Splashtastic and More!

Well, it's been a busy time for Adelay! Let's go back to the day after her birthday party when our AC decided it was done. During her party, it was trying to hold out, but it blew it's last cold breath on Sunday. Rick and I grabbed some things and went to Grandpa's with Adelay which is when the "fun" began. I dunno if it was her being one or if it was the change of environment, but my easy-going, independent, "I don't need you, Mom" little baby has turned into a demanding, at times needy, "You better hold me NOW, Mom" toddler!! The change has been a bit startling. Plus, I'm actually here with her all week, every hour, every day... it's a tad overwhelming! My respect for stay at home moms (which was already very high) has quadrupled. Especially moms with multiple children.

Anyways, to keep this little toddler busy, we've been visiting splash parks, indoor mall playgrounds, and baby bounce. The Galleria and Collin Creek both have these foam-like play structures for kids to run around on. The one at the Galleria is a jungle theme, and the one at Collin Creek is more like an urban theme. While the one at the Galleria is cleaner looking, I actually like the one at Collin Creek better because the play structures are lower to the ground and easier for her to climb (which she LOVES to do). North Park mall has free baby bounce sessions which we go to sometimes on Mondays with some friends from church. I took her once during spring break when she wasn't walking, and it's a completely different experience with a walker! She'll stay in my lap for maybe the first 2 songs, and then she's off, getting in other baby's faces, taking their shakers and rattles, running away from me. But it's still a lot of fun.

The splash parks have definitely been the hit of the summer. We first went to one with Nikolas, her older "boyfriend". He's older, he walks, and he lit up when he saw Adelay. He's got potential. It was pretty much just the two of them there, so they roamed around somewhat together. She had so much fun, though. She didn't quite get in the water, but she waved her hand around in some of the splashes. Then we went to another one with two of her younger "boyfriends", Atticus and Rylin. Atticus has the same nickname - "Atty" and "Addy" - they sound pretty much the same. Rylin definitely tries to impress me by constantly catching my eye and smiling. Definitely some more potential in both of them, but Atticus really made his move. Adelay had been skirting the splash area, trying to get some cake from a birthday party that was being held under the pavilion, so she was standing at the outside of the play area when Atticus comes crawling up to her, reaches up his hand, and grabs her butt. It was very funny. The final time we went to a splash park was with Madalyn in Temple. This time, Adelay really got the point of these things, and she was in the water, walking through splashers, having a BLAST. Until she saw a bouncy ball, and then she was totally distracted.

Adelay, sporting the baby bikini, with Nikolas.

Feeling brave, and she went for it!!

A bit more modest, ready to play with the boys!

Atticus, the butt perpetrator. :) Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of Rylin. :(

Really feeling brave at the park with Madalyn!!

Adelay shows how a tankini is done right.

Another year older...

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm 27 now. I'm 3 years from being 30. That's crazy. I know 27 is young, but I feel so old. Maybe that's because I'm so adultish. I'm married, have a kid, a house, a job... My Friday evenings usually consist of going to bed at 10 after cleaning up. Laaaaame. The older I get, the more responsibilities. It's like that's God's birthday present to me. I wonder what the refund policy is...
Well, I didn't care for it to be my birthday. I'm still dealing with the loss of my mom, so I pretty much just woke up and hoped for it to be a quick day. Even though I was hustling through it, the day was nice, I can't deny that. Mamiyagi took my dad, Rick, Adelay, and I to lunch at El Fenix. Lunch was nice until Adelay decided she wanted to have a tortilla chip. Yeah, she's teething, so whatever happened when that chip got in her mouth was multiplied ten times with her sore gums. Poor girl. Rick handled her most of the day, freeing me to do important things like nap and play Zuma.
In the evening Dad watched Adelay so Rick and I could go downtown to see "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman!" A friend from church works for the Wyly Theatre, and they needed to fill up the theatre, so they had free tickets! I like free! We really liked the show too. The theatre is smallish, and we had great seats (second row behind the orchestra pit), so the feeling was nice and intimate. The show was upbeat and funny - just what I needed. Everything was great until we got to the car. Rick was pressing the unlock button from afar, but nothing was happening. I knew what that meant. I'd been there, done that. He had left the lights on, and the battery was dead. Did I mention we were downtown? And this was around 11:00. We had stayed after the show for a behind the scenes chat with the main stage hand, so pretty much all the audience had left. We couldn't call my dad because he was home with Adelay with out a car seat. What to do, what to do... We decided to take the DART to Richardson, I called up a friend to get us back to my dad's house, and we took his car downtown to jump our car. It was grrrreat! Not a big deal, though, just an interesting end to the evening.
So that was my birthday. I really am glad it's over. Oh, and Madalyn called and sung me "Happy Birthday" on my voicemail. It was very cute.

Party Animal

Last Saturday we had Adelay's first birthday party! The theme was "Come have a ball" so we made a ball pit in our living room. Our fireplace area is this pit area with 3 stairs going down and carpeted seats all around. I put the futon cushion on the bottom and got some pit balls, and voila! A ball pit! We had a great turn out, and Adelay looked super cute. There were meat balls, a cheese ball, melon balls, and, best of all, cake balls!! The cake balls were delicious. I have a feeling I'll be making those again sometime. Most of the guests had never seen or had cake balls, and I think everybody liked them. Adelay made a royal mess out of her cake! She kinda swiped it at first, not sure what to do with it until I gave her a taste. Then, she knew exactly what to do with it. After that, we opened up presents. Adelay watched for a little while until she started to rub frosting in her eyes. Aunt Keek whisked her off to be cleaned up, and Rick and I finished up opening her gifts. She got some great books, toys, and lots of cute outfits. It was a great party for her.
I'd been having mixed feelings about having the party, but I'm glad I did it. It was hard not having Mom there, and I definitely missed her being there, but this was a celebration for Adelay. It definitely would not have happened as well as it did with out the friends that helped me prepare for it. Friday afternoon, Joanna, her mom, and Bethany came and cleaned up my house. Everything was pretty much picked up, but they did the polishing, and the house looked great. Saturday, Kirsten came over and helped watch Adelay pre-party. So those 4 + Vikki and Tim really really really blessed me.
It's weird, this past month, I've probably accepted more help than I have in 5 years! I'm such a, "No, no, no, don't trouble yourself over me, I'll do it" type of person. Asking for and receiving help is a struggle for me. I don't know why, that's so silly. I just don't want to inconvenience people, I guess. But this past month, I've really been concious of allowing people in to help, and it's been wonderful. I knew I needed it, and it wasn't just for me, it was for Adelay too. I guess also part of it is that if I needed help, I could always go to my mom. But now that that's not possible, I'm so thankful that there are people in my life who can help me. And that's completely a God thing, so I owe it to Him for putting them there. I truly am in awe of all the blessings He's given me in spite of the tragedy. It's amazing.
Today we went for her one year check up, and she's doing great. 22 lbs 6 oz, 32 in. She's off the charts in height and in the 70 - 95% for weight. She's right where she needs to be, and the doctor said she's real smart and a talker. Everything looked good! Praise God for good health for my baby. I love love love her.

She looooved her mini cake!!

Nikolas playing in the "ball pit"

Our gift to her was a Sesame Street scooter thing. Not really sure what they're called...

Can you really blame him for trying to plant one on her? I mean, she's adorable!

Here I Am

So a lot of girls my age and in my place in life start a blog as soon as they're married, or as soon as they're pregnant, or as soon as they feel like they're doing something cool in their life. Well, I've been married so long I have to really think about how many years it's been (6 years), I have a one year old, and I'm always doing cool things. Like watching the Disney Channel. So I'm a little late on the draw, oh well.

I have a one year old. I can officially say it. Adelay's been a whole year old for over 3 hours now! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by. The whole year, I knew she was getting older, and I told her to stop, but she wouldn't listen. I hope this isn't indicative of her teenage years. This first year with her has been absolutely wonderful. There've been ups, and then there've been more ups. She has been such an amazing baby, and we have been so blessed by her. There have seriously not been any downs, and I'm not saying that as a mom wearing rose-colored glasses. I don't have a pair of those, and even if I did, I'm kinda too realistic to wear them. She slept through the night by 2 months. She wasn't a horrible spitter upper. She ate all her baby food (and only gagged on the meat). She only cried for good reasons like hunger or hitting her head on something. She doesn't cry or make a scene when we drop her off places. She has been SUCH a good baby! The only struggle we've had has been napping, and, honestly, that was my fault. When I was on maternity leave, I would nap with her, so she got used to napping with somebody, so when I decided it was time to stop that, it was a little hard. And, probably, it was harder on me. So my one year old is all grown up and practically off to college. She's an independent baby who doesn't need her mommy hovering over her as she goes off to explore the world. So I won't hover, but I'll be watching!

On a much more serious and personal note, I missed my mom today. I know she would have called me first thing in the morning and demand to talk to Adelay. Actually, she probably would have just come over and sang to her. It's almost been 2 weeks since she passed away. Things and people have kept me busy, but I still miss her. Moms are the best on birthdays, and now that's me. Playing the part of Mom on my baby's birthday. My mom was the best at birthdays. Big parties, lots of fun, great presents... I have a lot to live up to.

Thankfully, some WONDERFUL friends are helping me live up to Mom's expectations. Vikki and Tim came over today to help out with house stuff. Tim mowed the yard. Are you kidding me?? He MOWED the yard!!! This is Texas, y'all! It's hot out there! We also made cake balls. They are so delicious, I want to eat all of them. We'll probably have to make more because we just might eat all of them. Adelay loved seeing Nikolas and Nolan (their boys). I really need to remember to take pictures of stuff. It's nice to see her with a 2 year old that is actually significantly larger than her. My niece Madalyn is so tiny, everytime she and Addy are together, I feel like I have a ginormous baby.

I would have loved to spend more time with them, but Rick and I went with Dad, Mamiyagi and the girls from Panama to the Galleria so Addy could have some birthday fun in the play area. There are actual pictures of this, and I might post them later. She loves that play area. There are these huge, cushioned animals all around that the kids climb and fall on without hurting themselves. Mostly, Adelay just walks/runs around with a big, goofy smile on her face. She loves seeing other kids, she is so social. Afterwards, Grandpa gave her some ice cream. This went with the cake she had earlier. I can tell she takes after me and loves the sweets. This could be problematic. I might have to learn to share.

All in all, it was a great day for all of us. Rick got somebody to mow the lawn for him, Adelay got to play at the Galleria, and I got cake balls. Yum.