1 Year Pics!

Yes, we are 3 weeks late posting this. Yes, we had to wait 3 weeks to take these pictures. Why, you ask?

Ask the big 1-year-old, who decided that she wanted to face-plant into the corner of a chair - right around her birthday. Yep, that happened. She had a big bruise on her left cheek for 3 weeks, and it's still not completely gone.

Anyway, here are some fun facts about our 1-year-old!

• She can play peek-a-boo by herself
• She blows kisses
• She waves goodbye without being asked
• She can pull herself up and stand alone
• She eats grown-up food (her favorite is turkey & havarti)
• She can do "1-2-3 BOOM!" in her crib (you count, she falls on her bottom)
• She can say "yeah," (we're getting so tired of "nay")
• She plays independently for up to an hour (it's amazing!)
• And the last (sad) fact - she is weaned.

One week after her first birthday, Ellie decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. In a way, it's sad. It was a special bonding time that I had with her. And had I known that Thursday before our last MOPS meeting would be the last time I would get to nurse her, I probably would have let her nurse longer, although she did nurse for 20 minutes straight. I tried for a week to get her to nurse again (in case her fits were due to teething), but gave up after that. I'm still pumping for a couple weeks, but I'm trying to slowly wean out of that for myself.

We've been working really hard on blanket/ quiet time, but church is still a struggle. Currently, there are zero babies in the nursery her age - they are all at least a year older - and I am not comfortable leaving her in the nursery with that many older kids. Additionally, until the carpet in the nurseries is replaced, I don't let her in there unless she's on a blanket that we provide. So, during church, she has to sit with us. Which is fine - I prefer that, because it teaches her how to sit quietly and listen. We sit in the balcony anyway, which is convenient when one of us has to leap up and tend to her.

KinderMusik just ended for the semester, and I'm not sure we'll be able to continue next fall. :( It depends on the class offerings, because my work schedule is pretty set, and right now, there are no classes on Wednesdays. Which brings me to an off-topic point - I'm not working from home at all this summer. This will be a change for me, but I'm looking forward to it. It's a good way for me to disconnect from work when I need to be focused at home. I will be carpooling with Robert 3 days per week to work. This will make it very difficult to get to softball on time, but it is what it is.

MOPS is also over for the year. I've already registered for next year. MOPS was so good for me. I don't want to say I couldn't live without it, but I really liked being able to bounce ideas off of other mommies who have babies my age. I've made good friends, and definitely received good advice - and I absolutely LOVED all of the crafts!

But without further ado, here's the princess at 1 year (and 3 weeks) old:

What? I have to wear sticker again?

No way, mommy!

She's not really clapping on her
own. We put on Pharrell.

The ONLY picture of her smiling.

I'm done with this sticker, guys.

I squish your sticker!

BOO!

Robert: "Look at mommy!"
Ellie: "Who, me?"

"Clap along if you know what
happiness is to you."

I don't like this onesie, guys.

I told you not to put this on me again, mommy...

I crumple your sticker, mommy.

I eat your sticker, mommy.

I THROW A FIT, MOMMY!

Our big 1-year-old :)

That's it! We're all done with the first year! (And, we didn't read any of those books, either). It's official: We all survived! And I'd venture to say we're thriving. :)

In her first year, Elizabeth:

• Learned 8 signs
• Learned how to roll over, scoot, crawl, and pull up on furniture
• Learned how to hand mommy & daddy things she's not supposed to touch
• Learned how to feed herself small pieces of food
• Got 2 teeth
• Completed 1 year at MOPS & KinderMusik
• Traveled to North Bend
• Traveled to Skagit Valley
• Traveled to Las Vegas
• and much, much more!

Thanks for keeping up with us via our family blog. Stay tuned for more updates!

PS - We've gotten some questions about our house pictures. We're not done with our improvements yet. We still have a ways to go. When it's all done, we'll post pictures!