Christmas Chaos and a Lesson in Simplicity

We're in the full swing of Christmas hustle and bustle. I being the over planner/type A personality I am sat down with my planner and the Holiday events calendar for our state and planned out activities for every weekend. We were supposed to start Friday November 23rd AKA Festive Friday in our house, you see we've never been Black Friday folks I respect people who do it I'm just not one of them, so instead we dub the day Festive Friday and deck the halls, put up the tree, bake treats if there's time, listen to Christmas and end the day with our own kick off to the Christmas season. This year we made plans to attend our City's annual Holiday River Parade it's a big event and lots of people turn out for it.

The night was chilly, but our spirits were high as we bundled our toddler up in a million and one blankets trying to keep her warm when all she wanted to do was run around. We got there got seated and over the loud speaker comes a voice saying the evenings events had been delayed about 30 minutes. Cue mom panic moment, but I regrouped and thought to myself ok we can do this we can entertain her for 30 minutes and then we'll be rewarded as she oohs and ahhs at the Holiday displays. So we headed over to the nearby playground not far from our bleacher seating and let her run off some energy. We headed back over to take our seats and again comes the voice over the loud speaker letting us know the show was still going to be delayed another hour. (to this day we have no idea what happened) At this point I am realizing our toddler girl who's bed time is the same as the new start time for this event is not going to make it and not going to get to see any pretty lights...cue mommy melt down with big tears in my eyes I turned to Mr. A and said "let's just go" so we headed over to the car only to find the parking attendants had directed people to park so close behind us that we couldn't get out unless we jumped the curb. Oh at this point I should probably mention The A Family got a new car in August cue second mommy melt down I just stood outside of the car with tears in my eyes while my father in law and my husband inched our new car off the curb.

All I had wanted was a night of magic to kick start the Christmas season for my little girl instead I got bitter cold, poorly run productions, and potentially wrecking our new car. Luckily we were able to get the car off the curb without any damage but it was still annoying and everyone's Christmas spirits were definitely dampened. We were close to the downtown area in which I work and I knew there were some light displays in one certain area so I suggested we drive through there and at least Carys would get to see a few lights. Reluctantly Mr. A agreed and we drove down through the gorgeous lights displays of downtown Oklahoma City. As I sat in the car desperately trying not to let the evening be ruined by our sour luck, I suddenly heard Carys's sweet little voice exclaim "LIGHTS OOH LIGHTS, LOOK MAMA PETTY PETTY LIGHTS" my momma heart lit up in that moment as I realized it didn't take an over the top experience to delight my daughter it just took some beautiful light displays. So we drove through the lights and she oohed and ahhed and it was then that the happy tears came as I began to see Christmas through her eyes. But the best moment came when we pulled into our driveway and she saw our lights for the first time and exclaimed "LIGHTS OUR HOUSE LIGHTS, PETTY, THANK YOU" My little girl of not even two had thanked us for putting lights on her house. In that precious moment the realization came to me it's the simple things that matter most like making a child's face light up with some fairly simple light decorations hung on your roof.

I still have a packed calendar for the holidays but I'm trying to take it all in stride and realize I have many years of Christmas enjoyment ahead of me with our sweet girl.

Later Alligators...

Mrs. A

A little harder than I thought.

So two days from today will be Thanksgiving just in case you have been living under a rock. While I am thrilled to celebrate this holiday season with my little family. I can't help but feel a deep sense of  sadness. It will be the first Holiday Season without my mom. I feel so torn because part of me is so excited to see the wonder and excitement of Christmas through my daughter's eyes, but the other part is morning the loss of the one who kept the magic alive for me.

My mom did everything she could to keep Christmas magical for me and I desperately want to do the same for my little girl. I heard my first Christmas carol unofficially of the season yesterday and I was a little surprised at the tears that welled up in my eyes as I thought about all the moments I had shared with my mother. When the family gathers on Thursday to celebrate a day of thankfulness I will be overwhelmingly grateful for the beautiful life I have been gifted with, but I will also feel an emptiness that only your mom can fill.

If anything thinking this week about my mother and all she did for me during the holiday season makes me resolve to do the same for Carys. I want her to believe in the magic of Christmas, I'm not necessarily talking about Santa Clause, I'm talking about spending the day baking and decorating cookies for neighbors, buying a gift for a child less fortunate than she is and experiencing the joy of giving, reading the Christmas story by candlelight on Christmas Eve, falling in love with the twinkly lights and the majesty of the tree, the secret joy of  Christmas tree lights being the only source of light in a room, waking up in the middle of the night because it's the first snow fall of the season and momma couldn't wait to share it with me, getting a free pass on bed time one evening because as I was getting ready for bed I see a note that says "meet me in the car" and driving around for hours looking at Christmas lights.

These are memories I have of beautiful Christmases past and now I have this profound sense of it is up to me to create the magic for my family if not for my own sake at the very least to keep the memory of mom alive!

Happy Halloween

The A Family wishes you a Happy Halloween from our little honey bee, the queen bee, and the bee keeper :)
PS: sorry the photos are a bit blurry taken on my phone ;(

Queen Bee and the honey bee!

my little honey bee and her friend the lady bug :)

little honey bee getting ready to get some candy at our churches' trunk or treat 

Happy Halloween if you celebrate it if not a joyous beginning to the holiday season for you and yours. Tomorrow the jack o lanterns get put away and the cookbooks come out!

Til Next Time...

Mrs. A

5 Years

1826 days.....

1 tiny little apartment.....

 1 spoiled yellow lab............

 1 sweet black kitty in heaven...........

 1 home purchase..

 1 adorable red headed toddler....

 1 loss of a parent..

 6 job changes, lots of laughter, a few tears, countless moments of joy...

a few fights...

and 1 promise between 2 hearts to love unconditionally made 5 years ago today.

. Happy Anniversary Mr. A. After 5 years you're still my "Everything"

Love you to the moon and back!! 

Mrs. A

Weekend fun.

These days I spend a lot of my time with my favorite sidekick and usually we plan a routine to our days and we stick with it, but yesterday when Carys decided to sleep almost 2 hours late, and it was too chilly for our usual morning outside, I decided it would be a fun day to throw the routine out the window. We woke up late had a leisurely breakfast in our pj's cuddled on the couch and watched an episode of sesame street, had a dance party with her baby dolls, read stories, got dressed and went out for lunch, went home and had a 2.5 hour nap, woke up refreshed and went fall and winter clothing shopping in the late afternoon. We came home with a new coat, a halloween shirt, and mommy even splurged and bought her very first princess doll. I cherish days like yesterday hanging out with this sweet little girl who is quickly becoming one of my favorite hang out buddies. We finished the night with dinner out at a bona fide restuarant with daddy. Carys was so well behaved and yet we still had terrible service I just don't understand why families with young kids always get terrible service at restaurants but it has been the case everytime we've gone out to dinner as a family.

Today she's hanging out with her grandparents while mom and dad work, then we'll have our weekly family dinner at their house when we pick her up. Tomorrow we'll head out to church, head home for naps, and then I've planned a fun day of pumpkin decorating for CC. Our front porch has some lovely pumpkins that are just begging to be decorated by little toddler hands. We'll end the night at children's choir and have quiet time at home in the evenings. Just another weekend at the A house.

Beautiful October

I don't know where my love of the fall originated from. I don't know if I've always loved it or I didn't really get to the point of adoring it until college or maybe after but I think these memories may hold the key. It's no secret if you know me in real life you know I LOVE October!! It is my happy month.

There's something so refreshingly beautiful about the changing of the leaves. The fall holds some of my favorite childhood memories.  I have one memory in particular that always comes to mind when I think of the fall . A few years back right before Mr. A and I met I helped my mom decorate for Halloween we used a lot of pumpkins a few purple lights, and some twigs from the trees in the front yard. We made stew and cornbread and had that for dinner after spending the evening making the outside of her home frightfully cute. We didn't do anything special but somehow it's the memory that sticks out most in my mind of my mother. October holds special meaning for me because it is the month of our wedding anniversary 10/20/2007 coming up on 5 years! But for me the special feelings of this month existed long before the ringing of wedding bells and everytime I see a beautiful pumpkin display, or a lovely set of mums gracing a front porch I think of mom and I am reminded of happy memories and that will forever be why I adore October!

Carys is 19 months old.

My precious little baby is fast turning into a big girl. She eats straight table food these days, sleeps 12 hours, and is the happiest and sweetest girl ever. We are abundantly blessed with our little ray of sunshine who is fast becoming not a baby anymore.

She loves finger painting, and cooking with mom, watching football with dad and playing with Missy our family dog.

Her favorite hang outs are The Science Museum, the zoo, and the grocery store. Girlfriend loves the grocery store.

This precious little girl of mine she lights up my everyday I find myself often wondering what I ever did without her.

My little baby is turning in to a little lady!

Letting go to Let God.

It never ceases to amaze me how God works in our lives consistently behind the scenes working and weaving together in intricate detail exactly the path we will take. The last time I posted about our family dynamics my husband and I were learning what it meant to be a household in which both parents work and our child goes to daycare. Well alot has happened since then and I can't even begin to explain how much God's hand has been in every detail.

We did the double income daycare lifestyle for an excruciating 7 months. I hated only seeing our precious daughter a few hours each night, each morning and on weekends. Let me get one thing straight this is how I felt just me not some all being power saying daycare is evil blah blah just my momma heart and my desire to be more involved in my child's day to day life.

I began praying fervently about 4 months into our routine that something would change some way would be made available for me to spend more time taking care of my family and less time in the office. Then life got even more ridiculous as we added Saturday work to our schedules, hoping the extra income would help us to work more fervently toward the goal of me being home. It did help but it seemed like we kept getting hit with random stuff, and the money just wasn't working as hard as we wanted it to, not to mention we were constantly ill due to not eating well or resting as much as we needed.

All that changed about 2 weeks ago when I got offered a position with the wonderful organization we'd been working with on Saturdays. The hours were evening allowing me to be home during the day I'm off on Fridays and I work Saturday mornings. I've been at my new routine now for a little over 2 weeks and I'm loving every minute of being home with my princess and knowing that when I leave her it's daddy's turn to take over and I still get to contribute to the family income. Granted it's not 100% perfect Mr. A and I have to be very intentional about our couple time and Friday date night is sacred in our home. But the benefits far outweigh the negatives and right now this works for our family dynamic. It's an added bonus that I'm working for an organization I truly believe in. I get to be a part of strengthening families and marriages everyday and I feel like I am right where God wants me to be.

I prayed fervently for a bakery job but the more work I did from home the more I realized the joy in cake decorating for me was that it wasn't a job. I began to realize maybe God was leading me down a different path and as I surrendered my own dreams God awakened something bigger inside of me and I truly feel like I had to let go to Let God and I love where He has lead me.

Later Alligators....

Mrs. A

a letter to new moms link up

I'm linking up from E Myself & I for a letter to new moms!

Dear New Mom,

Congratulations you did it! Welcome to the most trying and beautiful time of your life! I know you're feeling all sorts of things and you know what everyone experiences motherhood differently I assure you it's normal if you're thinking you weren't really ready for this and you have no idea what you're doing. A few words of advice don't be so hard on yourself momma you're new at this you'll make mistakes you'll learn and you'll be better for it. Remember this phrase "it's only a season" or better yet remember the bible verse from Ecclesiastes 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: These words will mean the world to you when you are "stuck in the trenches of motherhood" with your first night of all night screaming or teething or sickness or worse. It will seem like forever when you're in the middle of going through it and once it passes you'll look back and see it really was the blink of an eye. Don't be afraid to feel and don't be afraid to admit it if in your gut you think something is truly wrong either with you or with your baby. I was embarrassed when I first realized I might be dealing with PPD (post partum depression) and I ignored it but it grew and finally I couldn't ignore it I sought help and I was so glad when I did. PPD is nothing to be ashamed of it does not mean you are a bad mother it doesn't mean you don't love your precious child, it just means your hormones are out of whack! Don't feel ashamed if this happens to you! It happened to me I lived through it! Don't be afraid to ask for help and find a few great moms that you trust with kids just slightly older than yours that you can lean on and turn to for advice through each phase and that's it stick to those women for advice and politely ignore everyone else! Everyone will have an opinion and everyone will be convinced that they know best but guess what you are MOMMA with a capital M to this child and you and only you know what's best! Trust your heart and continually pray and you'll be amazed at your own strength. Welcome to motherhood it's a crazy ride full of joyous moments, terrible tears and amazing love! You can do it mom! God's right there every step of the way loving you and your child! Love, Mrs. A

Mother's Day....I am finally ready to write about it....

I avoided it I didn’t want to talk about it I avoided people’s sympathetic glances, I even avoided my Google reader for a few days hoping to not have to read all the tributes to all the great moms in blogger land, and I tried to enjoy my Mother’s Day. But I had a huge gaping hole in my heart that made it incredibly painful. I posted on Facebook the week before Mother’s Day that I wanted to crawl in a hole and hide until the day was over. 

I didn’t do that I got up got dressed, pinned on my white corsage with silent tears at the fact that it was white and not colorful (I guess this is a southern thing if you’re a mom and your mom is still with you on mother’s day you wear a colorful corsage symbolizing not only you are a mom but you are celebrating your own mom, if your mother is no longer with you then you wear a white corsage memorializing her through flowers) and went to church I endured the displays of affection for moms trying to enjoy being a mom myself. I endured the painful video and beautiful songs in tribute to mothers. All the while missing mine, I breathed a sigh of relief when our Pastor informed us that he would not be delivering a typical warm and fuzzy mother’s day message.

I returned home from church and put my precious girl down for a nap while I prepared to host my in laws for what should’ve been a day of celebrating. My family tried they bought me gifts, Mr. A even baked for me, Carys was exceptionally adorable  twirling and dancing around the living room, my heart should’ve been bursting at the seams, but I just felt empty inside and I felt so guilty for feeling that way. I sat later in the silence of my living room after our family had left and  Carys was asleep with tears streaming down my face and quietly prayed asking Jesus to wish my mom a Happy Mother’s Day for me. I am sure that future Mother’s Days will be easier but this one was quite literally the second most painful day of my life. My comfort is knowing I at least got to celebrate one Mother’s Day as a mom with my mother by my side oh how I wish there had been more.

with my favorite girl the one who allows me to celebrate Mother's Day

he baked for me :)

he did a really great job I was proud

Carys's gift for Grandma A and yes she loved it.

I haven’t felt much like writing I’m still dealing with a lot of hurt, and I’ve been so busy just surviving the day to day that I haven’t taken the time to take inventory on myself and how I’ve truly been feeling. I miss the therapy of writing my words down, I miss the happiness of recording joyful memories, and most of all I miss the blog community….

Later Alligators…

Mrs. A

Menu Plan Monday

Meal planning is something I am pretty good at I can plan delicious home cooked meals all day long it’s the executing that I have a problem with after a long day at the office usually the last thing I want to do is cook. So I try very hard to prep my meals on Sunday so that I have less work to do during the week it makes my life a  little bit easier. So I have already, made the spaghetti sauce for today’s meal and cut the squash for frying so all I will have to do today is throw the breadsticks in the oven,

I’ve also already cut the chicken for tomorrow’s salads into cubes, made and froze the pancakes for Thursday night and made and froze the hamburger patties for Saturday night. Doing this little bit of prep work early on makes for a much smoother evening meal time. I’m slowly learning the tricks to running a household, being a mom, and working full time. I am guessing just about the time I get it figured out I’ll be ready to leave the corporate world to stay at home with my kiddos.

Monday:

Spaghetti with Meat sauce, fried squash, breadsticks

Tuesday:

Chicken Ceasar Salad with fried apples

Wednesday:

We eat @ church on Wednesday nights

Thursday:

Breakfast for dinner

Pancakes, eggs, bacon & sausage

Friday:

DATE NIGHT so we’ll be eating out

Saturday:

Grilled teriyaki burgers and homemade fries

Sunday:

Italian chicken with garlic pasta and steamed broccoli.

Updates in the A Household!

First of all Mr. A and I are now working on Saturdays the goal is for us to both work like this for one full year and then re-evaluate. It’s a lot of hard work and it’s difficult to not have a lot of family time and or chore time. I’m trying to be super diligent in our home keeping methods and in my cooking. With that being said it’s causing Mr. A and I to butt heads a lot so I’m trying to relax a little and to understand my home may not be completely organized but at least it’s semi there. I’ve also decided I need to blog about my daily plans and schedule I know that will seem boring to most but it will help keep me on track. Let’s be honest here I’ve fallen off the blogging band wagon and frankly I beat myself up over it now I’m choosing not to care and to utilize my blog as a place to record memories and a place to blog about our plans for our family. We’re almost 1 month in to the agreed upon one year term and we are making progress slow as it may be. I know the reward of me staying home later on will be worth the hard work now. To everything there is a season has become my current mantra  and I truly believe I’m just in a season of extremely hard work and trying times but it will all be worth it later on.

What a difference a year makes....

EASTER 2011

Easter 2012!

Happy Easter Friends!!

"Pinch Proof" Our St. Patrick's Day Weekend re-cap.

Our little family was pinch proof on Saturday with all of our green on. Little Miss Carys got tons of attention at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in her green outfit and of course her red hair. Girlfriend does have just a touch of Irish in her blood J

Carys has just started really clapping and waving and we loved every minute of watching her clap and wave at the people in the parade. To say she LOVED IT would be an understatement. We made it a goal to spend as much time as possible doing fun family things on the weekends and this weekend we made progress on that goal. I am so blessed to be this sweet girl’s momma!

sidenote: I NEVER take pictures with my glasses on but I'm trying to embrace the camera and jump in photos more often.

checking out the bands

Waving to the cars

clapping along to the YMCA :)

Our Sunday was a lazy one we missed church which I hate doing but we just flat over-slept it was a much needed day of extra sleep for our entire family. After we lounged away our morning we played ball outside with our sweet baby girl.

Later Alligators...

Mrs.  A

Thanksgiving Tuesday

Have you ever had a week where everything that happens feels like it cuts you into many pieces and that you are constantly being handed your words on a silver platter? Well I am totally having one of those weeks I am learning just how much being a mom can test your patience, and remind you of your own short comings. I have had a trying week with my little girl and the funny thing is I can see myself in everything she's done recently. There's nothing like the actions of your child to make you realize your own shortcomings. My child is not a bad kid but she is definitely testing her boundaries this week and well frankly I'm feeling like I don't know how to deal with it.

 I am so thankful for the amazing women in my life that I lean on as my mommy mentors they have helped me walk through this more than they will ever know. I only hope someday to be the encouragement to a new mom that I have had from my mentors! Without these women in my life I am certain I would've broke down over a motherhood issue many many times. Thankfully the times I have had breakdowns these wonderful amazing women have been there to pick me up and dust me off and tell me to keep going. I can't tell you how many times I've called one of them crying and saying I've totally screwed up my kid only for them to remind me that kids are resilient and we are learning right along with them. I often forget that as a new mom I'm allowed to make mistakes I am human I am NOT supermom no matter how many times I try to convince myself that I am I always ALWAYS fall short!

In a world full of women who seem to be at war with each other over mommy issues I am so blessed to have these amazing women not judging me but teaching me and walking beside me! They exemplify the Titus 2 woman and they are some of my dearest friends! I hope I never forget how lucky I am!


Later Alligators...

Mrs. A

Sunday Meditations The Mission Field of Motherhood

My baby turned 1 last week officially entering the world of toddlerhood AKA the trying years and I have been busily running after her distracting her playing with her and in general enjoying her. But yesterday I was brought to my knees my sweet child bit and drew blood I was so stunned I yelled in pain and tapped her on the cheek to which she wailed! I immediately crumbled thinking myself a horrible parent and the thought has remained with me through today. I have felt myself unprepared for the years ahead and I find myself terrified of what's to come. I confessed this to my mom mentor that I feel completely unprepared to lead my child through the coming years and she reminded me that not only am I to lead I am to train, explain, and show her Jesus through my actions.

We've been speaking a lot about being burdened to save the lost souls of the world in our Sunday school class at church and I can honestly say sharing the gospel is a burden I feel for me God took this lesson in a completely different direction than I think it was presented and made me realize that my mission field is my home and my daughter is the lost soul I am trying to save. As much as I shutter to think of a future in which Carys doesn't choose Jesus if I don't live my life as an example that could someday be my reality. She is always watching me and learning even when I'm not speaking and I am terrified of that. I am crawling in the arms of Jesus and asking him to Lead me so I can lead her.

 I've never really thought of my home as my mission field before today but it is and I must make the best of every opportunity presented. I am reminded of the song lyrics we chose to put above Carys's crib "The Words I Would Say"  by the Sidewalk Prophets. The quotes we put above her bed are "Be strong in the Lord and Never Give Up Hope, you're gonna do great things I already know" but the lyrics I am reminded of now are "I know cause I've already been there so please here these simple truths" The reality is that the truth of Jesus and His saving grace is simple but teaching it to a child that seems like a mountainous task and one I am now responsible for completing. My only hope is to draw closer to Him and rest in His strength while teaching my children to do the same.

What about you have you thought of your home as a mission field before? and if so what are you doing to win the battle for Christ? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Later Alligators....
Mrs. A

To Everything There is a season!

As many of you know I lost my wonderful bakery job that I had taken late last year when the bakery decided to close I chose not to be angry at God for seemingly giving me my dream job and then taking it away. I walked right into another bakery job but the hours were demanding and I was working 50-60 hours a week when I was only supposed to be part time. Mr. A and I regrouped and prayed a lot I left that bakery job and chose to return to work full time.  I have now been at my new job for nearly two weeks. It was a hard decision that came with a lot of tears but we are blessed with a wonderful day care and I am holding on to the fact that it’s not forever. I can do anything for a little while even if it means leaving my precious girl at Daycare for 8 hours a day. She is happy and enjoys her time at “school” I am confident that our financial picture will improve with the added income and we can build to our savings and in a few years  probably when we’re ready for baby #2 I can be a full time stay at home mama. I was unhappy at first but Mr. A and I both feel this is what is absolutely best for our family.

I know some may disagree and that’s ok all families have to make choices based on what is best for their family at that point in time and we did that. It goes without saying that our new dynamic change has required some changes in the A household I thought organization with a child was important before but now with both of us out of the house 90% of the time it’s imperative! 

We must keep our home in working order through a serious of checklists in order for our limited family time to be maximized enjoying our time together instead of dealing with a messy home or staying home because we’ve exhausted our budget eating out. 

Our budget got tightened even though technically there is more income as we have several big house projects we are saving for. We chose to start a program called emeals we paid a set fee of 35.00 and for six months we get our menus planned for us as well as a complete shopping list based on what sales are at the store. Thanks @LeahMarie for introducing us to the concept not all of the meals are amazing but they are all fairly simple and if we don’t like a certain meal we might just replace it with a convenience meal such as soup or chili in the winter and grilled hamburgers or salads in the spring and summer. It’s been very helpful to us since we started the program in January and has become invaluable for helping us prepare a shopping list each week since now I get up early and go shopping on Saturday mornings for the week ahead. We also created a chore chart based on doing a few chores an evening so we don’t have to spend our entire day Saturday cleaning. We’re looking forward to having quality family time on Saturdays going to the zoo, the park, and eventually the swimming pool and soaking up our sweet girl’s smiles ;)

We’ve never really been this structured with our cleaning schedule or our meals although I have aspired to be. Truth is I’m a closet slob my living areas may look neat and tidy but that’s only because I cleaned like mad before anyone comes over. I hope this structure will help us to become a neater family. We’re doing well so far with our daily tasks and we’re taking it one day at a time but we have discovered that this system is much better than the alternative when we both have full time jobs. So I’m no domestic diva but I’d like to be and I hope maybe these baby steps will get me there.

So that's what's been up with the A Family lately!

Carys K. you are 1

My Darling Carys,

Saturday you turned 1 and mommy can't believe how quickly time flew. I truly feel as though I blinked and you were 1. You are such a busy bee little girl you are constantly on the move and you've started walking in the last few months and you are getting more confident every day, I am certain by the end of this month you will be a pro! You weighed in at the doctor's office today at just under 20 pounds and your 28 inches tall you're in the 25h percentile for both height and weight and Dr. Bowen your pediatrician was quite pleased with your development. Your hair is still fire red and getting quite long, and your are eyes still just as blue as can be.

A typical schedule for you looks like this:

Wake up 7AM-Eat breakfast which is either oatmeal and a mashed up banana, or pancakes cut into bites with some apples and cinnamon and a sippy with milk
then you play with mommy until time to leave for daycare

we  get to daycare at 7:45 and you spend your day playing with Miss Eva while there you eat a morning snack when you get there usually just some fruit or maybe some puffs, then you eat lunch at 11  and you eat whatever is being served that day, you are eating straight table food these days and you really enjoy your food you usually have milk with lunch too. you usually nap from 12PM-2PM
Mommy picks you up from daycare at 5:30 right after afternoon snack which is usually some yogurt, and we head home to play and hang out til daddy gets home at 6:00 then we play with daddy for 1/2 an hour and it's time to eat dinner you eat whatever the family is having for dinner and then it's bath time you absolutely love bath time and always get mad when it's time to get out but mommy can calm you down pretty fast with the excitement of tooth  brushing which you love as long as you get to hold mommy's toothbrush while she brushes yours with your toothbrush then you get to brush mommy's teeth or at least pretend to, then it's story time with daddy while you drink your milk and then it's night night by 7. You are sleeping like a little champ only waking up on off nights IE when you have teething pain or when you don't feel good.

You are such a little social butterfly and neither mommy or daddy have yet to see major bouts of separation anxiety from  you, we aren't sure whether to count our blessings or brace ourselves cause it's coming. You love having your picture taken and you always have to see the photo you point and say see. You had your first overnight stay with your grandparents recently and you did great mommy and daddy were so proud.

You have a few words in your vocabulary and we know you understand more than you say. You can say mama, dada, baba, up, see, bite, and nite nite, and you understand no no, dog, and go.

 Your favorite toys are stacking toys that you precariously stack together and then knock over with the silliest little grin and gleeful squeal. You are such a happy baby and everyone who meets you falls in love with your infectious giggle. Your favorite past time is feeding the doggy you giggle hysterically when you toss food on the floor and Missy gobbles it up, this does not thrill mommy or daddy but you are so gosh darn cute you usually get away with it.

Mommy got a little teary eyed today when I read an e-mail from a website I joined when I was pregnant with you that used to say "Your Baby This Week" it now reads "Your Toddler This Week" this made mommy sad to think you are growing up so fast, but happy at the same time you are turning into such a little lady. Mommy's favorite time with you is in the mornings when I've just woken you up we sit together in your room and you become such a little cuddle bug especially if it's a chilly morning. Mommy cherishes that time baby girl please don't give it up too quickly.

Mommy and Daddy love you more than we ever could have imagined and you are such a joy in our lives we count ourselves blessed many times each day when we see your sweet smile. I hope you are always as infectiously happy as you are at this age!

Love,
Mommy

Happy Birthday Little Miss!!

Hi friends,

Well the party has come and gone and our little sunshine had a blast at her party. Mr. A and I worked tirelessly creating all the little details of the party and I’m so happy with the way everything turned out.

I can’t believe it was a year ago that my little princess was born I literally feel like I just brought her home from the hospital.

We created a sweet “You Are My Sunshine” themed party and utilized the colors hot pink, yellow, and orange, no gray skies at this party ;). We had cupcakes in three different flavors, French vanilla, Swiss chocolate, and orange dreamsicle, Carys’s smash cake was make to look like a sun and we had a fruit tray and veggie tray to round out the food layout. We had such a special day celebrating Carys and the amazing blessing she has been in our lives.

Ok I’ll quit writing and let the pictures do the talking!