Wordless Wednesday: Special Aunties are fun!

K and I had a dinner out on Sunday with my old co-workers/special friends from White Bear Lake. I miss Linda and Sue so much! They sure do love our angel girl! Wow -she has grown so much since we last got together with them!

Mama & Treble loves

Hanging out with mama and Treble - look at him loving the hugs and attention

Kiss, Kiss, Tboy
Aww, he's giving us a kiss, too!
Uh oh? Where's Keifer?
There she is!!

Counting Calories

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Eight Days a Week

I just updated you last night about our angel girl's love of music (all of it), and I forgot to add the most important information to that post!

Two years ago, when Mooshie and Dave and Maddie were visiting CJ and I, to attend all the RE clinic's appointments and set up our egg donor situation, I specifically remember Maddie singing ALL. THE.TIME. That is why, then, when I hear my girl imitiating music and loving to groove as much as she does, I inwardly smile a little more, becuaase she reminds me of Maddie when she was 15 months old and visiting us.

I also remember that Maddie would attempt to hum or sing "Twinkle Little Star", as well as the Beatle's "She Loves You" , with the "yeah yeah yeahs" in the correct intonation.

Therefore, I made it my resolution that K would enjoy the Beatle's as much as her 1/3 sissy does, and so far, so good!

Last week, K was in the tub,and amidst my renditions of "Rubber Ducky" and "Splish Splash", I started singing "she loves you, yeah yeah yeah", and I got to the point where I could stop and K would take over on the "yeah yeah yeah's" chorus *cue my heart swelling with love*. Yeah, she's cool like that.

Then, the next day in the car, I played her my Beatle's "One" CD, and she particularily seemed to enjoy "Eight Days a Week" on the parts where they clap in the song. I looked in the mirror and could see my girl smiling huge, laughing, and clapping along with the four boys from England. Ahh, what a joy she is.

What is Keifer up to these days? A LOT!

Mama and Dada went to Cancun, and all I got was the "almost" too small Tshirt? Oye. LOL. *unbelievable that this shirt is almost too tight for our girl! AHH*

Oh me, oh my, where to begin?

Our angel girl is growing leaps and bounds in her ability to do and say things, and of course, CJ and I are proud as peacocks. Let's see......

~When her new Song and Story Chair crayons sing "la la la la la la la", K will laugh and sing "la la la" along with them.

~She is quacking with her toy ducks on a regular basis and attempting to say "duck" quite a bit, as well.

~In the tub, in her bath book, I'll ask her "where's the turtle" and she can point right at the turtle correctly! YAY! She'll then point at the frog, and say "gog".

~She calls a banana "nana" and will say "hot" at child care for Elaine.

~Whenever we hear music, wherever we are or whatever it is (out to eat as background music, my cell phone ringing, commercials on TV, the radio, elevators, car, you name it), our girl will rock side to side with the music that she hears. Tonight, we were out to eat with some friends of mine, and she was rocking out in her chair so hard to the Bee Gee's, I thought she would tip (thank goodness I always have my foot on the base of those high chairs! Whew). The girl knows some good music! The cutest thing, too, is that when she hears the music and starts dancing, she'll immediately look to mama to see if she is dancing along with her! LOL

~Although she has many toys and books, which she loves to look at on a daily basis, what really gets this girl smiling is a plain old half -filled water bottle (tightly closed). She loves to shake it and acts so proud when she splashed the water inside the bottle around. She's also been trying very hard to say "bottle", and both CJ and swear we've heard her say it more than once.

~Our girl is the biggest love bug cuddler you've ever met. She loves to crawl up to mama or daddy, and lay her head in our lap. She's always reaching her hands out to "share" her toys or food with us, and tonight at dinner, she kept leaning her head into my shoulder from her chair, to give me a hug. When we blow kisses to her, she blows them back, and she now thinks saying "I love you" means blowing a kiss. *sigh*. If she ever hears the word "love" in anything, she immediately starts blowing kisses. She also loves to give all her friends at Elaine's hugs when she leaves, especially Elaine.

~ Speaking of which, each and every AM, as I get her dressed, I'll ask her if she's ready to go see Elaine and her friends, and she'll respond by waving happily.

~Our girl is also signing two word signs! Last week, I was asking her in sign if she wanted "more water", and she repeated the same exact thing after me. Now, all I'll do is prompt her if she seems like she wants her glass, and she'll sign it! *hurrah*

~And of course, her favorite activity of late in the high chair is dropping her food to see where it goes (and how fast it gets gobbled up in our two dog household). *sigh*. Hence, mama having a hold of her water glass, instead of keeping it within her reach for now.

Poor girl is teething lately. She'll crawl around and play with this teething ring in her mouth, until the coldness stops and it gets all warm. Then, she prefers to grab mama's fingers and lead them straight to her mouth, where she'll chomp on them and giggle with delight when I pretend to be horrified.

More birthday gifts? THANK YOU, Auntie Kir! You are such a sweet Auntie! We can't wait to meet you and your boys some day! *we LOVE the outfit! and yes, we have to exchange for a bigger size, because our girl is so darn BIG! But, we'll get the same one: we love the colors and our girl does, too!* We don't mind her exploring some cupboards; don't worry, the important ones are locked up tight!

These shoes are made for.......well....crawlin'!

K recently got herself another new pair of Robeez, as she graduated out of her 6-12 month size, and is now in size 12-18 month. I had her measured at Stride Rite a few weeks ago, and she is a size 4 1/2 in baby /kid shoes. Of course, shoes may sound silly for a girl who isn't really about to walk yet; but mama wants her tootsies covered up when it's still chilly out and at child care, and in the summer, I'll want her to have something on when we're out and about in public.

Yes, our girl is having some issues with her standing and bearing weight. Her left ankle/hip has apparently always had a little bit of tightness going on (this I've learned through my good friend and co-worker, who is the most magnificent and smart Occupational Therapist I've ever met!). She checked K out a few months ago when she was army crawling, and had us do some exercises with her legs to get her to bear weight on all fours (hand and knees crawling). The exercises worked wonders and our girl was quickly on all fours instead of on her tummy. Now, when we try to stand her up with us holding her, she refuses to bear weight on her legs. Yes, she'll pull herself up to stand on tables and equipment, but she gets stuck in a "splits" position, and her left ankle/foot is pretty much facing sideways (similar to a ballerina/ballet pose). My OT friend is going to check her out this week again, since when she suggested to me that I give K some input on her ankles and feet (with light massage, etc..) K cried like I was hurting her. I fully trust my friend/coworker and we'll go from there. Until then, K will have cute shoes that offer good soles so that she gets used to the weight on her feet.

And, thanks to Nana Di, we also got a new pair of cute sandals from Jack and Lily this weekend. I wanted something "airy" for the hot summer days. Our girl has really long and NARROW feet, so they are a bit wide on her, but she seemed entranced by them and enjoyed wearing them around yesterday and practicing her climbing skills. Here she is modeling them, saying "Thank you, Papa & Nana!" *Papa helped pick them out, you know!*

Photo catch up

Yes, I know many of you come here just for the opportunity to salivate over our angel girl. Well, here you go. Enjoy the feast for your eyes. LOL. I'll have updates on her current "milestones and firsts" tomorrow, but for now, I must prepare for the evening (sipping on Dos Equis #2 and getting snacks ready) for the return of McDreamy! YAY! Finally!

Who is THAT? It's pup pup Sassy begging for some of K's scraps I love love love to go strollin' in my stroller, but I'm not too keen on these hat things

Who is THAT? Why, it's MAMA as a little girl, in HER floppy hat!

I love to dig thru my basket of books and read read read to myself! (upside down is no biggie for a wonder girl like myself!)

Cheese!
I see you, mama!
Hey, what is that sticker doing on the bottom of the table?
More cheese for you, mama! Conked out after a hard day of play. No more sleep sack (too hot), so notice the feet go thru the rails? We go into find her in MANY different crazy positions every few hours. She is quite the restless sleeper, just like her Dada!

Drumroll please: let the mock cycling begin!

Last night, I received my monthly visitor, AF (Aunt Flo), and so my instructions were to call the clinic whenever she showed this month.

I received a call today around noon from a nurse at my clinic (ironically, this was the nurse who called me the day I got my BFP and I can still vividly recall her voice and congratulations call to this day). *sigh*. Anyways, she called me with my instructions for this mock cycle.

Tomorrow, I start taking Estrace (estrogen) to build up my uterine lining. I go on May 5 for a lining check, as well as to do a fasting blood test, and two hours after that (and eating), a blood glucose check. Let's hope and pray that the meds and my body cooperate and work out the way they should.

I should really start getting back on the Reiki energy work that I did the whole time I was cycling during IVF cycle #1. I honestly believe and swear by the Reiki. I'll have to call and get those appointments lined up and re balance the energy inside my body. Lord knows I have enough stress at work lately to get it all blocked and I don't' need that!

I'll keep you updated on how my body is cooperating.

Tastefully Simple

I'm going to be doing a Lunch time Tastefully Simple party at my work *updated* Friday, May 9th. I'm also sending out an Email for an "online" party this afternoon. If anyone wants to look at their products and order anything, let me know *(send me an email via the blog)* and I'll add you to my email.

I will need your name, last name, and email address.

No pressure! However, I will let you know that I went to my first TS party a few weeks ago and had to hold myself back from ordering a million dollars worth of products! It is so tasty! And with new babies, birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day coming up, and summer BBQ's, what better way to add something yummy and new to the table?

Let me know.

Wordless Wednesday #2: Reunited, and it feels so good

This was Sass (Sage) the night we got home from Cancun. She was beyond excited and I was just as happy to see her as she was to see us. I love these little fur kids so damn much!

Wordless Wednesday #1: I love my cars!

Vroom Vroom Vroom. Exploring the neighborhood in my new Whisper Buggy.Not sure what to think

I love this M&M Racecar!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

No day but today

I read my friend Emilie's blog tonight and was immediately reduced to tears. You may recall that she had a cancerous tumor removed last Fall, which she found out about because of her pregnancy. Well, the cancer is back, and it's not looking good.

Please send her all your warm wishes, love, prayers and good vibes. Her and her family will need them.

For some reason, it made me think of this song from Rent, and I told CJ, as he hugged me in sadness at the news, we must live for today. Love like there is no tomorrow.

Why do kids have to be so mean?

Ugg. My heart could break. A child here at my elementary that I work in - one of the sweetest, gentlest boys: he was smacked by a bully in the bus line this AM, waiting to come in. I have no doubt he was hit because he is so non-confrontational; he is just so sweet and polite and plain old nice. The boy who hit him is a bully. He has no conscious, from what I have heard. He is the one that teachers predict will be in the newspapers one day, the shooter of something or someone.

As a parent, this freaks me out. Big time. I was near tears just feeling so sorry for the boy who was hit this AM, let alone, what if it were my CHILD that was hit? It scares me, this society, this world, of what may be in store for my child(ren) in the future.

We try to teach our children right from wrong, and how to be good people. However, there always seems to be those kids out there who seem to have no conscious. Which raises the whole debate: are "bad seed" born that way or is it environmental? Or both?

I don't know if you've seen or heard about the teen aged girls in Florida, who kidnapped another teen aged girl, and took her to a house and took turns beating on her and berating her (and stupidly, videotaping it all). I saw this clip on CNN when we were in Cancun, and it horrified me. It horrifies me to my very core: as a mother of a daughter. How do kids have no conscious about doing things like this?

Over our vacation in Mexico, I read 5 books. Pleasure books. I was in hog heaven, as I try to be an avid reader, and lately, time doesn't permit me to enjoy books without falling asleep. I borrowed a book from my co-worker, called We Need To Talk About Kevin, and whoa. I was blown away. If you haven't read this book, and are a reader and into topics other than light romance, I highly suggest it. I could not put it down, nor could my Sister-in-Law, Jill, who borrowed it when I was done. It deals with the whole "bad seed" topic, and a violent incident at school that the boy in the book orchestrates.

It is a scary world out there.

Yay for Spring!

Spring has finally arrived! After almost a week of overcast, rainy weather, today was finally gorgeous. Blue skies, sunshine, and warm temps. We had a wonderful weekend together - our first "family weekend" in quite some time.

Yesterday, after our family and K's one year pictures, we came home and went on the maiden walk using K's new Whisper Buggy - her birthday gift from CJ and I. She doesn't really know what to think of this quite yet: the only thing she knows is, she likes to go fast (she rocks her body back and forth if I stop or go to slow! HA!), and she likes to beep the horn. LOL. She also continuously said "hi" to her dada, and kept waving at him ahead of us, walking our fur kids.

Today, K and I went to church, where we were having a Goodbye Brunch/ Earth Day celebration. We were saying goodbye to our interim Pastor, who was the Pastor that baptized K and I in October. K did so well, I was so impressed with our little angel girl. She loved all the special music that was played and performed today (our dancer girl came out, rocking to and fro), and she loved the brunch we shared after the extended special service. After a short nap at home, we again took the Whisper Buggy out with the pup pups, and then Mama and Dada took her to the gym for some swimming. Our girl loved it - she loves to splash and kick her little legs as fast as she could go. She was so cute - she kept saying "hi" to the teen aged male lifeguard, who didn't see us. Hee hee. After swimming, Mama and K took a bath together, and then our pooped out girl took a long, late nap (along with mama, in her own bed). Whew. What a day.

Pics to come soon of our girl traveling in her buggy.

One Year Portraits

We had the most wonderful experience today.
We had K's one year portraits taken, as well as a family picture. Oye. I was in tears looking at the pictures afterwards; they really captured K's personality, if you will. She looked so gorgeous. I wanted them all, but really, we all know that isn't possible. LOL.

You can see them HERE: at Flash Portraits.

Then, to to My Portraits on the left. You must know our last name to enter, and then our password is Kiefer. Yes, spelled wrong (backwards) but whaddya do?

Everyone at Flash was extremely kind, fun, and so sweet to K. We got told by many people how mellow and sweet our girl was, and she was dancing and playing with one of the ladies as we were picking out our pictures. She won a few hearts over today.

Then, we enjoyed a lunch in the food court, did some shopping, and had an awesome family day together. *sigh*. It's days like these that my heart could burst with love. If only the furkids could've handled being in the pictures.

Yearning to be knocked up

I have had baby fever BAD lately. Yes, we're signed up for IVF with Donor Eggs round 2. Yes, we're on the waiting list for an anonymous donor, and yes, we're hoping and praying it works sometime later summer/early fall. But man oh man, I have the yearning so bad. It almost is a pain in my ovaries (my non-compliant ovaries). Recently, on my mommy message board, there was a new pregnancy announced, and once again (as it seems to be happening around me lately), very little time was put into trying for this baby. Don't get me wrong: I'm not in the least bit holding any grudges or ill will towards the newly PG mama-to-be-again. What I am feeling is jealousy. Desire. Anger at my own non-functioning body. Yearning for a baby inside of ME.

There is a baby boy at Keifer's child care, who is the sweetest little baby ever (besides my K). He is beautiful: always smiley( like my girl), big blue eyes, big dimpled grin. So sweet. So small. Going through all the milestones that K just went through. I want to go through them again. Call me greedy: yes, my daughter just turned one year old and still has MANY milestones to cover. But I am baby HUNGRY. It is this innate hunger: this NEED for a baby to be MINE, held in my arms, rocking to sleep at night (alongside our angel K).

I had a dream this past weekend - I can't remember if it was Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Truthfully, this weekend was a blur in time for me. It was a very vivid dream. I dreamt that I was PG, naturally, with no donor eggs. It was a huge (obviously) surprise and a huge joyous occasion for CJ and I (in my dream). I even could FEEL the twinges of PG in my uterine area. I remember the dream very vividly: celebrating, seeing the gestational sac on the ultrasound, feeling the flutter of the baby inside me. I woke up feeling so disappointed and so very sad. Sad that this wasn't the truth, it was only a dream.

Ironically, a few days later, a girl on my mommy message board called me out to tell me that she had a dream the night before that I was PG and it had happened naturally. Now, if I wasn't on the pill, and if I KNEW it wasn't logistically possible right now, I would've called that a huge sign. A sign that maybe, just maybe, someone in the higher ups somehow was trying to tell me something. As many of you know, I'm a huge believer is "signs". But it is not the case, and it is not true, and that fact alone makes me feel sad yet again.

Yes, I'm a happy woman. I have a wonderful supportive DH, a beautiful, smart baby girl, and two beloved fur kids that make me laugh every night. I have all I ever wanted. But to be sad about not being PG for the 2nd time, and to be pissed off at my own body for not allowing me the ease and carelessness to be ABLE to get PG without assistance, or another woman's eggs (for cripes sakes); well, I have a right to be feeling like this. I'm acknowledging my hurt and disappointment, and yes, it is OK to feel like this. Especially when my life's dream (and CJ's) was to have a family together, meaning more than one child if possible.

Last night, I woke up CJ with my talking in my sleep. I rarely talk in my sleep, so if I do, I must have been worked up about something. I don't know why I was/am worked up, but apparently subconsciously I am. I then woke myself up, yelling out "Bitch!". "Bitch". Hmmm. To whom in my dream, was I saying this to, and why? I honestly don't know. My body? The clinic? A PG woman? Hmmm. It makes me chuckle to remember this, but at the same time, what is going on in this crazy head of mine?

Who knows. Maybe I have deep seeded issues with the waiting game we are now a part of again. The waiting for the clinic to contact us with the news that they possibly MIGHT have an egg donor for us. The waiting for the process to get started. The waiting as the meds are fine tuned and started. The waiting to see if any eggs are retrieved. The waiting to see if we have embryos to transfer. And the waiting to see if I become 'knocked up" again, and have another successful PG.

Please keep us in your prayers. I feel greedy. Greedy that I am so selfishly asking for the prayers for another baby.

Vacation, all I ever wanted....Vacation, happy to get away.....

Ahhh, Viva Mexico! It has been one full week since we came home from Cancun, but it flew by. It seems as though we were just stepping excitedly onto the plane to leave, with heavy hearts (because of our girl), yet giddy at the thought of some SLEEP and alone time.

I found out on vacation that yes, indeed, I have turned into "That mom". You know, the one who NEVER. STOPS. TALKING. ABOUT. THEIR. CHILD. I'm sure CJ's brother Corey and SIL Jill were ready to strangle me. But I couldn't help it. I missed my girl so fiercely, it literally hurt. There were many couples with babies at the resort, and CJ and found ourselves going "honey, look....the baby!", whenever we saw them. There was one little girl who we found out was right about K's age, which made us miss her all the more, and another little 9 month old girl ( I asked! LOL), who had her swimsuit! *sigh*. Talk about heartsick.

We called home just about once a day to find out about her adventures with Nana and Papa. Of course, Keifer was fine and so loved and busy, but still....it was very hard to not see her and kiss her. And the fur kids, of course! I miss my Sassy Sager not cuddling up against my back or legs every night in bed.

Anyhoo....here are some pics of our awesome time in Cancun Riviera Maya. We stayed at the Riu Palace Riviera Maya (not to be confused with the 4 other Riu properties on the same street as us). It was heaven on earth. Food galore. There were the restaurants that you had to make reservations for, and the buffet place to eat for all three meals of the day. We ate and ate and ate. I literally gained about 8 pounds just being down there eating. I love the fresh juices and fresh guacamole! Ugg...I miss it! We had dinner 2 nights at the "reservation" places: the Steak house and the Japanese (sushi, anyone?). This place had a wonderful entertainment staff that worked their arses off day and night, and a beautiful central courtyard with live entertainment every night. However, our rooms faced the courtyard, and that was the one downside to our stay. We could hear EVERYTHING entertainment wise in our rooms at night; not so nice if you want to get to bed early, as I did 2 of the 5 nights. The beds were hard as rocks, but some people don't' mind that. How can you not like your fridge being restocked every day with soda, beer, and waters, and being able to eat and drink WHENEVER you want? Ahh, heaven on earth. I hope we get to see Mexico again.

Here are some pics:

Check in always has a drink for you in Mexico!

CJ coming out of our room: Corey & Jill's were on one side, ours on the other

exploring the grounds - the hotel is like a "palace' behind us
The beautiful beach at sunset our first night (those big "whale" things are the sand bags)
Jilly & I walking through the elegant lobby, the day we went to downtown Playa Del Carmen's famous "5th Avenue"

5th Avenue, looking towards the gorgeous ocean

Bourban Street bar at 11AM! ahhh, the life.

Dinner out at the Japanese restaurant
Jilly & I relaxing in the Infinity pool - so cool, refreshing, and relaxing...*sigh*

the brothers on their way to go para-sailing
up, up , and away!

hanging out at a "table" in the pool

Jilly & I loved to eat, eat, eat......

Mama & Daddy having fun

The brothers enjoy their last night with a stogie

Wordless Wednesday: the ever expanding palate

Mama couldn't decide today between these two pics. K's ever expanding palate is making us giggle all the time.

Socks, anyone?

Cake? What cake? I didn't see any cake!

One Year Stats

We had our one year check up this AM. K is doing awesome in all areas, especially her language and social skills (as we knew). We talked about her disliking bearing weight on her legs, and how we'll monitor this for a few more months, and continue to work on it. We're going to start weaning her from formula to whole milk, and hope it agrees with her digestive system.

Our poor girl had 3 shots this AM: the chicken pox one, the Hepatitis A, and MMR. Mama sure doesn't like putting all these things into my babie's body, but we discussed it initially at length with our pediatrician and we trust her. Keifer had crocodile tears and was screaming. The nurse gave her a Dora sticker, and she clutched that sticker afterwards for dear life. Then, we had to subject her to more horror: we had to have her finger pricked and squeezed for blood to check her iron levels. I think she thought we were never going to stop with the torture. Poor girl passed out in the car within 5 minutes on our way to Elaine's house. I dropped her off and she seemed happy to be with her friends. The minute she saw Elaine and Ava sitting at the table when we arrived, she was beaming.

Here's our big girl's stats:

Height: 31 1/2 inches -- 97%ile

Weight: 25 lbs 12 oz. -- 97%ile

Head: 18 3/4 cm. -- 97%ile

Dr. J. commented that our girl is following her growth curve exactly spot on, so we are thankful for a healthy and happy little angel girl!

Since you've been gone, K has......

~~We left last Friday, the 4th of April. While we were gone, K learned to say "Nana" and "Papa" consistently.

~~She pooped in the tub for them last weekend, a first for her. I can only imagine the shouts and panic. LOL. She apparently tried to play with it (a floater!) but was denied the fun. Ahhh, party poopers! HA HA!

~~One morning, before the grandparents brought her to Elaine's house, Papa was blow drying his hair. Yes, my dad blow dries his hair, but if you know him, you know I obviously DID NOT inherit the THICK hair that sits atop his head. So he takes a few minutes each AM to get the wetness out. K was sitting on Nana's lap, and apparently looked upstairs towards the blow dryer sound, and said "Mama? Mama?". *sniff*

~~K started *finally* pulling herself up on the tables and stairs. She called upstairs (*shown in a dropshots clip*), "Nana, nana" to my mom, as she pulled herself up. We are proud peacocks. Since the pulling up has started, we've also started accumulating bruises on her face. She had a nice one on her chin, but luckily, nobody really saw it yesterday at the party. Poor girl.

~~CJ, K and myself had our family reunion early Thursday AM, around 4:30, when she awoke crying. She stopped when she saw us, and immediately started smiling and bobbing her head up and down in excitement (she does this, it's so funny to watch). I picked her up and was cuddling her as CJ went to get her a bottle. She laid her head on my chest, and repeated, "mama, mama, mama". *sniff sniff sniff*.

~~K loves to "blow kisses" now, and we always say "I love you" when we do it. Now, if she hears us say the word love in any context, she immediately puts her hands to her mouth as if to blow us a kiss. She loves to say "hi" with a wave, and "bye" with a wave all the time, to whoever enters or exits the room.

~~Friday night in the tub, K started pointing with one finger at the pictures in her tub book. She would pick out all the pictures, one at a time, point to them and look at me, as if to say "what is this". She became fixated on the puppy and kitty in the red canoe, and over and over, kept pointing at the kitty, whispering to herself, "kit, kit". Ahhh, my heart was singing. Papa also got a huge kick out of watching her. In the tub, this girl knows no fear. She will lay on her back, as a game, laugh out loud, pick herself up, and then lay herself back down on her back. What a hoot.

~~Since we've been home, K has been seemingly extra snuggly with us, especially mama. Whenever I'm on the floor with her, she will at some point, crawl over to me, and lay her head on my lap to cuddle. When I pick her up, she lays her head into my neck to snuggle. She often picks up one of her three baby dolls, and will kiss them, and snuggle them into the side of her neck, ohhing to them out loud. She has started snuggling on her daddy, too. Today, we all cuddled on the couch down in the basement at one point, and had a snuggle fest. My heart was bursting with joy.

~~K loves the phone and the remotes. She found an old remote near our computer stand, and will crawl around with it, taking breaks to "chat" on her phone. This AM, she heard me on the phone with Nana and Papa, so she crawled over and leaned her head right into my phone, knowing just how to put her ear onto the receiver to listen. She, of course, smiles hugely when she hears them talk to her. And, when Nana said " I love you", K 'blew" her a kiss. *sniff*.

~~Today, K has also demonstrated some early possible sharing. She has a stuffed monkey mini-rattle, and she kept holding it out for me to take from her, over and over again. I'd take it, say "thank you", give it back to her outstretched hand, and then she'd immediately hand it to me again. This repeated over and over for about Five minutes before I suggested giving it to CJ, behind her. She turned, handed it to him, and took it back to give to me. We were rolling with laughter at our girl, who also appeared to try to say "thank you" as we gave it back to her.

Catching up is hard to do: but here's the One Year Party Pics!

Welcome to K's party! As always, my friend Taryn's work is amazing. *sigh* K's stand in until cake time
Ducks on bubbles
The birthday girl with beloved Nana M. (we didn't get an 'alone' pic of her, believe it or not!)

Whew. Since we've been home this past Wednesday, the end of the week/weekend has been a complete blur.

We had 2 parties (as you saw) for Keif's first birthday on Thursday, and Friday was spent prepping for her duck party on Saturday. We made mucho amounts of snacky-type foods, and we made a scrumptious tasting hot shredded turkey (with cheese!) for sandwiches. A HUGE THANK YOU to my mom, Nana D., for making most of the food, and shredding turkey *up to her elbows!* on Friday. We could NOT have had the food be as much of a success as it was without her!

I didn't take pictures of the blue duck punch (damn), but was so cute. Here's a link to the punch with a picture. It was very tasty (and sugary,oye). We used our duck tub for our cooler *giggle*. It was so much fun to decorate the house. CJ initially thought mama went overboard (men!), but later told me he loved it all. Hmm, I seem to remember the same comments about our wedding, hee hee!

Mama & K had matching duck socks, even!

Yesterday's party was wonderful, with family and friends from both near and far, and our girl had a blast. She loves interacting with kids of all ages, so it was so fun to watch her investigate and interact with all the friends and family who came to visit with her. She didn't seem all that concerned or nervous about being the center of attention, and was the first "ONE" year old that I've ever seen who actually was interested in opening her gifts! LOL. She loved "reading' her cards, and tearing the paper up or out of the gift bags. At one point, she had a toy in her hand and didn't want to let it go for the next gift. She was a much-blessed little gal, receiving more new clothes, tub toys, toys, Aqua-Doodle, books, etc.. She didn't seem to know what to think of the frosting on her smash cake, and if you really watch the video below closely, you can see her pause mid- munch of it, like she isn't sure if she likes it. She was conked out last night and slept a full 12 hours, and had wonderful naps today.

Here's a pic of our girl getting into her gifts. We have so many pics, but this is just a sampling. There are too many to pick from!

Mama also napped today, actually MOST of the day away, as it felt like I had been drugged last night. Neither CJ or I have bathed today, and I still have yet to brush my teeth! Luckily K had her nightly bath.

I've finally uploaded pictures from our relaxing trip to Cancun Riviera Maya (was it just a week ago we were in the tropics?), as well as all the party pics and dropshot videos. The link is on the side ------> for our video clips, so if you're curious, you can catch up over there. You can see how our girl is turning into a total ham, and starting to stand and as always, getting into her music and dancing.

I'm off to get my notes together, and do a "this is what K" can do post. Cancun post to come soon, as well, and tomorrow at 8AM is our girl's ONE year check up.I'll have her one year stats, but I am not looking forward to the shots. *shudder*.