Belated Birthday Post

We celebrated Lena's 1st Birthday while in S Carolina. The months leading up to her turning one were really hard on me. With Dylan, I was so so excited for every new milestone. I am excited with Lena, but it's also bittersweet. I have just loved her as a baby and feel like her first year went by so much quicker than Dylan's did. I'm sure it has to do with how busy the year was, especially since I had a preschooler to take care of. The past year just went by in fast forward. I was certain that I would cry on her actual Birthday, but lucky me, I was able to just sit back and enjoy.

Gram and Pa always take care of their kin on holidays. Birthdays are no exception. Only one and Lena is already a spoiled little Princess.

Her tinkerbell cake

I wanted a special outfit for Lena to wear, but didn't want to sell a body part to be able to afford one. At first I was thinking a pettiskirt, but quickly realized that is the hot trend right now and I refuse to be sucked into hot trends. (other trends I refuse to cave into are skinny jeans, leggings on grown women, boots over pants, and jumpsuits of the one-piece variety) Anyway, my friend Nicole volunteered to make some rufflebuns for Lena. When the package arrived in the mail, I was pleasantly surprised to find not only the bloomers but a way cute tank top to match. Lena looked ADORABLE and I'm so thankful to have such talented friends.

I've been pretty careful to not let Lena have much sugar. I feel like I am partly to blame for Dylan's poor diet and I am hoping to correct some bad habits by altering some things with Lena. Therefore, her smash cake was probably the second time she had a bakery item. I'm not sure she even got a bite of the actual cake, but she was all about the frosting.

The card I made for my sweet little miniature me.

Ogling the presents. Took her a few minutes to figure things out, but she thoroughly enjoyed her loot.

Like I've said before, this girl LOVES Elmo. So, most of her gifts involved her favorite character...books, dolls, toys. She makes sure to give Elmo open-mouthed kisses every chance she gets.

I think it's safe to say that Lena had a great Birthday.

Half the Family

The kids and I spent the first half of April in the Carolinas visiting friends and family. We see my parents every few months, but haven't seen my siblings or our NC friends since last summer. While in Charleston, my mom asked one of her friends to do a photo shoot with her grandkids. These are some of the awesome pictures she captured.

We were lucky in that the boys actually cooperated (mostly) this time around. Last time we attempted this, Dylan only let us get a couple shots and Noah wouldn't even get in front of the camera.

Lena still loves the camera. She smiles everytime she's in front of one. It's adorable.

Kathleen and I weren't very close growing up because of the age gap. She was still in Elementary school when I moved away to college. But, these past couple years we've grown pretty close and I love spending time with her and my cute nephew Noah. I love her...even though she's taller and skinnier than me...hahaha.

Dylan is one of those kids whom everyone loves. He just has one of those infectious personalities and he loves to chat with anyone. He has a really special relationship with my Mom. He just adores her, as she does him.

My little mini-me. One year later and I'm still as smitten with her as the day she was born. She's developing quite the fun and sassy personality.

See how I'm holding onto Dylan to make sure he doesn't run away? Yeah, that's how it goes with a 4 1/2 year old boy. Love him.

Dylan and Noah don't get to see each other very often, but man, they make up for lost time quickly. They love each other and it is so so so so fun to watch them interact. Noah is really able to carry on a conversation now and it was so cute watching him and Dylan have secret talks.

One Year Old

I cannot believe that a year has passed. That was probably the fast 365 days of my life, yet the most fulfilling. No one could ever have prepared me for just how much I would love my little princess. So, in honor of Lena's Birthday I thought I'd write her a letter. My sweet Lena Kathleen, One year ago I was given the most precious gift. The day you entered my life, I felt a sense of completion. You are such a beautiful little girl and your smile lights up the world...especially your Mommy's world. I cannot remember what life was like before you arrived. At one year old, you are a busy little thing. You never sit still for more than a few seconds, but that's okay. You love to explore. Everything you touch, you try to put in your mouth. You have a mouthful of teeth, yet you keep teething. Maybe you'll end up having more teeth than every other person on the planet. You crawl everywhere. I think your little body has been a hinderance when you try to stand on your own. Those little legs just can't support your head. But, you love to hold on to anything and walk around. I just know it's a matter of weeks before you are off and running on your own. You absolutely adore your big brother. He will do whatever it takes to try and make you laugh and you certainly oblige him. Whenever he is away from home, you crawl around the house looking for him. When we pick him up, your face breaks into a huge grin and you try to lunge out of my arms so you can grab him. I think you even taught him how to share! Even your Daddy has been seduced by your charm. He thinks it's funny to call you vampire baby since you are always trying to bite him when he isn't paying attention. I will admit, it's super funny. You love to watch cartoons. I have to keep an eye on you because I'm sure you would sit and stare at the tv all day, if allowed. You adore Elmo. Thank goodness, because I couldn't take another kid who only wanted to watch Little Einsteins. Everytime you see Elmo (whether in a book, on tv, or a toy), you smile really big and start blabbering away. You also love music. Heaven forbid I turn off the radio while we're driving around, that would start a sob-fest. Aside from the fact that you haven't been the greatest sleeper (I forgive you), you are the most awesome baby. You are a good eater and will try anything. So far, the only foods you haven't liked are fruits. You smile and laugh all the time. You can say Dada, Mama, Dede (Dylan), and tickle tickle. Only a few words, but you blabber all the time so I'm pretty certain you'll be talking as much as your brother in no time at all. Lena Bear, we all love you so very much and are so greatful you came to our family. We all look forward to watching you grow and learn new things. Thanks for being so precious. Happy Birthday Princess. Love, Mommy

Bathing Beauty

Why am I posting naked baby booty? Because I can! She's mine, her booty is cute and my blog is private. I'm sure she'll hate me for it one day, but these pictures just make me giggle.

This girl loves her some splishin' and splashin'! Pretty sure she would stay in the tub all day if allowed.

It's Never Too Late

Way back when we were planning our move to Michigan (8 months ago!), we tried to make it a little more enticing to poor Dylan. Mike and I did what any good parent would and bribed the child with the prospect of getting a new bike when we moved. I was good...I went to Target and bought that Mike the first week we were here. Unfortunately with all the chaos surrounding our house, Dylan's new bike sat in a box in the garage...for 8 months.
Now that the weather is becoming more Spring-like (meaning we don't have 3 ft of snow covering every inch of our property), Dylan has started begging to ride his bike. Oopsy! On Thursday when Mike got home from work, Dylan pitched him ^this^ face and said "Daddy! Put together my bike...Please."

So under the light of this pretty awesome looking moon, Mike got to work. Performing the task the almost every Dad on this Earth despises, putting together kids' toys.

Pretty sure Dylan will out grow this teeny bike by the Fall, but it's a good size for him to learn on.

The tires are still flat because we don't have a pump, but Dylan is a happy kid just pushing this thing around our driveway and on our deck. Yay for Spring weather and Daddy's who can put stuff together!

And...just because she's so cute. Little Lena thinks that she can push back her bedtime now that it is light outside until 8:30. I say...No way Lena bear...well, until Dylan starts soccer next month.

The First One

I've had a few people make comments lately about how I have a favorite child because most of my recent pictures and stories are about Lena. This is so not true! First of all, if you went back to when Dylan was a baby you will find a gazillion pictures and stories about him. I am trying to make sure I document as much of Lena's first year as possible so she doesn't feel like I didn't have time for her. Second, Dylan does not like to have his picture taken lately. Third, Dylan is out of the house a lot more these days because of preschool and playing at friends houses.

That being said, Dylan is such a good kid. People tell me so all the time, so I'm not just bragging because he's mine. He is (most of the time) very polite and friendly and super super smart. I have to register him for Kindergarten this Friday. I cannot believe that he is ready for this step, but I know he will thrive when school starts in August.

He's learning all about the intricacies of friendship these days. He was of the mindset that he could only have one friend in each atmosphere he is exposed to (school, church, swim lessons). I ended up having to have a talk with him about it because one of his friends from preschool had told his Mom that Dylan wasn'this friend anymore because Dylan is now friends with another kid. To Dylan's credit, his 'new' friend Gavin is also in swim lessons with Dylan. I think that extra time together helped them to form a bond. I explained to Dylan that he can be friends with more than one person at preschool and that he needed to make sure that Caiden didn't feel left out. While dropping Dylan off one day last week, I watched him approach Caiden and say "Caiden, I'm sorry for being mean to you yesterday. Do you want to come play with me and Gavin?" Then all three boys ran off to play.

Dylan had no idea that I was watching him. My eyes welled up with tears and I had this overwhelming feeling of pride. It was one of those moments where you know you must be doing something right as a parent. I so often feel very inadequate, but this experience let me know that my kid is learning important values. Mike and I feel so incredibly blessed to have such an awesome son.

If you can't tell by the new background, I am in the mood for Spring. I don't think I have SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) because I do love me some snow and bitter cold. And no, that was not meant to be sarcastic. I truly do love Winter, but I'm over it this year. I'm ready to take my kids outside to play without having to spend 30 minutes getting everyone dressed for the freezing temps and snow. I'm ready for Dylan to quit playing Wii for hours on end every day. I'm ready for Lena to experience sounds, sights, and smells other than what lies on our floor. I'm ready for Mike to get over his SAD (and yes, I'm pretty sure he has it). I'm ready to go for a walk in the fresh air and sit on my deck reading a good book while listening to my kids laughing. Oh, and I want to get outside and practice with my camera. Winter is not inspiring me...I need some new sights.