Coming to Terms

With the fact that my baby is turning ONE in less than 2 weeks. I am in utter disbelief.

Over the past month I have been extremely emotional. Tearing up at Pampers commercials, falling asleep remembering when I was pregnant and just stopping and staring at Molly as she plays. I felt like a mess. Then it hit me, I am mourning my baby's, well, babyhood.

This past year has been amazing and filled with lots and lots of ups and downs. With the surprise of being pregnant in the first place and then falling so in love with Molly this emotional roller coaster has been exhausting.

We have been through a lot in a year. Looking back I realize we were not fully prepared to be parents. I'm not sure anyone ever is. And those first months kicked our butts. Our lil colicky baby was no help (we forgive her). Then we got to see her go from an infant to a baby, hitting milestones left and right and developing her little personality. We fell in love with her all over again as we began to learn what kind of person she is and understand we have a little human on our hands.

And now, in a blink of an eye, our baby is becoming a toddler.

It truly feels like yesterday when we were headed off to our birthing classes and preparing her nursery. It seems like I just went into labor and had her. Like I just met her. But alas, its been almost a year.

I already miss a lot of the things she used to do. And I feel like I didn't slow down and absorb enough of them in the moment (although we have about a billion pictures). I feel like I was looking to the next moment, the next milestone and not being still in what was happening in front of us. But I think that is how every parent probably feels.

So here I sit. In complete disbelief that this is happening. Sometimes I am still in disbelief that I have a child at all. But it happened. And its happening. So I better come to terms with it. I am about to have a toddler on my hands.

Whats the cure for this? Another baby, right?! hahahahaha Not quite yet.

Weekend Recap: Packed Full

This past weekend was a doozy! But a really fun doozy.

We started things off by going on a date night. My Dad was in town so he watched Molly and we snuck out (literally because she freaks if she sees me leave) to dinner and a movie.

Yummy Mexican food complete with a couple tequila shots. We don't get out that much anymore so we took full advantage.





We went and saw Argo which was fantastic! Its based on a true story, which I love, and is very entertaining. We definitely recommend this one.

Saturday Molly and I met some friends at our favorite place, the Dallas Arboretum. It never gets old, fun every time. I went home and put Molly down for her morning nap then I got to escape the house for a bit without Molly and meet some friends for brunch and a little shopping. Such a treat!

When I got home Chase informed me that Molly was walking all over the place. She decided that walking is her preferred method over crawling now so we have a full on walking baby!

Saturday evening we went to some friends to eat dinner (delicious ribs!) and then came home to watch the OU vs Notre Dame game. Not the turn out I wanted. : (

Sunday was a BIG day! We kicked things off in the morning by hitting up the park. Molly loves to climb the big kid toys and she also decided she really likes the slide.





She even walked in the park mulch which I thought was pretty impressive.

After her morning nap we had a big time afternoon ahead. We were taking Molly to her first Dallas Cowboys NFL game! Being the huge sports fans we are this was a big deal. It also completed Molly's professional sports trifecta. In her first year she has been to an OKC Thunder NBA game, a Texas Rangers MLB game and now a Dallas Cowboys NFL game. We snuck this one in just 2 weeks before her first birthday.



We did a little tailgating outside the stadium and then into the game we went. Molly did great! I was really impressed considering she hates sitting still, especially now that she is walking.











We had a fantastic weekend! Its getting so much fun with Molly and we love getting out and doing things with her.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend.

Daddy Daughter Friday: Halloween Costumes

When my husband was a little kid he was a ladybug gentleman-bug for Halloween. And he has busted out his childhood costume on a few different occasions for fun. So when I saw the ladybug baby costumes months ago I knew that was meant for Molly. It was in her genes after all.

So this weekend we went to a family friendly Halloween party and we got all decked out as a family of ladybugs. My husband had to "man up" his costume a bit so he was a superbug complete with a cape and a mask. A very manly ladybug indeed.





Happy Friday and Happy Halloween Weekend!

1st Birthday Party Planning

Whew, this first birthday party planning is stressful. I am having flashbacks of planning my wedding. Not really, but it is a big deal around here and we have lots of fun things in the mix. To share I thought I would whip up a first birthday mood board.

Lots of my ideas came from the all powerful Pinterest. What would I do without it? I started pinning birthday ideas way back when Molly was only weeks old and now its all coming to fruition! It is very exciting.

 The invitations went out yesterday so this is real. My little baby is actually turning 1 in a mere 3 weeks. What in the world!?!?

Molly will never remember any of this and she will have no idea what is actually happening at the party but I will. I am celebrating keeping her and myself alive and well for a year. And celebrate we will. In style!

 The party won't be huge, just close friends and family. There will be yummy food, good company, some video highlights and of course, cake eating smashing.

I can't wait to recap it for everyone. But for now, I have lots of things on the birthday planning to-do list to get to.

T-Minus 19 days and counting...

Molly: 11 Months

Here we are, one month away from the big 1. I am in shock, denial, awe, etc. etc. etc. It is almost unfathomable to me that my teeny tiny baby is almost a year old. Time should not move this fast. 

This last month has been relatively uneventful but we had lots of fun! With the coming of Fall brought lots of new activities to partake in. We hit up pumpkin patches and pumpkin villages galore! Molly loves to use pumpkins as drums. She thinks its hilarious.

She has adapted well at Mothers Day Out and they tell me she is so much fun the entire time she is there. I am so glad she took to it and I really enjoy those precious few hours each week to work and get stuff done.

Her favorite things to do lately are point at everything and then of course expect you to take her to whatever is pointing at. Gets exhausting. She has also learned to blow kisses which is pretty darn adorable. And we successfully taught her how to make the touchdown sign. We say touchdown and she throws her arms up in the air. Its coming in handy on game days!

We are still working on the walking thing. Just a couple hours ago she stood up on her own (no assistance from a chair or ottoman etc.) and then took off across the room. Its only a matter of days I think. So much fun to see her start walking. Makes you so proud as a parent.

Molly is a sassy little one and always keeps us on our toes. Something she likes one day she hates the next and I "think" she has started to throw tantrums (fun!) but she is also full of smiles, laughs, and squeals. I am so happy I get to be her Mom. She is an amazing little person.

As always, Happy 11 Months Molly. We love you more than you will ever ever know.




Stats: {unofficial}
Weight- 19lbs
Height- 28" or so
Head- ?

Wearing mostly 9-12mo clothing and some 12-18mo. Still in size 3 diapers.


Likes:
Cruising around the coffee tables and other furniture
Doing "touchdown!"
Playing with pumpkins
Playing patty cake
Playing catch with her soft football

Dislikes:
Naptime
Getting Dressed and Diaper Changes
General not getting her way (uh-oh)

Firsts:
Blowing kisses
Touchdown!
Walking

Words:
Sometimes she says Mama but only when she is upset. 

Eating:
Giving us some fits lately, has started spitting things out and getting picker. We suspect it might be teeth. She eats 3 main meals and has 1-2 snacks a day.

Sleeping:
Back on track with bedtime and overnight sleep. Naps are a shot in the dark. Who knows! Sometimes 1.5hrs sometimes 35 min. Still taking two a day.








Walking off the set.

Weekend Recap: More pumpkins and a birthday

This weekend was filled to the brim with lots of non-stop fun! We had a few things all coming together at once: Fall Break, OU/TX weekend, my birthday, and family visiting.

My grandma from Alabama came into town and met Molly for the first time. They hit it off and Molly got to spend some good quality time with her. My parents and my brother also made the trip.

On Friday we kicked off the weekend with a visit to the Dallas Arboretum. Autumn at the Arboretum is one of the most amazing things you will ever see. Its world renowned for its Pumpkin Village with over 50,000 pumpkins creating lots of beautiful displays. We didn't get a chance to go last year so I was excited to check it out and take Molly. We are so so lucky to have a place like this right in our backyard.

After exploring the pumpkin village we found a nice lush spot in the grass to have a breakfast picnic. 

On Saturday it was the big game. OU vs Texas! If you are not from either school or live in the area you might not be aware of this tradition. Every year OU and Texas play on neutral ground at the Cotton Bowl in the Dallas fairgrounds. Its a huge rivalry and there is lots of trash talk and crazy times. Plus they divide the stadium 50/50 at the 50 yard line so half is red and the other half is orange. I have been going to this game since college. Its so much fun.

Come Sunday it was birthday time! I turned the big 2-8. I am officially in my late 20's and headed for 30. I am okay with that though. I might not be exactly where I thought I would be at 28 but where I am is pretty darn good. A lot happened in my 27th year, it was incredibly hard and tested me like I have never been tested before but it was the most amazing year of my life. We did not expect my 27th year to kick off with a baby but boy are we happy it did. (a little glimpse at last years bday and my bump!)

We jumpstarted my birthday with brunch (and mimosas!) at OddFellows and then hit up the nearby market.

We followed up brunch with present opening and cake! Yum. Plus I had a handy little helper with my presents this year.

Whew! What a weekend. It wore me out but it was oh so much fun!

Now, lets do this 28 thing.

---

First two arboretum photos courtesy of the dallas arboretum website.

Adding a Little Fall

Fall is my favorite time of year. I have always loved Fall. For one, my birthday is in the Fall (October 14th), then add in the cool weather, falling leaves and pumpkins and I am in heaven. Then last year Molly was born in the Fall - so now its the absolutely best time of the year.

Along with Fall comes wonderful oranges, browns, and yellows. And pumpkins, lots of pumpkins. Part of embracing Fall is adding some touches around the house to commemorate the season.

We keep it pretty simple, nothing crazy. But I thought I would share a few pics of our Fall flair.















Molly is obsessed with the vampire in the coffin and the skull. She will point at them and play with them for hours.

Happy Fall!

Fall Weather and Pumpkins

It seems this past weekend was THE weekend for pumpkin patches across the blog world. And we were no exception.

I have been wanting to go to a pumpkin patch with Molly since the day I found out I was pregnant. Something about babies and pumpkins. Who knows.

It turned out to be the perfect fall day. Cool so we got to wear jackets and scarves but not so cold we had to bundle up. And just the right amount of sunshine.

We invited some friends and all packed into the car and headed out.



There were animals to feed...







And longhorns to chat with...





Plus cute daddy and baby moments.



We walked around the form and checked out the pumpkins, took lots of photo ops and went on Molly's first hayride! She really enjoyed it.











It was the perfect Fall weekend together as a family. We will definitely be making pumpkin patches a yearly tradition.





Happy Fall Y'all!