Simply divine...

Have you ever been living a moment and wish that it would go on forever?  And while in that moment, you realize that this is the type of moments that life should be made up of every second of every single day?  And if life was made up of those moments, all the nasty things of the world would cease to exist and everyone would be insanely happy?  Imagine if you will...  You on your first birthday -- with your grandparents, your parents and one of your dogs...  All dancing together in celebration of your first year of life...  It happened in our house...  And I'll never, ever forget... Like, ever.  (But for Finorah's sake, we do have it on video and a forewarning to those that choose to visit on her future birthdays -- it will be a yearly tradition.)

If you haven't already caught on to this fact, this past weekend was Finorah's first birthday.  We celebrated with E's father and my parents coming out for the weekend.  E's mother was invited to a wedding at the United Nations Headquarters in NYC.  When she made a motion to skip the wedding to come to Ohio, we put the kabash on it.  Had Finn been a little older and able to remember this birthday, it may have been different.  Finorah knows that Grandma Mary loves her and there will be plenty more birthdays that Granny will attend.

Opa (E's father) came in on Thursday evening and we laid low until my parents came in late Friday evening.  Finn was sleeping when my parents arrived and we all sat up and caught up until past my bedtime.  Finorah woke up at 2:30am during her usual mid-night waking -- only an hour before her actual birthday.  I had made the comment only hours earlier that I was going to wake her at 3:23am on every birthday, even in the midst of sleep.  I was born at 7:11pm and my parents refused to let me open presents until it was my "birth" day.  Being born in the wee hours of the morning, Miss Finorah has it a lot easier than I did.

I was lucky enough to be already awake on Saturday morning as she woke up with us.  She was her beautiful morning self, all smiles & laughs.  We woke E up with a birthday kiss and spent the morning re-getting to know Grammy & Grampy.  We hit up our favorite little diner for breakfast where she ate sausages, toast, & blueberry pancakes.  She fell asleep in the car after breakfast, so Grammy & I drove to Babies R Us to give her more time to sleep.  She got a couple of pair of jammies that she needed and some diapers.

When we pulled into the driveway, the garage door was open and there parked her brand new Radio Flyer wagon!  We took it around the driveway only once -- it is the middle of February after all.  Once inside, the boys came back from a walk around the neighborhood and brought the wagon inside.  Let's just say that the wagon was a HUGE hit!  She adored it!  She loved sitting in, standing beside it, and also trying to stand up inside it.  We played with the wagon for a while and then it was off to her big birthday surprise.

We hit up B.A. Sweetie Candy Company, the largest candy store in the United States!  It was so much fun walking through the aisles with my parents and them getting excited to see candy that they remembered as a kid (or as my brother and I were kids).  They had just about every candy that you could think of.  We spent a good hour and half in there, just walking the aisles.  And no one left without buying something for themselves (even if E's only candy was a single box of candy cigarettes).  I bought Finorah a container of marshmallow ice cream cones -- a favorite from when I was little.

After the candy store, I wanted to try a new beer that Great Lakes Brewing Company had on tap -- their Alberta Clipper, which is a porter with raspberry and chocolate notes.  I figured it was only fitting as I was the one doing all the work a year ago that day and she wasn't requesting anything different.  Great Lakes was packed to the gills because it was a stop on some art walk.  So we headed over to Market Brewing Company and sat in their basement.  We all drank beer, ate a meat and cheese platter & pretzels, while Finorah munched on her marshmallow ice cream cone.

Soon we left to drive home and were hit by some pretty heavy snow coming into the Eastside.  We made it home safely and decided it was time to open gifts (her other grandmas (i.e. my mom's sisters) sent gifts along with my parents).  She had so much fun opening up all her gifts.  Everyone was way too generous.  She got lots of clothes and books.  She is going to be on styling girl.

Then came the moment that I personally think was the BEST moment of the weekend.  I turned on the computer and started to play the song that I always played for my father when he arrived home from work on our birthday (we share the same birthday) and it's also the song that my mom always sends a link to on anyone that she knows birthday.  Birthday by the Beatles.  Eain had got out the video camera and all of us busted some serious moves.  Each taking a turn to dance with the birthday girl.  I won't bore you (or embarrass others) with the video, but watching everyone break out, shedding all embarrassment to dance with Finorah and watching everyone have huge smiles on their faces as they danced away in our living room was one of the greatest things ever.  Being that our video recorder is also a projector, we project the video onto the wall -- I mean, come on, we HAD to watch it.  After all my warm and fuzzy feelings watching the video, it's something that I'm going to try and make an annual tradition.  It's a great way to see everyone together and seeing everyone's faces while dancing is 10,000 times better than a simple photo of their presence at her birthday.

We also then took a couple of moments to watch the video that E shot in the first couple hours of her life.  That video is only a minute or so in length, but it is completely priceless.  Watching as I'm holding her in her little blue & pink hat with her purple fingers, I lift up her hat to show E her teeny ears.  They are about the third the length of my index finger and I imagine what was going through my mind in that moment.  E & I were just beginners in that moment.  And as the tears begin to shimmer in my eyes from remembering, the camera when quickly pans back and she begins to get ornery, giving tiny newborn grunts, starting her search for milk and I start talking about how he shouldn't get my double chin in the video.  It's perfect -- perfectly real life.

After gifts were opened, toys were played with, and we had danced our hearts out, it was time for cake.  Our neighbors, Bob & Anne and their daughter Alex came over to enjoy cake and beer.  We sang "happy birthday" to her and she got scared of the candle, which I blew out for her.  She ate a lot of frosting and was up way past her bedtime.  I think if I asked her to rate her birthday (and she could talk to give an answer), she would rate it a "11" out of "10"!  I know that I definitely would turn it up to "11", if I could.

Happy birthday, my sweet little lady!

It's amazing to me how we got here so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday that we were attending our 40 week appointment, that I was in denial that I was in labor, and arriving at the hospital 9 cm dilated.  This past year has been one of the most memorable years of my life, no joke.  They have been some of the most wonderful moments as well as some of the patience-invoking moments.  This girl is teaching me so much about life and the person that I strive to be.  I want her to be the best Finorah that she can be and in order to teach her that, I have to be the best Jamie that I can be.  The stars were perfectly aligned when she was chosen for me.  As she is completely and utterly perfect.

• Unscientifically, Finorah is weighing in at 21.6 pounds.  And she is 30 inches long.  That means that she has gained 13.35 pounds this year and grown 9.75 inches.
• At one year old, she is currently in size three diapers and wearing size 12-18 month clothes.  She is a very healthy lookin' little girl!
• Our breastfeeding journey is coming to an end.  I stopped pumping at work two weeks ago and last weekend, I fed her bottles for the first time during the day.  She is getting a 50/50 mixture of breast milk and whole milk in her bottles for daycare.  She is still taking only 8 oz during the day (5 oz in the AM and 3 oz in the PM, with a bigger emphasis put on her food intake there).  This week, we cut out her 5pm feeding -- replaced with a bottle (if she wanted).  And she drinks whole milk as a snack with with dinner in a sippy cup.  She doesn't need the middle of the night feeding and doesn't take it all the time.  My doctor said that with her four teeth coming in, she may be wanting to nurse in the middle of the night for comfort.  She suggested that I continue until her top teeth popped out and than whenever I was ready to quit to just stop that feeding.  That means that we are going to be down to only the bedtime feeding.  It's actually been a lot easier than I imagined, but I know the hardest one to get rid of is going to be the bedtime feeding.  It's a part of our bedtime routine and our favorite time of the day, snuggling close in my bed at the end of the day.

• She is a great eater when she wants to be.  There are some days that she doesn't eat as much as I would like her to.  But I've tried really hard to make sure that she is eating what we are eating (even when out at restaurants).  She has developed favorites and aversions and we'll keep trying new foods.  Her current favorites would be mac & cheese (according to the daycare), pizza, gnocchi, pork chops, and blueberry pancakes.  She still loves her bananas and will eat almost an entire banana for breakfast for daddy.  My goal is have a protein, vegetable, and fruit available for each meal.
• Crawling is still her best mode of transportation (other than me carrying her).  She has some mad skills and will quickly scoot out of sight and into trouble if allowed.  In her exploration, we "found" the pets' water bowl in the kitchen this week.  
• She is a master of pulling herself up on all things.  From furniture, to her crib, to my pant legs.  She has also learned to cruise on furniture.  She is quick fast at getting from one end of something to the other when she really wants to.  And she is also walking behind walking-assisted toys.  She can now use them on the hardwood or tile (before she could only walk with them on carpet as they would slide out quickly in front of her) as her core is developing and she doesn't have to lean into the toy for support.  She doesn't stand on her own yet or walk.  But she is able to walk assisted by only one hand -- we are still a little clumsy with one hand, but getting better every day.

• We have three teeth.  All three are on the bottom.  She got her lower central incisors in November.  Last week, her right lower lateral incisor came out.  No top central incisors yet -- she's a total rule breaker already.  So when she opens her mouth, her teeth look crooked because more have come out on the right.  Also, the top teeth are on their way and will make their appearance shortly.  When she gives you a big grin, you can see a big lump on her upper left gum which is just waiting to pop out.  An amazing fact??  I bought a baby toothbrush and toothpaste which I thought I was going to have to move mountains to get my finger in there to brush her teeth due to her past history of when I tried to feel her gums for teeth.  That little stinker willingly opens her mouth and lets me massage her gums -- all the way to the back on each side!  I guess all I had to do was put some fruit flavored gel on my finger!
• Holy crap do we have a Chatty Cathy on our hands.  The girl is CONSTANT in her babble.  Telling stories about books on the car ride home, talking to her toys, or squealing at the dogs & cats.  She can now say "uh-oh", "ow, ow" (for meow, meow), "tit tat" (for kit cat), and "yell-oo" (for hello).  Of course still says mama and dada, but I haven't heard her use them on context yet.
• She can now point at things that she wants or something that she sees that entertains her (like the cats).  She will point for her milk cup during dinner to let us know that she wants a drink.  She will point to food on the counter.  It's really coming in handy.

• She has begun to actually dance.  She will stand up on something that bounce her little knees up and down or sway like crazy back and forth.  It's the cutest.
• She also loves to put things into things.  Like food into bowls or her toys into little cups that she has for the bath.  She is always trying to fit something into something else.  Those gears in her little noggin' are always working.
• As I mentioned earlier, she still gets up in the middle of the night.  The past two nights, she has woke up at 3:00am and 3:45am.  We still move her into our bed and she finishes the night out with us.  But once she is in our bed, she falls back to sleep rather quickly and will stay asleep until around 8:00am.  Before that, she would get up around midnight.  So I'm hopeful that her teeth are starting to settle down and that we are edging towards 4:00-5:00am.  But my sleep in the last two nights has been ah-mazing.  I actually feel rested when I wake up in the morning for work because I only get up once in the middle of the night.  Instead of getting up at midnight, moving her over to our bed and then waking up by her whining/crying at least 2-4 more times before my alarm went off at 5:30am.  Progress is being made!

A Week in the Life (The Birthday Edition)

 As her one-year birthday approached, she decided to begin the "Terrible Two's" a couple of days early.  This is the "Before"...

This is the "After"...  Bishop isn't impressed.

 Daycare celebrated her birthday on Valentine's Day.  She was the Princess of the Party.

I could tell that she had some cake at daycare.  She was hyped up when we got home.

The Princess of the Party & her Mama

Opa came into town on Thursday evening, so on Friday, we went out to eat.

It appears that she wants to fight for her right to party.

Finorah also got her first Valentine from one of her boyfriends.

Christian is so thoughtful...

One of her birthday gifts was an oversized tennis ball.  It was a big hit.

She got to go shopping at Babies 'R Us on her birthday.  Here she is manically laughing with our gift card.

Put your money where your mouth is.

Finn got two cards from Auntie Anita.  Both played music.

Here she is opening the second card.

 We got a small cake for her to eat and "smash".  Unfortunately, there was a lot of picking and not a lot of smashing...

Munk sat underneath her chair the whole time -- just waiting for her to start flinging frosting.  Didn't happen...

Eating some cake and going into sugar shock.

I thought that she would have had cake in a lot more places (like her hair and her ears). 

I guess, she is a dainty eater. 

 She was also wearing her sunglasses.

According to her face, it didn't go well.

Auntie Anita also sent chocolate-covered strawberries.  We saved those until Sunday night.  They were a HUGE hit.

A Week in the Life (v.7.2)

We were wearing some fancy boots to our Superbowl party.

Can you find the hiding baby?

Here's the hiding (sleeping) baby!

Some has the need... The need for speed...

According to her daily report from daycare, somebody likes Mac 'n Cheese.

Our town library had a book sale.  Saturday was the last day (i.e. the $3 for all you can fit into a bag day).

We stocked up. 

We are actively weaning, which means that Mama has to give her bottles.

She isn't a drinker, she is definitely a sipper & a slow sipper at that.

Dancing... Dancing... Dancing...  She's a dancing machine!

Standing like a big girl. (with a little help from Mommy) 

Again with the standing (with some help).

Despite my annoying "hello?"s, somebody answered the phone.  If I had to answer to that, I wouldn't answer myself half of the time.

And the keyboard sounds like a carnival.

And the microphone smells like milk.

And they sit at the bar and put tea biscuits in my jar

And say "man, what are you doing here?"

Almost there...

We are almost there...  We are one week shy of her first birthday.  Her first 365 days of her life.  Holy crapola!  She has been on the outside for 358 days already and in those days, she has become a hard habit to break.  She is absolutely perfect.  She can make me belly laugh one second, want to devour her face with kisses the next and make me feel terrible for saying "NO" too loud causing her to cry.

The best part of my day is the same; each day of the work week.  It begins by my walking through that door at daycare, seeing her face light up at the sight of me, and her furious crawl to the little plexi-glass door so I can swoop her into my arms.  The instant that she is in my arms, she turns to her group of friends and starts waving, as if to say "Hey, this is my mommy, she's better than you are, so I'm going to go home with her now."  We wave good-bye to the ladies that take care of her and walk out the door.  I cover her with kisses the entire way to the car and she always acts aloof.  She doesn't engage with me on the way to the car.  Once we get out of the infant room, it's almost like she can't give kisses to her mother in front of the older kids.  Seriously, Mom.  Some days when we get to the car, she recognizes that she is going in her car seat and will start throwing a fit, back arched and head thrown back.  Other days (these are more prevalent now), she will happily sit in her car seat while I hand her the little book that stays in the car about kitty cats.  Our rides home are usually full of lots of babbling.  We play the "you say, I say" game (where I try to repeat exactly what she says -- she really tries to get creative in her inflection then).  Other days, she drops her book too soon and can't reach it, which leads to an epic meltdown in the backseat, as she doesn't like to be confined.  But all is happy again when we get home and I rescue her from the evil seat.

Once we are home, we let out of the puppies.  She loves watching them run around the yard and now "calls" after them with an "aaaapft" during a head nod when she sees them doing something that she approves of.  She squeals when we climb the stairs where the dogs are waiting anxiously to get back in the house for their reward biscuits.  I hand her the biscuit and bend at the knees so that she can hand the dogs their biscuits.  Regardless of the dog, the first is always a smooth handoff -- the second is a struggle as she decides that she wants it for herself and gives out a cry of protest when I take it from her to give to the pup.  Then begins the struggle of taking off our jackets.  Hers always slides off easily along with her hat.  Mine & my scarf are always the struggle.  As I try to lower her to the ground, she throws her head back and stiffens her legs.  So either I lay her on the ground and let her scream as I take off my hat, scarf & shoes.  Or I keep her in my arms, juggling her from side to side, wiggling my arm furiously to get it to slide out of my winter jacket.

Then we begin our search for the kitty cats.  She now meows at them and says her version of "kitty cat" when she sees them.  Norm & Lucy won't run away -- Stella is always leery.  Lucy will usually stay for the abuse, Norm lets us have one run down his back and then he's gone.  We head upstairs where I change out of my work clothes and we take off her shoes.  She protests some days when I try to put her down.  Those are the days that I know she is super tired and I hurry to move on to our next step in our routine.

The final step in our daily routine involves her pacifier, her lamb, a blanket, and mama in a rocking chair.  We sit in the rocking chair, get her lamb situated along with the blanket.  She sits and looks at me for a moment and then her head lands on my chest with a kerplunk.  She snuggles into her mama and just is.  As I look down at her and check to see if she is asleep yet, most times, her eyes are wide open, blinking.  I'll kiss the top of head multiple times as we sit there and rock.  She relaxes and just listens to the rise and fall of my chest.  Her little lamb is caressed between her fingers as she de-stresses from the day.  And she snuggles even deeper into me, slowly drifting to sleep.

Then there are some days where she isn't quite ready.  She'll lift her head at the slightest sound, usually the cats -- looking around alerted to the jingle of a cat toy or the distant barking of Munk seeing something outside the upstairs window.  But those moments are always temporary.  Everyday, always, she sits and looks at me for a moment and then her head lands on my chest with a kerplunk.  It is the single best moment of my day.  Always.

A Week in the Life (v.7.1)

Munchin' on some dried blueberries

We bought a fireplace screen this week.  E caged her in kitchen.  If only it was this easy...

The text I received from E -- "I thought she was being very quiet..."

The aftermath of the quietness...

We went to the doctor on Friday to follow up on her ear infections.  Infections gone!  She got a lollypop for the short ride home and boy was she happy about it!

We had blueberry pancakes for the first time on Saturday morning.

 The messy face after the pancakes...

 It may be blurry, but it's one of my favorites for the week.

She now says "heyyyy-oooo?" and puts random stuff up to her ear, as if she is answering the phone.

Bowls as hats?  Why not!

Old Bishop makes a nice pillow...

Watching the Hawks and gettin' disappointed.