You Are 1

Disclaimer: You are 1 tomorrow (April 26), but since we are going on a big plane to visit your Auntie, Uncle, and cousins in Texas, Mama is posting your Birthday Blog now.

"Where has the time gone?!"

If you were to tell me, after those first few weeks after I gave birth to my beautiful Aggie Jo, that time flies by, I would have sleepily laughed in your face. My deliriousness was bad, but not as bad as to believe those crazy words. Time seemed to go nowhere as I tried to figure out how to survive after all our relatives had gone and I was alone all day with this wee little one who needed me every minute of every, single day. I felt helpless at times when all I wanted to do was sleep for 3 hours straight. How was I going to do this?!

And just like that, in a blink of an eye, my baby girl is a little one year old, speed crawling across the floor to try and get into the bathroom to play with the toilet paper before anyone realizes and closes the door.

So here she is. My girl. My firstborn. My 1 year old.

My Dearest Agnes Joyce,

Mama can't even begin to describe how much you've grown since Daddy and I first met you. You were once the size of a football and only weighing 6 pounds. We actually have a photo of you in a football hold while Daddy poses for the camera! You couldn't hold your head up by yourself and Mama and Daddy were so scared to even try and change your diaper those first few days because we thought that we would hurt you by touching you.

At first you had your days and nights mixed up. So while Mama and Daddy wanted to sleep, you wanted to eat, rock away in our arms, and stay awake. Grandma G came to the rescue many times during those first few nights at home. She rocked you from 3am to 6am a couple of times (just to give us some relief), and you know what? She was happy to do it, because it was you.

It didn't take us long to realize you'd be a curious, stubborn, smiley, funny little one. For example, after a month or so, we had a routine. Every afternoon, you and Mama had a "Dance Party." Mama would bounce you for an hour or two before Daddy got home from work so you wouldn't fuss and maybe take a little nap so that mama could fix Daddy some dinner. Those were the days.... and this probably helped Mama get some killer leg and arm muscles :P

You loved to eat. Every time you fussed, all Mama had to do was nurse you and you were golden. We called it, "snugging," and we would always say, "It's time for a snug and then sleep." Those were the days.

By 5 months, you were a pro at sitting up. Sure, you fell backwards sometimes and needed help sitting again, but you never needed help to push yourself up when you fell forward; my strong little girl. You loved to roll to your Left; rolling Right never seemed fun. You learned to laugh by coughing a lot (purposefully coughing because that's what you thought other people's laughing sounded like)... you still do it sometimes, too.

At 9 months, we gave up nursing. Mama was so sad, but you were such a trooper. Since we used bottles for trips we took in the car (and we took a lot of trips starting when you were only 3 weeks old), you transitioned well and now, you will only take a bottle if you are able to lie down on your back without being held; my little miss independent. Mama sometimes needs her cuddles, but you make up for it by your sweet slobbery kisses when Mama asks.

Now, at 12 months, you flirt (with your smile and your eyes) with anyone that passes you in the grocery store while you are sitting in the cart. Whoever smiles at you, your eyes just sparkle with happiness. You still need Mama close, though. Without Mama nothing seems fun, unless you are completely distracted, then all is well.

Some of your favorite things to do are: swing (you absolutely love to swing!), pose for pictures (you do this really cute thing where tilt your head and smile), walk with the help of your walkers (you have three and all get equally used), read (you have two books in your crib for when you are awake in your crib... if there is no book around you, you get upset), snack (you like to snack standing up at your Exersaucer more than you like sitting in your chair to eat meals), play with the iPod or any electronics around, and listen to Pat a Cake and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

Every night, when we plop you on our bed to say "Night Prayer," you always get so silly and happy, like it's all about you. And you're right, it is... mostly. We pray you stay safe. We pray you grow into a beautiful, holy woman. We pray for our family, for the ones we love, and for people whom in this world are suffering. We pray that you feel God's love for you as well as our love for you. Afterwards, we do the sign of the cross (and we make you do it, too) and then you clap, like it's the end of a good story.

And every night before Mama and Daddy turn out the lights and get in our bed, we tip toe into your room, peek over the side of the crib, and watch you sleep for a little bit, whispering to each other, "She's our baby! We have a baby! She's just so cute!" And sometimes you readjust your sleeping position while we are in there watching you (that's when we hide, just in case you open your eyes and want to join in on the disbelief of our blessing that is You).

You have changed us. We now have an additional Being to live for. We have You, my dear Aggie Jo. You are our sunshine. Our little blessing. Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! I can't wait to see what God has in store for you this year and many more years to come <3 Mama and Daddy Love You so much!

Mischevious Baby

Well she is officially pulling herself up to stand and getting into things... like books that are sitting on the nightstand near her crib (or the iPod I use for white noise), door-stop knobs that come off easily and into her mouth, and everything that can be easily torn apart in the kitchen. This little girlie will break for the bathroom when she realizes it was accidentally left open. If she sees any type of cord plugged into an outlet where she can reach, you can bet your bottom she will crawl her little fanny over there (not before making sure mommy can't see her... yes, she checks) and get those cords! Here is the face I have to deal with every time she is being a little goober:

 

Those big blue eyes get me every time!!!

 

Also had to share this one with daddy being silly!

 

 

9 Month Check Up!

9 months and very mobile! I leave the room and when I come back, I have to go looking for this little peanut. Child proofing is done (I think) and I feel confident that we've covered all the potentially disastrous places in the apartment. God forbid anything happen now.

Because of my low milk supply, we switched to formula. I'm not complaining; some mothers aren't able to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months so even though I feel sad about not being able to BF anymore, at least she is getting the nutrients she needs... and at least I still get the snuggles I need, too :)

It was a good 9 month check up. Agnes' weight is almost the same at it was 3 months ago which makes me think that I had been drying up for a while and hadn't noticed she wasn't getting as much breast milk as I thought... sooooo we are going to give her 35oz of formula a day to see if she can get that weight up. Crawling can also be helping with the lack of weight gain, but I'm hoping in the next month or so we see an increase.

Hear are some of the things she is doing now:

She crawls like a champ. And what a mischievous little champ she is! We have most of the apartment open for her to explore except the bathrooms. She will follow me into the kitchen a lot of the time and climb up my leg so that she stands with me while I make dinner or do dishes. She is still very anxious when I leave a room so she is never far away from her mama. She always makes sure that I am within crawling distance.

Like I said before, she can pull herself up to a kneeling and standing position... soooo it's time to adjust the crib!

She says "Mama" when she's sad or fussy... maybe she knows what she's saying (or maybe it's the fact that I come running when she does it)?? She also learned a new consonant, "D," so hopefully "Dada" comes soon! That would be cool!

She claps. Every time she is happy or sees something she likes, she claps. After night prayers, she claps; when she finishes her dinner, she claps; when daddy comes home from work and she peeks her head around the corner to see him and he gives her a big hello, she claps. She cannot get enough of life.

Agnes now has two bottom teeth and two top teeth! It was a real challenge for a minute there with all of her teething and crying, but she got through it. We know those teeth are there because now she grinds them, sending daddy a tingle in his spine (Paul always cringes when he hears her mouth grinding away).

She can feed herself finger foods (cheerios, fruit, little teething snacks, green beans, etc.).

Bath time is her favorite, I think. Whenever I am drawing a bath for her, all I have to do is call her name and she will come crawling into the bathroom within seconds. Recently I bought the Aveeno baby wash and lotion and it is doing wonders for her dry skin. I was using coconut oil for moisture before but this stuff is way better, who would've thought! She also loves her duckies :)

Will She Remember?

Agnes turned 9 months two days ago. We went to the park and took a nice long walk before stopping at the playground and pushing her in the baby swing. It was very windy that Sunday but she didn't mind. She had her blanket as well as some snacks to keep her content. She swung her feet up and down  in her stroller while she talked away (more like babbled) and fed herself some cheerios. We were about a mile into our walk when I started thinking... will she remember any of this?

It's been on my mind this week how much she probably won't remember. She isn't even 1 year old, I mean, how much can you remember before 3? I don't remember my mom rocking me to sleep or singing sweet soft songs to me while I drifted off in her arms... and yet, I feel hurt that Agnes won't remember these memories we made when she grows up and has her own friends and life. She won't remember how, to keep her from squirming too much while changing her diaper, I sang "Winnie the Pooh" over and over again until her clothes were all buttoned back up and she could continue playing. She won't remember our little bedtime routine of books and coconut oil massages. Or the way mommy bundled her up in a pink towel after her bath and held her in front of the mirror and said, "Is that my beautiful girl?!" She won't remember how daddy would say, "Boof!" to her and she would smile instantly and clap. Or how she always had to be lying down on a pillow to drink her apple juice after meals.

But then.... will I remember? Will I remember how her hair gets when it's put up in a barrette for the day and then taken off at night and the hair still stands up? Will I remember her little grunts when she is upset or frustrated with something? Will I remember how she keeps an eye on the vacuum cleaner wherever it is, even when it's not on?

We plan to have more children and I want to remember these little things!! If Agnes asks what she was like as a baby, I want to be able to relive her first few months in my mind and tell her all about it, and for every child we have!

It was at the 2 mile mark of our walk at the park that I finally thought, "You know what? It's okay." I don't have to remember every single little thing, because then how will I be able to live in the present while I always try and recount every moment of the past? She is growing up, she is doing new things every day, and it's exciting... Now! And you know what? It's not like I don't have the materials to document things like her first hair cut or her first step. But that's not as important either. It's the NOW that will really make these moments special.

Will she remember? Probably not. As long as she knows she is special and very much loved every single day of her life, that's what is important.

Outside Time!

Since it was above 30 degrees today, it was time to bundle little girl up and go outside. Even if was for only half an hour, I think we had had enough of the wind. So just to prove that I'm not as bad a mom as I might look, here are some pics of her outside!

Tomorrow, Paul and I plan on taking a nice long walk in the park and pushing baby girl on the swing! It'll be even warmer then, thankfully!

8 Months!

Agnes is now 8 months old and she is getting more mobile every day. She can roll over and she knows how to sit up from a lying down position. She still isn't a crawler, but she can go backwards on her tummy. She also scoots forwards on her back. She's a girl of many sounds, smells, and faces. She grunts and growls when she is unhappy or annoyed, claps her hands when she gets excited about something, and cries when mama leaves the room (this sometimes includes bedtime). So it's safe to say that I have my hands full, but I'm definitely not complaining. She is a blessing and someone I could not imagine life without at this time in Paul's and my marriage. She completes our little family and even though we might not be able to pay attention to every homily at mass or have an uninterrupted movie night, we still love her ;)

Here is a video of her and daddy.

This video is from Christmas night. She was just happy to not be traveling and constantly moving. 

Here are some recent pictures. She loves the camera and will stop and start smiling every time she hears it turn on.

My little pink princess!

Agnes' best friend, Peter, came to visit from Indiana right before Christmas. They were adorable together!

At the end of the day, you always have to have cuddle time with daddy.