Baby’s First Birthday Party

We just celebrated my babys first birthday party. We had a small celebration for Sophia's first birthday on Sunday. She had no clue what was going on but the adults enjoyed it and I had fun putting it together. I made a banner (Sophia is 1), tissue paper flowers (you can find the tutorial here), party hats (you can find the tutorial here), and gift bags (you can find the tutorial here). You can learn how to make a table runner like the one in the picture here. We served spinach salad with chicken (you can find the recipe here), bread from Schat's Bakery, fruit, and cupcakes from Mimi's Cookie Bar.  The favor bags were filled with dark chocolate covered acai berries. We made a simple flower arrangement of long stem pink roses. We blew up a picture of Sophia and put it in front of the fire place. She was amused by the life size picture of herself! The babies looked so cute in their party hats. Sophia held hands with her little boyfriend Timmy! Mommy was proud! Daddy was happy! Sophia was a little overwhelmed! … [Read more...]

She’s One

She's one! It's hard to believe it was one year ago today I went through the most grueling labor experience I never imagined possible. I talked to a lot of moms beforehand. For the most part, everyone said, "get an epidural and you'll be fine." That was my plan. I honestly wasn't worried. I've come to realize labors are as individual as fingerprints, no two stories are the same. My labor story was incredibly  intense and painful. It lasted 52 hours. No one could have prepared me for the fear, pain, and agony I would go through bringing this little being into the world just as no one could prepare me for the happiness, joy, and unbelievable amount of love I would feel when she was put in my arms for the first time.   Watching my tiny helpless infant grow over this last year has been an absolute miracle. In one year I've watched my little girl coo, smile, and giggle. I've watched her learn to roll over, sit up by herself, say Dada and sometimes Mama. I've watched her learn to crawl, feed herself, stand, and pull herself up. I've watched my little girl express herself- showing us how big she is, clapping her hands, and most recently using her finger to make funny sounds with her … [Read more...]

I Love My Baby Girl

I love my baby girl! I can't get enough of her! She brings me so much joy. It's no wonder I take hundreds of pictures of her a week. I don't know if it's hundreds, but it's a lot. At this age, the return of good pictures is not many compared to the hundreds I take. I shouldn't say that. They are all cute. It's just difficult to get her to look at the camera. She's at that age- she's moving all over the place. Just when I think I've captured the perfect one, she throws the binky in her mouth! I love my baby girl. She inspires me in so many ways. I love the sweet open mouth kisses she gives. I love her little giggle. I love giving her baths and getting her dressed in the morning. She's growing and changing so much and I'm grateful for the hundreds of pictures (whether she's looking at the camera or not) I get to take of her every day.  Just a few pics from this week … [Read more...]

11 Months Old!

I can't believe Sophia is 11 months old! … [Read more...]

What’s New With Sophia?

What is new with Sophia? She's on the move! Sophia started crawling over a month ago and is picking up speed every day, covering more and more territory. It started small- moving short distances from one toy to another. Now she's all over! Her favorite place to explore is the basket of magazines. As you can see in the first picture, she's up on her knees and into it! She pulls several out at a time and rips as many pages as she can out. She's flirting with the idea of standing and pulling herself up- but still a little timid...which is fine with me! Sophia Loves... Playing with her toys Hanging out with friends at mom's group Taking baths Playing ball Watching her favorite show "Yo, Gabba, Gabba" Hanging out with Timmy Showing people how she claps her hands … [Read more...]