Lazy Day Friday

Today and this weekend are the first days in a while where our schedule is pretty open. It's really nice to not have a school deadline, trip, or work project, and we can just enjoy some laid back time as a family. Naomi and I just hung out today, spent lots of time reading books, ran a couple errands, and I crossed a couple things off of my insignificant to-do list. Making the bed wasn't one of them. She has been experimenting with raising her leg and falling onto her back afterward, chuckling to herself about her little trick.We have french doors off our bedroom which we've been opening during the day and putting the baby gate up. She loves to stand there and we listen to the birds, watch cars go by on occasion, and we even saw a deer in the woods today!Teeth? Teeth? Did someone say a one-year-old is supposed to have any of those?And although her outfit was covered in flowers, there came a moment where she certainly didn't smell like them. Hence, an outfit change. Enjoy some live footage of the leg trick and her wonderful book obsession...

Evening at the Park...

Grant and I took the baby to a great park this evening. It's the same one in which she made unfriendly gestures at me months ago. We started by letting her do some burn-outs in the push buggy. She has started pointing at things a lot lately... so cute. We saw some duckies.It was such a gorgeous evening after an already beautiful day! Weather spoiled!Classic shot. I love that Grant is hesitant to throw her any higher than this yet. :)There's a new splash park but no small little fountains for babes. She loved watching but wasn't sure about doing much more than that. Master at the monkey bars already. P90X, wuzzup.And we got to see some hot air ballons blow up and take off too...It gave me sweaty hands to watch. I was all over skydiving, but this? I told Grant if he ever surprised me with a hot air balloon ride, he'd be sorely disappointed with my reaction. I would NEVER do this!Aaaand, picture of the week winner is: She loves her daddy. We are so lucky he picked us. Happy weekend to all!

Rough Morning...

This morning was Naomi's 12-month appointment at the doctor's office. Poor thing. She "whined" the entire time, which is quite uncharacteristic for her. She might look sorta happy in this quick pic, but she wasn't. That pic was an accident. This is how she really felt. She didn't care about finding out that she weighs 24lbs, 15oz (95%), that she measures 30.5 inches long (90%), and she certainly didn't give a flip about having a head that's 45cm in diameter (70%)! Then the worst of it all. Two strange women came in and double-whammied the girl with shots. And boy, does she ever know better now! At 6 and 9 months, Naomi was quite unassuming of shots and quick to quiet her one yell in response. Not so anymore... she was A.N.G.R.Y. at those women! I picked her up after they finished and she just cried, and looked both of them straight in the eyes with an intense frown through the tears.So we said a little prayer of forgiveness for the nurses on our way home (j/k), got cozy, and curled up on the couch. Nothing like 0.8mls of Tylenol and a little "Preschool Musical" on Sesame Street to heal a crummy start to the day.I guess having that doctor's appointment down in the books means that I should take down the cute birthday blog background already. Well, maybe tomorrow...

Daddy Time!

All of my studying has produced lots of one-on-one time for G and Naomi this week. He took her on a much more hyper ride than I've ever given her in her buggy, that's for sure! He got it on video, but I'm having trouble uploading it. I'll keep trying. :) So sweet...

Since our trip...

This week is pretty crazy with my midterms going on... pray for me if you think of it! But coming home after my weekend get away was enjoyable with flowers waiting from my hubby. :) Good one, babe. Excuse the dates on the pictures. What's that about?! Pulled out an old camera since our good one's broken. Boo hoo. And packages for the birthday girl were waiting too!Naomi received a Stella doll from her aunt, uncle, and sweet cousin Lillian. We love Stella already! And, yes. Just saw the picture uploaded sideways. Well, tilt your head now. Sometimes you gotta work for the good things in life...And if I thought my face has been buried in the books the last number of days!! Naomi has me beat, I believe! What a little bookworm!She seems to be questioning why I would interrupt her private reading time, when I should be fetching the glass cleaner and washing off the window panes of the door behind her... Yesterday, 4:40pm:This morning, 9:20am:10:42am: 1:10pm:
Apparently, my daughter DID go for one hour and forty-six minutes with only one sock on. The problem has been remedied, I assure you.
2:56pm:I could go take a pic of 3:23pm right now too. But I'll just leave it to your imagination...

Girl's Weekend!

Last Friday, Naomi and I traveled to stay for a weekend with my best friend, Alyssa. We had a wonderful, much needed time of fellowship and... well, talking. For hours. As Alyssa's husband said, we sure are good at it! It was so fun for me to get to see Lyss spend a bunch of time with the baby, as she's not been able to do that much yet! We picked blueberries...took baths...Alyssa was even thoughtful enough to give Naomi her second experience with a cupcake in one week! We gave chocolate a go and she knew much better what to do with it this time!She picked up the whole thing and shoved it right on in.Sweet curls are starting to show around the back of Naomi's head. I'm so excited! Naturally, Naomi got a taste of unique foods at Alyssa's home. I mean, you just have to document a child's first taste of red lentils with coriander - what a milestone! She loved it. I also discovered last week that she loves fish as she shoved whiting filet in her mouth. So thankful for willing tastebuds at 12 months! Playing peek-a-boo with Steve...Thanks for the wonderful hospitality and time together, Lyss! We miss you already!

Somebody Turned ONE!!!

Yes, our sweet girl turned ONE yesterday! It was a wonderful day of celebrating her life and the gift God blessed us with when she entered ours. Here are some pics of the festivities! Gotta love Costco's flower bouquets.And flower pom poms!Grant found this idea online to carve the "1" into the watermelon. :)The birthday chair.No one obeyed my "no gifts, please" request on the invitation. Ha.She even got her first basket of organic veggies from the farm garden! That zucchini was about as big as she is! Thanks, Jenny!We were so glad we were able to video chat with my parents so that they could watch her eat her cupcake!She was careful with it - didn't just go nuts, but certainly enjoyed the experience, as evidenced by the sweet bouncing in her seat as the frosting hit her mouth. A rare family pic!Her push buggy was a hit! She smiled and had wonderful form with the steering wheel. Her hands never left 10 & 2! Hopefully a foreshadowing of fifteen years from now...And there's a big happy smile in her new chair from Mimi and Grandaddy. She LOVES her chair, Mom and Dad! We took tons of pictures of her in it - you could tell she knew it was just for her!Naomi, you have been a blessing to us from the moment we found out that God had begun your life. As He knit you together in my womb, only He knew what a wonderful, peaceful, and content baby you would be. Only He knew how much we would need your joy this year. And only He knows the incredible plans that He has in store for your life. We are honored to be your parents and our hearts overflow with gratefulness to have had this amazing year with you. We love you so much!