Amelia Turns 1

I'm a little late on this post but I just couldn't find the time or motivation to get this posted.

So now that she's taking 2-3 steps at a time, I figured I should get this first birthday post down before the walking post.

Yep, my baby is one. One. It's been a year. One year since we drove to the hospital and labored for a day and a half to meet this beautiful baby girl.

Her first word is officially "ball". She says "ball" whenever she sees ANYTHING round. When you ask her where her ball is, she actively looks around for it.

She loves blueberries and cheese, I would safely assume they are her favorite food at the moment.

Four teeth (another on the way) shine so brightly at you when she parts her lips in a smile or laugh.

Bath time may very well be her favorite part of every day. Recently she has been enthralled with the bubbles and loves to taste them.

Knowing she has something she shouldn't is a new realization of hers. She will look at you with it in her hand or mouth and quickly start crawling away when you start moving towards her.

And she can demolish a cupcake in less than a minute.

Enjoy the pics from her first birthday party...

Happy birthday Amelia!!! 

camping

Amelia had her first camping trip this weekend! Thanks to a few friends we were able to share a camping spot up on Swift Reservoir! 

Amelia loves to be outside so of course she had a great time playing in the dirt and eating rocks. I didn't get too many pictures because I prefer to spend my time playing rather than stuck behind a camera.

She did really well with her naps and sleeping at night. I just had to do a little rocking/walking in the Ergo to get her to sleep. She slept her usual 12 hr nights.

Stuffed in the car with all the camping gear

First morning

Add caption

I'M CAMPING!!!

Cheezy faces... LOL

Second morning.. it was FREEEEZING

Thats what I look like after two days of camping... ick

BRRRRRR

Goal One...

Pay off a significant amount of debt.

{We're in this together}

I sat down with hubby to have a chat about our life long goals. We both agree that I need to be home with the babies, eventually. I went on telling him that he needs a better job and may have mentioned that I felt like he wasn't doing anything to move this family forward. I cried, then he talked.

I always get ahead of myself, it's my gemini personality. When I want something, I want it now. I wake up in the morning and decide it's a good day to go for a hike, we go. I need change and spontaneity in my life a little more than the average person, I think. So when I dropped the bomb on hubby and he so calmly reassured me that our current goal was to be paying off debt, I immediatley felt ashamed. I cried some more and told him that I was sorry and that it was my "other" personality coming out. 

This isn't to say that I don't think he needs a different job, he truly does. For the sake of his sanity and well being he needs to be doing something he enjoys. So I agreed with hubby and firmly believe that our first task at hand is to be paying extra money to all of our bills.

A couple years back we were put in a really crappy situation. We were living with a roommate who left us high and dry in the middle of the lease. Tony and I tried to sublet the house and considered getting other roommates but in the end we were stuck with the full amount of rent each month. That said we ONLY had money each month for the rent which meant everything else on credit cards, and well you know where that leads. We are still trying to catch up, obviously.

GOAL ONE: PAY OFF A GOOD CHUNK OF DEBT!!!

AAAAAND........... GO

TORN

There should be no question about where I want to be, and really there isn't. I want to be at home with Amelia. But there is the side of me that loves to be in the classroom.

I'm torn. I have to convince myself everyday that it's necessary for me to be working, to contribute to supporting our family.

  

She turns one in a month and my goal (as of now) is to be a permanent stay at home mom by the time she is three, if not before.

Goals need to be set, both short and long term. Plans need to be set in action.

Ready, set, go!

11 Months

Seriously? SERIOUSLY? She's almost a year old??? 

Where has the time gone? My mind is blown when I think back on when Amelia was born and how it seems to have been just yesterday. It makes my emotions swell just a little to think she is growing this quickly.

Just a couple weeks ago she started crawling and now she's a busy little bee. She crawls as fast as she can, falling over herself to get somewhere. She pulls herself up on anything she can get a hold of. She's a mover and a shaker!

Well the planning for her first birthday shall commence!

It Takes A Village

   
This weeks theme was, "changes". I started a new job, Amelia started childcare, and we are trying to find and finance a car. The week leading up to this big week was stressful to say the least. Without a car, running errands was difficult. I had papers to sign, child care centers to tour and get Amelia acclimated to, cars to test drive, documents to submit, and the list goes on. Tension was a little higher than normal in our household (and boy did I feel it in my shoulders), trying to figure out how we were going to make it to my first paycheck, the last working day of August. I broke down into tears a minimum of three times this last weekend fearing the worst for Amelia. Fearing that she would be lost without me, that she would feel abandoned. Tony so gently reminded me that I am a strong person and that I can get through this.

    But I am here to say that we made it, or at least have gotten through the hardest part. I was blessed to only be working half days during the first week, which has lent itself to Amelia becoming more comfortable in her classroom. I was so worried that she wouldn't sleep at all this first week, while at school and she has surprised us all. The first day for her was a little strange when she woke up from nap (yep, she napped) and I wasn't there. Tony and I arrived to her in absolute screaming mode. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday proved to be much easier for her. Amelia is a very outgoing and friendly little girl after all. I think it was me that I was worried about the most (subconsciously). What was I going to do all day without my baby, without the schedule I had set for us every single day? Instead I was going to be in charge of a whole classroom of other people's children. I liked sleeping every day until Amelia woke up, I liked (mostly) to do household chores while she took naps and I liked being able to see her progress and learn every day.

    Just these last few days has taught me a lot, and I know it will continue to be a learning process as a new parent. Four short days has showed me that I do miss being in a classroom, planning activities and creating these close relationships with each child. It has showed me that you have to do what is necessary for your family, that sacrifices are always a part of life. I know Amelia is in a safe and caring environment, that she likes to interact with those little babies every single day and that she is just plain OK. I just keep thinking about the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child". Of course I would love to stay home with Amelia every day, but would she be well socialized? I think it's harder to be a stay at home mom these days, unless you have it made like in the "old days" when families were all in close proximity and could share the responsibilities. Anyway, thats a whole different discussion...

Moral of the story = You have to do what you can to support and love your family. Sacrifice will always be a part of life.

   

 Next week may be a whole different story when we start our 8-9 hr days. Hopefully we have a car soon :D

Memories

     Whenever I make up a batch of green beans I always, without fail think of my Grandma Norma (my dad's mom). As a little girl I was all too familiar with vegetable gardens. Every summer we would care for my grandparents pretty sizable veggie garden. Among the vegetables were corn, green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins, as well as a few others. It will never be forgotten the number of hours my mom spent in that hot kitchen with Grandma Norma, canning. My strongest memories include eating corn, shaved right off the cob before going into the plastic bags for freezing, and how Grandma always prepared those fresh canned green beans. So simple and so delicious, dill and butter! Thats all there is, dill and butter! That explains why the memory of Grandma comes back so clearly every time I sprinkle in that fragrant bright green dill and the chunks of butter to simmer with the beans. In fact, I actually have the dill container that was from her house. I somehow managed to swipe it either from my mom or directly from the house, many years after her passing. It amazes me that the tiniest smell or item can bring back the strongest of memories.

     Love you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Left to Right: Grandma Norma, Grandpa Bill, my mom, me, my dad and my auntie