Dare I say THRIVING...okay week one anyway :)

       Almost a year has past since writing my blog post about "going back to work" and now I'm writing this post excited about surviving our first full week as, stay at home mom and stay at home daughter. What an adventure this year has been!! It was so difficult to go back to work after having you, and I know that is true for most every mom, and I was beyond blessed to have as much time off with you as I did. As I look back now going back to work was great for the most part. It allowed me to have some time away and allowed you to go to a wonderful WONDERFUL in-home daycare with wonderful people whom I feel are like family now. You have grown and changed so much and I wouldn't change anything about this last year even if I could. But not is a new chapter in our saga and it involves a lot of me and you time baby girl!! WHOOHOO!! We survived our first week together and I might dare say...thrived!! We packed for our move, went to the zoo, went to the spray park with Aunt Heather and Lyla, learned how to say no and shake your head yes, cooked dinners for Dadda, got a cold that you decided to share with me (thanks), slept in, woke up early, snuggled, laughed, cried and most of all, on my end anyway, ABSOLUTELY soaked up every minute. I know we are going to have a blast together baby girl and I look forward to soaking up more and more with you. Thank you, and a very special thank you to your Dadda for working so hard and making this all possible. We love you!! xxoo

Uncle Ralphie

      I'm skipping over a lot of posts to instead talk about something incredibly heartbreaking and still shocking. You, baby girl will probably never remember meeting him which brings tears to my eyes but know this GREAT man we lost loved you so very much. Uncle Ralphie died on Tuesday July 22nd. Just writing that alone was like ripping a band-aid off, it stings and brings another tear. He was a Dad to your Papa and Grammy and a Grandpa to your Uncle, Aunt and Me, and he will always be like a Great Grandpa to you. He was a kind, patient, intelligent, funny, loving man, who taught us so much and will be missed more than we can bare. It's been a really tough time for all of us and we aren't really sure how to even comprehend him not being around but we will get through it together. Uncle Ralphie will always be apart of your life, even though he's not here. This would be true either way but it's especially true because the three of us are moving into Uncle Ralphie's house. I'm so excited to feel him around everywhere and see his stuff everyday. It's a blessing wrapped up by Him personally and we are grateful to be starting a new chapter of our life where he lived so much of his.

One is the most UNlonely number!!

      Holy Moly you are ONE baby girl!!! What a year it has been! Full of laughs, tears, spills, fun, trips, family, and more love than I could ever sum up in words. I can say with absolute truth that this past year has been the best of my life. You have brought purpose to our life in a way I didn't know could exist. You have filled our life with more joy than we could have imagined. It hasn't always been easy, and there have been some fights and tears along the way but we have come out the other end of the tunnel happier, stronger and more excited for the future than ever.
      You no longer crawl anywhere, straight walk or run every where you go. You climb absolutely everything and anything, from pullups on the screen door, to couches and chairs, to stairs. You are fearless and sweet, and at times a little diva. You run to the door when  you hear the door opening around 4:30 and know it's your Dada. You don't like it when we leave you or leave the room but you are fine after you get distracted by something else (this is definitely something we need to work on). You are still a great eater and eat pretty much everything we eat. We know you are done eating because you start picking your food up and tossing it off the side of your high chair (another thing we need to work on). You say Mama, Dada, Bye, Hi, wave, kitty and just recently starting saying Nite Nite when you are ready for bed.
       For your first birthday party I wanted to keep it simple. We had family and close friends and ended up with about 40-50 people. You are absolutely loved!! It rained off and on all day which was kinda a bummer since it was a BBQ but all in all it went off just fine. Your Grammy and I made the cake. We had a few decorations, nothing crazy we just wanted something simple and intimate and it turned out great.
       Happy First Birthday sweet girl!! We can't even imagine what the next year will bring but we know with you in our life it will be nothing short of amazing. xxoo

HUGE HUGE HUGE NEWS

        This is sort of a weird thing to be writing to our daughter but we have huge news...we are getting married!! That's right...we weren't married before we had you. We both love you so so much and want you to know that you have just made our love even stronger than it was before we had you. I wont go into too much detail about why we weren't married before we had you or what made us decide now was the right time but I do want you to know that we are beyond excited and thrilled that you will get to be a HUGE part of our big day. Daddy proposed one sunny afternoon (May 26th) when we were walking across the Narrows Bridge. It was one of the best days of my life and I'm so excited to be married to the best man and best father!!