Let's just talk about all the fun that's been going on!! Well, and the not so fun, too.
Everyone in my house is sick! Yuck!! A couple weeks ago, Alana had pneumonia. Poor little thing was so sick. I've never seen her so sick before. Alan and I slept in the living room with her on her worst night and it was just scary. I don't think I slept at all that night. I threatened to take her to the hospital several times through the night, but then she would go back to sleep and seem a little better. By the morning she was over the bad hump and on her way to recovery. She is feeling much better, but caught a cold while she was recovering and is still sniffling from that. Brynna had a sinus infection that almost turned to pneumonia. They put her on a stronger antibiotic after the first proved to be too weak. She is still recovering from that and may need to visit the doctor again, on Monday, if she doesn't kick this cough soon. I feel like the doctor's office is probably so annoyed with me by now. I think I called just about everyday for a while....oh well, I'm sure there are crazier people than me.....right?! hehe
But through all the sickies we still managed to celebrate our little Brynna's first birthday! I can't believe it's been a year already. She still seems like such a little baby to me. I think part of it is because she is still nursing. Something I never thought would last a whole year, and still be going strong now. I am so happy it has lasted, though. It has made our bond so strong. I know I was/am connected to Alana, but with Brynna it was instant. She rarely wants anyone but me...and while that can be very annoying at times...a part of me loves that and I never want it to end. I often rock her for a little before I put her in her crib to nap and at bedtime. Lately, those times have become so emotional, for me. I want to bottle it all up and make these times last forever. I want to remember every little thing about her being a baby. Her petite little body (she's only in the 20th percentile for height and weight), her tiny little feet, chubby face, big blue eyes, the little bit of hair that is just reaching past her neck and curls when she is sweaty, her little smile.
I love the fact that she is her own little person. I think because Alana learned to talk and communicate so early, I totally expected it from Brynna too, but she is showing me she is an individual and will learn at her own, perfect, pace. She is stubborn and pretty much laughs in my face when I try to get her to do the sign language I know she knows how to do. She makes up her own sign language and down right refuses to do the more sign I have been working on with her for several months now. I know she can do it because she has done it on rare occasions....but then refuses to do it. She just likes to tease me! The only sign she does consistently, is "milk"....go figure. She will say, "Mom Mom Mom", "Dadada" and if she doesn't want to do something or doesn't want what you are giving her, she will shake her head and say "Oh Oh Oh" (No). It's the cutest thing I've ever heard. She loves anything silky and will follow her sister around the house, just to touch her silky pajama pants! She is her own, unique, little person....and I just want to squeeze her to death and keep her my baby forever. When she was just born, Alan and i used to joke about building a special box to put her in that would keep her from getting bigger. ( I know it sounds weird....but we're weird people! lol ) We just wanted her to stay our petite little baby girl, forever. And for the most part, she has stayed our petite little girl. I swear...we didn't put her in a box!
Enough with the mushy stuff....let's talk party!!
We had this perfect outdoors party planned for her birthday. We rented a pavilion at one of our favorite parks and had it all planned out....well, it snowed on the day of her party.... So, we quickly changed plans and moved the party to my parent's house, in Morgantown. It all turned out fine, in the end. But, it's just a bummer when you plan and plan and plan and then have to change all that planning.
Here are some pictures from her fabulous Owl themed party:
The invitation! A huge thanks to my bff, Michelle, for helping me make all of them. I wouldn't have been able to do it without her help!
Owl cupcakes, Alan and I made. And a little owl hanging out beside them. They turned out way cuter than I expected and were surprisingly easy!
Owl sugar cookies. These sugar cookies are pretty much mine and Alan's signature party dessert. They are from a recipe his grandparents gave us. We have tweaked the icing a little, but other than that, it is the same recipe. I love family traditions!
Some of the crafts for the kids. Wooden owls to color, owl coloring pages and a little owl to make out of an Easter egg!
The owl, Easter egg, craft!
The owl favors, I made. All were hand cut, stuffed and sewed together. Turns out the craft glue I used didn't really hold up as well as I thought it would. So, if you went home with one of these guys and their eyes or beak fell off, it can easily be reattached with some hot glue. Hot glue will hold for sure. Wish I would have thought of that before, but oh well. Now I know!
Brynna is a little climber. As soon as she saw the presents she immediately went to them and climbed on top!
First half of her birthday banner. Right to left.... ultrasound, maternity picture announcing her name, just born picture, one month and 2 month pictures.
Middle of the banner. Right to left...3 months-8 months pictures
End of the banner. Right to left...7 months-1 year pictures!
Some of the owl decor. I found the owl masks at a craft store and painted them to go with the party colors. (Pink, lime green and brown)
Our Birthday Girl! I made her little owl shirt to go along with all the decor.
So that was her birthday. It came quickly and left just as fast. I still have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that she is 1.....maybe I'll get used to it by the time she turns 2!!
Here's a little picture of the girls on Halloween.
Alana was soooo into Halloween this year and loved dressing up in her costume. She had lots of fun....and Brynna slept in the stroller most of Trick-or-Treating! hehe
Our little flower and bumble bee!
(Thanks for letting me use the flower costume, Michelle!)
