Where did my baby go?

     In less than 12 hours Froggie will officially be 1 year old! Here are some last shots of Froggie as an 11 month old.

last day before she's a one year old

last day before she's a one year old

last day before she's a one year old

We Have a Climber!

     This was what I turned my head to see yesterday while sitting in the living room with Froggie. She's taken to "walking" around the coffee table so I didn't think much of her going past me until I heard Big Brother's scooter get knocked over. As soon as I looked I knew she was up to no good, and of course I snapped a picture before I got her down. Later on she climbed the TV stand and she climbs the stairs pretty well. Overall she does a better job moving vertically than walking, we're in for trouble!

Disney On Ice

     Wednesday night we took the kids to Disney on Ice. It was a gift for both kids because of when it fell, we had given the tickets to Big Brother on his birthday and Froggie's birthday is this coming weekend.

Our tickets

     We left a few minutes later than I had wanted to and pulled into the area where the parking garages were about ten minutes before the show. Hubby and I decided that Big Brother and I would get out and walk in to the arena while Hubby and Froggie would park and then join us. Big Brother and I got inside, waited in line to have our tickets scanned and then waited a little bit for Hubby but he hadn't come in and I was starting to get worried that we wouldn't be seated when the show started so we went to our seats. 

The view from our seats

Aladdin

Mickey, Minne and Snow White

the seven dwarfs 

Everyone watching

Snow White and the Prince

Excited for intermission

She made it to intermission!

     We were a little afraid of how the evening would go since the show didn't even start until a half hour before Big Brother's bed time and Froggie normally goes to bed within a half hour or so of him. They amazingly made it to intermission with no problem (although Froggie was starting to look a little sleepy). We had packed glow necklaces and light up toys along with drinks for both kids and that seemed to be helpful. At intermission I took Big Brother out to see if he would use the restroom and to look at the snacks and souvenirs. He had a hard time deciding whether he wanted a snack or a toy and eventually decided that he wanted a snow cone. After we waited in line for his snow cone he decided he wanted to pick out a toy for Froggie. Initially he wanted to get her the toy he had wanted (a sword) but then decided that she would like a stuffed Pascal (the lizard from Tangled). He did a pretty good job because she loved it! As soon as we gave it to her she squeezed it tightly and tried to chew on it - which, if you have a baby or toddler, you know it as good as saying "thanks, I love it".

Big Brother's snow cone

Froggie and her toys

Watching the princesses

Trying to get a picture of her smiling - I promise she did, a lot

Big Brother watching the ice skaters while Froggie nursed

My favorite part!

Cinderella

     A little bit after intermission Froggie got fussy and didn't want her cup, which she had already dropped on the people in front of us to accompany the spoon Big Brother dropped down there as well. I nursed her and thought for sure that she would fall asleep until the dragon started breathing fire and it got loud. Then she decided to pay attention again and play on my lap. After the show had ended we headed out for a potty break before heading home and Big Brother was SO tired. He got upset and asked again for a sword and in typical toddler fashion began to cry. Hubby and I talked with him and he was able to calm down and we came to an agreement that included buying the last sword on the table and taking it home with us. 

     We survived the cold walk to the parking garaged despite another melt down from Big Brother about having cold hands, thanks to the fact that he lost one of his gloves on the way in to the arena. After warming up the car and settling Big Brother in his car seat with a blanket we headed for home and I was certain that the kids would both fall asleep. Of course, Big Brother had gotten a second wind and was still alert and showing off his sword when we stopped for gas. Froggie passed out, as expected, and snuggled a little with Pascal before moving to bed.

Showing off his "dragon sword"

Froggie and Pascal

He HAD to take the sword to bed with him!

Repurposing the snow cone cup!

Spread Awareness for Hip Dysplasia

Froggie's first full day in her harness

 
    I've said it before and I'll say it again… until Froggie was born I had NEVER heard of hip dysplasia! I was an EMT for a while after high school and received my Art Therapy degree in a medical school where we shared the halls and student lounge with medical students and never did I hear anything regarding this particular topic. (That is not to say that they were not taught that information, just that I either didn't pay attention to it or they weren't studying it in the halls/lounge)
     That being said, a few advocates have made the push for more publicity regarding hip dysplasia and are targeting popular medical TV shows. While I don't always value these types of shows for a variety of reasons I do think that creating better screening and conformity in evaluation and treatment will be beneficial but will only come about through awareness.
    So… help spread the word and get hip dysplasia out there by clicking on the link below to sign a petition asking Dr. OZ or The Doctor's to discuss the topic.

PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO VOTE!

Froggie in her harness

Sweet Dreams

     Froggie has had the same routine for awhile now. She waits (sometimes more patiently than others) until Big Brother goes to bed and then nurses until she passes out. She always looks so peaceful and a lot of the time I let her sleep on my lap for awhile.

Catching some z's

Birthday Cow

     I'm not sure if all Chick-fil-a's do this but we went to a "birthday party" at Chick-fil-a for all kids who had birthday's in January. We got there a little early so Big Brother and I ran into Target while Hubby and Froggie waited in the car. We picked up some new clothes and shoes for Froggie, the Frozen soundtrack and a transformer before we headed up to the party.
     Big Brother was pretty excited for his breakfast, but was most excited to see the cow! He had been talking about the cow for the last few days and was excited for "birthday cow". He ate his breakfast, played in the play area a little, got a birthday present from the cow and we all sang Happy Birthday before we had to leave to make it to tumbling on time.

Happy Birthday breakfast at Chick-fil-a

Cow came to visit during breakfast

Froggie tried to share her breakfast with Cow

A gift from the Cow

He got his own Cow

And a basketball

Big Brother with the Cow

     Froggie also REALLY liked the cow and got her own little gift. She ate a bunch of her breakfast too and had a blast, I think we'll be going back for Froggie's birthday next month.
     Big Brother did a great job at tumbling and was a much better listener than his first time. He has such a good time and despite being pushed off a trampoline and the small melt down that followed he did great. I think this will be something we pursue for awhile, maybe not tumbling but group classes where he can be active and interact with different kids than the ones that he spends every day with.

Balance beam

checking out the equipment

Summersaults 

Watching the big kids

Trying to tumble with Big Brother

Just a cute picture of Froggie with her frog

Picture Day

     Today Big Brother took a nap at school so that Froggie and I could prepare for her big day in front of the camera. We had a blast having her one year old pictures done and she wandered around the lobby with Big Brother while Hubby and I picked out the images we wanted! Here's a sneak peek.

hanging out in the studio

check out that tutu!

DIY 1st Birthday Props

     For whatever reason I haven't done as much of my own photography lately. The biggest reason being that there really is no good light source in the house and it is just TOO cold to go out with the kids. I have gone back and forth about whether I want to go into a studio for Froggie's 1 year old pictures. When Big Brother turned 1 we took him to get a birthday portrait done and I hated it and ended up doing my own session with him. I took a few pictures of Froggie the other day so that I could set up her invitations but they weren't what I was looking for as 1 year old pictures either. So Hubby watched the sleepy munchkins and I went to Walmart to get a few things (and a new fire extinguisher since Big Brother accidentally set ours off!) so that I could make some props.
     Here's a little of what I came up with.

balloons, chalkboard, streamers 

and a cupcake

Mmmm

Happy little Princess

     And what do you do with a bunch of balloons when you're done with them? Put them in your Pack n Play and let your 3 year old and almost 1 year old play in them! 

They had a blast

It took a lot to get them out of here!

Help Out Big Brother

     Please help Big Brother! He's entered a coloring contest with The Classy Yinzer on Facebook to win a shirt. He would really appreciate if you would like his picture and help him out here.

Dresses, Ballons and Dinner

     This evening was a little hectic. I finally was able to go up and finalize my fitting for my bridesmaids dress for my sisters wedding. I've known what dress I was getting (we're all wearing different dresses) since before the new year but trying to figure out when I could get there for the absurd amount of time it takes them to decide what size dress you need. So tonight we met up with Hubby so that the kids could be entertained and not interfere with the process.
     Before Hubby was done we headed in to Toys R Us to use Big Brothers birthday coupon. He was patient walking through the store looking at everything, even though all he cared about were Cars and Planes. He picked out a new Plane (finding ones he doesn't have is getting harder and harder) and carried it around the store while we waited for Hubby.
     He paid for his own Plane and since he used his birthday coupon he got a crown and a balloon! He was pretty excited and opened his plane before the receipt was even printed! The weather had taken a turn towards the cold, windy and snowy and on the way to the car Big Brother's balloon ripped away from the ribbon it was attached to. It was heart breaking to listen to him cry that he wanted his balloon back! We got he and Froggie all strapped in to their car seats and Hubby went in to see if he would be able to get a replacement. I felt really badly about all of this, especially since it ripped away from the ribbon while I was holding it and Big Brother had specifically asked me to carry it so he wouldn't lose it.
     The cashier was very understanding and gave Hubby a new balloon, which Big Brother was very protective over. He didn't want to leave the car while I was fitted for my dress and Hubby ended up sitting with the kids while I went in.

The Balloon

The Balloon

    I had to describe and show a picture to the girls at the store so they could find my dress (which they didn't have in my size in store and aren't they the ones that work there anyhow?), put me in a dress that I already told them was a size too small, measured me and decided on a size and then had me try on a dress in that size (which is too big, hooray for being in between sizes!) all of which was pretty unnecessary since they order a size based on the measurements anyway.
     When that was all said and done we headed to Applebees for dinner. We honestly don't get out for dinner much more than out weekly pizza Friday night and the occasional run through the drive through when we are running late on time. It was a nice change to be in a restaurant and sitting down. Froggie was SUPER hungry so she ate while we were looking at the menu. Big Brother picked his own dinner out and we picked up spinach and artichoke dip (which I love!) Big Brother fell on his way back from the bathroom and sat on my lap for a while and we were your standard table with two toddlers - loud. We encouraged Big Brother to use his "inside voice" which he struggles with daily and he did a good job of trying until he forgot or got excited. Towards the end of our meal our server had notified us that our tab had been paid by another table who wished to remain anonymous. I can honestly say that, as a family, this had never happened to us before. It was a huge blessing and a great way to turn around a pretty hectic evening.