYTHING!!!  The dog is going to be very dehydrated by the time she cares less about his water bowl!  It's up on the counter about 22 out of the 24 hours in a day!!  He's learned if it's down, to drink the whole bowl!! Ha!!  And if he doesn't, and I'm busy and not thinking (which is always)- I find myself soaking up water spilled, and changing an outfit that is DRENCHED!!  Sometimes more than once a day!! Ha!
She is such a hoot, and I have so much fun with her, and Jaycee is IN LOVE with her, especially now that she's on the move!  They play ALL day long!  Which in all honesty, has helped my sanity, but of course I have to watch every move, every toy in her hand, and I have to premediate her next move to keep her out of harms way!!  Oh I forgot about these days!!  I was getting pretty good at keeping the house in somewhat of an order with 2 kids, and now that she's mobile and pulls out MORE toys than Jaycee- HA!!!  I'm usually one that the house has to be completely picked up before I can get in bed, or I can't sleep, and NOW, after I finally get them both down- I look at the house, and think, "screw it, it'll look like this at 8am, picked up now or not!" ha!

So on to what she is up to and where we are at, at 9 1/2 months.....

*She started crawling on exactly her 8 month birthday!

*She is pulling up on EVERYTHING, and just about a week ago, started walking from one end of the couch to the other, as long as she's holding on

*She says, "momma, dada, ball, bye bye, and hi."   I think she says, "dog" but it's probably just another constanant coming out

*She loves to scream

*She LOVES LOVES LOVES to dance.  Since Jaycee wants dance parties all the time, she's pretty used to music, and she will shake her arms, and kick those legs and cheese so hard when music starts

*She has her two bottom teeth, and just 3 days ago, her top left tooth barely broke the gums (that tooth has been a nightmare for us, so I'm glad it's about to come on through!)

*She smiles ALL the time.  If this little girl cries, or is fussy- something is wrong. I cannot believe how blessed I've been with such a calm mannered, content little girl (so far!) haha

*She LOVES to hug.  She wraps her arms around my neck and puts her cheek on mine, and it's one of those, "please don't end" moments.  I hope to always remember this feeling

*She eats 2 good meals a day on top of her formula and then snacks some after nap time

*Still takes 4 bottles a day

*Naps twice a day- the afternoon one- is still with me- and I'm ok with that! :)

*She sleeps from around 8pm to 7am, even though around 6-630, she wakes up, but if I put her in bed with me, she will instantly go back to sleep until Jaycee wakes us up- I consider it our cuddle time! :)

*At her 9 month appointment she was 19lbs 9 oz. (60th percentile)

*She was 29 1/4 inches long (90th percentile)

*She can wave hi and bye bye, but I usually have to remind her first what to do!

I think that sums us up, since she's almost 10 months old!! She's such a little ham! :)  I'm in so much trouble, and in for so much of an adventure with these two little girls!! :)

7 months!!

I try to blog often.  I sit down, laptop in hand, and of course, something or  SOMEONE should I say, needs me, needs something, something that apparently only mommy can do! ;) 

Jaclyn is so close to 8 months old, I'm going to try not to mess up with what she was doing at 7 months.  Things just change so fast with her now days!!!

Between Christmas and the middle of January, we were at the doctor 4 times!!  Actually 5 times, but the last one was just an "ear recheck!"  So this poor little girl has struggled since about 4 days after Christmas!!  She caught all of this cold nastiness going around, and started the wheezing, the coughing, the suctioning of the nose by moonlight- name it, and we did it.  I was thinking she was getting RSV, but thankfully that never came about! :)  However, she did get her first ear infection, which was this momma's first ear infection as a mommy.  Jaycee has never had one, and in the past month, we have had 2, and as I'm typing this, I think we have a 3rd!!  I now understand what mommy's mean now when they say or put on fb "so and so has an ear infection!"  You know what that means:  a whiny, fussy, in pain, don't know what to do for them, baby.  It absolutely BREAKS my heart!!  I remember having ear infections. I remember how bad they hurt, but to see my baby hurt like that, KILLS ME!  But now, I'm so scared of them, I tug on her ears daily seeing if she has one.  And everytime she touches her ear, I stop breathing for a second.  (Yes, they make me panic, I think they're just too new to me, and she DOES NOT sleep when she has one!) Reason to panic all in it's own, right!?!?!  ha!

Besides the illnesses, she's still been adorable, and cute, and learning new things everyday!!! 

*At her last doctor's visit she weight in at 18lbs 10oz (but that was fully clothed in winter gear!)

*She still has 4 bottles a day.  6 oz during the day, and 7 oz at the bedtime feeding

* She eats a jar of veggies, and a 1/2 jar of fruit a day.  Sometimes, she will finish the jar of fruit too

*She's loving the Puffs!!  I still break them in half, but that pincher grasp is starting to work.  Bless her heart, I always think she does really well, and then I pick her up out of the highchair and there is a PILE of them! haha.

*She's working on the sippy cup thing.  She loves to at least chew on it.  Whenever I fill it up even with water and I'm bringing it to her, she smiles and kicks her feet so hard! Ha!

*She's still saying "babbababa" and "ooooo and awwww" but no words yet

* Sleep is so up in the air.  I hold my breath every night that I get in bed to go to sleep.  I have no clue if I'll just have to get up once and pop the paci back in, or if I'm going to be up every 1 1/2 hours to put the paci back in and settle her down.  She's soooo up and down.  We have our good nights and bad nights

{you got a problem with me not sleeping??} :)

* Still takes a short morning nap and long afternoon nap!

*She's starting to stay more on her belly, and you can tell she's trying to figure out this crawling thing!  She quickly though just ends up spread all out, and then it's over

* She can roll though to WHEREVER she needs to go.  I put her on the rug in the living room one day, went to make her a bottle, came back, and she was in the middle of rolling onto the carpet that goes into our bedroom!

I think that's it for month 7!  She's such a cutie, and is still pretty content, even not being held, as long as she can see my face!  If I put her down and then walk in another room, that's a whole different deck of cards right there!!  But that's ok. I know soon enough, she'll be able to follow me wherever I go!

8 months is only 10 days away, and it's hard to wrap my hand around the fact that in 4 months, she'll already be a YEAR old!!  GEEZ LOU-ISE!!!  Time flies!! :) 

I've already started her 8 month update, so as long as I find time to load the pictures up, I'll have this post up soon!!! :)