Grocery shopping

This is Acadia.
This is her clapping.
Because we're going to Half Pints at Price Chopper.
And she needs to bring her "cool glasses" and monkey to show the kids there.
But they can't take them home with them....riiiight, mommy? Because they're mine.
Grocery shopping is always an adventure with kids :)

Texting daddy and saying "hi"

Life's a Beach

We took our first trip to the beach this past weekend with Sissy and Uncle Jimmy. The girls had a BLAST! It was such a warm day but very cloudy so it wasn't too hot - just right. The kids played in the water and sand the entire time and Uncle Jimmy took Acadia for a mini kayak ride which she loved. It was so much fun!



Emma trying apple juice for the first time


Building sand castles with daddy


Acadia's first kayak ride!

Her first of many face plants into the sand

Best buds

Our friends Jon and Holly just moved back to Vermont and we're sooo excited to have them back!! Not only are they some of our best friends, but our children are both weeks apart and I'm excited for them to grow up together :) We had them over for a bbq recently and C & Acadia hit it off!!

NY

We spent Emma's birthday in New York - we took a day trip there, went to lunch and to Target (my favorite place in the whole world!) then took the kids to the park. Such a fun day!!

Sitting in the front seat with us for the ferry ride to NY :)

Emma's First Birthday

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Silly girl

Clean bill of health

Acadia was born with a slight heart murmur. Our pediatrician checked her heart at every appointment and ended up sending us to a pediatric cardiologist. We went for the first time when she was a year old and the doctor said that it sounded like her heart was repairing the murmur on its own. He asked us to come back in two years for a follow up.

We went in on Monday for her follow up appointment and it went well! They gave her an EKG and ran a few other tests and gave her a clean bill of health. What relief!





Watching a movie together

Swim class

Acadia and I just started swim classes with my friends Beth and Liz children. Acadia loves Q and D - the kiddos to the right of Acadia in the first picture. And she has a blast at swim class!! We go on Tuesday mornings then head to the park afterwards for a picnic and some time on the playground :)

Birthday girl

Guess what the theme was? :) More pictures to come soon!

12 month stats

Height - 29 1/2"
Weight 16 pounds

12 months

Nursing - Still going strong! You nurse lots throughout the day, I think it's actually increased in the last two months because of your teething. I love that time with you :) I will be so sad when nursing comes to an end. We'll be talking to the doctor soon about starting whole milk - I didn't nurse Acadia this long, so I have no idea if we'll need to introduce cow's milk now or not. With Acadia, we started at 12 months. We'll see what Dr. Brad says :)

Language - Your first word was "dada" and your second word was "mama" - you first said dada about 2 months ago and said mama about a month ago. Before that, you definitely knew who mama and dada were when we talked about them. I would ask you where dada was and you would laugh and look at Daddy :) Over the last couple days, you have started saying "Uh-oh" which is pretty cute!

You also understand a lot - you understand "no", you understand when we talk about Mercedes, Acadia, Mommy or Daddy. When I tell you "I'm going to get you!" you run away and laugh. When I tell you to get Daddy, you run over to him.

Waving - You started waving a couple months ago and love, love to wave to Daddy when he gets home from work. You absolutely love it when he gets home at the end of the day. You start laughing and jumping up and down on the couch. It's been our ritual since you were born to wait on the couch for Daddy with your big sister. He calls us when he's "around the corner" and we watch him pull up and into the driveway. I see him first on the road and shout, "I see Daddy!!!" and you and Acadia squeal. It's my favorite part of the whole day.

Walking - You are amazing! You started taking steps at 9 months and walking at 10. At this point, you can run...well...as fast as a baby can run ;) I love, love, love seeing you walk. It never gets old to me - you're so CUTE! You've also started climbing the stairs - oy!

Eating - You have a huge appetite and will eat anything, besides peas. You hate them and will just spit them out.

Acadia - I am moved to tears at how much you love her. The bond between you is amazing and I love to be a witness to it. She can make you laugh like no one else can. She can also make you cry like no one can ;) Now that you're mobile and into her toys, she's not so happy sometimes. 3 is a hard age to understand sharing, but I'm doing my best and just hoping she doesn't knock out any of your teeth from pushing you around too much :) She can be so gentle with you but can also be a bit rough - both when she's upset or too excited. Sometimes when you see her coming, you run to me for protection which I find hilarious!

Games - You love playing peek a boo and dancing! I have a couple videos of you dancing which cracks me up. You love to dance and clap. When Acadia watches Dora, you run in front of the tv (which annoys her and makes me laugh) and bounce up and down and clap. It. Is. So. Cute.

Toys - You actually don't have a favorite toy or stuffed animal right now. Acadia was about your age when she became attached to monkey and a little later on, her blankie that Auntie Mimi made for her. In fact, she asked to bring blankie along with us to Plattsburgh today :) Knowing Auntie Mimi, I'm sure you'll have your own blankie some day, too!

Sleeping - You are doing GREAT with your sleep!! You have been sleeping through the night, consecutively, for about 3 months. You go to bed around 7:30 and wake up around 6ish to nurse. Daddy gets you and you lay in bed with us and if we're lucky, you fall asleep while nursing and sleep until around 6:30 or 7 which gives us all a bit more time to sleep :) You normally nap once a day for 1-2 hours. It's about 50/50 on if you and Acadia actually nap together. When you do, it normally doesn't overlap for very long.

Misc - I can't explain enough what a happy baby you are! You make everyone so happy - when people are around you, they just light up :) A part of me just wants you to stay a baby forever, so I can continue to carry you around like I do, smelling your baby smell and kissing your baby cheeks. I honestly can't believe you're already a year old...this past year has gone by too quickly!

Happy birthday Emma Joy!

~~My sweet Emma...you will never know how much joy and happiness you have brought into our lives...you have completed this family...you have made me laugh every day since you've been born...I simply can not imagine my life without you. I don't have the words to express how happy you make me each and every day. We love you!~~

Today was an awesome day! Daddy took the day off and originally you were going to hang out in the morning at home with Daddy while I took Acadia to Clay's birthday party. Instead, we found out you had croup and since Acadia could be a carrier for croup, we opted to skip out on the party to not get the other kiddos sick.

I woke up with you and sang you happy birthday when I got you from your crib. Instantly, I was brought back to one year ago and that first day with you. So many memories flashed through my mind - your first smile, first laugh, the first time you sat on your own, the first time you walked. It doesn't seem possible that you're a year old!

Acadia and Daddy woke up not long after you did and we spent the morning having breakfast together and trying to decide what to do. Acadia remembered it was your birthday and we all sang happy birthday to you. We gave you your presents - a parachute and the Boon Frog Pod for the bathroom. Not very exciting toys, but very practical and we figured you wouldn't know the difference ;)

Daddy suggested taking a road trip, so we took the ferry over to Plattsburg for a little shopping, some lunch and a trip to the park. We had so much fun together! I just love it when the four of us are together :)

We got home and got ready to go to Battery Park for some Beansies dinner! You had peanut butter and jelly for the first time tonight, with cut up strawberries and gold fish. We came home and you had cake for the first time! Acadia had I had gone to the store to pick out a small cake for us - vanilla cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles! We sang you happy birthday again and Acadia blew out the candle.

You loved the cake! You were smiling and laughing the whole time :) You are such a happy baby! Everyone loves being around you :) I had more comments on my Facebook page than I've ever had before, all wishing you a happy birthday. Throughout the day we had phone calls, texts and e-mails telling us to give you kisses for your birthday. Do you know how loved you are?

I nursed you and rocked you to sleep tonight and sang you happy birthday one more time. Then I whispered in your ear, like I do every night, "You are smart...you are beautiful...you can do anything you put your mind to...you will make a difference in this world." And you are...and you can....and you will...

Happy birthday, my girl...

1st trip to the ER

Yesterday I woke up and Emma was still sleeping, which is rare - she's normally up around 6ish. By 9am, after both mommy and daddy checking on her, she was still sleeping which has never happened before. I joked to Matt she she was sick - our kids have never slept in on their own - it's always because it's the first day of their cold.

She woke up a little after 9 and we met some friends at music class. She seemed ok, but tired and fussy - I just figured it was her teeth because she didn't have a cough or fever. She didn't let me put her down the entire day so I got some extra cuddle time with my girl.

Around midnight she woke up and her cough sounded like a seal. Her breathing was bothering us - it sounded like she could hardly get any air in. Both kids have had coup several times - Acadia gets it a few times per winter and I've never, ever heard either kids sound like this. They always sound horrible, but they can breathe. Emma just couldn't breathe. Matt brought her outside in the cold to help with her lungs while I called our doctor and got ready to go to the ER. I spoke with Dr. Land and he said to take her to the ER, because he was worried about her breathing.

We got to the ER and didn't have to wait long - there was only one person ahead of us. A nurse came to help us after about 10 minutes of waiting and gave her an ankle band with her name and information on it. They checked her out and said she definitely had croup and gave her a breathing treatment. Poor thing cried the entire time! I don't know why - she was fine up until that point. It must have just been the last straw for her.

The doctor came back to check on her 20 minutes after her breathing treatment and she didn't sound much better, so they gave her another stronger breathing treatment. That did the trick! She started breathing so much better and fell asleep minutes after getting the treatment. I sat there for another hour or so, holding her, while they monitored her. We got the ok to leave and were home at 3:30.

Luckily Matt had e-mailed work and told them he was going to have to go in late so I was able to sleep in until 9. So far her breathing has been fine :) We're glad she's back to normal!

Happy Mother's Day

Because of you two, I'm celebrating today...
Because of you two, my world has been turned upside down...
Because of you two, I have loved more than I've ever loved...
Because of you two, I have laughed harder than I've ever laughed...
Because of you two, my life is complete...

Happy Mother's Day to me...thanks to you...

First family photo session

I had the pleasure of taking my friend Steph's family portraits yesterday. It was my first session with a family and I loved it! It was so much fun - I absolutely love capturing moments of time on film for people!!

Shelburne Farms

We met up with our friends Liz, Sandy and Beth and their kids last week at Shelburne Farms. It was a beautiful day and the kids got along so well! We stopped by the entrance for a picnic lunch on the way out - so fun!