14 Months on the 4th of July

July 4, 2011 - 2 months

July 4, 2012 - 14 months

Today is the 4th of July and Caitlyn's 14 month birthday.  Yes, 14 months already!  Wasn't I just pregnant yesterday?  Apparently not, because we now have a little toddler in our house, not a baby.  She has grown and changed a lot just in the last 2 months since my post about her 1st birthday.  Here is the latest:

Growing: We don't have another scheduled well-check until 18 months so I'm not exactly sure on her weight and height but on our scale at home she is about 22 pounds.  She is still wearing 12 month clothes.  The issue we have with her clothes is that her weight is in the 12 month category but her height is in the 18 month category.  So, her 18 month pants sag but her 12 month pants are capris.

Eating: She recently had peanut butter and fish with no reactions so she doesn't have any food allergies.  Caitlyn's only dislike is still just baked potatoes.  Her favorite foods lately are: cucumbers, watermelon, strawberries, chicken, bananas, cheerios, crackers, and milk.  She loves her 2% milk!  She recently started drinking her milk cold which was a huge step for her.  We have been warming her milk for about a year now so drinking it cold has made it much easier on us.  Just a couple days ago I finally found a sippy cup that she would drink her milk from so we have started the process of taking away her bottles.  She has water in any type of sippy cup during meal times but for some reason she has really liked her milk in bottles.

Sleeping: She could win the gold medal in a sleeping contest!

Teething: Caitlyn now has 9 teeth and her 10th tooth is on it's way in.  The two most recent teeth to start to come in were her bottom 1st year molars.  She has dealt pretty well with teething except for the molars.  Lately, we have been calling her a "hot mess".  Luckily, her teething has not affected her night time sleep!  She does become clingy, whiney, and just a little fussy.  We have gotten into a routine of brushing her teeth morning and night and giving her flouride every morning.  For some reason she LOVES her flouride!

Moving: We now have a WALKER!  She started gradually walking.  I didn't feel like all of a sudden she started walking.  But the day that I felt like I actually had a walker was on June 10th when we were in Portland celebrating Grandpa Martens' birthday.  

Talking: She started saying a few words just after her 1st birthday.  She of course will say "Mama" and "Dada".  Sometimes she will just say "Ma" for Mom.  She says "bye bye" but it sounds more like "baba".  She will also say "dog" but it sounds like "dau".  And her latest word is "no"!

Sign Language: She started picking up on the sign language we have been teaching her at around 13 months old.  Right now she knows the signs for eat, more, milk, and all done.  Being able to communicate with Caitlyn has been so nice!  It's pretty cute to see her signing "eat" when she's hungry or "milk" when she gets out of the bath tub!  Before she could sign, she would just yell in her high chair when she wanted more food or when she wanted to get down.  So, that is what really motivated us to start teaching her the signs!

Likes: iphone, toys that light up or make noise, board books, her crib, music DVD's, moms keys, the bath, swinging, the park, running, Elmo, blocks, Tia, toy car, fridge farm, dishwasher, brushing her teeth, tylenol, and the tv remote.

Dislikes: Hair clips, the vacuum, public bathrooms, sitting still to get dressed, getting her nails clipped, being in her car seat for too long, being in her play pen, teething, hearing "no" from mom or dad, mom leaving, leaving the park, and missing a nap.

A few more pictures of our peanut on the 4th of July:

A bow in her hair is a rare moment!

Crab Buns!  Notice the hair bow is now in her left hand!

Blowing raspberries, another favorite!  

 

Summer Play Time

It's only June and we really haven't had much "summer" weather but the summer activities are in full swing!  We just wear long sleeves and ignore the rain!  We have had a few lunch playdates at the park this month.  We met our Moms group from church at the park for a baby shower and we also met our MOPS group at the park.  Caitlyn is having a blast being able to walk around the grass and with the other kids.

"Hmmm, what did everyone else have for lunch?
I think I might go try some of it!"

We also have fun going to our friends houses or having them come to our house.  We got together with Jen and Jesse recently at their house.  Jesse is only about 3 weeks younger than Caitlyn so they play great together.  Well, at this age they mostly just look at each other or poke each other and share sippy cups!

This week, we went out strawberry picking with our Moms group from church at Lone Pine Farms.  It was fun to go there this time of year because I've only been there in the fall.  But oddly, it felt like we were there in the fall because of the cool and rainy weather.  Caitlyn had an absolute blast picking strawberries!  She didn't hesitate at all to get muddy and dive right into the plants to find the berry.  She ate a lot of them before they got to the bucket and even ate the stems.  Oh well, a little roughage wont hurt her.  She missed her morning nap to go, which I hardly ever do, but it was worth it!  I wish I had taken a before picture because she was clean and had cute little pigtails in her hair.  When we left she was covered in mud and sticky fruit juice from her shoes to her head!  By the time we got in the car, to head home, she was exhausted!

"I found one, Mama!"

My muddy sticky mess of a child!  

I'm so glad that we have made so many new mom friends this past year!  It is good for Caitlyn to get together with other kids and I enjoy the adult time too.  It also helps us to keep busy when Nate is out of town like he was just this week!  We missed him but with all of our fun things we are doing we didn't have much time to be lonely.

Father's Day

We had another fun weekend with family and celebrated father's day together.  On Sunday, we visited with Jack and then spent the afternoon and evening just the 3 of us celebrating Nate!  We had fun at the park together and then I made Nate soft tacos for dinner.   I love our little family of 3 and I thank God every day for blessing me with them.  Nate is an amazing father to Caitlyn and I couldn't have asked for more.  I love how involved he is as a dad and he's been that way since the beginning when he went to all of my prenatal appointments with me.  I love to watch him pushing Caitlyn on the swing and in her little car.  He also enjoys his special daddy/daughter time when I am gone.  I think our little girl is going to have her daddy wrapped around her finger!  The thing I appreciate the most about Nate is how he works hard at the office everyday to provide for our family!    

My parents came down on Saturday so that I could be with my dad on Father's Day.  We went out to dinner that night and had a great time laughing with each other and eating yummy food at Lucky Noodle.  Thanks dad for also being an involved dad and Grandpa!  One of my most favorite childhood memories is, my dad, driving me to school everyday.  I was always running late so our drive to Westside was not always a pleasant one but I loved that my dad took to me school and picked me up everyday.  It was a little thing but something that I loved and haven't forgotten.  Now, I love that my dad loves being a Grandpa!  I know someday soon, Caitlyn will get up really early when Grandpa does just so she can sit on his lap when he reads the paper!  Just like I did with my Grandpa.  

Grandpa and Caitlyn (December 2011)

Mother's Day

This year was my 2nd Mother's Day but it really felt like my first.  Last year, we got home from the hospital with Caitlyn 2 days before Mother's Day so we really didn't do much.  I fed, held, and changed Caitlyn.  Don't get me wrong, I loved having my baby daughter with me on that special day but we were still adjusting and figuring out what we were doing!  This year we were able to get out and have some fun as a family!  We decided to have a quiet weekend, just the 3 of us.  I had seen my mom the weekend before so we both decided that we would each stay home this year.  After all, you don't have to be with someone for them to know you love them!  I had a great day with my husband and daughter and they made me feel special.  We went to Mucho Gusto for lunch and went on a walk because we actually had some great weather that day.  Other than that, I spent the day at home being incredibly thankful for the little family that God has blessed me with!

Mother's Day 2011 (Caitlyn: 5 days old)

Mother's Day 2012 (Caitlyn: 12 months  old)

 This last year, I have appreciated my mom more than ever and I'm so thankful to have her as my mom and Caitlyn's grandma!  She has been an amazing support to me as a new mom and has been by my side through the exciting times and frustrating times.  She has been there to offer her advice or to just listen.  She is always there when someone needs her.  She spent months caring for her mom and then after that she had me calling in tears not knowing what to do and needing her to come down.  And ofcourse, she was there!  Thanks mom, you are an inspiration!  We love you!  

May 4, 2012

Caitlyn's 1st Birthday Party

Caitlyn's 1st birthday party was a Butterfly Garden Party!  The colors were pastel/hot pink, and pastel/lime green.  I had so much fun planning and creating this party for her.  Well, I guess the fist birthday is actually for the parents!  Of course, I found most of my ideas on Pinterest!  Here are some pictures of the decorations and the birthday girl!

Grandma and I found this dress one day when we were shopping and realized it would be PERFECT for her party!  

"All Of My Firsts"

I made a ribbon wreath that will also go on the door to her bedroom!

Party Favors: "A kiss from the little Miss"
Guest Book: "Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly"

"I Am One"

"Happy Birthday Caitlyn"

Nate and I invited MANY of our family and friends.  We wanted to have a BIG celebration for her and for us because we made it through the first year of parenthood!  All of Caitlyn's relatives were there that lived near by.  Unfortunately, her Great Grandma from California was not able to make it up.  We also had church friends, MOPS friends, college friends, and Eugene friends at the party.  So we had a great mix of people from our different stages in life that all have supported us and Caitlyn.  

We served hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, and fruit salad.  To drink we had pink lemonade and iced tea.  I made an oversized vanilla cupcake for Caitlyn to smash and the cake we served was a poppyseed cake with cream cheese frosting from Sweet Life.  Yep, the same cake we had at our gender reveal party.  I also made some vanilla cupcakes for the kiddos!  

Caitlyn was a spoiled girl and received many wonderful presents from her friends and family!  She got clothes, toys, a swing, bedroom decorations, shoes, a potty seat, and her big girl car seat!  

Friends and family enjoying the sun and warm weather on our deck!  

My friend, Mandy from MOPS, made this adorable wreath
that will look great in Caitlyn's room!  

I'm not too mess, yet!  

Thank you to all of our friends and family that came to celebrate with us!  We appreciate your love and support!  

12 Months Old (May 4, 2012)

Caitlyn turned a year old!  Already!  Wow, the last year has really flown by.  I know everyone says that the time goes by fast but when she was just an itty bitty newborn it didn't seem like the time would fly by.  When you're up at 12:00a.m., 2:00a.m., and then 5a.m. with a baby it really seems like you will be doing that forever!  But you don't; babies do grow up and it happens fast!  Here is what Caitlyn is up to now as a 1 year old:

Growing: Caitlyn's growth has really started to slow down.  Maybe it's from all of her crawling?  At her 12 month well-check she weighed in at 21lbs 9oz (60%) and measured 30.5 inches long (90%).  At nine months she was 20lbs.  She is wearing 12 month size clothes.

Eating: She is still a great eater and loves everything!  Some of her favorite foods are peas and watermelon.  The one thing she doesn't seem to like is potatoes but she will eat them if they're mashed.  She is eating what I cook for dinner as long as I can cut it up into teeny pieces for her.  The only time she wont eat what I fix for dinner is if I make a salad.  Our little family is doing away with processed and artificial foods so what Caitlyn is eating is healthy whole foods.  The smaller the ingredient list the better!  On her birthday, we took her to Red Robin for dinner and it was the first time we ordered her a kids meal from the menu!  We also switched her to cow's milk and she is completely off of formula!  Yay for saving money!  The switch was really easy for her because she seemed to like the taste of the cows milk better than the formula.  She is having 3 cups/bottles of milk a day with about 6 oz. each time.

Sleeping: Caitlyn is still an amazing sleeper!  She sleeps for about 11.5 hours at night.  We put her in bed at around 8:00pm.m and she typically wake up between 7:30 and 8:00a.m.  She also takes 2 naps a day; one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  Her naps are between 1.5-2 hours each.  We are still very scheduled with her naps and meal times but it really does make for a happy baby which in turn makes for a happy momma and then a happy daddy!  Caitlyn know the routine and what to expect in her day!

Moving: She is still a crawler and not yet a walker.  She does "walk" while hanging on to furniture or someone else but she doesn't seem to have the confidence yet to let go and actually walk on her own.  She is also pulling herself up on things.   She loves to pull herself up on my leg while I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner.

Playing: Her favorite toys are anything that lights up, talks, sings, plays music or just makes noise.  She still loves to swing in the baby swing at the park.  Reading books is getting more and more difficult because she just wants to be moving.  She likes to explore the house and check things out and loves the tupperware drawer and the towel drawer in the kitchen.  Caitlyn also likes to play with our iphones and her buddy Tia!

Opening her present from Mommy and Daddy

She got her first car from Mommy and Daddy!

These are some pictures of her on her actual birthday.  We had a quiet day at home with Daddy and both of her Grandmas.  In the morning Daddy spelled her name with pancakes for breakfast!  She loved them even without the syrup so we just let her eat them dry since she seemed to like it that way.  The rest of the day we had fun playing, napping, and opening presents from family.

The Birthday Girl on her special day!