A sneek peak at Scarlett's First Christmas Eve

Scarlett's Birthday Party--Planning

I am so excited for Scarlett's first birthday. It's not only a celebration of the day she came into our arms and the year that followed. January 10th of 2014 was also the biggest day in mine and Texan's lives. And for me, it was the day I discovered an untapped well of love and nourishing. Scarlett has brought out my favorite part of myself. Thanks, little baby.

When it came time to choose a theme--who am I kidding? There was never a time to choose a theme. I was trolling the Pinterest boards mindlessly months ago when I came across a tea cup or something or other...and it hit me like a good shot of espresso! A tea party theme. That's it! When I counted up the family that lives close enough to attend, I decided the house would feel very cramped with that many people in it, especially if the weather is nasty and forces us to stay inside, as it very well could be in mid January. So, I found out through a friend that our church is open to hosting parties. Which is perfect because our church is a beautiful, convenient location for a little shin-dig! Tables, chairs, a full kitchen, it has everything we need for a fabulous day. Yesterday I made the invitations, so it seems a party is imminent. Yes, I need to hand them out still, but that's just a technicality. It's happening.

Does having a tea-themed party mean that I can guzzle down as much coffee as I want without shame or retribution and claim that it's in the spirit of the party? Say yes.

The invitations are printed on card stock, the "afternoon tea"-themed stickers are from a Melissa and Doug book I found at Target, and the little tags are from Office Max--made awesome by some glittery scrapbook paper cut to look like a teabag tag.

 

I love that each one is a little bit different and I made more than needed so I can have one to put in her scrap book. By the time this party is over, I am going to exert every last ounce of creativity that I possess, or that my budget will allow. That's my goal.

 

*There are a few little baby gentlemen who will receive invitations, and on their invitations I placed some dapper little prince charming stickers. This sticker book I found has a ton of themed pages, including a princess page, which is where I got the princes.

My only wish is that all of our favorite ladies could come be fancy with us: My sister and niece in Vegas (oh, heck, bring the boys too!), our Florida friends and family--we miss you all!

 

Las Vegas and 11 Months

Tomorrow morning Scarlett Jane will be 11 months old. Here's what we have been up to recently:
-Scarlett loves to put lids on things. I discovered this on our plane ride out to Vegas the week of Thanksgiving. I brought her new sippy cup and a squeezy baby food pouch--astronaut food, so called by Scarlett's Grampy--and she was just as interested in returning the lids to each of the vessels as she was in tasting their contests. It's her new thing any time I take a lid off of something before handing it to her. She demands the lid and tries to return it to its rightful place. She's actually got pretty good coordination.
-Scarlett loves to yell "Ha-Dah!" whenever she is in an echoing place, such as the bathtub--or the Titanic Exhibition at the Luxor in Las Vegas. Do you know the one? The true-to-life historical re-creation of the wreckage that is very somber and quite morbid and doesn't call for a shouting baby to ruin the mood? Well, her Aunt Leah and I thought it was funny at least.
-Scarlett has learned the sign language for "more" but only uses it when she is being sung to. I would love for her to tell me she wants more sweet potatoes or more eggs, but alas, she just wants more horn on the bus go BEEP BEEP BEEP at this point. She's a lady who knows what she likes.
-Scarlett shuffles around on two legs as long as she is holding onto something, like her Aunt Leah's coffee table. Here is my nephew, Levi, trying to kiss her. She evades him, narrowly escaping his pursed lips.

Scarlett and I spent 10 days in Vegas visiting my sister. We saw strip^

The inside of Cesar's Palace...

And the dancing fountains at the Bellagio. 

There was more seen that day, but you just had to be there. 

On thanksgiving^

Watching uncle Steve play football with big cousin, Steven Jr.

Gabby was so sweet to her!

My nephews are such snuggle bugs. They love to read aloud to anyone who will sit still long enough, especially Jack. Missing his cuddles! (I'm not sleeping in this pic, I'm looking at the book...)

This was my last day in Vegas. Levi climbed right into my lap. It took him 10 days to warm up to me, but I'll take it! And doesn't Scarlett look pleased? Her sweet smirk is just the frost to my flakes.

My favorite part of Vegas wasn't the city lights, the cookies my sister baked or the holiday festivities. It was laughing with my sister until I couldn't breathe, watching our evening soap opera drama together, seeing my niece and nephews get excited for Christmas and cherishing their sweet hugs as I said goodbye. My neice asked me, "Are we going to cry when we say goodbye?" No! Because I get to see them all again in March! 

Scarlett and I are sleeping great now that we are home in our own beds. It is so nice to be home enjoying all of the sweet memories from our trip. 

She still wakes up once or twice in the night, eats a mix of solids and purée, loves bread above all foods, nurses day and night, has a molar and is working on 3 more, is starting to get curly hair at the nape of her neck, LOVES to be crazy in the bathtub, is fearless in water and on stairs/ledges, says "bye bye," "mama," "dada," "BA," (for the dogs) and "nee-nee-nee" when she is upset. She sucks her thumb, doesn't know a stranger, and loves to try to feed me. She smes when she sees her Daddy and crawls faster than any baby I've seen when she is up to something. She is my girl, my fresh air, my Scarlett Janey-poo.

Scarlett's First Turkey Day

I always want to remember Scarlett's first thanksgiving. She had 3 diaper blowouts that day. I thought moving up to size 3 would solve our blowout problems--wrong. 

She ate some ham and stuffing for dinner, then had a 40-minute nap right through the rest of the meal. I enjoyed that time so I could focus on my food and help clean up. After she woke up she played and had a bath. She was a wild woman in the tub--splashing and shouting all the while. Then she ate some more ham, applesauce, green beans and stuffing. She was very social with every single one of the 20 guests in attendance and even learned to climb stairs. She climbed them over and over as I followed closely behind her, returning her to the base once she had reached the summit. She stayed up until 9! But that was simply because the house was so full of people and on Nevada time it was only 7, so kids were running and jumping and adults were laughing and talking. There were lots of times during the day where I wished Texan was there. While I bathed her, while she climbed the stairs for the first time, while she ate her thanksgiving meal.

This is what she looked like 5 minutes before I took her upstairs to see if she wanted to nurse and she instantly passed out in my arms. 

I love her more with every breath. I am beyond thankful for my Scarlett Janie-Poo. I am also thankful for the beautiful outfits given to her by her Mimi, Nanny and Aunt Shoe. She was the belle of the ball, as usual. All she was missing was her Prince Charming--Daddy, of course. 

But we know he works so hard so we can have fun with our extended family who we rarely see. And we will make up for lost time by making extra special memories at home for Christmas! There's no place like home for the holidays! 

Ten Months Today

I wish I could've captured the first time Scarlett showed preference. Now, that sounds weird, I know. But in a sea of Cheerios, I witnessed that girl pick out the one banana-flavored-hydrogenated-bleached PUFF and gobble it up with glee.

 I have never bought puffs, (she said, turning her nose up at the rest of the puff-feeding mothers--I'm not being snooty, I just prefer to give Scarlett Cheerios because their ingredient list is more no-nonsense) but puffs seem to be the "happy pills" of baby land these days. They are stored in cases at our wonderful church nursery and I have seen many a cry turn to smile at the taste of these manufactured "fruit" treats. So when Scarlett joined the crawler room in nursery I knew she would be given many puffs by the caretakers, and when it was Mama and Papa's turn (that's us) to work in the nursery room last month, I saw it for my own two eyes. I placed the babies in the feeding chair--described in a blog post of mine from last year-- and sprinkled some plain Cheerios on the table. Then I added just a few puffs. And I'll be darned if Scarlett didn't shove a couple unassuming O's out of her way on the way to the chemical candy, as I like to refer to them. Then today she did me one better. It was afternoon snack time and I sprinkled some Cheerios on her tray then cut (bit) some raisins in half and poured them amongst the Cheerios. She reached for a raisin but accidentally grabbed an O and actually chucked it. Threw it with gusto across the room, she did--much to the delight of her dog, Bentley, who has recently acquired a pallet for whole grains. 

**I found a brand of "puff" snacks that are made with rice flor and dried fruit and no artificial anything!**

At 10 months, Scarlett:

-waves and says "bye-bye." 

-says Pa-pa, Ma-ma, Da-da and lots of other more meaningless "words."

-"pets" the dogs with lots of enthusiasm.

-naps twice a day.

-goes to bed at 8.

-loves to watch kids play.

-loves her Daddy, who has decided he wants to be called Papa. Not pronounced like "paw-paw," or like "p'PA," like a snooty rich kid in a movie (I don't know) but more like "Papa bear, mama bear and baby bear." You know? You know.

-is very ticklish under her arms,

-loves books. She has a bookshelf, but I often store her board books in the pockets on either side of our rocking chair in her room. I reach in and pull out a book, then put it back and find another one and so on until we have read about 5 each night before bed. Recently, this week she has started to kneel in my lap and lean over the side of the chair and reach in for a book. It's  basically the first one she can reach, but it is still adorable to see her reach for her book then lean back in my lap and hold it up for me to read to her. And as I read she strokes the pictures as if to say, "pretty," or, "that bear sure is fuzzy!" I would read to her all night if I didn't suspect her of stalling bed time even at such a young age. Last night she was getting a little rowdy, wanting to keep reading as I turned off the light to rock her to sleep. So I said sternly, "No more playing. It is time for bed." She looked at me and threw her head back, and cried out like I had pinched her. I had hurt her feelings and I knew it. Of course Texan came running in, "What's wrong with my baby? Come here, what did Mommy say?" *pause while my eyes roll back* 

-has started challenging Mommy at bedtime.

-is almost off puréed food. It's easier to get meal time over with if we are rushing to do bath and bed if I can shovel in some puréed green beans or mashed sweet potatoes, but most of the time I let her feed herself whatever we are eating or something especially for her. A typical day of meals for Scarlett is as follows: 

Breakfast>scrambled egg yolk with avocado or toast then yogurt or fruit.

Lunch>veggie pasta w/ puréed veggie then fruit or yogurt.

>cereal, fruit pieces for snack

Dinner>whatever meat/veggie we are eating if possible, if not I make her shredded chicken and a veggie with a biscuit or bread of some kind. Scarlett loves carbs. Any bread or pasta she can get, she is all over it. 

And finally, Scarlett has learned that being tall is awesome. She is in the 40% for height, but those long legs do so much to her advantage in reaching up to grab exciting things that I didn't think she could reach--out of the refrigerator mostly. 

I love her. Her laugh, her sweet baby smell, her toothy grin, her chubby cheeks, and every single solitary cell of her being! 

Tomorrow I'm going to photograph her in her beautiful November outfit that doubles and her 10-mo suit and a thanksgiving dress. Stay tuned! 

Eight and Nine Months

Nine months sounds so old. But that's my baby! I have a great big nine-month old.

On September 12, after being 8 months old for two whole days, I was sitting at my parents' dining table when my dad announced that Scarlett was standing. And sure enough, I turned around to see her holding onto the living room ottoman for dear life. My parents and I then proceeded to photograph the moment sufficiently as she stared up at us, most likely hoping we might save her from an impending fall. Since then she has taken to standing anywhere she can--in her crib, by the couch, at the French doors yelling at the dogs ( DA-DA!), and in the fridge trying to commandeer the soy sauce. My favorite thing about her standing is when she is fussing and I can say, "Come here, sweet girl." And she'll crawl over and climb into my lap and stand up by the couch and wave her arms around until I lift her up. I also think it's pretty cute how she chews on the edge of the couch, squealing all the while. 

It's pretty impossible to get Scarlett to sit still, especially when it's 50 degrees outside like it was the day I tried to take Scarlett Jane's 9 month photos. I always try to take her pictures outdoors to get the best lighting. Or at our last place we got a ton of light into Scarlett's giant bedroom window so I always took her photos at that window. And after how adorable her 8 month photos turned out...I mean, look at this face!!

 I was set on getting something just as adorable this month. But, alas, every time I sat her down she simply LUNGED toward the camera. Oh well.

 

These are the only ones I could get that didn't show her in a partial blur. She looks pretty as can be in brown in her cute little t-shirt from Mimi. Thanks, Mimi!

 

My 9 month old eats cheerios, chicken, and green beans among many other little finger foods that she can pick up all on her own. She still gets tired of feeding herself and demands that I shovel in some puree and she still nurses plenty of times throughout the day including once around 4 am.

Her bedtime is between 7:30 and 8, at which time we read, sing and rock until she can barely keep her eyes open.

She takes no interest in her sippy cup except to chew on it.

She takes two naps each day. One starts 2 hours after waking up and lasts around 2 hours. The second one is about 3 hours after that first one ends and lasts about an hour.

She loves to shop. She admires all of the colorful items on the shelves and sucks her thumb when things get boring.

She sucks her thumb for many reasons and oftentimes for no reason at all.

She loves to watch children play. I'm thinking of hiring some local children to entertain her so I can get some work done around here...just kidding. Child labor laws and such.

She is a super fast crawler, can take about 2 steps with the help of her push walker (in the picture above) and when she is really ready for a nap, she tries to climb my legs.

She says "Dada" and "Mama" very clearly and yells, "Badu!" or "Bada!" at the dogs.

She puts her index finger in her mouth when she is being shy with people.

She wakes up around 7:30 or 8:30 each morning.

She weighs 17 pounds 14 ounces and is 26 inches tall.

She loves her bath time.

She loves to eat just because I am eating.

She eats a poached egg yolk every morning.

She loves the theme song to Gilmore Girls. It makes her stop whatever she is doing, smile, and shake her arm all around like it's on fire.

She gives very sweet kisses to Mommy and Daddy.

She is my very favorite thing!

 

 

 

Hello, September.

I know this photo does not accurately convey the way in which I will spend my September. (Hint: there will be shorts, and sweating and yelling 'Where are you, Autumn?')...but I am still looking ever forward to one of the greatest times of year.

Scarlett turned 7 months old on her very first (of many) Florida vacations. Texan and I both grew up spending summers in Florida visiting family, going to the beach and frequenting Disney World. So I love the idea that Scarlett will know that same joy that it brought her parents as children. I wrote about very day (here in my blog) as it happened, that's why sometimes you'll read in present tense, then in past tense as I added detail. This may not bother you, but for some it will drive you nuts. Just think of this as my journal of our vacation. I know it is long, but it has been about 3 weeks coming. So hunker down and get ready. And take a bathroom break somewhere after day 3 if necessary because it could be a while before you get another chance.

On Friday, our first day in Florida, we recovered from the exhausting late-night flight the night before. We didn't get to the house until after midnight and even though that's only 11 in our state, the stress of the anxiety in traveling with baby had me worn out.

(Eating carrots in the terminal)

(Happy baby, happy Daddy about to board the big metal bird)

(Waiting for Texan's dad to pick us up curbside in Florida)

 Scarlett took a while to calm down and go to bed but by 2 am we were both asleep and she has slept like an angel the entire time we have been here. I am sticking to our time difference so she doesn't get confused. So she goes to bed at 9:30 and wakes up around 8 Florida time. She has taken two long naps every day that we have been here as well.

(Scarlett LOVES her aunt Savannah. I think the feeling is mutual)

Friday night Scarlett met her great aunts and uncle and her great grandmother at the rehearsal dinner. Did I mention we came into town for Texan's sister's wedding? Small detail I forgot. Scarlett was her happy giggly self all evening and was a delight to all who were met with her smile. 

On Saturday we swam and went to lunch at our favorite pizza parlor with my best friend who gave birth to Scarlett's best friend one month before Scarlett was born. Sunny and Scarlett love to stare at each other and giggle and coo. Sunday was their 7 and 8-month birthday. We went to our old church and had lunch with our friends again at our favorite sushi place and attempted a beach trip but were rained out in a hilarious turn of events which left us screaming and dashing for the car while dragging all of our drenched belongings behind us.

(Grammy Rochelle with Sunny and Scarlett)

('Aunt' Heather and 'Uncle' Keith)

(Soaked from rain after the beach fail)

Monday was a more successful beach trip and also Texan's last day of vacation before returning home for work. We went to the beach with Texan's younger sister early, about 9:30. Scarlett loves water, so it was no surprise when the tide washed over her chubby little legs she kicked and splashed with delight. She even had her first taste of sand! (A right of passage, I think). Texan wasn't too thrilled with her eating it, but I couldn't help remembering my nephew's first beach trip where he ate plenty of sand and lived to tell about it.

I like to let her curiosity blossom whenever I can as long as it won't hurt her. Then came lunch at our favorite cafe in Titusville. Do you detect of pattern? It was as delicious as we remembered and we got to visit with the owners who gave us a free dessert to thank us for coming to visit them. Texan worked there once during college and they have remained good acquaintances.

 The rest of Monday was used up with a shower, a nice long nap (had by both Scarlett and myself) and saying farewell to Texan until Friday.

(Wake up, Dad! It's time to get on a plane!)

Scarlett and I lounged around and watched a movie and went to bed right on time. 

Tuesday was the most exhausting day of them all. Scarlett was bright-eyed by 7:50--ahem, 6:50 Texas time. Yawn. We had breakfast, called her doctor to describe a rash, learned that she has eczema (maybe? Not really. My family refuted that when we got back home) then she napped for 90 minutes while I sun bathed by the pool. At 11:30, Heather picked us up and we went to Target to get some baby essentials, then to lunch with Heather's mom, sisters and grandmother.

All of whom are on my list of favorite human beings. And it's a short list, so they made the cut. Haha. Lunch was followed by helping Heather with housework then spending the evening showing off Scarlett to everyone at the elementary school where Scarlett's great aunt and great grandma work followed by buying out the baby section at Macy's and eating steak one-handed (thanks for cutting my steak, Grandma Gail) because by the end of this day Scarlett was spent and needed my lap.

(Somebody rode in style about the mall)

Once home she had a good bath, some bananas, some play time in a box⤵️

followed by bed at 9:30 (8:30). I'm tired just telling you about it.

Wednesday we spent the day with Heather and Sunny again and even spent the night at their house!

(Here are Sunny and Scarlett on their 8 and 7 month birthday! Scarlett is rocking her beach ball onesie from her Mimi that says "7 months" at the bottom)

We watched the video taken during heather's labor/delivery and cried our eyes out together. We just love being mommies together! Thursday we swam and said our goodbyes later in the evening. It's so sad to not know when we'll see each other again! 

Friday we left the house at 1 for the airport and we arrived at my sister's house at midnight, making for an 11 hour day of travel for Scarlett and I.

(Scarlett's souvenir from Orlando airport)

(Documentation that she survived a 2.5 hour plane ride. She pulled an old lady's hair and pooped in her diaper. Let's not forget to mention she dumped a cup of water on herself as well. I have never been so glad to be in Kansas City than when that plane landed)

(We also survived a 3-hour layover in KC on a wing and a (bunch of) prayer)

We then spent Saturday in McKinney with family before heading home that evening. Finally, home! It felt so good to rock Scarlett in our glider, to put her stinky diaper in my diaper genie (safe from the family dog in Florida who has a taste for baby poo), to crawl into my bed with my feather pillow and not have to worry about waking Scarlett up for any reason, because she was in her room across the hall sleeping and dreaming of her favorite sippy cup, bananas and the beach. Or whatever babies dream of. Home.

August has been, by far, our busiest month this year. It began with a sisterly reunion of sorts,

(Scarlett with both of my sisters' daughters! We each have our own sweet girl to love on. I just love my nieces)

included having Texan's parents from Florida come to stay, our first family vacation,

our first time hosting bible study in our home, Scarlett's first attempts at crawling and pulling herself up,

lowering her crib mattress,

(Watching daddy lower the mattress)

saying "Da-Da" at the sight of her actual, living, breathing Da-Da, and many more exciting--and maybe a few relaxing--moments.

I am so ready for September. Fall. Autumn. Pumpkin. Candy. Coffee. Boots. Ah, Fall. Goodbye August. It's been real. Real hot. Real fun.