One year

It's been a busy time. Moving. Traveling. Unpacking. Visitors. More traveling. Planning yet another move--albeit only a short one--and we haven't had time to spit. Military life with three kids doesn't exactly include a lot of down time, but it's definitely been one of those way crazier than usual times.
In the middle of all this chaos, Poppy had a birthday! Yep, my sweet girl is in toddler territory now. A year old.
She's eating table food entirely now and finally chunking up a little. We haven't even set up our medical care here yet, so we'll still have to wait to see how much she weighs now, but the bathroom scale is reading about 18lbs. She loves peaches and yogurt, bananas, strawberries (she even picked some herself when we went to a local u-pick farm here). She's finally eating some meat, but she still prefers her carbs--pasta, potatoes, bread--she eats her weight in those!
She's wearing the same 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers. Drinking like a champ from her sippy cup. She's starting some whole milk, but prefers the mom-made stuff. We're heading into weaning territory some days and others she's still jumping down my shirt.
She's talking, a few words anyway. She says bubba (brother), bye, hey, uh oh, dada, mama, nena, James, baby. She gives kisses and hugs if you ask for them, waves goodbye, blows kisses. She can pet the puppy (gently..mostly). She can also wrestle with and attack her brother, while growling (poor Riley takes most of the heat).
She's hilarious. She makes car sounds and growls and grunts, keeping up with her brothers. Where they go running, she's following loudly behind. She loves dancing and breaks it down whenever she hears a happy song. Her brothers love her so much. When we went to the beach Riley jumped around blocking her like a basketball player "so she won't go too close to the water". At the Easter egg hunt we went to today, when she only found one egg, both boys gave her one of theirs to put in her Easter basket.
She loves being the center of attention. And if I'm holding Riley or James is in my lap she comes right over and starts whining.
She loves socks and underwear. Seriously. My weird little child digs through piles of laundry (clean or dirty) , pulls them out and put them on her head or wears the socks as a scarf/shawl around the back of her neck. It's equally gross and hilarious.
She's still a water baby. Loves the beach. Didn't even fuss at the freezing ocean water washing over her toes or when a wave knocked her down in it (came out of nowhere!).
She's a great sleeper, down to only one nap a day (I really miss that second nap), usually from 11-1. It kind of sucks because the boys nap at 2 in the afternoon so I'm trying to work some merging naptimes magic. Some days it works, some not so much. But with the huge backyard here I can send the boys out to play while she's down, get some things done, and they're worn out by the afternoon and I get one on one time with her.
She's been adjusting really well to the constant wrench thrown into our routine. Made to be an army brat, just like the other two.
It's amazing how fast time has sped this last year. How much she's grown. How much they've all grown.
Happy (belated) birthday Poppy Jane. We love you so much.

11 months

I'd intended for the first post of the year to be along the lines of new year goals or a recap of Christmas or 2012 in general. As usual, I'm running behind. But starting out 2013 with a Poppy post makes up for that in my book.
We're one month out from the big YEAR mark. Less than a month, even! How can that be possible?? Wasn't it last week that I was waddling around, Jason having to help me in and out of my grey boots, mod podging letters, and freezer stocking meals? Wasn't it just yesterday that I brought her home, tan-orange with jaundice, exhausted, wrapped in those tiny swaddling blankets? Wasn't it just this morning that she laid in our bed, the only place she'd sleep, propped up on the boppy pillow, snug in her tiny practically-doll-sized clothes??
Then how is it possible that I have a walking (running!), talking (jabbering), lasagna-eating, brother-wrestling, laughing, playing, 17 pound, almost 1year old toddler on my hands??
Bananas. Just bananas.
The past year is a rug pulled out beneath me.
Despite my best conscious efforts to savor each moment of babyhood, time has moved at record speed. I blinked.
I'm in awe at how fast my sweet baby has grown in such a short time. Somehow between children I forget how fast it moves. It's like childbirth amnesia.
Sweet girl is up to 17.1 lbs this month at her weight check. Doctor was happy enough to get off my back about it. He said he didn't know what happened between her 6 and 9 month check ups to halt her weight gain. I do. She freaking started walking at EIGHT months! Where's the chart to compare her to other super marathon babies?
Ultimately I'm relieved that I don't have to keep stuffing her full of melted butter and shortening slathered sandwiches to make weight. [disclaimer: I did not really feed her that to make her gain weight. She genuinely liked the flavor. Kidding. I fattened her up with a healthy diet of baby cereal and ice cream.]
She's still in size 3 diapers and 12 month clothes.
She is getting better about the sep anxiety, but still wants her mama when she doesn't feel good. She's a daddy's girl, especially when she wants something.
Sleeps great (knock on wood), naps most mornings and in the afternoon with the boys. She's the only one of my babies who does two naps a day, so it's going to be really hard to adjust to only one when the time comes.
She's decked out in valentine's garb--girlfriend has her own holiday! Since we're moving right before her birthday and in the middle of v-day itself, we're trying to celebrate as much as we can now. We'll celebrate something small for a "party" (brunch?) and let the kids put together valentine crafts, eat cupcakes.
I find myself looking through all the pictures I've taken over the last year; round belly, growing by the week. Tiny, wrinkled face, new to the brightness of the world, swaddled in muslin. Sleeping baby on daddy's chest, progressively running out of room. Crying faces. Beach baby. Multitudes of dresses and girly ensembles and hair accessories. First bites of food, brother-hugs, big grins. I'm nostalgic this last month. These lasts breaths of babyhood. I know what's ahead. Beautiful things. Growing, experiences, personality, exploring, learning. But also the loneliness of searching for that feeling. The feeling of a tiny baby growing inside me. Warm baby snuggled into my arms, face snuggled into my neck. Firsts. There will be more firsts, but these firsts of the first year are nearly over. I'm afraid I will forget things. I know I will. And when I read back over them it will take me back. To a place I miss. And I'll wonder what else I've forgotten, what I didn't write down, what's lost forever. Sometimes if I fold a blanket or drape a burp cloth over my shoulder, it takes me back. It'll have to do.
I want to bottle it up, this time. This tiny little peanut of a girl.

10 months

I remember thinking last Christmas: next year I'll have a 5 year old, 3 year old, and a ten month old. I assumed she'd be walking, more of a toddler than baby at this point (I was very right). It seemed such a crazy thought. Three kids. Wow.
Now a year has passed. Flown actually. We're not yet in a new house at a new duty station, we're visiting Texas, and three kids wasn't quite a 180 degree experience like I'd anticipated. It's definitely crazy. But manageable.
Poppy is running. She has aced the walking stage. She is chatty, scrunched up her nose when she's happy or likes something. She is sleeping a ton. She had her very first airplane ride this past week and while she flew like a champ just like her brothers and daddy always have, it messed up her sleeping schedule between the excitement and 3:30 am wake up. I hope she flies as well on the trip home this week.
Poppy is freaked out by toy monkeys (wonder where she gets that from...), scared of long nosed animals, barking dogs, and loud noises. She loves waving like miss america, quiet dogs, tree ornaments, her brothers, uncles, grandparents, anything she's not supposed to touch, napping, ice cream and ambrosia, playing peekaboo, clapping, windows, and storytime. She's wearing 12 month clothes, size 3 diapers, chunking up a little since her doctor fussed at me about her weight. She's petite but getting long. Her hair is getting longer, too. She's in the separation anxiety stage now where most of the time she just wants mama. I love being the center of her world. She's so independent like James was that I'll take whatever rare moments that come where she actually wants me. She's usually off exploring and busy keeping up with her brothers. She got her first baby doll for Christmas. It was our first real girl toy experience for her. Next Christmas I know our house will be littered with pink stuff. It's still kind of weird to make the transition into the girl world.
There have been lots of firsts this month. And this year! It blows my mind that 2012 is over already. It has been arguably our best year yet. Happy 10 months Poppy love, and here's to a new year!

North Pole Party

We're some partying fools here.

Inspired by a few Santa sightings, blog readings, and a quest for some holiday cheer after some awful, awful events this past week, we had a few of our neighbor friends over for a little Christmas party for the kids.

Jason and I stayed up all hours last night assembling graham cracker houses, swearing at them as they fell apart and later as the dog snatched one off the table. 

We tidied up the kitchen, baked cookies, poured "ingredients" into tins for our reindeer food bar, put on pajamas, and set out a million different kinds of candy.

Everybody donned elf hats and pjs.

It was fabulous!

We had some very creative houses. Especially after the pink sanding sugar dumped all over James's meticulously decorated house. He made peace once we decided it was just pink snow.

The big kids especially loved the reindeer food bar. We had oats, breadcrumbs, glitter, cocoa powder, salt, corn chips. Danica was so excited she loaded her bag up with probably 2 lbs of "food". The reindeer won't be skipping their house this Christmas eve!

I made some hot cocoa on the stove to end the night with. The kids all felt especially grown up with their mugs and whipped cream mustaches. Riley insisted he was drinking his coffee.

The littlest ladies enjoyed the party, too, snatching toys and trying to sneak a bite of whatever reindeer food the big kids dropped on the floor. They squealed and chased each other. Poppy tried to steal Emily's binky and ended up eating half of Em's gerber puffs.They jumped right in the middle of the big kids, Poppy growling, Emily squealing. Tough little cookies.

Speaking of cookies, guess whose Daddy sneaked her some chocolate chip cookies today?

I'm surprised anyone is sleeping after all the sugar.

Christmas picture outtakes

It took many, many pictures to get any good enough for our Christmas card. Even so, our cards will still have some hilarious shots.

These are the equally funny goofs taken at the time.

Fred

By request, here's Fred's latest goings on.

He hung around in Poppy's stocking. He knew if he picked one of the boys' stockings, one of them might feel left out. They were both very happy for Poppy that he picked hers.

Good call, Fred.

He snuggled up with "The Night Before Cat-mas" on the bookshelf on a chilly day.

Hid in the shower curtain.

The shower curtain must have reminded him he needed a bath. He relaxed in a marshmallow "bubble bath" today in the teacup. 

9 months

9 months old.

And all personality.

Poppy is walking (running).

Waves like Miss America. Constantly.

She loves playing outside, eating ice cream sandwiches, stealing toys from her brothers, napping, playing peek-a-boo, and singing.

She is 28 inches long and 16.5 lbs.

Her pediatrician fussed at me about her weight, so she's on a cereal-heavy diet for the next month till she goes back in for a weight check.

She's wearing 12 month size clothes, size 3 diapers.

She's a tiny, petite little thing, but I feel like she's longer than her brothers were.

Those two bottom teeth are the only ones that have popped through so far.

I worry that she'll be a terror when the others head out.

She naps twice a day, around 10:30 in the morning for an hour and two hours in the afternoon when the boys nap. Then she's in bed right after them at 8-8:30.

She guzzles those babyfood pouches. 

She also eats mashed potatoes, cheese cubes, yogurt, green beans, macaroni and cheese, gerber puffs and melts, and sweet potatoes.

She drinks water and some pear juice (not a fan) out of her sippy cup.

Bottles are a lost cause. That's okay by me.

We're about to move her into the "big" convertible carseat. The infant Pooh bear one expires this month, so it's time. I'm going to be so sad to have to get rid of it. It's brought home all three babies and been through so many car trips and big parts of our life. 

She hates bows, hats, and anything I put on her head. But she looks soooo cute in them.

She's mommy's girl. She loves snuggling with her daddy, but she's hitting that separation anxiety stage where she gets shy with friends and strangers and just wants her mama.

She loves pulling all the alphabet magnets off the fridge.

She growls at and tries to rough-house with her brothers.

Fits right in with the boys.

Any time we sing Christmas carols she starts "singing" right along with us.

She can wave good bye.

She gets mad at the boys and hollers at them when they don't share their ice cream cones. 

If we leave the room, they sneak her bites.

She likes Nena, as long as she doesn't bark or make any kind of noise.

If Nena makes any sound, Poppy starts shaking and making faces and whining. She does the same thing when the vacuum's on.

Poppy, you're so much fun.