Pictures...

This last month has been full of Jani's personality. She is seriously taking on many of our quirks and qualities. She is a comedian throughout most of the day. If something is going wrong, Jani takes it upon herself to make us smile. She wakes up talking and smiling and goes to bed the same way. I wish I knew what she was talking about all day long! Here's a glimpse into what makes our girl tick :)

First Birthday Party

This is long overdue. Jani has been 1 for well over a month...I'm not entirely sure what I've been doing the whole month! Jani's birthday was perfect. We had so much fun with her. Doug and I have been pretty anal about not giving her sweets so allowing her to have cake for the first time was the highlight! She devoured it as quickly as only my child could. Girl after my own heart. We even went all out and got her the good stuff from Scratch. She actually had a few parties. We celebrated at a UNI tailgate with our friends the week before her actual birthday. It turned out to be a beautiful day and combined all of Jani's favorite things...family, friends, and football, of course!

Bad Blogger

I have been horrible at updating. We have been insanely busy the last month and the last thing on my mind has been blogging. I'm too busy chasing a one year old. Yes, I said ONE YEAR OLD! It's weird to say that. She is a walking, talking, happy little girl and we are enjoying every second of it. I'm trying to soak up these moments because my baby is no longer a baby ::tear::. I've got about 4 posts started that I must finish. Her birthday party, Thanksgiving, more football...you know. For now, I leave you with a picture...

Have I mentioned how much I absolutely adore Christmas???

Christmas Card Time With Shutterfly!!!

I love pictures...it's plain to see from this blog that I've become a bit obsessed with taking photos. Jani even plays with my old Minnie Mouse camera from when I was little. Not surprising that I love making Christmas cards each year. I love sorting through them online, picking one out that perfectly matches our outfits and conveys the holiday message I'm trying to express. For the first 4 years of our marriage, it was just Doug and I on the card. The first year, a picture from our honeymoon. The next year, a picture of us in front of the tree in our new house. After that, a picture at my parent's home. The fourth year, a carefully posed picture...both of us hiding the fact that we were disappointed there was no baby or pregnant belly in the picture. But then last year...Jani...wrapped in Christmas lights :) Our own little Christmas blessing. This year? What will our Christmas card look like? You can bet my baby girl's smiling face will be front and center. I love that about Christmas cards. They express the happiness of life....everything we are so thankful for during the most wonderful time of the year.Along with giving Christmas cards, I love giving gifts. I seriously considering gift tags. How awesome are these?! I love them :) I've also been contemplating a way to document my year. I've been doing photo books and love having them at home but I think I need something to stare at while I'm working. A personalized calendar is at the top of my list. What are your Christmas card plans? Want some free cards? Check it out!!

Create a photo slideshow

The Big One

One year ago we were blessed with a baby girl. I never knew how much I could love one little person. When she laughs, we laugh. When she cries, I am brought to tears. We love being her parents and have enjoyed every minute of the last 365 days. Thanks you Jani Sue for bringing so much joy into our lives!!

Cake and birthday pics to come!!

Thoughts on 1 Year

We are just days away from Jani's 1st birthday and I can hardly believe it. I seriously feel like we just brought her home. I drove in the driveway the other day and was walking up the front steps. The crisp air, the leaves....everything brought back the moment that we drove up to the house and brought her in for the first time. I remember struggling to climb up the two steps to the front door...the pain of labor taking it's toll. I remember shielding the car seat, not wanting the wind to catch her or the sun to get in her eyes. I remember stepping through the front door, waves of emotion coming over me - fear, excitement, sadness, happiness...all wrapped up in one tiny little blanket. The last 12 months have literally flown by. It's such a cliche statement but it's true. It has been one heck of a year and I have learned and experienced more than I ever thought possible. Here are just a few of them...
1. Labor is hard but recovering is harder. They don't tell you about what happens to your body after the baby comes out. I am not going to elaborate...I don't need to relive those memories.
2. Breastfeeding is hard but so worth it. I wasn't so sure about the breastfeeding thing. I have to admit that the whole concept freaked me out at first. I'm not sure if I was afraid I'd do it wrong or what. I just didn't think I'd be able to do it. I got it in my head approaching her birth, though, that I would do it and that I would try my hardest to get to a year. I knew with working this would prove difficult. Pumping is not fun. It's time-consuming and stressful, not to mention you feel like a cow. But I did it. I have made it to a year. I have spent countless hours attached to either my child or my pump and I think I deserve something. I'll be doing some online shopping to determine what said reward will be :)
3. Babies change everything. They change your social life, your marriage, your career, your priorities. Personally, I think every one of these changes has made my life better.
4. I appreciate my mom more than ever. In the first days of Jani's life, my mom stayed with us. She was an angel. She cooked, cleaned, and took care of her baby...me :) She took care of Jani too. Throughout the year, my mom and I have had so much fun with our girl. Grandma Jani and Baby Jani sure do love spending days together! She continues to take care of both of us...answering countless questions and dropping everything to babysit for us. We will never be able to thank her enough!
5. Babies come with a lot of stuff. Pre-Jani I thought our house was busting at the seams. Now I think we've busted and then some. Babies have so much stuff....and half of it you don't need! Jani's favorite toys are a wooden spoon and a muffin tin. She could play with them all day long!
6. Your senses go into overdrive. I've always been a sensitive person in terms of smelling things, hearing things, etc. With Jani, though, these have developed ten-fold. I can hear her crying a mile away. I practically smell a dirty diaper before it happens. It's weird how in-tune you become to their needs. I believe the term is "maternal instinct".
7. Being a mommy is hard. But it's oh so worth it.

Go Panthers!

Tomorrow is UNI Homecoming...we will be celebrating J's birthday with a tailgate. What did I look like last year at Homecoming???

After...

This has been a long time coming. I have been meaning to get after pics of the bathroom up and we finally got it done tonight. As promised...

My new washer and dryer....love them! Laundry is now fun!

This is the custom shelf they built me. It's on rollers so I can pull it out when I need it to fold laundry, set a basket there, etc. It's such a fun feature!

This is our new bookshelf that is actually a secret door....

That leads to our utilities!

A Few More....

I gotta add these Kindermusik pics from tonight....

Kindermusik

Thursday nights have become a highlight of my week. We enrolled Jani in Kindermusik for her birthday and I am loving spending this time with her. I was skeptical at first. We sing a lot, I play music for her...I felt like our house was it's own little Kindermusik. But a friend of mine was going to do it so I thought "Why not?!" I jumped on the bandwagon....and we're having quite a ride :)

Jani LOVES it! She enjoys the music, the instruments, and all the other little kiddos to harass and abuse! We have many more weeks ahead of us and I'm going to try and cherish each moment. Each new thing she learns, each moment she smiles, and laughs, and sings. I'm soaking it in...

Hogging all the balls

Our little loner

Jani and McKenna playing (*cough*eating*cough*) the bells

loving the scarves!

Little Drummer Girl

BUBBLES!

Such a brown noser

I Would Die For That

I was thinking about being pregnant...missing that feeling....and I remembered this video. I listened to this so much when I was struggling to get pregnant. Get the tissues...it will bring you to tears. I had a good cry tonight...for all my friends still struggling and for those who I do not know. 

October

I love October. I love the way the air feels, smells, and tastes. I love pumpkins and football and hot latte's on a cold Saturday morning. I love tailgating and shopping and wearing sweatshirts on Fridays. Fitting that I ended up having a fall baby. I always said I wanted a spring baby because as a teacher it just seemed smart. Having an October baby was perfect though. I just know she'll grow up to love the fall just as much as we do. There are so many things on our list of things to get done this fall with her. I'm not sure we'll check them all off but we'll have fun trying. First up...we need to get to a pumpkin patch. Doug and I want to recreate this photo with Jani....

Our little pumpkin 

Also on the list? A kick-butt tailgate for Homecoming. We've started planning. There may not be many people partying with us but we're going to have a grand time celebrating our purple and gold. We will also be tackling Jani's birthday. We're not going crazy. Doug and I are really trying to not overdo it. We'll have some family over and celebrate her life. That's what birthdays are for! We debated getting her gifts. She isn't going to know what's going on and I don't want it to be about the gifts. We decided to buy her Kindermusik classes. We thought it would be a perfect gift. It's an opportunity to have fun and to spend some mommy/daddy time. Grandma even gets to take her a couple times...silly conferences!

But I digress....welcome October....welcome Fall. We're accepting you with open arms. We so love all that this season has in store for us.

11 Months!

I can't believe I just typed that. I have an 11 month old. Tomorrow it will be October...the month my baby turns 1. One year ago, October was the month my life would change. The month that our family would go from 2 to 3. We were scared and anxious and unsure of what was to come.

Today? I couldn't imagine our life any other way. Jani completes our little clan. She is one of the most amazing little beings I've even encountered. Here are a few of our highlights....

She is a talking machine. The girl wakes up talking and goes to bed talking. She talks while she eats and talks while she sleeps. She ALWAYS has something to say. I know that is just impossible to believe coming from Doug and I. Recent words include "I love you" (we swear she's saying this), "hi", and "more".

We enrolled her in Kindermusik for her birthday gift. She loves it! She bounces and dances and socializes with her friends. It is such a fun time to spend with her, watching her learn and grow. It has turned out to be the best gift :)

She is still a scooter. I don't think she's going to crawl. She stood by herself for the first time the other night. She was holding on to me and then all of a sudden I didn't feel her hands anymore. I looked down and there she was standing, smiling, so proud of herself!

The girl loves football. She loves the yelling, the music, the people....she can fall asleep during one and have a meal. Nothing seems to phase her :) We're lucky she likes football as much as us!

Here's to the last few weeks before you turn one!! We love you baby girl :)

"You have a baby....in a bar"

 

Name that movie. 

And yes...I took my baby...to a bar...at 10:30 on a Friday night. Does that make me a bad mom?

I don't think so :) I did, however, get some questionable looks. Hey...she had a great time!

Who Needs Toys!?