One year

Olivia Grace,

Today is your first birthday. You are one year old.

Your " dada" and I have watched you grow from a tiny, helpless newborn to a fiercely independent, sometimes stubborn, little girl. You no longer need us to rock you to sleep, or hold your bottle, or carry you with both arms. And boy, do we miss doing those things for you.

But, we are so proud of how much you have learned this year. You say "mama", "dada", "dog" and "duck". You also say "uh-oh" whenever you drop something, and tell us that the dog says "oof-oof". You can sign "more" and "all done" and we are working on signing please and thank you. You give dada a "high-five" whenever he asks for it, but you are very scarce with your kisses. You love to wave to people, and you smile at strangers in public quite often. You have started to laugh out loud, and you love when people laugh back at you. In fact, you are quite a ham.

Occasionally though, when things don't go your way, you get quite angry, which often results in screams & tears. You know exactly what you want, and you aren't happy when you don't get it. You do not like to have your diaper changed, and you are not happy when you are hungry (Dada calls it "hangry" and you get that from me). Dada and I are working to help you learn that sometimes, in life, you can't have it all.

Truth be told, I wish you could have it all! And I wish I could be the one to give it to you.

You have 10 (yes, ten!) teeth already and you wear 12 month size clothes. You are long, but still on the small side in your weight. You aren't quite standing or walking alone yet, but I know you will when you're ready. You eat three real meals each day, along with snacks throughout the day! You love blueberries, yogurt, crackers, and peaches. You don't love whole milk, but enjoy drinking water from your sippy cup.

You are loved by so many people, and for that, we are so lucky. Although, you are easy to love. You keep us laughing every day and you certainly keep us on our toes!

We would do anything for you, Goosey, and I pray you always know that. You have brought an immeasurable amount of joy to our lives. In just one year, you have shown us what it means to have real, true, unconditional love. You are truly the light of our lives.

Thank you, baby, for the absolute best year of my life.

Love always and forever,
Mama

Two Valentine's

How lucky am I that this year, I have two Valentine's?!

Two people who make me smile daily. Whose hugs and kisses brighten my day. Who I look forward to eating dinner with every night. Whom I fall more in love with every day.

But the best thing??

Seeing the two of them together!

I love these two Valentine's of my mine so stinking much and I am reminded every day of how lucky I am to have them!

Happy Valentine's day, D! And happy first Valentine's day to my sweet Goosey-girl!

6 months later...

Tonight, something happened I wasn't sure 6 months ago would ever happen...

I hit my goal weight at Weight Watchers!

Back in July, my mom and I joined weight watchers together. It was my first real attempt to lose my baby weight. When I started, I had almost 30 pounds to lose. It seriously felt like a daunting task.

BUT...

I did it!!!!

I have been sticking with the plan and making better choices and tonight, at my 21st meeting, I finally hit my goal weight.

And dang, it feels good!

Here, a before and after pic...

This was me (and my sweet girl!) in July 2014

This was me tonight, after my Weight Watcher meeting!

I cannot explain how happy/excited/proud I feel tonight! This has not been easy, by any means, but weight watchers has such an awesome and truly live-able plan. I have been able to eat sweets, drink beer and have pasta (all in moderation, of course!). We all know I could never "diet" if it meant I couldn't have those goodies!

So thanks, to everyone who has encouraged me and helped me reach this goal! And a special, special thanks to my momma, who has been there with me every step of the way! Love you Mel-t!

Ok...

All done bragging on myself!

I will leave you with a recent pic of my 11 month old bestie!

Oops

It's been 6 months since my last post.

I guess going back to work full-time, and trying to soak up every possible minute not at work with my best girl, has not left much time for blogging!

BUT...

Our baby is approaching her 11 month birthday.

And we all know what that means.

I have an almost-one year old.

I could cry just thinking about it!

I have been doing a lot of reflection on this past year. I mean, last year at this time I was attending baby showers, organizing a nursery, elevating swollen feet and HUGE!

Now, I am trying to keep my daughter out of everything, chasing her around the house, laughing out loud at her daily, feeding her real food, and planning a first birthday party.

Crazy.

Our girl has come such a long way. She now has 8 teeth ( and we are 99% sure she is working on the 9th), lots of hair and is wearing 9-12 month size clothes. She is in a size 3 shoe. She crawls really well, and is working on standing and walking. She can do both with assistance but not alone quite yet. She loves dogs. It is pretty cute. She calls every animal a "dog-guh". She also loves books- which makes this teacher momma happy. She is still an overall happy baby and a good sleeper, for which we are so thankful!

I promise to try to do better about posting again. I will certainly be back with a one year post and a party post later!