A Year of Adrienne

Dear Adrienne--Today you are 1. One entire year old. I will never forget the moment we met. You looked up at me with those deep blue eyes, and I was done for.

You are a precious gift from God, made just as He intended you to be, and we could not love you more. Looking back, I was so nervous to become a mother of two. Now I wonder what in the world life was like before you---before your snuggles, before your smiles, before your giggle, before your kisses, before your ear piercing squeals of excitement. I am overcome with emotion as I consider how grateful I am for you. You bring so much happiness to every day, and have added a whole new dimension of fun to our family. When you are older you will certainly not remember this first special birthday, but I hope you will look back at this post and feel just how much we love you right this moment, as you are this very second--a special, beautiful 1 year old girl. Happy Birthday, sweet baby! xoxo Mommy

First Day

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4 Months

5 Months

6 Months

7 Months

8 Months

9 Months

10 Months

11 Months

One!

The Things You Say

Oh Jillian, you are full of conversation ideas lately. The questions you ask, expressions you use, and words you fumble are true sources of delight in our day.

-I stubbed my toe on Adrienne's high chair one day, and Jillian very seriously asked me to come upstairs to her room. I entered and she said, "Mom, I'm the dr. I need to give you a checkout".

-When a large spider suddenly sprinted across the kitchen and I hollered at Jillian to move so I could get it, she asked (after I finished the job), "Was that close, Mom?" (yes, it was!)

-Currently, I am the book reader her bedtime routine. One night she had me read some kitty board book of Adrienne's. It was very disjointed and had no plot. At the end, I made a comment about it not being a very good story. Jillian sweetly replied, "Mom, this book makes me happy." (so we read it again)

-I informed Jillian last Tuesday that we were going to go to the local nursery for a Wee Wednesday gardening class the next morning. She had a few basic questions about what was going to happen, and then she matter-of-factly asserted, "The class is going to be in Japan". (I didn't know she knew anything about Japan, or that it even existed)

-We were set to have lunch with a friend last week, who happens to be the wife of one of Matt's colleagues. They were on the same Hawaii trip as us back in February so Jillian got to know Shirlyn pretty well. I told her we were going to meet Shirlyn over her lunch hour and eat at Pi pizza. Jillian asked, "Is Mr. Marcus coming?" (her husband's name is Mark) I said, "Who?" and she said in a sort of exasperated tone, "You know, Mom, he's the one who goes with Shirlyn".

-After helping her wash her hands the other day, "Mom, can I go to the moon sometimes?"

-In Target last week, "Mom, what's under the snow?"

-In the car on Friday, out of nowhere came, "Mom, I miss Devin. You remember, Brooke's....father. Yep. Her father, right?" (Devin is Brooke's husband)

-Matt put his new grill together this morning. Jillian was doing her best to "help" him. At one point she came into the house frustrated and exclaimed, "Mom, I don't have any destructions!" (instructions)

-While we were in Des Moines a couple of weeks ago, Jillian was being pretty naughty before bed one night and repeatedly disobeyed me. We have been talking about what the word "obey" means a lot, and I know she understands it. I finally asked her, "Jillian, do you remember what God says your job is as a kid?" Without a bit of hesitation she demonstratively waved her arms and shouted, "BE FRIENDLY!" (I stifled my giggle, of course, and affirmed that yes, she should be friendly, but that she needs to obey her mom and dad)

-And my personal favorite, while shopping in Hobby Lobby (what kind of crazy woman takes two small kids to Hobby Lobby???) last week at a time when Adrienne was clearly done with the shopping trip and was making her dissatisfaction known, Jillian said, "A, you are killing me!!" (It was even funnier in the store because a fellow shopper overheard and thought it was hilarious).

Father's Day

Today we celebrated Matt in his role as a dad. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again and again: Matt is a great dad to our girls. I love to watch him grow as a father with each passing year, and nearly burst when I watch the way they both look at him. It's clear they are crazy about him, and the feeling is certainly mutual. It's such a blessing to have such a fantastic dad, and then to marry someone who turns out to be a fantastic dad. I really hit it big.

The girls and I schemed and decided that Matt really needed some official decor for his work office. I printed and framed my favorite pics of he and the girls....

 And Jillian assisted by answering some interview questions about him. The responses are good for a giggle. My personal favorite is as follows. My dad likes to wear......."underpants". I'm glad she realizes the importance of such garments!

 We spent another morning unsuccessfully shopping for outdoor furniture, and then enjoyed an impromptu picnic on the deck for lunch.

Happy Father's Day, Matt! Surely you know you have no bigger fans than the three of us girls.

Cheer Camp

Jillian attended the RAC Cheer Camp this week, and she had a fantastic time expending some of her endless energy. The camp ran for 3 days (30 min each afternoon), then every age group met at the Rochester Honkers Baseball field Friday morning for a rehearsal, and performed at the game later that night. Jillian was very excited for what she called, "the big show", and made it a point to remind me throughout the week that "girls can't play baseball". I am not sure where she got that idea, but she was quite focused on that. She was slightly confused on the first day of camp because no baseball players were present--I think she expected the entire week to be one "big show". Here are a few pics and video clips of the camp. I am still ignorant when it comes to compressing my HD videos, so I am unable to share the actual clips of "the big show". You can't see much anyway, as I had to try and zoom the lens through the fence to see Jillian, and it really is one big jumbled mess with me moving the camera around trying to focus. Just trust me that it was cute, and that Jillian was spot on with her moves.

I took a few videos with my phone during camp practices. This one is the first day, and the girls were trying to do jumping jacks and just imitate the cheer leaders. If you can't recognize Jillian, she is the one in black capris and a white shirt with the blue turtle on it.

Working on balance with a cheer, "Go Honkers!"

This is a clip of the actual 3-4 year old routine, followed by the large group routine. Jillian is wearing the pink shirt and purple skirt.

I was a little worried when I discovered the above scene upon arrival to the "big show", but she quickly decided it would be ok to wake up and go

Showing off her pom poms, and her shirt which reads, "Peace, Love, + RAC Cheer"

Watching for Daddy to arrive

Lining up with the girls

Checking in with her friend, Caroline

Daddy made it to the game on time!

Adrienne checking out the crowd. She wasn't a great baseball game attendee at this stage...total squirmy worm. She and I went home after "the big show", and Daddy and Jiji enjoyed the game.

All done and running off the field! Can you find Jillian in her flower-print skirt?

Farewell, Brooke!

We had our dear babysitter, Brooke, and her husband, Devin, over for dinner last night and enjoyed spending some time with them before they move next week. It was a tearful goodbye, and one that took me back a few years. Once upon a time I was that girl who was newly married, loved kids, and was attached to a certain family I loved to babysit for and spend time with (love and miss you still, Devines!). Suddenly, we are the older couple ten years into marriage with a couple of kids, reliving those days of first-home searching, family contemplating, just-the-two-of-us time as we talk with Brooke and Devin. Time really does fly. We wish you all the best, Brooke! You will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first official babysitter.

Iowa in June

We spent the weekend in Des Moines---Matt golfing with our high school friends (an annual event), and the girls and I at my parents'. I enjoyed a couple solo shopping trips (I know it sounds almost hilarious to say, but Des Moines really has fantastic shopping. It is far better than Rochester, and at least equal to if not better than Minneapolis), time as an "only child" with my parents (hey, just trying to find the bright side of not getting to see my sisters), and Adrienne's best two nights of sleep to date. Mom spoiled me with cream puffs, homemade ice cream (two flavors AND homemade chocolate sauce), cookies, and Dad worked his grill magic with some delicious teriyaki. Jillian enjoyed a date with Grandad to Krispy Kreme, a tea party with Grams, and both girls spent tons of time outside in the water. It was a great weekend and a nice change of pace for us all. I took my camera, but didn't get many pictures outside of a few of the girls enjoying the backyard (and 1 of the tea party).

Riding the hand-made horse that my sisters and I rode as kids...Grandad fixed him up.

Hammock swinging made Adrienne giggle

Jillian promptly placed all the cookies on her plate for the tea party. Grams, Grandad, and I were out of luck! Love the chocolate on her nose.

Talkin'

Adrienne is suddenly a rather verbal girl. Her babbling just ramped up to a whole new level, with lots of new sounds, fluctuations in tone, speed, and intent. It is ridiculously cute, and I really should capture some on video. On Wednesday, she added what I consider her first real use of a word in context, without prompting or in imitation of us. She was crawling around the living room and stumbled upon one of her shoes. She picked it up, turned to me, and as she held it out shouted, "szoo!" Jillian heard it too, and was so excited. I spent a good deal of time trying to capture it on video, and finally did later in her room.

Since that time, she has added cheese ("chz"), toy ("tah"), sock ("sah"), banana ("nana") and Jiji ("jah-ji) for her big sister. She also loves to use the "sss" sound when I ask her if she wants strawberries, and I think has just officially named her lovies "nigh nigh". Whenever she sees her lovey in her crib or anywhere in the house, she picks it up and snuggles it and says "nigh nigh".  I love a talkin' baby!
In other news, she has decided climbing is fun. I am not as excited about this, as it adds a whole new level of danger to our daily activities. But, she is so proud of herself that I can't help but grin.

Clean Teeth

Though Jillian has had several routine dental exams, she had her first official teeth cleaning today. She was an absolute rock star and behaved like a pro. At first she was a bit uncertain of being reclined in the chair, but after learning that a Strawberry Shortcake video would be played above her she warmed to the idea. Once they gave her a pair of purple sparkly shades to shield her from the bright overhead light she was all in. Way to go, big girl!

Contemplating Camping

Matt asked Jillian awhile ago if she wanted to get a tent and sleep in the backyard this summer. Jillian's reply was a fast, "No thanks, Dad. We have to sleep in the house". Last week she suddenly revisited the topic when we were in Target, and asked me if she could sleep in a tent outside. I told her that she of course could do that--with her dad. On Sunday we went to the little local Oxbow Zoo (this reminds me I haven't shared pics of that trip yet--Adrienne's first time at a zoo...), and Matt made sure to drive by the campsite associated with the park to show Jillian how people set the tents up, etc. She was full of questions, then suddenly ready to set a camp date. Matt told her they would work on getting a tent so that they could go camping in the next few weeks. Side note: I am relieved that at this point this can be a "Daddy and Jillian" thing. Momma doesn't camp, and doesn't want to start camping. Adrienne is a good excuse now, I may have to come up with something else down the road! Anyway, tonight Matt brought a surprise home for Jillian.

They discussed their camping plan at dinner, and Jillian had a pretty good idea of things they will need to pack: sleeping bags, chips, juice boxes, grapes, lots of books, flashlights, marshmallows, and sticks.When I went to tuck her in tonight, I noticed she had over 50% of her wardrobe laid out on her window seat and shoved into a canvas drawer. (This included every single pair of underwear, all of her pajamas--summer and winter, and every single dress hanging in her closet).

In a serious, heartfelt tone she made her request: "Mom, this is what I am taking camping with Dad. Can you please pack it for me?" I don't think he realizes what he's gotten himself into!

Standing Alone

Adrienne suddenly has gotten a bit bold for her cautious self. She now will let go while playing in standing, and stand alone for several seconds at a time (I counted to 7 on three separate occasions). Matt caught a short clip while we were out on the deck this afternoon. I suspect she would have continued to do so for a longer period of time had it not been for her wildly distracting older sister.

This weekend also brought the emergence of two of the most endearing behaviors in my book: rocking/hugging baby dolls, and bouncing to any type of music (a ringing cellphone included). Super adorable.