Birthday Baby

Finally, some pictures from the Hollie Bug's birthday. Opening presents was a very long ordeal. She was way more interested in what Sup was doing than pulling tissue out of a bag. It was so fun to watch her, though.

It's my party...

We had both mine & Sam's families over for Hollie's birthday party. She loved having everyone over. She was so excited for all of her presents. She loved them all.


Hollie LOVED her cupcake. After downing the first, I gave her a second. Then, bad uncle Andrew gave her a third! About half way through #3 she would just let it fall out of her mouth.


We just wore her right out. She was trying to go upstairs to see Dada, but she couldn't even make past the kitchen. She just crashed right there.

Gratitude.

Feeling very grateful today. I've been having a bit of a rough go. Don't want to get into the details, but I guess I could say I've felt like I was in a hole. A big giant sucky hole. Trying to dig myself out, but for every shovelful I get out, someone throws 4 more back in. Not feeling that way now, even though nothing changed but my heart. As I was praying this morning, I realized that I was tired of hearing my own complaints. That's pretty sad when you get tired of hearing your own issues. It was then that I decided that I wasn't going to say or think anything negative for the rest of the day. And the most miraculous thing happened - instead of feeling overwhelmed, I'm feeling grateful. Grateful for the chance to work alongside my hubby in the kitchen. Just plain grateful for him. Grateful for my Hollie. Grateful for my Savior & his birth. Grateful that I know He lives. Grateful for my grandma. We had a fancy turkey dinner tonight with just the three of us. I loved using a combination of my Grandma's china & the china she gave us for our wedding. Kind of missing her, as I always do around Christmas. But also feeling grateful that she is such a big part of who I am. So, like I said, feeling very grateful today. I have too many blessings to even count, but it feels good to try.

"Little Peanut"

That's what the nurse called Hollie at her 1 year check up yesterday. She weighs 17 lbs 0 oz, and is 28 3/4 inches long. That puts her below the 5th percentile for her weight & around the 50th for her height. So, she's grown a whoppin' 14 ounces in the past 3 months. My tiny little thing! No wonder she's still wearing a lot of her 3-6 month clothes. It saves me money, I guess. It takes her forever to grow out of anything! We will have to wait at least 4-5 months before we can turn her around, though. Which is ok, since she's still just in her infant seat & anything bigger is NOT going to fit in the 'stang. Dr. Goodwin said everything else looked great, especially her verbal skills. She has 6 words in her vocab now - mama, dada, baba (bottle), grandpa (I finally heard it yesterday!), baby, and by far her favorite - Sup (she sometimes adds the "y" to the end now. It kind of sounds like "sup-ie"). She's not fully walking yet, but is trying really hard. I just love to watch her discover her world. As much as I loved the newborn stage, I wouldn't trade this Christmas & last for anything.

I still haven't had time to go through all of the birthday pics. Hopefully soon! But here are a few random shots I got this morning.

For you, little one.

It's so hard for me to believe that one year ago, at this very moment, I was sitting in a hospital bed holding the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Hollie, your birth is the single most wonderful & sacred experience of my life. I never knew I could love someone so much. As I sit here typing this, with tears rolling down my face, I am still in awe. This morning I woke to two bright blue eyes, just inches from mine. You were staring at me, waiting for me to wake up. It was just one of the thousands of moments that we have shared, and I will cherish them all forever. I love you with all of my heart.

I have so many pictures to post from your special day, but it's late & mama's tired. So for now, here's one of my favorite quotes. It perfectly describes the way I feel about you.

Before you were conceived, I wanted you;
Before you were born, I loved you;
Before you were here an hour, I would die for you;
That is the miracle of love.

~Maureen Hawkins

'Tis the season

In love.

I wanted to get some "wintry" looking shots to send out for Hollie's birthday party invites. Here's the one I chose & some more of my favorites. I can't tell you how much I love this hat. Probably too much.