Delainey is 1!

I cannot believe that my baby girl is turning 1 today.  I'm not sure why I am having such a hard time grasping this...but it just will not sink in!  This is my birthday girl this morning...so sweet.

Exactly one year ago Travis and I were anxiously waiting in a very tiny room for the nurses to come in and tell us it was time to head to the operating room.  It was so different than my C-section with Parker.  This time I walked into the operating room...climbed up on the operating table...and waited for them to finally bring Travis in so we could get the show on the road.  It was so nerve-wracking, but I knew that at the end was going to be the most amazing pay-off.  We would finally get to hold, love, and kiss the baby girl we had been waiting for for so long!  The surgery went so quickly and before I knew it I was listening to the sweetest little baby cry.  She was so beautiful and such a blessing.

Delainey is so full of life, smiles, and energy.  She adores her big brother (from afar...when he tries to hug or kiss on her she wails!).  She loves her puppy and lights up when he runs into the room...calling "Di Di" which is pretty close to Deacon and the exact same thing that Parker called him!  It melts my heart to see her face when she sees her Daddy...she gets the sweetest grin and immediately starts calling for "Da Da."  While she loves her Daddy, she is surely a Mommy's girl for now.  I love getting to see the differences between boys and girls (even the dramatic ones).  She will eat just about everything (except soy...which as of now we are still avoiding due to an allergy).  This girl loves food and will let you know if she is still hungry!  Going to the grocery store is an event with her...Parker and I have to try and hide bananas and any other snack she recognizes from her in the cart and at check-out because once she sees it...she wants it!!!  Delainey has the funniest faces and loves to cheese for the camera...she even says "cheeeee!"

We have yet to go to the doctor for her 1 year check...it isn't until next week, so I am unsure of her height and weight...but here are some other Delainey Stats:

Favorite Foods:

• bananas, peaches, toast, pancakes, hot dogs, mac & cheese, nuggets

Words:

• MaMa, DaDa, DiDi (Deacon), nana (banana), cheeee (cheese), hi, mmmmm (yummy)

Baby Sign:

• more, drink, eat, all done, night night, bye/hi

Things She Can Do:

• walk (she is strictly a walker now...no more crawling for this little lady)
• climb (she is trying to get onto and into everything)
• blow kisses
• throw toys for Deacon
• say/motion for "shhhh"
• high five
• run (it is spastic...but she can do it...I spend the whole time thinking she is about to face-plant)

 For Delainey's 1st birthday I made a little video slideshow of her first year.  To watch the video click here! 

our first christmas away from family

This was the first year that we were not able to spend Christmas with family. It was sad because we wanted to see everyone and we wished everyone could have spent some time with the kids. Although, it was nice to have a quiet Christmas...just the 4 of us because we know that Travis will probably be deployed sometime this year and won't be able to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with us this year.

It was our first Christmas as a family of 4 as well. We are loving having a new addition and are glad that our family is finally complete! I couldn't imagine my life without Parker and Delainey and they just make everything more fun!

Thanks to everyone that sent gifts for us and the kiddos...they were all greatly appreciated and enjoyed and it warmed our hearts to know that you were thinking of us this Christmas while we were away. Our kids were definitely spoiled this year...hopefully they don't think they will have that many presents every year! (Because they won't!)

This year we opened presents from the Guion side on Christmas Eve. It was nice to get to chat with everyone on the phone!
{Parks--ready to open his gifts from Grandpa Lee & Grandma Jammi, Uncle Tyler & Amber, and Uncle Shane}
{we were all anxious to see what this gift was...the UPS man said it had been "talking to him" while he was making his deliveries and was glad to be rid of it}

{it's Mater & McQueen!!!...and boy are they noisy...thanks Uncle Tyler and Amber...payback's a, well you know the rest!}
{thanks for the new chew toy...I mean hat and gloves Grandpa Lee and Grandma Jammi!}
{new teether from Uncle Shane}

On Christmas morning we opened our gifts from "Santa" and us to the kids and emptied out our stockings. Then in the afternoon (our time) and morning (Washington time) we "Face-Timed" with my parents and my sister's family while opening gifts from them! It is so great to get to see everyone...even if it is on the phone! I love technology and it sure does make being far away so much easier to bear! At night we were able to Skype with the McCue/Parker clan. It was so nice to feel like we were there...even though we weren't really.
{Christmas morning in the jammies...they are too cute}


{a HUGE thanks to Papa Kevin and Nonni Donna for the tractor...he loves it, especially because it is "just like Papa's"}


{oh...the sock monkey hat! For those of you who don't already know, I have a strange fear of sock monkeys...I'm not sure why, I just do! My dad is fully aware of this irrational fear and decided that he would take a break from being a mechanic and be a comedian instead...he saw this hat and of course thought it would be an amazing idea to get it for Parks! I have to admit...he looks super cute in it!}
{putting together and taking apart his Napa engine from Auntie Sara and Uncle Chipper}
{cute as ever in her new shirt}

{I LOVE THIS PICTURE...this is a picture my sister took on Christmas night...obviously in Washington, at my parent's house! If you can't tell, that's Parker on the computer screen, we were on Skype with them!}

playing at the park

I have a really hard time getting outside now that it is cold out. Parker really needs to be outside and get some energy out! But...Delainey hates it when it is cold and windy. Now that it has headed into winter weather, it is both cold and windy almost everyday. This is Oklahoma after all! It just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't windy. Delainey makes this gasping sound every time a breeze kicks up...like the wind takes her breath away, then she starts to cry. I feel horrible. Today we decided to brave it anyway and hoped the our little lady would "cowgirl up" as Trav's family would put it! She did alright. Parker had a blast!

{take one: the sun was in our eyes}

{take two: much better this time}

{all bundled up}

{me and my princess}

{delainey has started blowing bubbles all the time...bring on the drool phase!}

Things are going well here in our family. I am finding new recipes all the time that do not contain dairy/soy/whey/nuts. It is making meal time much easier and I have lost all but 2 lbs. of my baby-weight! Go me! I am concerned though that I have made all the changes that the G.I. doctor asked of me...and the bleeding for our little gal has not stopped or slowed. I know that so many people have been adding Delainey to their prayers...please keep them coming. We would really love to know something concrete...neither Travis or myself are convinced that she really has a protein allergy...I still feel in my heart that it is something else. We have one more month left after this month is done in the "it takes 3 months for her insides to heal from the protein exposure." SO, we will give it another month of trusting in the G.I. doctor's notion before I really start to get pushy. There isn't really anything that can be done to check into anything else until she is 6 months old anyway. That is when the G.I. doctors will actually do a scope to take a look at her insides (but they have to put her under and we would like to avoid that)...so hopefully this all gets figured out before it comes to that. Please keep up the prayers. I am extremely thankful that she is not in any pain and is so so so happy. Thank the Lord for that!

my cup runneth over

I love the times when you take a second to step back and look at your life and realize you have it made. As sickly-sweet as that is...it is true. Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that I don't have days when I feel like ripping my hair out...or feel like I am on the verge of some sort of stay-at-home Mommy mental break. But...in the grand scheme of things, I know I have an amazing life.

I am married to a man who can make me laugh so hard I feel like I might pee my pants (let's face it...I've had 2 kids...and all other Mommies out there TOTALLY GET IT). He makes me feel like I can do anything I set my mind to and has total faith in me. I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

I have this amazing 3 year old son. Parker melts my heart (and sometimes makes me feel like I am going to lose my mind). I am still not sure why people are still using the phase "terrible twos"...I will never understand it. Any parent of a toddler KNOWS that 3 is so much worse than 2! He can be so sweet one second and so loving...then he flips a switch and ignores everything I say. Some days he acts like a caged animal who has just been set free! My sister and I always talk about how all toddlers are bipolar. He is such a boy and I love that about him! But at the heart of it all, he is a Momma's Boy...and I love that too! I sure am lucky.

Parker Loves:

• helping Mommy in the kitchen
• cuddles on the couch after sissy goes to bed
• playing with boxes more than the things that come in the boxes
• truck/cars/trains/and anything else with wheels
• plain noodles or any kind
• white rice
• cereal
• muffins...he actually prefers them to cupcakes
• helping feed sister a bottle

My daughter is such a blessing and I still feel like it is a dream that I actually have a baby girl. I was so sure that I was destined to only have boys and I had come to terms with it during my pregnancy with Delainey. I was so surprised when the ultrasound tech told us it was a girl. I still look at her and can't help but squeeze her so tight, kiss her sweet little forehead, and thank God for such an amazing blessing. I can't help but think about my relationship with my own mother and wish that Delainey and I can share the same bond. I so look forward to all the things we will get to do together in the future. She is growing up much to quickly and I wish she would just slow down a little. (Especially since we know she is our last kiddo)

Delainey Loves:

• chewing on her fingers
• chewing on bibs
• chewing on burp cloths
• being snuggled
• sitting on Daddy and Mommy's laps
• her bumbo seat
• playing on her activity mat and her bouncer
• when you make her same noises back at her
• her lovie...she snuggles her face right into it at naptime
• pulling Mommy's hair
• staring at her brother
• making little crooked "Elvis grins" at us
• ATTENTION

As we continue on through the holiday season I hope that you can take some time to reflect on the little things and the people that make your life amazing too. I have been so blessed with so many people that I get to call mine and I would just like that say thank you to our family for being so wonderful. We miss you all so much and wish that we could have come home for Christmas to see you all this year...God bless!