5 years ago…
Tonight…
We’re kicking off 2012 with a BANG… quite literally. That’s the beginning phase of our new home office. Because nothing screams FUN like home renovations at all hours of the night while you keep your fingers crossed you don’t wake the baby.
Hope you all have a wonderful night, and Happy New Year! See ya in 2012.
When Scott, Kendall, my in-laws and I all started singing Happy Birthday to her after dinner last night, Leyna was very suspicious of the sudden group focus on her, it seemed. With a surprised look on her face, she looked behind her left and right (perhaps for an older sibling who she believed was more likely to be the subject of everyone’s gaze), then she looked back at all of us and slowly erupted into cheers, laughter and clapping.
Poor second-born. She’s not used to getting all the attention from everyone in the room at the same time. Of course she was suspicious!
Leyna is 1 year and 1 day old
Sometimes a friend’s Facebook status is so hilariously true that it immediately becomes Mommy Truth material, like this one my friend Mae just posted.
At right about this time, one year ago today, I was in the middle of a lightning quick 1.5 hour labor. It was fast, but intense. Painful is really the word I should use to describe it, but painful in a good way… if that makes sense, and if you’ve had med-free births, maybe that does make sense to you.
Leyna Lorelei was born on December 28th, 2011 2010 (I am seriously lacking braincells these days). She weighed 9 pounds, 9 ounces. This is the first picture ever taken of her.. still purple from having the cord wrapped around her neck. The first thing I thought when I wrapped my hands around her tiny ribcage was, “CHUB!” She was born with rolls and had a thick layer of fat around her tummy already.
Today she is one year old. It caught me by surprise, this birthday of hers. The first year of Kendall’s life seemed to be much longer, more thought out. Hers has just happened without us having any say in it.
As much as I vowed to never let the timing of her birthday, falling right after the holidays, affect how we celebrate her, I’ve already had to go back on my word. It is just *really* hard to plan for a birthday party in the middle of all the holiday chaos.
So, her first birthday party is not today or even this month. We will have it at the end of January, giving everyone a little time to recover and me some time to plan.
Today has not been without celebration, though. I made her a snowy “rainbow” (more like tie-dye) cake last night, and this morning we had fun with a little smash cake photo shoot. I wish I could say this was her first taste of sugar, or even just cake, but she is a second-born, so…
Happy First Birthday to my little Leyna Bug! Hard to believe it’s been a year since I almost pooped her out on a toilet.
Last Christmas I was massively pregnant, a day overdue, and a major bitch.
If one more person asked me if I’d had that baby yet…
I went from having a big baby in my belly last year to a big baby in my arms this year.
She turns 1 in 2 days! Her Christmas gift to us? Walking.
Leyna Walks <<Video… hopefully that works.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
you’d have seen these pictures already… maybe… except those of you who *are* getting Christmas cards, but probably not until next week. So, uh, if that’s you…. spoiler alert!
Anyway, here are the pictures that made the cut for our Christmas card this year. I hope you’re all having a wonderful weekend and are surrounded by those you love. I feel hugely blessed and this blog and all the support I get through here is a big part of that. Thank you, one million times, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
If you think Scott’s feet look a little funny in this one, it’s because I had to color over his socks and sandals to try to make them look like shoes! (After getting a good-as-its-gonna-get picture with a tripod and self timer, thinking it would be perfect for the card, I noticed Scott’s odd footwear combo in Lightroom.)
Oh well, I don’t think it’s *that* noticeable on the cards, so just pretend you can’t tell.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Oh, and in case you didn’t see, I announced the Inappropriate Elf contest winner yesterday.
See you back here next week for some whining about how time goes too fast and how my baby is TURNING ONE!
Drumroll, please….
Or just a lot of ……………………………………………………………………
Our guest judges:
The Bloggess
The Redneck Mommy
How To Be A Dad
Harpers Happenings
The Next Martha
Rachel Devine
The Baby Guy NYC
Jason Lynes of Passionfruit Ads
Parenting-Illustrated With Crappy Pictures
have made their choices, the top 3, in no particular order, are…
Birth Control Elf by Jessica Marchetti
Step One: Cut A Hole In A Box Elf by Adventure Mama
Flasher Elf by The Nut House
All 3 will be getting a prize! To see who wound up in what place and who wins what CLICK HERE.
More Inappropriate Elf Fun:
The Original 5 Highly Inappropriate And Traumatizing Elf On The Shelf Ideas
5 More Inappropriate Elf Ideas & The Inappropriate Elf Contest Entry Post
The Top 11 Inappropriate Elves
He wanted to comb his hair all. by. him. self. “Like daddy’s” he insisted. So, whatever, I left him in his bathroom with the comb. He came to find me 5 minutes later, the front of his head soaked in water, his hair combed straight down. He was quite proud of himself.
As I brushed my teeth, he nonchalantly looked up at me and said, “Mom, I need to borrow a wittle of your pit stuff.”
“Huh?” I asked with toothpaste foaming out of my mouth.
“Your pit stuff…. I need some…. You know? PIT stuff???” and then he mimed like he was putting on deodorant.
It was all I could do not to spit my mouth full of foamy toothpaste all over the mirror.
Geesh. Slow down, little boy. 3 is hard enough without pretending you’re going through puberty! Thank GOD those 2 phases don’t coincide.
Kendall is 3 years and nearly 8 months old.
I went back and forth with Jason of Passionfruit Ads all morning and there was NO way we could settle on ten. It was nearly impossible to narrow it down to eleven, and getting rid of just one more was out of the question.
So, top ELEVEN it is!
The top 3, voted in by all of you are:
1. Making Ends Meet Elf from Babbling Dreamer (1088 votes)
2. Dobbie Writes His Name In The Snow Elf from The Bearded Iris (1053 votes)
3. Step One: Cut A Hole In A Box Elf by Adventure Mama (1001 votes)
And now for the ones chosen by Jason and me:
4. He’s Watching You Elf by The Lame Sauce
5. Wiggle x5 from The Walker Fab Five
6. Dexter Elf by Dirty Diaper Laundry
7. Birth Control Flushing Elf by Jessica Marchetti
8. Are You My Daddy Elf by Melissa Bulfone Photography
9. Kidney Theft Elf by Little Blue Boo
10. Flasher Elf by The Nut House
This was SO SO SO SO SO HARD!! You all were hilarious. I loved every single one. I’m really glad I don’t have any say in choosing the winner. That will be the tough job of our amazing judges. You can read more about all of them and see the rest of all the great entries in the Inappropriate Elf official contest entry post.
The winner will be announced on Saturday, Christmas Eve!
Thank you to everyone who participated and shared this with their friends. This has been a total blast to be a part of.
I think not.
We waited for 2.5 hours for this guy tonight, and that was with a reservation. But totally worth it.
This is The Big Guy that we’ve taken Kendall to every year of his life. He’s the real Santa, and the sweetest man ever.
Leyna wasn’t buying what he had to sell, but I’ve secretly always wanted a screaming baby/Santa picture, so it’s cool. Kendall was always so composed in his. (You can see years past in this post.) I mean, there’s just something so very Classic Christmas in America about handing over your terrified, crying child to a man who makes a living off a letting small children sit on his lap. And now I have one of my very own to frame and put on my mantle every year.
Ho, ho, ho! I love it.
Oh, and about those Inappropriate Elves… I know I’ve got to narrow down the top 10, and I’m about to dig into it now. I’ll probably save the announcement for tomorrow morning, so don’t wait up. Sorry folks. This Santa thing ate up our entire night.
Kendall is 3.5 and Leyna is *gulp* nearly a year old.