Mother's Day Love

My first "official" Mother's Day was perfect! The morning started off with snuggles with the babe. She was being extra sweet for me...I think she knew it was Mother's Day. We just laid in bed and watched t.v. while Rich made breakfast. We weren't allowed to come downstairs until he said the food was ready. We had plans to go to the zoo and have a picnic, but those plans were crushed by temperatures in the 30's. Seriously. Yes it is mid-May!

 

We came downstairs to the dining room table moved out of the room and our own little picnic set up just for us. Who said picnics were only for outside? He always finds a way to do something sweet for me. We had mimosas, French toast and fruit. It was perfect. Kayla loved it too...which was obvious from the sticky oranges all over her hands and the syrup all in her hair :).

Rich and Kayla gave me my presents. Mint chocolates from Fannie May (my favorite) and a pandora bracelet. Yes, it is official, I am definitely a mom now because I have a mom bracelet :). I love all of the charms he picked out. A little teddy bear with a pink bow for Kayla, a charm that says mom, angel wings with a pearl for our little angel Kayla and her birthstone, and a Down syndrome awareness ribbon. I just love it, it is perfect!

Later, Rich's parents came over for brunch (yes, there was a lot if eating going on around here yesterday). He made filet, eggs and an avocado salad. It was soooo yummy!

That afternoon, Rich and Kayla took a 2 hour nap together (these two and their naps, I swear I wish I could nap). While they napped, I decided to do a little reading. The very first thing I read after I had Kayla, that finally made me start to feel "ok" about her diagnosis, was the book Bloom by Kelle Hampton. It has been such a wild and interesting year, I decided that I wanted to read it again. So I started it and I will finish it on my trip this week. Something tells me I will feel different, yet have so many of the same emotions while reading this again. I think there is going to be a lot of reflecting over the next few weeks as we approach Kayla's first birthday. I can't believe my baby is going to be one.

Overall, I will say this was a perfect "first" Mother's Day. I got to spend it with my two favorite people. Can't ask for much more than that!

My first "official" Mother's Day

Dear Kayla,

Last year at this time, I was a little over 8 months pregnant and anxiously awaiting your arrival. I was huge and uncomfortable, but we decided that it was a good idea to go to the zoo. So Much Walking!!! I dont't think my ankles have ever been so swollen in my life. We were literally counting down the days until you were here.

Fast forward one year...I am officially a mom all because of you! I guess technically I was a mother last year. Scratch that, I definitely was a mother last year. But this year it is different. I can feel you, touch your soft skin, give you sweet cuddles and kisses. Life with you is better than I could have ever imagined. I will be honest, I was nervous when you were born. How would I be able to do this thing called motherhood. Sure, I have been around plenty of kids in my day, but you were all mine. Mine to take care of, love, and keep safe. What if I wasn't up to the task? Thankfully for me, you made this easy. You seriously have been the best baby. The most perfect baby created just for me. God sure knew what he was doing when he put us together. You make my life better. As cheesy as it sounds, you complete me. You filled a place in my heart that was waiting just for you.

Before you were born, I thought often about what my baby would be like, what my baby would look like. Since we didn't know if you were going to be a boy or a girl, I had a couple of different visions. The girl vision was sweet, sassy, full of life and as cute as can be. Well, I can honestly say, you have exceeded all of my expectations. You are all of the attributes above, and so much more.

So today on my first "official" Mother's Day, I want to thank you for giving me the greatest gift I could ever imagine. The gift of being your mother. You are my world. Thank you for being you.

Love,
Mommy

Our weekend in VA and someone is now 11 months old!!

This past weekend, Kayla and I flew for the first time by ourselves! I am not going to lie, I was terrified. We have flown a couple of times before, but Rich was always with us. It is definitely much easier with two parents who can pass the baby back and forth when she gets fussy. The flight there was interesting...Kayla was a little fussy on the first flight, so basically 15 minutes of non-stop crying felt like an eternity. The second flight, she was better, but super hyper and just kept flipping and flopping all over the place. I keep scheduling these night flights because I thought it would be better for her since it is bedtime. I think I learned my lesson now. The flights home, which began at 8 am Monday morning, she did wonderful, not one single tear. Everyone was complimenting her. So note to self, this baby needs a good night sleep before flying!

Our tip was great. We were able to spend alot of time with my mom, which we love. We also were able to see lots of other family and friends. We had a couple play dates, a friend date, a little league basball game and a I had a nice night out with my cousin. All in all, it was a great weekend.

This weekend I also had another missed opportunity. When we were at my little cousin's baseball game, I noticed a young woman there that had Down syndrome. She was probably in her late teens/early twenties. She was sitting by herself playing on her iPad with her, what I think were her parents, sitting in front of her. My mom was sitting in front of them holding Kayla. I kept glancing at them and I could tell they were looking at Kayla like they knew. I so wish one of us would have said something. It sort of made me sad that the girl was sitting alone. When I was talking to my mom, I said that it would never be that way with Kayla, she would always be right there with us. She quickly reminded me that we don't know their story. She very well may love to sit outside alone with her iPad a little away from everyone to feel independent. She was right. I need to stop assuming I know what is going on with a situation. This is the third situation where I didn't say anything and regret it. I have decided that next time, no matter what, I am saying something. I may regret this too, but I know I will regret not saying something, so I might as well try the alternative!

I know I mentioned this the other day, but Kayla is really, I guess you would call it army crawling, a ton now. It is just too cute watching her do this. I love seeing her move. Hopefully, we can get her in that 4 point crawling position soon. I am definitely learning, more and more every day, that she will do things when she is ready, and not a second sooner. Patience...I am slowly learning to have it!

Yesterday, Kayla turned 11 months old. I say it every month, but seriously, where has the time gone? The thought of her turning one next month is mind boggling. This little girl makes life better than we could have ever imagined. Happy 11 months little princess, we love you so much!!

Here is a photo dump of our week!

What's Kayla been up to?

I thought I should write a little post about all the fun things Kayla is doing now. I think sometimes I get caught up in all of the things that she is not doing yet, and forget to focus on all of the wonderful things she is doing :).

At 10 1/2 months Kayla is doing the following:

- Rolls all over the place
- Sits beautifully, I swear she would do this all day if we would let her. She will just sit and play with different toys forever!
- Bearing weight on her legs. She stands pretty well now if we put her in that position and hold her at her hips. This was a big deal around here, since just a month ago, her legs were completely like jello!
- Pivots in a circle to get her toys while on her tummy.
- Inch worm crawls forward. I am a little hesitant to write this, as she just did this yesterday for the first time. This is huge! Up until now, she just pivoted in circles and went backwards. She did it again this morning so hopefully this new skill is here to stay!
- Claps and waves. She has been doing this for a while, but just recently she actually started making sound with her hands when she claps. Before, it was the motion but she couldn't quite get them all the way together. It is so cute watching her do this.
- Babbles up a storm, even more so since she got her tubes last week.
- Starting to say mama and dada with purpose. She definitely looks to me and Rich and says mama and dada when she is sad or really wants us to pick her up. It is so cute!
- Reaching to be picked up. I'm not really sure when this started, probably the last month or so...it is seriously the cutest, sweetest thing ever!
- Independent play, she has been doing so much more of this lately. She doesn't seem to need us to play with her quite as much.
- Self feeding, she is doing pretty good with things we put on her high-chair, puffs, cheese puffs, mum-mums, baby biscuits etc. She is especially fond of feeding herself french fries and pretzels from Auntie Annes, can you blame her? We haven't really done too much with spoon feeding herself yet. And we are still working on holding and feeding herself her own bottle. I think she is perfectly content having us do this for her :).
- Drinking from a straw, she is almost there! Our occupational therapist gave us a new straw to practice with and she seems to be doing well with this. So hopefully soon she will be able to master the straw cup!
- Signs "All Done"consistently. We thought she was signing "more" as well, but I think she is doing the same as all done, so not sure.
- Her favorite activities are swimming and swinging...loves them both!

Well, I think that's about it for now, I am sure this list will be completely different in a month. It is so great watching her do new things, she is truly an amazing little girl!

Here are a few pictures from our week! 

Daddy dressed me!

She fell asleep smiling on her stuffed pup.

She loves her banana, pear, apple mix!

Practicing standing

Acting serious

We are trying to practice with these newborn Similac bottles. Her little hands are just so tiny, it is hard for her to get them around the bottle...hopefully she will get it soon!

She loves her shopping carts now!

 

 Man, I just love her little smile!

Mirror fun

Fun times at the Aquarium

 

Her favorite thing to do, swing!!

 

Have a great week everyone!

Wordless Wednesday