Happy 13 Months Melody and The Pumpkin Patch!

Happy 13 months sweet girl!!  I am a bit delayed with the post as usual but have been keeping notes on what you have been up to this month!  Lets see- we have been to the doctor quite a bit recently.  I knew it would be like this since Addison started Pre-K.  That's ok though.  Maybe by the time you start school you won't get as sick since you are catching everything now!  Everything Addison catches will usually get to you in a few days and then I bring y'all in for a double appointment.  I'm getting pretty good at that and juggling all different kinds of medicines for you girls!  You have had an ear infection for almost a month now (that started with a cold) and you are finished with your second round of antibiotics.  I have a feeling it's not gone and that maybe you will be a candidate for tubes.  HOPE NOT!  We have the recheck today so we shall see!  

Funny things you do: You like to tickle yourself!  You will put both of your hands under your armpits and slowly move your fingers.  You do this with a big ole smile on your face! (kinda looks like a monkey)!

You pretty much watch and learn everything from Addison.  I have watched you a few times give Addison's baby doll a bottle.  You will place it in and tilt it up.  So cute!

I have this thing I do when I go to pick y'all up- I will clap my hands twice and open my arms wide.  It's something I have always done since having Addison.  Anyway, you now will crawl up to my legs, sit up, clap your hands twice and open your arms to be picked up.  Melt my heart!!!

You have almost 5 teeth!  Once you turned a year, those top teeth just started falling down!  It's happening SO fast and seems like every week now you have a new tooth!  

You are STILL nursing.  I am wondering when to wean but really don't think about it too much.  I nurse you about 2 times a day (when you wake up and before your morning nap).  I go to the gym at night and Daddy will give you your cup of milk!

You are sooo into puppies right now!  You will make the cutest sounding bark ever!  You pucker your lips and it sounds more like a deep belly bark.  Your eyes get so big when you see a dog and you will point and bark.  You still enjoy loving on Sunny and Bubbi.  They could care less and love you too.  

The other day you saw Addison's Diego doll and you said, "Diego."  I couldn't believe my ears!  It was pretty clear too.  You are a little sponge and it's amazing how much you absorb.  Kinda made me sad when you said it cause it proves that you are skipping the whole baby stage with all the baby characters like Elmo and Cookie Monster.  You are just jumping right into whatever Addison likes and it is really sad!  You also say, "Thank you."  You will find tiny pieces of whatever on the floor and hold them up for us and say "thank you."  That is WAY better than putting everything in your mouth!  You also say, Mama, Dada, and Uh Oh.  That's all the words I can think of right now.

You took your first step last week on Oct. 27th.  I provoked it.  I am in no rush to get you to walk but we were playing in our bedroom and I wanted to see what you would do if I shook a bottle of vitamins.  You stand up independently all the time and usually will sit down with control.  This time you were standing and took a step when I shook the bottle.  You definitely wanted to play with those suckers.  Later on that day you took one step and then 2 all on your own.  I guess it was all about confidence!  I'm thinking we have at least one more month until you become a walker!  One things for sure, this household is baby proofed and prepared!!

This is something you have done for the last few months.....when we are just laying in bed cuddling or after a nursing session, you will quickly lay down on me, rest your head on my shoulder and put both arms down to your side.  Once you get in position you will make a huffing noise real quick.  Then I will do it back.  Then you will do it again.  This goes on for awhile and then you will lift your head and give me the biggest smile.  It's like your own form of communication.  You also do this to Daddy when he takes care of you!  When you first started doing this I didn't really get what you were doing.  THEN I started playing along and it was ON!  You were so excited and this has just become a daily routine for you!  I LOVE IT!!

We went to the Pumpkin Patch a few weeks ago.  It was fun but honestly a little stressful.  I remember bringing y'all last year and pushing Melody in the stroller.  She was brand new and everyone was trying to get a glimpse of her.  There wasn't much you could do with a baby at the pumpkin patch!  This year it was a little bit harder cause I was carrying Melody everywhere and we were pretty determined to get that perfect pumpkin picture.  Isn't that what every parent strives for at these places?  There was this lady that was setting up this photo op for her grandkids and kept insisting we use it.  It was a wheel barrel filled with pumpkins.  Looked cute and all but pretty uncomfortable for you girls.  I couldn't help but laugh.  We did the best we could and walked away with our proof of the pumpkin patch 2011!  I really was excited to see Addison walk all over the place and pick out all kinds of pumpkins.  She talked and talked and talked about all the pumpkins and which were her favorites.  Funny little history here- A few weeks after Matt and I met in college, we carved our first pumpkin together at my parents house.  It was a last minute thing and my mom insisted we do it.  We went to Walmart to find only 1 pumpkin left and it was not very attractive!  We didn't care and we carved a pretty cute pumpkin.  Well, every year we have always made a big deal of picking out our pumpkins.  Like, would take me around 20 minutes to find my perfect one.  It was usually the one at the very bottom of the stack!  Poor Matt!  He was always digging to the bottom for me:)  Over the years we have stopped carving cause we realized it was so much effort and pretty dangerous for the kids.  Last year I let Addison paint her pumpkin.  I LOVE that idea!  So anyway, back to my original thought......picking out a pumpkin for us has become way less complicated.  We don't have the time anymore to dwell over which stem looks better!  This year we were like, "Yep, that one looks good.  This will be mine."  And BAM there you have it!  Wow times have changed!

Picking out your favorite pumpkins!

Melody was just hanging out and enjoying the scenery.  I was teaching her all about pumpkins right here.  We let Big Sis pick out your pumpkin this year.  I'm pretty sure she loved that!  I have a feeling that will be the last time you let that happen:)

Being Goofy!

I LOVE these of you!  I believe this is the very one you chose!  I think you made a fabulous choice!  When we got home you insisted on putting yours and Melody's on the kitchen table.  I kept trying to put them by the front door with ours cause that's what looks cute.  Nope, you wanted them on the kitchen table so that's where they have stayed:)

Here's the lovely wheel barrel.  I just couldn't quit laughing!  It doesn't look like Addison is very comfy.  She was so ready to just be done with it! 

I think Melody is still at the age where you can give her something to play with (pumpkin) and all will be fine with her!

We found a haystack setup that was pretty cute.  Still humorous though!  We did the best we could and it is obvious you girls LOVE eachother!

Melody, I hope you will always see how much Addison loves you.  She immediately lights up anytime you are around and is just so crazy about you!  You make her laugh, smile (and cry) like no other!  We definitely have the normal sibling issues of not sharing and jealousy and such but that is to be expected.  Sometimes if it gets quite in the playroom I will peep my head in and catch her hugging or snuggling up next to you.  I always say this but I am SO GLAD y'all are this close in age.  You play well together and will be able to have things in common!  The beginning is hard but I always tell Matt if I could change anything, I might would have had y'all even closer together!!!

Here's the best family shot we got!  It's nearly impossible to get everyone looking in the same direction!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY!! (Part 2...The PARTY)

So this post is all about your 1st Birthday Party!  It's funny cause before I had you girls, I use to be sooo organized and had everything so planned.  WEELLL, nowadays I have to throw that out the window!  I had the invitations in the mail and all was ready to go and then Addison got sick.  I thought no big deal cause it was far enough in advance and she would be over it by your party.  BUT what if you got it?  Then it would be right around party day and what would I do?  Well, you got it too (if I remember correctly it was tonsillitis).  So, I rescheduled the party for the next week but a lot of people couldn't make it.  BUT that was OK because we ended up having a really low key fabulous time!  Smaller is better!  We will do it like this from now on until you girls see otherwise!

Cute little plates!

I have always taken monthly pictures to document your growth.  I did this with Addison until she turned 2!  At the 1st Birthday I love to put each pic in a frame and make a circle around some cupcakes or appetizers.  So very sentimental to me!  After the party I always set them up in your baby book. 

So, you had chocolate cupcakes this go around and I think you liked these better than the pink ones on your actual b-day.  They were pretty fantastic!  I did however leave off the sprinkles for you.  Didn't want to take any chances since you only have 2 bottom teeth! 

These were right before the party and I LOVE them!  This was Addison's birthday dress.  You also wore this for your Hawkins photo session( so did Addison).  It is so fluffy at the bottom and I just LOVE it!  I think you did too!

Check out my bottom teeth!

Doing your bumble bee noise

We took you for your 1 year check up when you were almost 13 months.  You girls are proving to be my little petite mamas!  You weighed 18 lbs 10oz (10%) and your length was around 25%.  Addison was pretty much the exact same!  Wonderful things come in small packages!

So happy Mama's holding me!

This is usually what it looks like on a daily basis.  Both kids in some sort of way are on top of me.  I gotta say, I do feel pretty loved!  Oh, and the dogs are never far behind!

I would have to say that this is a pretty normal smile from Addison!  Wow!  I guess we are close to getting out of that "Silly Face" stage!

We ordered pepperoni pizza from Pie Works and you thought it was ok.  I just thought it was funny that you even gave it a try!  No worries though, everyone else loved it!

So by this time you were pretty aware of this whole cupcake/candle thing!  You had the process down and you were pumped to get your hands on that cake!

We had Pat, April, Claire, Baby Sophie (as Addison calls her), Laura, Clay, and Lilly at your party!  It was sooo fun and we had a BLAST letting y'all play outside.  You love to swing and that's where you spent a good bit of time. 

Time to DIG IN!

Can you tell I'm LOVIN' IT?!

Big sister has a thing for these chocolate cupcakes too.  Although she prefers hers to be loaded down with sprinkles!

And here you are after the party digging through your presents!  You just started going through them and pulling everything out! 

You still love a good crawling match.  You begin to chase us and then we turn around and you will high tail it to the other room!  You think this is hilarious and could probably do this all day long. 

These are priceless of you and Daddy!  You needed to be changed and when he brought you back I said, "WHAT is she wearing?"  He said, "LSU clothes!"  I said, "Matt, that doesn't even match."  He said, "It's a purple shirt and purple pants."  MEN!!!!  I let it go though.  Isn't it funny how some of the best pictures ever are always in mismatched outfits?!?!

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY!!! (Part 1...the actual day)

Happy Birthday SWEET MELODY!!!  This post has been in the making for sometime now but you are currently 13 months.  I loved all the pictures and I would never be able to choose!  I want you to be able to see just how precious and full of life you really are!  These are all on your actual birthday September 9th.  I pretty much documented throughout the day starting with breakfast and a nice helping of organic whole milk! 

You had cinnamon toast waffles and peaches for breakfast.  The waffles are one of your favorites and you tend to just devour them! 

I'm sure your thinking, "Really Mom?  It's only 8 AM!  Put that thing away!"

I was super excited about starting the whole milk.  I knew you would love it and I was so excited that we weren't going to have to mess with all those bottle parts.  Y'all have the same cups but Addison's are 10 oz and yours are 7 oz.  That makes things sooo much easier!

You took to the milk just as I expected.  AND as of 13 months old, I am still nursing you.  Because you love it so much, I have had a hard time thinking of stopping.  What I truly want is for you to make the decision on your own.  I was hoping this milk in a cup thing would help things along and it certainly has!  You just drink so much and it is so easy for you that you have really cut the nursing in half!  That was YOUR decision not mine!!!!  That makes me feel so much better.  I didn't slowly take a session away week by week or anything like that.  You just continued to show interest in the mornings, before morning nap and at bedtime.  Any other times you wanted nothing to do with it!  You are my last baby and I just want to hold on to some things for as long as possible (and not be too weird about it!) 

Addison was so happy it was your birthday and sang to you all day long.  She also wanted to share the attention and insisted on having her picture made during breakfast!

Totsie came in town so that we could take the Birthday Girl out for some lunch.  Addison stayed home and we just got to have some time with you and reflect on what a wonderful blessing you are to us.  You truly make our family complete!

 

 

You of course hammed it up for the camera and totally enjoyed your one on one time with us!

For your age I would say you are an incredible eater.  You really don't turn that much away.  One night I made a roast with potatoes and carrots and you just went to town.  I just stared in amazement.  Addison of course had nothing to do with it and am sure ate something like chicken nuggets or mac n' cheese.  You know- typical toddler food!  You aren't old enough to realize all that stuff yet.  I'm sure your day is coming and you will soon refuse good healthy food.  Until then, I will continue to give you things like roast, broccoli soup, spaghetti and blueberry muffins!  Another hilarious thing is that you will sometimes moan when you eat!  You will be stuffing your face so fast and be moaning at the same time.  You keep it honest sweet girl!

You loved biting on your table topper!

You still do your signature move!

Some things that you do right now: You stand by yourself all the time and have started cruising around furniture.  I'm thinking you will be a 14 month walker as of right now.  (Addison was 16 months). I am in no way wanting to rush that though!  It's hard enough keeping up with you when you crawl!  You are SO fast and sneaky!  You are one big cuddle bug!  You love to snuggle and for ME to hold you CONSTANTLY!  If I put you down for a split second you will completely lose it!  That makes things quite challenging some times when I'm struggling to get everyone out the door or having to dress Addison/ help with the potty.  You are definitely a MOMMA'S GIRL!  You still freak out if anyone other than me tries to pick you up or if I walk out of your sight.  Gotta say, it does make me pretty happy:)  You have a very pleasant personality.  You are bubbly, silly, and oh so sweet!  I can already tell you have a kind heart.  You still love to play with Addison and get sooo excited when we go and get her up in the morning.  You will be on my hip and just start bouncing and laughing and light up all over as we get closer to her room.  You are still pretty easy.  The thing that is most difficult is being on the go so much between school and therapy.  You love napping in your crib and if we are on the road you get pretty mad!  You eventually fall asleep but can fight it really hard.  You also would love it if I could just hold you while driving- HA!  Oh, how that would make things sooo much easier!  You have such sweet and honest eyes.  They look like big blueberries sometimes!  You love to play peek-a-boo.  That's a big thing around here along with patty cake.  Addison really loves doing those with you!  You love to take my phone and hold it up to your ear and say,"Hi Daddy!" But it really comes out as, "Hi Dadoo or Dadun."  It is sooo cute!  Your words are Mama, Daddy, Uh Oh, Thank you (comes out as Tank U), and you bark like the dogs!  When you hear them bark, you will pucker your lips and make a "Woo Woo" sound but with a deep grunt.  Sounds like a pretty good bark!  You are a MAJOR dog lover.  The pups are great entertainment for you and they let you love all over them.  I think they know they can't win and they better get use to it!  We have recently introduced Addison to The Little Mermaid and you LOVE to sing along with Ariel!!  You will go, "AHHH AHHHH AHHHHH!"  You picked that up sooo fast.  I remember singing that part to Addison after she watched it for the first time.  Then, I all of a sudden hear you repeating me!  It was hilarious and now you girls just sing that part all the time.  I can sing any part of a song and you will try to mimick the sound and beat.  Definitely got a musical bone!  When you dance you always throw your hands in the air, wiggle your booty and get the biggest smile on your face.  Sure does make me smile!  You can't stand to wear bibs.  I always try and put one on you before you eat cause you get sooo messy.  You will immediately rip it off and if it's a snap one you will pull and scream until I take it off.  I pick my battles.  Then, when it's time to wipe your face it becomes a huge battle.  I basically have to hold your head still and wipe as fast as I can!

That afternoon we went outside and put down a big blanket to let you girls play.  This was your first time to play in the grass and you were very hesitant.  You liked the soft blanket instead!

Addison still enjoys loving on you and you tolerate it just fine!  She wanted you to wear your sunglasses just like she was! 

Touching grass for the first time!

We ate dinner so fast cause we couldn't wait to see what you thought of your first cupcake and chocolate icecream!

I put the famous "1" birthday hat on you.  You weren't really a fan and we had to take the pics before a meltdown occurred. 

Here you are diggin' in!  You kinda just played with it at first and then decided to dive in!

Not Sure?!

I'm thinking you liked it ok!

Addison of course wanted to wear the hat, blow out a candle, and have us sing to her!  Yikes!

I thought this was a priceless pic.  I wish we all ate our cupcakes like this!

So Matt was doing a fabulous job of videoing and taking pics, that he forgot to get the main cupcake shot with the candle.  So, in this pic she has already had her cake, but we wanted to make sure and get the candle shot for documenting purposes.

After dinner we let you open all of your gifts.  Boy were you into the paper!  I believed we did all the unwrapping and then you played with all the bags/paper.  I'm really not sure why we get kids gifts at this age.  Y'all really don't care and only want to play with the things that were basically free!

You really liked reading the cards!

I think your favorite toys were the teething fruit ring, keys, and these two cool purple toys that make neat noises when you shake and roll them.  You are totally musical and we knew you would really like these!

What's funny is that Addison is very aware that all of these toys are your birthday presents, yet she refuses to let you play with ANY of them!  On the bright side, it has been a good "sharing lesson" for her but unfortunately ends in some meltdowns and corner time. 

Playing on the boxes!

I just can't believe it's been a whole year since that wonderful day of seeing you for the first time!  It was such an amazing experience that I will always hold close to my heart.  We love you so very much Melody Rose!