Grace's One Year Picture Failure and then SUCCESS!

So, as you know, I have usually had the kids pictures taken at Portrait Innovations in town. It's fast, not expensive, and they give you the pictures the day you take them. We always have good luck with them and for studio pictures, we are always pleased. For Atticus, I took him at 2,3,4,6,8,11, and 12 months to have his picture taken. 1 and 2 were really just practice because he didn't start smiling until 3 months. Then, it seemed like we had lots of holidays that came and we just had to have his picture made (and when I say we, I mean just me - Vic wasn't sold on this necessity). And, this doesn't include the Erwin Family portrait we had made either. Whew - lots of pictures. But, with Grace, I thought I could handle just doing newborn, 3, 6, 9 and 12 month pictures. So, we did all of those. However, we only did 3 and 6 month pictures at Portrait Innovations and she actually did great! So, in Grace's defense for what I am about to tell you, she had little experience. I will take all the blame.

So the week of her birthday, GG and I were excited to take her in for the big one year portraits. And, of course, I was anxiously awaiting to see the results to choose my one year canvas for my house that I want of each of my children! We had decided we would bring three outfits - a sassy one with a feather bow and lots of pearls, a sweet summer one and then her cupcake outfit that GG made for her birthday party. Well, it didn't matter what outfit she had on, she decided not to cooperate. We started with the pearl and pink outfit and actually got about 2 good pictures before she started crying. From that point on, she cried and cried and could not be consoled. We gave her goldfish, we held her, we laughed and jumped and sang to her to try to make her laugh or smile, we gave her breaks, we gave her the paci, we put Atticus in shots with her. Nothing worked. She would NOT settle down and relax. If I held her in my arms, we could have gotten fabulous pictures. But, I didn't want to be in those picture - I just wanted Grace in them of course. Even Atticus tried to make her laugh and actually did a good job which is why we got 2 sweet pictures but then he decided he was bored with that and would rather play the Ipad, so we lost his help rather quickly. It was just not good. So, I decided she must be tired and that maybe if we tried again the next day at a different time of day when I was sure she was not sleepy, we would have better luck. So, we tried again the following day. Still no success. It was better, but not great. She took some okay pictures with Atticus by her side, but still had tears and then when she was on her own, she just stayed unhappy. We got through about 50 shots or so to make the photographer happy and chose a few to bring home, but they weren't great. And we weren't even able to have the two from the day before because they require that they take at least 50 shots to consider it a session. So, those two precious ones were gone. So, instead of getting beautiful professional studio shots, I decided to just take a few of my own. I would have loved to have Mary here to do them for me. But, I got some that will work and I can still have my canvas! You can see below that she started off happy with Atticus and then decided this was terrible and then got semi-content (but with tear stained face) and then just got mad. By the end, they were trying tricks of covering me with a black blanket so I could hold her so maybe she would be happy. Didn't work. But, you can catch a glimpse of the black monster holding her in that last shot. Here are the studio and "outside my house" results:

The Morning After Grace's Party

I just love having pictures of the kids playing with their toys or hanging out with family. This morning was no exception. As our families that were about to leave town sat down to visit, the kids played with Grace's new dollhouse and stroller and other birthday toys. I just needed to document a few of these pics for myself!

Grace's 1st Birthday Party

We decided to throw Grace's first birthday party in College Station and invite some close friends and family. It was a really fun day! I will let the pictures speak for themselves. We had a cupcake themed birthday party with lots of pink, lots of cupcake liner garland, and lots of cupcakes! Those in attendance were GG, Mom, Molly, Janice, Jill, our neighbors Xiaoling, Wei, Patrick and Nini and our friends Katerina, Katie, Kirsten and Jonathan. We ate chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, sugar cookies, crackers and dip, pink lemonade and of course, cupcakes! Everyone brought her the sweetest gifts including books, a car for her to ride, adorable swimsuits and clothes, her own toothbrush, her first dollhouse, her first baby stroller, a teapot with cups and pie, and lots of money! Atticus had to help me open the gifts since Grace wasn't so sure about opening gifts. Even Atticus got presents including his own chef hat and embroidered apron from Katie and Kirsten - so cute! My favorite gift was what Vic gave her. I had asked him to just choose something for her - a gift from her daddy. And boy did he find something sweet! He got her an adorable backpack with her name embroidered on it. It is so cute and will be so fun for her to carry. And I got her another doll..I love dolls! And when it came time to eat cake, she became even more unsure. While we expected her to just go after that giant smash cupcake, she was timid and held back. We have decided that Grace doesn't particularly love big crowds and being the center of attention. While Atticus has always LOVED being sung Happy Birthday to, Grace was not nearly as excited. Once everyone went back to eating and doing their own thing, she finally ate and became more relaxed. Oh and of course, Atticus helped her eat every bite he could of that giant cupcake! (have I ever mentioned his love of cake and icing?). We also got to chat with Ana and Charley on Facetime!

We had one slight incident, when Vic went to get Grace out of the high chair, she came crashing down to the floor and bumped her head because she was not strapped in. I think that is the ONLY time she has ever not been strapped in, but of course, that is when she has to fall. I had unstrapped her to take off her adorable outfit before cake got eaten and while I knew she was not strapped in and would have known when I took her out, I failed to mention that to Vic. And I was in another room when it happened. Thankfully, we had friends in the medical field at the party to check her out and tell us what to do. She was fine and stopped crying very soon after. She ended with just a little bruise on her head. But, things like that are scary and it scared Vic to death!

While we loved every minute of the party and the decorations and the food and most importantly having our friends and family there, my favorite moment came that night. She was exhausted and while nursing, she fell asleep. So, I rocked her in my arms and let her sleep for half an hour before putting her to bed. It was so funny to me that she chose that night to let me do that. She only wants to nurse every other day or so and even when she does, she doesn't fall asleep in my arms anymore. So, it was the MOST special time of that day and of course, I cherished it while reminiscing the events of the last year and also of that night when she decided to finally make her debut. Oh my sweet little Grace - I hope we are always close and you will always let me hold you.

 

Grace: 1 year old

I didn't get around to doing an 11 month blog post, so I'll combine them here. Grace has changed a LOT from 10 to 12 months and we cannot believe how quickly her first year has gone. Here are a few stats:

• At 11 months, she weighed 19 lbs. 11 oz.
• At 12 months, she weighs 21 lbs. 3 oz.
• At 12 months, she is 28 1/2 inches tall
• She is now mostly into 12-18 month clothes although I am making her wear some 9-12 month clothes because our winter weather keeps popping up here and there and I don't want to buy a bunch of winter 12-18 month clothes. However, some of her 12 month spring things will probably fit for 2 or months.
• She is still in size 3 diapers.
• Her hair is getting just a little bit of length in the back--enough to grab a little between my fingers. It's so soft and sweet and while darker than Atticus', it is light blonde. I can't wait to watch it grow! Also, as of now, she still wears lot of headbands and bows. I am hoping she is always a girl that will wear bows in her hair!
• Grace took her first steps on February 15. It is important to note the date because Vic and I had a bet where he thought she would walk by Valentines Day and I did not. We made this bet at Christmas. Whoever won got 6 hours of kid-free time. Well, I won! I still need to cash in those hours. It was so funny though because she could have cared less about taking a step until the 15th. She had not even attempted or acted interested. I have been really surprised at her this past month while she learned to walk. Now, she walks and crawls each about 50% of the time, but walking more and more every day. The other funny part of this is that Atticus yells "Yook Drace is walking!" many of the times she hops up to go. He is just as proud as we are!
• Still takes a paci all night and lately, lots during the day. She is becoming more vocal about what she wants or when she is not happy and sometimes I just pop it in. I need to do it less, but goodness that paci is an amazing invention.
• Still napping 1.5 hours in the morning and about 2 in the afternoon and sleeping 12 hours a night without waking up.
• She says "mama" and "da". Typically she says mama when she is fussy or upset, but also sometimes sweetly. She says "da" when she is looking at Vic or wants his attention.
• Still has only 8 teeth.
• She is becoming a really good eater, although she is still sometimes very picky. I am learning to put her least favorite thing on the plate first and her favorite last. If I put them all out at once, she only eats the good stuff first and never touches the rest. Currently, her favorite foods are bread, cheese, crackers, strawberries, and yogurt. She will eat fish, sausage, and sometimes a little chicken. She will also eat green beans - hooray and has liked carrots and peas and beans and rice. Oh and surprise, surprise - she loves cookies!
• She started around 11 months to drop to only 2-3 nursing's per day. And, sometimes she will only nurse well for one feeding and not be interested at all in the other two attempts I try. Part of me is ok with this because I had planned to wean her around one year old. The other part of me is sad because I love nursing her first thing in the morning and most especially, before bed at night. And, the best thing to do when she is sick is to nurse her so she feels better. But, I am soaking it up every chance I do get and also happy that the transition to no longer nursing will not be too difficult.
• She is fantastic at using sippy cups. With Atticus, we used the soft rubber type of lids for a long time. But, she knows how to get water from the hard lids as well as use a straw.
• She is still learning to play and loving her toys. I recently got down all of the toy kitchen food and plates and toys and she has attached herself to one tiny little plastic jar and a spoon that she pretends with. She also got lots of new sweet things for her birthday that she is already playing with - her dollhouse and her stroller and her tea set. She also has some dolls and stuffed animals that I keep in her bed and when she is waking up in the morning and playing in her bed by herself, I can see her in the monitor picking them up and looking at them.
• She still gives lots of bedtime kisses and even plays the same game as Atticus of sometimes wiping them off when I give them to her while she grins and laughs!
• She also loves water and water faucets. She has a great time going to the big Jacuzzi tub in our bathroom and turning the faucet on and off. And now, if I sit her on the kitchen counter while I talk to Vic, she will reach for the kitchen faucet and turn it on and off. She will also imitate washing her hands with the soap on the kitchen counter as well. She is too smart!
• She is getting a mind of her own. She knows what she wants and when she wants it. Whether it is a toy, or some food, or just for you to pick her up, she will grunt and point until you figure it out. It's almost as if she is just dying to say the words herself but just can't get them out.
• She is also a hitter. She will look directly at Atticus and hit him if he is in her way or playing with something she wants. I tell her no and that we do not hit, so that not only does she understand but to also emphasize for Atticus. He loves her and while he can be rough sometimes, he typically is not ugly to her. So, sibling fighting is already starting I guess...I don't like it!
• Overall, she is still a mama's girl but also a daddy's girl - as long as one of us is holding her when she needs some loving, she is happy. One year old - it went fast!
  

Happy 1st Birthday Grace!

Happy Birthday to our little Grace! Today, we celebrated with a pretty normal day of a playdate to the Children's museum, Chick-Fil-A for lunch (ok so Atticus cares more about this than Grace right now), GG coming into town and a little family dinner with cake. The most fun part of the day was watching Grace tear into her chocolate cake after dinner while we sang Happy Birthday to her. We turned out the lights, lit the candle and sang. She didn't really know what to do, but reach once for the burning candle. Then, it was time to blow it out. After watching Atticus attempt to blow it out, she pursed her little lips together and blew threw them making more of a noise than actually blowing out any air! It was hilarious! Atticus finally got the candle blown out and we gave Grace some cake. She tore into it, which gives me high hopes for her smash cake she will have on Saturday at her birthday party. She liked her cake and was messy and cute, although Vic had to laugh through his cringing of her messy fingers covering her chair with cake and icing. We are excited to celebrate more of her birthday at her birthday party this weekend!

 

 

Atticus' Sleeping Habits

Around November/December, Atticus started coming to our room in the morning about 6:00 or so and laying on the ground, with his blanket, to fall asleep again. It was funny because he knows he should stay in his bed and cannot sleep with us. But, one morning he came and we actually found him outside our room on the floor of the kitchen with his blanket. Then, a couple mornings later, he was on the floor of our room next to Vic's side. Vic started putting a pillow down there for him to lay on. Every morning he would do this and when he woke up around 7:00 or 7:30, he would see us and be up for the day. Well, after Christmas, he started coming to our room and patiently waited until we put him in bed between us. This was still around the same time of the morning, but didn't happen every morning. Then, it progressed to coming to my side to get into bed with us. Then, it progressed to him just climbing over me while I was sleeping and putting himself in between us under the covers. Well, it was adorable and cute and he was snuggly and would typically go right back to sleep. And since it was around 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning, it wasn't worth it to me and Vic to take him back to his room and put him back to bed and deal with an upset little boy who might wake his sister. Then, for a week or so, he started coming about 1:30 in the morning. One night, he was crying so I just stuck him between us and quickly realized that would never work. He just moved around and stuck his feet in our backs so 20 minutes later we were headed back to his bed. We had to fall asleep with him a couple of times to avoid too many tears. But, after that, when it happened in the middle of the night, we just took him back and put him down and he would go back to sleep. Fortunately, that middle of the night stuff stopped and he is back to coming to our room around 6:30 or so to climb into bed. Now, though, as we continue to sleep (well as I continue to sleep - Vic is typically already at the gym), he will either sleep or just lay there and sing softly to himself or talk to himself in a whisper until I wake up. Sometimes I am awake but love listening to him. He is so sweet to not want to wake us and so sweet to just snuggle up with us. I have never been one to want my kids to sleep with me. I want them in their beds and us in our bed. And one day soon I'm sure we will have to nip this  morning routine in the bud, but for now I love it. I get my good night of sleep and I get to wake up to a sweet little boy who is happy and ready for the day. The only drawback is that when I want to wake up early in the morning to exercise or to just be productive before kids wake up, I am not successful. Atticus won't crawl into my bed because I'm already awake, but I also get zero time to myself to get things done. Oh well - I don't really like waking up early anyways, so I just enjoy this instead!

Happy Birthday to me!

My birthday weekend was really fun! I barely have any pictures to document it, but I want to remember it! Friday was my actual birthday. After a morning playdate at the park, my good friends Cecilia and Meghan took me to lunch at Wings N More which was a wonderful treat! The kids and I ran some errands and headed home and I even went to workout on my birthday when Elena, our babysitter arrived for one of her weekly sits. Then, the evening was dinner and gifts while we waited on Ana and Charley to arrive late into the night. Vic and the kids gave me some cool kitchen finds. One was this little bowl that holds your salt. Vic and I put salt in a big plastic container to grab pinches when cooking, but it's rather embarrassing to pull it out for guests. So, Vic found this little bowl with a spoon! So cute! Also, they got me these measuring cups in the shape of a Mason Jar. Ana had shown these to me on Pinterest and I loved them! But, they could only be purchased in the store. So, Vic headed that way a couple weeks before to find them and the World Market employees almost laughed when they said they can barely keep them in stock. Apparently, because of Pinterest, they have become really popular! But, Vic kept going back until he found them on the shelf and picked them up for me! He even had Ana looking in the DFW area for them. I love them and while I am nervous to use them because I worry I will break them, they will also look great sitting on my counter for years to come. Atticus also made me a birthday cake from blocks that evening, which was so sweet and fun! It was a great day!

Ana and Charley arrived late that night and we all got up to workout the next morning. The boys went for a run and Ana and I went to Piranha (zumba) with our friend Katherine. We ate lunch at Boston's Gourmet Pizza and then we handed off our children to Ana and Charley and they practiced parenting for a few hours. Vic and I got to go to the MOVIE to see American Hustle. Ana and Charley had told us a couple months back that they wanted to come so we could go to a movie and then they wanted to cook dinner for us. This was a big deal, because prior to 2014, we hadn't seen a movie together since September 2010. Kids will do that to you! So, we went to the movie, kid-free, and really enjoyed it. It is a con-man movie with a surprise ending and was good all the way through. Plus, each and every year, we always want to try to see some of the Oscar nominated movies so we can enjoy the awards season more. And this one was on the list!

After the movie, we headed home to have dinner with Ana, Charley and our friends Chris and Katherine. It was just a really fun night. Ana cooked this amazing Balsamic Chicken and made this delicious chocolate cake and a Butterfinger pie for Vic. Apparently, Atticus helped make the Butterfinger pie and asked for lots of Butterfinger bites along the way. Katherine brought these delicious asparagus wraps with a brown sugar glaze. YUM. Lots of delicious food and wine and after kids were in bed, we played Fish Bowl outside (like charades). It was just so much fun! I still can't really thank those 4 enough for giving Vic and I such a fun birthday weekend (we celebrated Vic's too).

Although Ana and Charley had to leave super early the next morning to get back to Dallas before a new ice storm hit (it was 80 degrees on Friday and got down to 22 by Sunday), we were really glad they came. So, 31 is starting out to be a really good year!!