Wordless Wednesday (Presley's Birthday Party Edition)

I'm Sorry

I'm sorry for not posting yesterday and this morning. We're alive and well. Shawn is off for the week so we've been enjoying family time. I didn't feel like blogging...so I didn't! I will be back tomorrow with Presley's birthday party edition of Wordless Wednesday.

Friday Night Leftovers

• Have you seen this? You can personalize a video message to your child from Santa. I did them up for the girls last night. Samara will be SO excited (Presley won't care!).

• Samara wants a white tutu for Christmas. Presley (according to Sam) wants a blue one. As does Daddy (also according to Sam!).

• I've been reading children's books for quite some time now and I've come to the conclusion that anyone can get published as a children's author. There are some REALLY terrible books out there. Especially board books.

• I mistakenly planned for Presley's 12 month vaccines to be today. The day before her big party. Hopefully she handles them well!

• I mostly have a hate relationship with my crockpot. I find meat ends up tasting cafeteria-ish (nice word, right?!)...sort of boiled, you know? And anything with a sauce ends up way too runny. Do you have any tried and true recipes that are amazing? It sure is nice to have supper ready and not have to prepare it during the evening crazies.

• 1 month till Christmas! I've done...nothing! Very unlike me. Normally everything is bought and wrapped by now.
  

• For more leftovers, head here.
  

Thankful on Thursday

I'm thankful for:

• family and friends for all their well wishes to Presley on her special day.
• one of my closest friends (whom I've never actually met!) who sent special birthday wishes and a surprise gift to Pres yesterday. It gave me happy tears!
• Skype!
• breakfast for supper. Peanut butter and banana stuffed french toast and bacon last night. SO good.
• Chinooks. Gorgeous +12 degrees the last couple of days. Too bad we also have wind advisory warnings due to 100km/hr wind gusts.
• filling up with gas when it's 98.9 cents/litre! (Isn't it sad that that's cheap?)

What are you thankful for today?

1 year!!!!

Our littlest little turns 1 today! It is very bittersweet. The year passed by so quickly and I'm not too sure how the newborn we brought home turned into a toddler.

At 12 months, Presley is walking full time. She walks as far as she can, falls, then stands right back up and continues walking. She adores climbing up and down the stairs and knows to turn around at the top to get down. I see gate-less stairs in my near future (YAY!).

Presley is very vocal and knows quite a few words (mama, dada, ball, all done, poop, boot, book, back, wow, pop, stop, banana and hi). She says "uh oh" every time she drops something and I swear she drops things on purpose just so she can say it! She can make sounds and knows what a piggy, bear, cow and Santa say. She is signing less since she's started saying more words and still has the same half a dozen signs. She is starting to know her body parts and can point to her head and nose when asked.

Her favorite toys are books, hands down. She is always picking out books and going to a chair to sit down and "read" them. Her favorite is "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?". She will also bring you books so you can read to her. She likes putting smaller objects into bigger ones so this one stacking toy that Nana and Grandpa bought awhile back is a big hit. She also really enjoys playing the piano.

Her favorite activities are going for walks (all bundled up in the wagon), going to story time at the library and playing on the slide at the family centre.

Presley is still a really good eater. She has started refusing a few foods some meals (eggs and some veggies) but will eat them at other times. My fingers are crossed that we avoid another picky eater! She loves meat and will always finish that part of the meal first. She is still nursing several times a day. She has graduated from drinking water in a sippy cup to a cup with a straw. She's getting quite good at drinking from a cup (with help).

Sleep is still random. In the past month, she went from sleeping through the night, to not, back to sleeping through and the latest week has been not. I know it's mostly my own fault...we haven't done any sleep training whatsoever. I'd like to blame teeth but she has been stuck on 6 teeth for quite some time. She is a great napper and has 1-2 naps a day. She seems to be dropping the morning nap but when she starts the day at 530am (which is quite often), she can't last until after lunch without a nap.

Presley is such a happy kid. She always wakes up with a smile. She loves to hug and snuggle, gives kisses (Eskimo and regular!) and blows kisses as well.

She weighs 19lbs 14 oz and measures 29 inches long. She wears mostly 6-12 month clothing, size 2 shoes and size 3 diapers.

Things I never want to forget:
- how she tries to run. If you chase her, her little legs can't quite figure out how to run yet so she just pumps her arms faster and squeals!
-how she asks for something without actually asking. She goes, "hmm? hmm? hmm?" and then you get to guess what she wants.
-how she gives the best open mouthed, slobbery, all or nothing kisses. I know she'll eventually be more reserved with her affection so I don't want to forget her enthusiasm!

1 year ago...

1 year ago today, I went into labour. Presley wasn't born until the 23rd but the 22nd is when things got rolling. All day I will be reminiscing. I will be thinking of last year when Samara and I went for hot chocolate and donuts, just the 2 of us, and walked around the mall while I had mild contractions. I will be thinking of how I was wondering if the doctor would be right with her prediction that the baby would be making an appearance within 48 hours. I will be thinking of how we were wondering if the baby would be a boy like everyone thought, or another beautiful girl. I will be thinking of how unsure I was if I was really in labour despite it being my second time. I will be thinking of how badly I wanted drugs and how there just wasn't enough time. I will be thinking of how excited I was to meet the little baby who was so forceful with kicks and punches in the womb. I will be thinking of the strength I didn't even know I had to have a natural birth. I will be thinking of my husband's proud face when he saw his daughter for the first time. I will be thinking of how complete our family felt as soon as Presley was placed in my arms.

For Presley's birth story, head here.

Our Favorite Things

• snuggling together in bed on Sunday mornings to prolong getting up for the day just a tiny bit. Our 2 squirmy girls actually cozy up and relax.
• bundling up to go for nightly walks to look at Christmas lights.
• skating.
• dancing and singing to We Will Rock You...Sammy knows some of the lyrics and Pres stomps her feet, cute stuff!
• hot chocolate to start the mornings.

What are your latest favorite things?

Friday Night Leftovers

• Next week is Presley's birthday. I've been reminiscing so much about what we were doing last year at this time. This year has flown by...even faster than Sammy's first year.

• Are you a hoarder or a purger? I'm a full blown purger. I purge regularly. I love going through cupboards, drawers, etc, to see what I can get rid of. The problem though? I quite often find myself looking for something only to remember I tossed it/donated it months ago.

• I received the best surprise in the mail last week from a dear friend. Brand new Uggs!! We're talking the real deal...which I've never owned before. Luxurious!

• Something exciting is happening this weekend...BOGO at Starbucks from November 17-20, 2-5pm on holiday drinks. What's your favorite holiday drink? Mine has always been the eggnog chai latte but I've never really tried anything else. So, I'm making it a point to work my way through all of them this year to make sure I've made the best choice.

• Do you know what I love? People who RSVP to parties! AHEM. This is your not so subtle hint.

• For more leftovers, check out the lovely host here.
  

Noah

Nearly a year ago, I posted about baby Noah. I "met" his mama online at a parenting forum because Presley and Noah were due around the same time. Noah was born full term in Grande Prairie with the cord wrapped around his neck. He initially recovered from the lack of oxygen, but began to have seizures on the second day of life and was transferred to the University Hospital in Edmonton. Noah had severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy which essentially means brain damage to both hemispheres of the brain. He was taken off life support on December 24th and then proceeded to defy the odds. After 3 days, it was discovered by a doctor on call that he had a suck reflex. At 10 days old, he was discharged from the hospital and has been making progress at home ever since.

Noah is about to start alternative treatments that will require him and his mama to relocate to Edmonton for 2 months. Because they're alternative, costs are not covered by health care. An online auction has been set up to help the costs. If you'd like to donate an item or bid on one, please go here for more information. For more information on Noah, please check out their blog here.

Wordless Wednesday (Picture Recap, October Edition)

Some Funny For Your Day...

A woman gets on a bus with her baby. The bus driver says: “That's the ugliest baby that I've ever seen. Ugh!” The woman goes to the rear of the bus and sits down, fuming. She says to a man next to her: “The driver just insulted me!”

The man says: “You go right up there and tell him off – go ahead, I'll hold your monkey for you.”

Two guys are sitting on a bar stool. One starts to insult the other one. He screams, “I slept with your mother!” The bar gets quiet as everyone listens to see what the other guy will do. The first again yells, “I SLEPT WITH YOUR MOTHER!”

The other says, “Go home dad, you’re drunk.”

A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”

The operator, in a calm soothing voice says: “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead.” There is a silence, then a shot is heard.

The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: “OK, now what?"

What's the funniest joke you know?

What We're Doing Lately (Samara Edition)

Shaving Cream Finger Painting
Spray a cookie sheet with shaving cream and then add food colouring. The point is for the child to mix the colours with their hands and paint a new paper with the new colours they discovered. This didn't work. Samara did NOT enjoy getting her hands dirty. In fact, she was quite disgusted with the idea. But, she would do her index fingers so we got some colour onto the paper eventually!

Paper Plate Lions
I took this idea from our friend, Courtney. Sammy adores painting so this was a hit. She wasn't really into doing the typical lion though so I just let her go wild!

Mine is the one on the right (obviously!).
Halloween Lanterns
Guess which one is Sam's?!
Ghost Feet
This idea was circulating on Pinterest. Hard to do with ticklish feet but a fun art project.

We're getting started on Winter/Christmas themed crafts next. What crafts have you been doing?

We Remember...

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Thankful on Thursday

I'm thankful for:

• a nap while the girls napped yesterday. It helped me stay up past 9pm last night!
• a good looking husband that does the morning routine with the girls while I workout.
• a fenced yard with a playcenter. We use it every day.
  
• hot chocolate and banana bread for a yummy snack.
• long weekends!!

What are you thankful for today?

Wordless Wednesday (Loves Edition)