First Birthday!!!

Good morning Birthday Girl!

I'm ready to open my presents!!!

We just celebrated a wonderful first birthday with Farley yesterday. I am completely amazed that it has been a whole year since she came into our lives. She is so awesome and we've been saying it obnoxiously for months now, but one more time: she really is the best and most happy baby! Her party had been in the works for almost six months (seriously, I started planning after Christmas) and it turned out so great. We had so many family and friends help us celebrate and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Farley partied through a couple of meals and her naptime and was still sweet and entertaining as always.
I know I haven't blogged in a while (life has been a little crazy this past month), so I want to record some things I'd like to remember about her at 12 months! (still blows my mind to think it).

• I'm talking, yes indeed: Farley is beginning to get more verbal. She still makes a lot of nonsense words, but she says "mama (yes!!!), dada, uh-oh, thank you (tank ooh), wow." Plus, she understands a ton more, and will react to: ball (get the ball), kitty cat(clicks her tongue to call him), night-night (lays her head down), bye-bye (waves), and a bunch more I can't list!
• I walk it out: Well, no, she's not really walking yet, but is getting close. She can stand on her own for a couple of seconds and has taken one step, but I can tell she's ready to figure it out. We're working with her and practicing lots!
• Sleepy girl: She does a pretty good job sleeping at night. She goes 10 1/2 to 11 hours and usually does pretty well barring some gassy incidents or teething. She is down to one nap a day, usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Big smile!: She does loooove to give these huge grins now. It is so funny... she scrunches up her nose and smiles so big! She still only has her two bottom teeth but is starting to cut one of her top teeth.
• Real food: Since she moved into the Infant 4 class, she has been doing solids mostly. A few weeks ago she decided no more baby food!!! So, she does mostly finger foods now-- a lot of fruit (watermelon is her favorite), some veggies, cheerios, Gerber Graduates meals, cheese, goldfish, pasta, bread, and a bunch of other things.
• Lovey-dovey: Farley is still super sweet and cuddly. She loves to love on you! She gives the very best hugs and will just pat you on the back. She has started giving kisses (very slobbery!). And, she has started giving love to her animals, too. You can tell her to "give it love" and she'll pick it up and hug it to her chest. So cute!
• On the other end of the spectrum: Farley is also the class bully! Her teacher confirmed this the other day when I dropped her off in the morning and she went to one of the boys, smacked him in the head, and took his toy! All of the boys in her class are scared of her! We have been trying to teach "be sweet" by patting gently instead of smacking. We'll see how that goes!
• Wiggly worm: I think this is the stage where we begin to talk about how much energy she has and wish we had a fraction. When she's awake, Farley is never not busy! She will seriously wear your skin off if you try to contain the action.

I'm sure there's lots more things I'll think of, so I'll come back and add as necessary. We are still trying to recover from yesterday's festivities and there are toys galore to be sorted and put away and a destroyed house to prove it! Thank you Farley for making our lives so wonderful this past year and we can't wait for all the many more to come!

11 Months

Happy 11 Month-Birthday sweet girl! I took this last night while I was conducting a "gratuitous fashion show." (Jason's description) Since we'll be headed to the beach soon, I needed to know if those precious new bathing suits and cover-ups were going to fit! And, really, (dang it Jason) I just wanted to see her as a bathing beauty!

So, here we are at 11 whole months old... soon looms the big 1!!! Some things to remember: Farley

• is getting closer to walking every day. She loves to hang on and walk around, and has even made it a couple of steps just holding onto one hand. I'm guessing in a month or so, we may take those first independent steps. We shall see!
• is honing her dancing skills. Maybe I should say "skillz" instead! (As in, mad dancin' skillz.) I think she's going to take after her parents and be a dancin' fool. She will dance to anything with any hint of a beat and it is ridiculously hysterical. The best is when she's standing and holding onto something and gets going-- she will bust out the stanky leg. It is awesome on so many levels. The only crime is that Jason and I have yet to video it!
• has discovered that she can point at things. Farley has been pointing to pictures in books for a while now, but it's like she just discovered she can do it in real life, too.
• is the reigning champion of super peek a boo. We don't just cover our faces to play. We play it hard core! Like, around the side of the couch and I'll jump out and squeal "BOO!" and she thinks it is the most awesome thing in the history of America. I mean, she gets so hysterical that she has given herself leather burn on her face because she is laughing so hard she can't catch herself and slides down the side of the couch face first.
• has started holding her own bottle. I still can't bring myself to stick her in the high chair to give it to her, though. She reclines in my lap and I'm there to help if it starts to droop.
• knows the importance of accessorizing. Well, maybe that's not what it is, but she is learning about where things go, what they do, etc. If her shoes are sitting on the floor, she'll pick them up and pat them against her foot. She also loves to pull Jason's hat off his head and put it back on, and pull my sunglasses off and put them back on. Which, if you're wondering, is not safe. I may lose an eyeball before this is all over with.
• is the best hugger! I love picking Farley up because she loves to give love. Sometimes it's like holding a little monkey because she'll wrap those arms around your neck or shoulders and just hang on. Other times, she'll pat you on the back while she's hugging. Arggh- Love. It.
• loves books. Thanks to some very generous friends, we have enough board books for a small library... and Farley loves it! She'll get all of her books out at once and strow them all over the floor (by the way, have I mentioned how tidy our house is all the time now? No? Hmmm. Wonder why?) and just flip the pages. I sure hope she continues her love for books (says the extremely nerdy book worm adolescent that still lives somewhere inside me).
• is busy. Busy. BUSY. I mean, I have never seen one human do so much stuff all the time. I know I'm going to be flabbergasted when she's a little older and runs everywhere, but let me be amazed by this, too. Farley is constantly doing something. She will stand by a table and pick up something from the floor and put it on the table, knock it back down to the floor, squat and pick it back up, throw it back on the floor, up, down, up, down. Get down and crawl to a toy and pick it up. Sit it down. Pick it up. Throw it behind her. See anther toy across the room. Crawl rapidly towards that toy. Get distracted by the cat. Chase the cat. Catch the cat. Not know what to do, so yell at the cat until he runs in fear. Crawl again to chase the cat. See the toy that was original goal. Crawl towards it. Pass furniture on the way. Pull up on the furniture. Chew on the furniture. AND SO ON!!! I mean it. Busy. Always doing something. Endlessly entertaining.
• gets more "toddler-ish" everyday. I keep seeing these baby things slipping away to the little kiddo she will be (sooner than I'd like). She eats finger foods a bunch now, and has just about decided she doesn't like baby food. She moves up to the Infant 4 class at school in a couple of weeks and she'll do table food (!) mostly and will get on the schedule of only one nap a day. That will be fine with her-- she's been fighting her two-nap schedule for a few weeks now, and it took me almost an hour last weekend to get her down for her morning nap!
• is learning how to exert her own will. It is funny to see her begin to develop opinions and preferences as her personality starts showing. While I see a lot of sweetness and affection in her, I have started to see glimpses of a willful little spirit in her, too! The other day she actually had a full-out tantrum (for an 11-month old) in her high chair when I took her food away. She was putting food in her mouth faster than she was chewing and swallowing, so I scooted it out of reach until she could finish what was in her mouth and take a sip of water. Well, she started crying (the "please take a breath now" kind where they get all red) and pulling her hair... big huge tears running down her cheeks. I made her finish that mouthful and slid the food back to her and *bing* she stopped. Like a light switch. And started smiling. And, yes, I know I shouldn't have laughed. But I did. She's good.

Well, this post has gone on way too long so I'll end it there. Plus, I know, blogs are supposed to be like kid's books: a lot of pictures and not so many words, so I'll try to get some posted soon!

Mother's Day

She loves wearing her Mama's sunglasses (I moved to cheapies recently after a disturbing Farley/RayBan/asphalt incident)

I celebrated my first Mother's Day yesterday and now there's been such a high standard set, I don't know if it can ever be topped! I woke up to presents (a big surprise- go Jason and Farley!) on the kitchen table. They were sweet and thoughtful and perfect... those two really did a great job! Jason had intended to have me "not lift a finger" all day while he cleaned the house and did other duties, but a hurt shoulder from Saturday prevented that. It didn't matter, though. He still managed to get my car cleaned (awesome!) and then we went for sushi (my fave) and Yogurt Mountain (no, I had never been but it was everything I had hoped... and more!!!) We had such a wonderful day together! I think Mother's Day might be one of my favorite holidays now!

Much like almost everything else you learn as you grow up, one can't really appreciate some things until you do them yourself. Being a mom is one of those things, I guess. I mean, I always appreciated my mom (who is a fantastic mother and lady), grandmother, great-grandmother, and other mom-like figures, but when you have the opportunity to try it yourself... I mean, I think moms = superwomen!!! I never grasped how much it would change me, despite how much I was warned. It is a combination of the most exhausting (mentally and physically) and rewarding thing at the same time. I never knew I would love being a mom so much. Farley is the most precious and special gift I could ever receive... a mama's love for her baby (no matter the age, I'm sure) can't be put into words, so I won't even try. So, here's to the moms out there, the ones no longer with us, and those still waiting for their time.

By the by... best part of my Mother's Day of all??? Farley said "mama" to me. I know she babbled it once long ago, but quit and hadn't said it again until yesterday. And, then, once she started, wasn't stopping! Awesome! In the interest of full disclosure, though, she also called me "dada" a few times, too! I will pretend I didn't hear that!

Little Miss Independent

Here's a picture I took of Farley last night at dinnertime. She loves to feed herself with the spoon. She gets so excited when she rings her mouth! Probably because when she does, I'm cheering like a drunk Bama fan at a big game-- loud and almost falling off my seat! Haha! To be sure she actually receives adequate nutrition, we follow the pattern: mama feeds a bite, Farley feeds a bite, and so on. I do have to actually scoop the food, but then I just sit the spoon in the bowl and she takes it from there! But, Jason did tell me yesterday (and I quote), "Farley and I had to re-evaluate our confidence in her self-feeding ability after she missed her mouth and jammed bananas and oats into her eyeball." He said she resembled Popeye momentarily, but didn't cry and just looked at him like, "Daaaaddd. You're supposed to keep me from doing this." Oh well, she's getting there, I suppose!

A Rare Sighting, Indeed

Yes, I feel like I should be talking in my Steve Irwin Whisper Voice. "Ah, yes, there they are...rarely spotted in the wild... aren't they a beaut'?" I have been trying for a month, no lie, to get a picture of Farley's new toofies. It has been quite a challenge, as I refuse to hold her down and pry her mouth open with one hand and snap a picture with the other. But, finally-- success!!! Here's my journey:

She's telling me something, like "I want to chew on your camera strap, lady, not show you my teeth." Sounds like: "bah gah bah bah bah dah dah...pbbbbbttt"

Close... a big scream, as she loves to do, but blocked by the tongue

Showing off our impeccable table manners, but not our teeth!

Coming to "get" mama, but not quite a big enough smile...

But finally.... wheeeee! The extremely rare Farleyicus Dentalmus Chomperi (Latin name-- phyla, genus, species... or whatever order... it's been a long time since I took Biology as you can tell!)

So far, from what I can tell, she seems satisfied with these two and in no rush to sprout any more. No teething or buds, so I might not be posting pictures of her next ones for many many months! Good thing-- trying to get photographic evidence of these wore me out!!!

A Trip to the Zoo

We ventured out to the Birmingham Zoo last Saturday... it was Farley's first time and she loved it (other than the allergic reaction to her sunscreen). Here's some pics of the day...

Getting in prime "animal viewing position"- Farley's favorite way to travel

The monkey house was her favorite-- must have reminded her of Monty.

Her hat looks very jaunty here!

She said "oooh" to just about every animal we saw. This is her looking at the flamingos, which she proceeded to call like she calls the cat!

A chipmunk we spotted... I keed, I keed- just Farley's cheeks making an appearance

Almost zoo'd out... taking a little break!

I liked the animals, but nothing compares to my daddy!!!

10 Months

Well, our little sweetpea turned 10 months old yesterday. Here she is with her mama this morning in a precious spring outfit. Slightly less precious when I discovered upon our arrival at daycare that she had sneezed and wiped green snot on her white cardigan. It's just what the outfit needed, really. So springy... (and p.s... at what point in my life prior to now did I think that I would find a "snotty-nosed kid" so dang cute??? Never before, but you never know, I guess...) No worries, though. One wipe later and we were back in business. By the way, baby wipes are awesome on so many levels-- they're like the paper towels of the gods. Will it be bad when I still carry them around when Farley is 20-something? Enough jabbering... on to the list!

At 10 months, Farley:

• is still talking. A lot. She will just jabber away (see her mother's own admission above) and it's so cute. She loves to say "uh oh" and makes a point to drop (throw) things or knock them over just so she can say it.
• wants to climb Mt. Kilamanjaro (sp?). Yep, I think I might have a climber. Bless her heart, though, she is a product of her parents so she's a little lacking in the leg department. So, whenever she pulls up on the object of the moment, she starts hiking a leg up. Luckily, she doesn't usually have enough leg to get up on whatever it is! Its only a matter of time, though.
• is a music lover. She will sing and dance to any music playing. Maybe I should have put quote marks around the "sing" and "dance" part, but its so cute. The singing is more like some "ahhh-ing" and the dancing is mainly a bouncy pumping (that sounds so weird, but if you saw it, you'd be like "yeah... bouncy pumping... totally"). The only songs she knows the lyrics (ha!) is the song that Monty (her sockmonkey) sings, which is "ooh ooh, ahh ahh." She totally will sing that one. And then she grabs him, hugs him, and then wipes her nose on him. I think I may see a pattern emerging...
• is so brave. When will we get to that phase where she is a bit more timid in the exploration department? Farley will travel anywhere she can get to via her favorite mode of transport (crawling) and does so without fear. Will she barrel down a hall towards a room where no one is that's pitch dark? Sure! She doesn't look back to make sure she has protection. See... Mt. Kilamanjaro... watch out, this baby is an explorer for sure!
• is steppin'. Yep, she is practing her walking skills with Mom and Dad and is getting a little bit better at the whole "one foot in front of the other" action. Plus, she's cruising now, and can make progress around the coffee table. This is indicated by the tiny greasy finger prints that form a lovely border!
• is right on track. This isn't the thrilling stuff, but what I'll need to remember when I start working--I know, the guilt is heavy-- on her baby book. At her 9-month appointment (which was after her 9-month post, so sorry for the late stats), she was in the 56th percentile for weight, but only 25th for height (leg-ularly challenged... welcome to my world, sister). She is wearing 9 to 12 month size clothes and size 3 diapers and shoes. She still eats mostly stage 2 foods on the spoon, but does a lot of finger foods and lurves wheat bread. (carb-ularly challenged... again, welcome to my world, Farley). She does well with water in her sippy cup. No juice because, well I guess because I'm the meaniest mom ever. (just practicing for later). She still doesn't feed herself her own bottle and is the only one in her class not to. This is what happens when you're the favorite and the teachers spoil you! But, a couple of times, she has picked it up of her own accord and drank the last little bit. Just DO NOT think you are going to make her do it!

That's all I can think of right this second, though each time I do one of these month updates I always think of something I forgot and try to remember it to go back and add it. Then I forget what it was. Ahhhh... Mom Brain. Potentially worse than pregnant brain. I think. I can't really remember. What was I saying?

ED: Hey hey hey! I remembered something. And then forgot it. And then remembered it again!!! So, here's my additional bullet point... Farley is:

• sporting two teeth!!!! Ahhahhhahaha (maniacal laugh). I wrote on her 9-month that she probably still wouldn't have teeth but I eat my words! She has her two bottom teeth poking out. They're not all the way out, but they're coming! As predicted, I have not been able to capture them on film. (or file, as I guess we should say it these days) They are cute, though-- they are growing (groan) on me!