1 year photo session

As a parent, you always hope that your child will cooperate during certain events in their life...church, grocery shopping, photo sessions, etc. On Friday we had her 1 year photos taken and had hoped for some nice shots in her Easter dress. Well, we got some nice shots in her first birthday shirt but didn't fair as well with the Easter dress. Since she was all dolled up, we thought we'd also visit the Easter Bunny. Well, that didn't go well either. She liked him. She liked to watch other kids have their photos taken. She liked to wave to him. She like to stand by him, but she did not want to sit on or anywhere near his lap. So here are the best photos from the day.

Transition

That's right...Helaina has been 1 for about 3 weeks now. She's well past being a "baby" and has jumped right into toddler hood. These past few weeks have been full of transitions. One of her most recent accomplishments is weaning from the bottle. We started whole milk on her first birthday and have gradually replaced the bottles with sippy cups. This week, we'll be eliminating the last bottle. The bottle before bed. Looking forward to cleaning those bottles one last time and putting them, the liners, and the formula away till the next wee one comes along.
Naps...oh how Helaina loves to nap...up until last week anyways! I thought it was a fluke but after about 6 consecutive days of Helaina talking to herself in the crib for almost an hour before she'd fall asleep, we decided it was time to make the transition from 2 naps a day down to 1. Randy did the test-drive today (lucky him, hehe). Helaina slept from about noon till 2:45 in the afternoon. She definitely needs an earlier bed time till she's used to the new routine, but we're very happy our plan worked today! Hopefully this will be our new normal.

Welcome Spring

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood! This afternoon Randy, myself, and Helaina went to a park just a few blocks from our home. Since the weather has turned, we've enjoyed taking Helaina outside and letting her explore the new territory. She loves it!

This girl doesn't have any hesitations. Whether it's trying something new or doing an activity by herself, she's always up for the challenge. She likes to go down the slides, and we stand at the bottom to catch her. Today she decided to turn herself around and go down feet first.

She's also not shy. She practically runs to people who have dogs and then falls over herself trying to pet the dog. She also makes friends easily. Today she met a 16 month old boy and followed him around the park. His mom had a dog which made her like him that much more.

Happy St. Patty's Day

Helaina may only be about 20% Irish, but she is 100% adorable!Sorry we haven't posted in awhile. Randy and I have both been busy at work. Working extra days, and the Wings have had several home games this month. We're still recovering from Helaina's big birthday party.
We visited Randy's brother, Omar, last Sunday and had a nice lunch at an Irish Pub in downtown Flint. We saw the hospitals where he's been doing his rotations.
We're also enjoying the beautiful weather. Helaina got grass stains for the first time on her jeans last week. I was SO EXCITED, and then I realized I don't even really know how to get grass stains out. It's a whole new place for her to discover and another mom phase for me to enter and learn.
Still haven't schedule her 1st birthday pictures. We're in the process of finding an Easter dress and shoes to fit her large feet.
Happy St. Patty's Day :)

First Birthday Weekend & Party

Wheeeewwww! What a weekend! We celebrated Helaina's first birthday at our home on Saturday. It was filled with fun, very special friends, and wonderful family! We had several out of town guests...The Archer family, the Cobb family, the Salyer girls, my parents and then of course, our family and friends from Michigan.
My parents arrived Thursday evening, and they let Helaina open one of her gifts early.
A Detroit Red Wings rocking chair. It is too cute!

The sweet girl on her big day! When you ask Helaina, "Who's the pretty girl?" or "Who's the birthday girl?" she'll point to herself.

Helaina with the boys, Aiden and Nolan. The boys have grown so much in the past 8 weeks since they last visited. When Helaina is a bit older, she'll look back and feel honored to have had such great friends at her first birthday party. Thanks again for traveling the distance to spend this day with us!

Her cakes

Opening presents with mom and dad. She did a great job and helped open almost all of her gifts. Some of which included a potty from Uncle Omar and a princess motorized car from Randy's parents. This girl received so many wonderful gifts!

Her and that silly finger

It took her awhile to really dig into the cake. She didn't taste it for a few minutes, just played in the frosting.

Once I fed her a bite, she went back for more!

This morning, we met the boys at their hotel and had a swim date. Auntie Erin letting Helaina pose with Nolan's sunglasses.

Erin and Katie took many pictures during the weekend. I'm certain I'll be posting more throughout the week.
Again, we can't thank our friends and family enough for helping in so many ways and for all of the thoughtful gifts. Our lives are so full and rich because of the special people we have in them!

First Haircut

Randy insisted that Helaina have her first haircut before her birthday party on Saturday. After narrowly convincing (aka threatening) him this morning NOT to trim her hair by himself while I was at work, I agreed to take action. Sooo...I made a few phone calls, left work a little early, and Helaina had her hair cut before swim class!
I tried a last minute appointment with my stylist Keri, but she was unavailable. So we ended up at Carnival Cuts, which is where she had her ears pierced 10 short days ago. Thankfully she didn't recognize the place and did really well!

Cheerios always work WONDERS!

The "after" photo

First Haircut Certificate

1 year old

Happy First Birthday to our sweet Helaina! What a year it has been for our family. Randy and I have watched Helaina grow from a tiny, helpless infant into an energetic and fearless little girl. Along the way, it seems Helaina isn't the only one who's been growing and learning. She's taught us the true meaning of unconditional love. Everyday we strive to better ourselves as parents knowing that we are Helaina's guides in this journey of life.
So today we celebrate the birth of Helaina! She had a memorable day that included lunch with mom and her friends from work, homemade banana bread muffins (made especially for Helaina by Sitty), and playtime on the jungle gym at the recreation center. We'll continue the celebration at the official first birthday party this Saturday!
*She loves being chased around the table. Now that she's walking more, with the help of the table, she's pretty much off and RUNNING!

Look at those squinty eyes, where did she learn that?

Playing at the jungle gym

Helaina loves to read her books :)