Springtime

Here are some pictures I snapped of Felicity and some of her cute buddies at the Arboretum where we met for playgroup this week. At this age I don't think there's more fun they can have than just the freedom to roam.

A rare shot that includes the moms:

And an attempt at a group shot of the kiddos...

I'm so thankful to have this group of sweet mommies and babies to share with. If I could give any advice to new moms it would be that - get involved with some type of group with other new moms and figure it out together!

Sniffle, sniffle...

We've got the sniffles around the Cleveland household. Nothing major...just allergies, I think. Anyway, yesterday I had a big box of Kleenex sitting next to me and had been blowing my nose all morning. Felicity promptly came over and grabbed a Kleenex out of the box. I thought for sure this was going to be a fun game for her, to see how many she could pull out of the box. To my surprise, she put the tissue up to her face, scrunched up her little button nose and tried to blow. It was precious and a good reminder to me that those little eyes are always watching the example we set.

She spent the rest of the morning walking around the house blowing her nose.

12 months

Here are the official one year stats and pics in her nursery!

• We went to the doctor today - 3 shots and a big blood draw from her arm, but she hardly cried. So brave! Her official one year measurements:
• Weight: 21 lbs 2 oz. (55th percentile)
• Length: 30 1/4" (85th percentile)
• Head: 17 3/4" (50th percentile)
• She is a walking fool! She rarely crawls anywhere anymore - prefering to walk everywhere! She looks a bit like a drunk man walking around and takes her share of spills, but she doesn't seem to mind...just gets right back up and keeps on going.
• "Dada" is still, by far her favorite word. I'm starting to think she does associate it with Justin sometimes, but it usually just means anything happy or fun. "Mama", on the other hand, seems to be associated with frustration and neediness... lovely. :-) Someone told me that's because I'm the comforter; however, I think I'd still prefer to be associated with happy times. Oh well...she has also been saying "na na" alot when she is tired/hungry - which we've gathered to mean "nurse"...perfect timing, since I'm trying to wean her now. The "na na" is going bye bye! She also says "ya ya" a lot, so it's fun to have conversations with her, when she reponds positively to everything you say.
• As I mentioned in another post, I'm in the process of weaning her, but she's just not having it so far. She literally throws the milk cup off her high chair tray and starts screaming "na na" {translated: nurse}...so pleasant. :-) The doctor recommended maybe just stopping cold turkey, but I'm not sure she or I could handle that. Hmm...
• Waving and dancing are still her favorite pasttimes....it's borderline out of control. I think she likes the reaction she gets from others...we might have a little performer on our hands. :-)
• Naps...I don't really know what to say. She still sleeps 12 hours at night (7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.), but the days are a mess right now. She's sort of between the two naps and one right now, so it's very hit or miss. Honestly, it's been rough -- very hard to schedule things when I don't really know what she's going to do!
• Size 12 mo. clothes (for now) and size 3 diapers

Here are the pics!

And as a sidenote, I've had a bit of time today to catch up on some older posts (still more to come though)...I've added:

February posts:

-First character obsession

-See ya, Mom & Dad!

March posts:

-Dancing Queen

-Wean the Bean...part 1

Dancing Queen

Felicity likes dancing so much, I felt it warranted its own post. This is my first video to post, so I hope it works. I've got so many to choose from, but here's one featuring her dancing when she's sitting down. One of her signature moves is the "turn table" arms and a bit of hip action too. :-)

Some of her favorite tunes to break it down to are:

-Holiday by Vampire Weekend
-Baby by Justin Bieber
-Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
-ABC by Jackson 5
-Blakcbird by the Beatles
-Debts of Our by her very own Uncle Ryan

As soon as you are old enough Miss Lici - you are headed to dance class!!

Wean the bean...part 1

So after a year of nursing, I think I'm ready to start weaning the bean. I gave Felicity her first cup of real milk on her birthday and well, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves...

"Gross!"

"Here's the cup back, Mom. I'm done with this stuff."

Needless to stay, I don't think this is going to be as easy as I thought it was going to be. I naively assumed she would just start drinking cow's milk from the cup and that would be it. Wrong! I'm still giving it to her at every meal, but she hasn't taken more than one sip. Once she realizes what it is, she shudders and lets it all run out of her mouth. Any other moms with this experience or advice?

Wish me luck! :-)

Celebrating the big O-N-E!

We had the best time celebrating our beanie's birthday this weekend. I really enjoy the the parts of being a mommy that allow for opportunities to be creative. I had such fun putting everything together for our little lady.

Fe's first year faves...

She was quite the little hostess, greeting her guests at the door with a smile and wave.

I put together a slide show of her first year that ran on the TV along with her favorite dance tunes.

Justin's sisters got Fe these adorable Toms. Too cute!

The obligatory cake moment was nothing like I thought it would be. I thought she would dive in head first to her cake, but she would have nothing of it.

Even when we topped it with her favorite food - peas, she just tried to pick them off, but since they were covered in icing, it just wasn't working for her.

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet girl! We love you SO MUCH! 

Happiest of birthdays, little one!

Dear Felicity,

That sweet grin of yours gets me every time. You are one year old today and mommy and daddy cannot believe it. We are celebrating this weekend, but you and I spent today playing at the Arboretum with some of your sweet friends from playgroup. It was a glorious day outside and the perfect 1st birthday outing. You had so much fun running barefoot through the grass and mommy enjoyed every minute of your smiling, waving and wobbly walking.

You have brought your daddy and me so much joy this past year. You should have seen us smiling the day they handed you to us...we haven't stopped smiling since. You and I had a bit of a rough go at the beginning with your...shall we say, aggressive nursing. :-) You would stop at nothing to get that milk you wanted! I should have known, though that your determined little personality was already shining through. You amaze me everyday. Even when it is early, nothing is sweeter than waking up to your face peeking over your crib with that big Lici-bear smile on it. You have such an adventurous, creative, sweet personality that is evident in the way you smile constantly, play pretend, leap off furniture, dance like a crazy woman (even when you're half asleep and busy eating) and cannot keep from waving at everyone you see.

I think my favorite thing about you so far is your innocence. You are pure in the truest sense of the word and are not afraid of anything; you have no reason to be. You trust completely and love every minute of life. You have taught me what it means to have a child-like faith and wonder. I look at you in amazement everyday and thank God for trusting me with your precious  life. I can promise you upfront that I will make mistakes, but I will always, always love you and will give my everything for you.

I want you to grow up knowing that you are beautiful, inside and out...but what is on the inside is what counts the most. God created a masterpiece in you and didn't make one single mistake. Every single part of you is part of His perfect design and you are incredible. I want you to come to me when times are wonderfully sweet and exciting and when you need hugs, encouragement and tears wiped. I am always here for you, no matter what.

Wow...what a gift you are. I am so proud to be your mommy and I want you to know that without a doubt, everyday, we love you and you are a gift.

Love,
Mommy