Better late than never

We are already 12 days after Anna turned one, and I still haven't updated!  BAD blogger mommy.  In my defense, I'm fairly certain I never have a free moment in my day until 8pm. And by that point it is the most I can do to relax on the couch and completely shut off.  I have great posts "written" in my head but sadly a lot of them never make it to "paper".

I also realize that I never took a 1 year photo of her on the carpet. I really am the worst.  I guess I can do it soon and we'll pretend it was on the 5th.  One mistake in a year, I'll take it. (HAA)

First things first -- the baby update. (Or do we call her a toddler now? NO. Even though she is 99% just walking everywhere, still a BABY.)

1-year-appointment/stats:
Weight: 22 pounds, 6 ounces
Height:  29.5 inches
In 75% percentile for both.  A gain of 10.5 inches in 1 year.  A gain of 15 pounds!

Doing really well. Says a lot of words (hi, dada, mama, pop pop, up please, woof, meow, ow, uh oh, NO, baby, and sometimes we can get her to say 'ho ho ho')  The doctor says she is at a 15-month level for talking. Like I said, she is getting better and better at walking and wants to do that more than crawling. If she falls, she gets right back up and tries again. She looks sort of like a little old lady with this weird wide-leg stance.   Her giggle is the most amazing sound on Earth I think, and I told her last night she must keep it until she is old and gray. It's my mission now to get it on tape as much as I can because I never want to forget it!

playtime in the playpen

Still wearing size 3 diapers, although sometimes it feels like we are having trouble getting them across her butt. Can wear both 12 month and 18 month clothes.  Eats everything in sight. Very opinionated though and will let you know if she hates her meals.  Started drinking whole milk after the last visit. Slowly weaning off the formula - mixing in half milk and will be cutting back more and more until we're off it completely.  In some weird, alternate universe I am still nursing a 1-year-old first thing in the morning for a few minutes. I think at this point it is simply a habit and we'll have to break it very soon. It's just so damn EASY. I need a mini fridge to keep milk next to the bed.  OR, I need a baby who doesn't feel that getting up at 5:45 or 6am is acceptable.  Really, that is the cause of all the issues.

Just had to include for this adorable chub roll hanging over her pants

We are loving daycare still. Miss Sandy is great. She loves her friends there. I'm so happy after this long year of trying situations, we found the place for us. AND she said her daughter will babysit for us too so we can get back to the movies or out to dinner occasionally.  Amazing! Thank GOD for Miss Sandy.

So let's see what I can do to catch up now that I have a little, tiny bit of free time.... (p.s. this blog post was started Friday morning, worked on Monday morning and finished Monday night. jeez)

Anna's first birthday was very nice. Doug & I took off on her actual birthday in order to start a "tradition" of making her day special - we'll take off every year and do something fun of her choosing.  This year we decided what she'd really like to do is go get bloodwork taken.  Every one-yr-old's fantasy day, right?  Well, in our defense - it had to be done by her 1-year appointment on the 10th. I knew I needed backup, I can do most things with Anna alone, but holding her down for bloodwork was not going to be one of them. I don't even like going myself, much less holding down my baby who has no idea what's going on & this needle is going where and doing WHAT?!  So thankfully that day we both had off & I decided bloodwork was our first order of business.

She made out just fine. Cried a bit, was mostly mad about being held down. Got over it quickly. (I came armed with a cookie for recovery. I win.)  We headed out and went to the diner for blueberry pancakes.  (See, birthday is looking up!)  The pancakes were a hit.  We came home, she went down for a good almost 2 hour nap (had to recover from the morning) and Doug and I did our decorating for Christmas. Lights outside, all the little decor inside.

At the diner for blueberry pancakes after the bloodwork

testing out our new hat from Noreen

We decided we'd try to go to the mall to see SANTA! YAY SANTA.  Oh wow. Well, I have to say - I'll cut to the chase.  We dressed her in her Christmas dress, got to the front of the line and the kid was like VELCRO. Would not let go of me. Bawling. Miserable. Terrified. Not even sure how it happened. We couldn't even get a semi-decent picture of her and had to give up. Honestly, meeting Santa for the first time was worse than the bloodwork. How is that possible!  So... no Santa picture this year. We'll try again next year and hope for the best!

at the mall, before Santa.  See she's slyly giving me the middle finger. It's like she knew!

Doug and I drank the birthday champagne given to us last year when she was born.
We said we'd drink it when she started sleeping through the night consistently OR turned one.  HA.

So all in all, the actual birthday was both a hit and a miss. It will surely be a good story to tell her one day when she's old enough to get it!

Then last weekend we had her 1-year photos taken and unfortunately that whole day was a disaster too.  She was coming down with a cold, woke up early, needed a nap, the whole day got switched around due to scheduling issues with another party (oh the life of a socialite).  So basically we tried for a little over an hour to get some good shots and now we pray for the best!  As soon as we gave up, she fell asleep immediately in the car for over an hour and woke up (still crying) but finally in a better mood.  We went to the Yacht Club party, played with some kids, had a cookie, "met" Santa again (this time no real tears and even a little giggle when they talked... safely from my lap), got our present (a new drum with little drumsticks) and got the hell outta dodge. We knew we were testing her that day and STILL had to get a Christmas tree, so time was running out.  We picked the first tree we looked at & were back home in less than 10 minutes.  FA LA LA LA LA.

The tree is the most perfect skinny specimen ever. I love it.

Our little doll, about to get a cold at the Yacht Club Christmas party

Having a mini meltdown with Santa

home and playing with her drum, a gift from Santa

our adorable skinny tree!

Then.... the cold hit.. I knew it was coming. Everyone had it at daycare. It was only a matter of time.  The sleep setbacks started first. (Always fun).  Then the boogies. Then the bad attitude. Then more boogies. LOTS of extra vitamins for me and Doug. Thankfully Miss Sandy will still take her with a cold (especially since everyone else is sick) and she even wipes noses and gives extra snuggles.  She really is the BEST.  We've survived the week and thankfully the sleeping issues eased up a bit as the week progressed.

Friday we got to celebrate the season in NYC for Doug's work Holiday "Party"(really just drinks and dinner on the company ;)  We decided since we'd be using an overnight babysitting night with my parents, that why deal with the transportation, worry, clock-watching etc. on getting back home and just get a hotel for the night with Marriott points! So we did and it was very close to Doug's office where we started out the night. We went to dinner, went "bar hopping" and then met up with friends while we were out. It was a really great night!  (I love getting dressed up for a reason :)   I couldn't believe that I was able to last as long as I did! And we got to sleep in until 9:30 on Saturday. So unusual and perfect!  (Thanks AS ALWAYS Gram and Pop. You guys are the best.)

Doug & I at the dinner

Mom & Dad are OUT! High-fives!

Saturday morning after Doug and I got home, my mom and I made Christmas cookies and talked about last year.  The difference in 1 year is astounding.  Last year I am 99% certain I was in pajamas all day, I am 99% certain I was on the fence as far as mental state, and I KNOW for certain I had barely slept.  Anna was 2 weeks old and I was SHOT.  This year however, Doug and I went OUT the night before - partied, slept away from home, and came back to a walking, "talking", baby who then proceeded to EAT a cookie we made.  Life is so crazy. Time really can change everything. It's amazing.

2011, Last year on the left. Tiny Santa Helper.
2012, This year on the right. A cookie monster in the making.

This morning while watching the news about the Sandy Hook school, I was crying as they were talking about one sweet little girl who was killed.  I was hugging and kissing Anna and she looked at the TV, pointed and said "BABY" and that just sums it all right up.  They were just babies and it broke my heart. Being sure to hug mine a bit tighter today and every day.

So that's about it over here. Work is finally slowing down and hopefully will stay that way through the New Year.  I have SO much to catch up on and need all the time I can get.  Have some more Christmas shopping to do - not much, but some little finishing touches. I'd say I am 99% done! GO ME!

I'll try to be back sooner rather than later, but you never know what life will throw your way!

How on EARTH are we celebrating one year??

This past Saturday, we had Anna's first birthday party.  It seemed to come out of no where, which is I guess how things work - suddenly BOOM, it's December 1st.  (Side note, I was actually in the party store picking up the balloons and I saw Halloween decorations or costumes and I thought "wow, it's Halloween already?" ..... oh wait.)

I had taken off Friday so I could prepare for the party with my mom. We shopped, cooked, decorated, baked, got ready for the party.  We were highly successful and got almost everything done so that Saturday could be as stress-free as possible.  Like I had said, Doug was in Philly for work for the week and wouldn't be arriving home till about 6:30.  His parents came down to watch Anna around noon so we could get the most done without interruption. It was a great set-up and we finished while they got quality Anna time.

Saturday morning, I put Anna down for a nap and headed up to Keyport for more set-up. Aunt Lisa arrived nice and early and we got to chat a bit, get ready and prep together and it was just perfect.  She traveled so far to be here for the party so I'm glad I got some extra time with her.  I was actually not as frazzled as I thought I'd be. My parents house has that effect on me and was just what I was counting on and what I needed.

The party went off without a hitch.  It was chilly (and gray) that day but we were planning to use the front porch for some seating space/drink area and I was a little panicked about no one wanting to go out there. But we set up a couple space heaters and next thing you know, it was warm, inviting and wouldn't you know - people really liked it. It seemed to be full of people all day until it started getting dark!  All the stress for nothing (thank God).

We had a great group of people who love us and Anna there and she was so blessed with so many wonderful presents and people to celebrate her.  Really, all in all it was a perfect day. She survived on only one nap.  Had only 1 mini-breakdown moment where I had to take her upstairs for a few moments of quiet time before she got back to herself.  She went around the rooms, played with everyone, never whined for me or really got too clingy till the very end and she was just OVER it and wanted Mom, nobody get in her way.  I will say- I was SORE from holding her on Sunday! Little Miss is heavy and I'm not used to holding her for so long.

I'm so glad it was a nice day. I'm so glad everyone could be there for her (and us). And I am so glad it's over! One birthday party and done I keep saying.  Kind of like the kid thing - give it some time and the stress of it fades away... haha

I won't even touch on the fact that tomorrow my BABY will be one.  We'll just go into a photo spree to see how much fun the party turned out to be.

A display of all her monthly photos

The handmade tutu highchair decoration

Anna and her friend Sonja reuniting. They were so sweet all day together.

LUCKY girl!

Me, Anna and her best Aunties

Family pic

Getting ready to dive in to her cake.  She liked the frosting the most

I think this one is my favorite

Sharing like a good girl

Wearing our party hats...she was NOT a fan

Part of the cupcake decorations (Dog tags)

a big puppy ride-on toy!

A really funny picture of Doug

The zebra ride-on toy that will live at Gram & Pop's!

The little buddies

Many, many hugs

the cupcake tower

us before the party (shoes on)

us during the party - new tights, no shoes ;)

Playing with a favorite toy - Grandma & Grandpa's "kid-boggan"

Playing with the puppy!

Loving Aunt Lisa's picnic basket toy

Reminiscing

One Year ago...

39 Weeks


Damn!

Gobble Gobble

Anna's first Thanksgiving was a wild success!  She wore her comfiest jeggings to avoid any feelings of guilt while overeating, took a couple good naps, played and had fun, and ate everything in sight at the Thanksgiving table.  It was so fun to have her sitting there as part of our meal. (Even though she had a meltdown just as we were sitting down pretty much yelling FEED ME NOW I AM STARVING OMG!) Please see this photo as proof:

Oh I'm sorry.  If you can't see, try this:

FEED MEEEEE

Fun was had by all!

Everyone had fun place cards too!

Handprint turkeys.  Take 1 of MANY I'm sure.

It was really nice to have 4 days off all together. We all got to do some things we wanted. Some relaxing, some cleaning, lots of eating, Doug went hunting for the first time this season, Anna had a sleepover with Gram & Pop, Doug & I went out for a friends birthday - had a nice dinner and drinks out in Red Bank... it was really a relaxing weekend. When I headed back to work today I felt like I had been gone for a LONG time - which is the sign of time well spent!

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, little miss decided she'd like to try walking. The first time she did 3 steps between me and Doug and that was that. Random, it seemed.  Then about 2 days later she did it a few times in a row. I got one on tape & I love it:

Now she is much more brave. She will take up to eight steps in a row. She mostly is just wobbly and can't keep it up for too long, ends up bending in half or just plopping on her butt. But she is pretty brave. Can stand up by herself from the floor (mostly only barefoot - any type of footwear that isn't a shoe is too slippery. And shoes.... forget them. We can barely keep anything on her!) She walks well holding just one hand next to you. It won't be long till she is taking off on her own. She is determined and SO cute.

This week Doug is in Philadelphia for a work project. Kind of crappy timing, as I am working all week and trying to plan and prepare for the party this Saturday, but as always - I will conquer!  I'm sure Anna was excited to head back to see Miss Sandy and her friends today. We had to stop at the grocery store or else we'd be eating canned soup and frozen veggie burgers all week. No good!

Lots of prep and fun stuff planned for Anna's birthday party. I can't wait to celebrate and watch my little munchkin eat cake!

Until then, I'll end with some photos.  A (FIRST) birthday party update coming your way next week! Unbelievable.  I won't go down that route now, but how has it been one whole year??

At brunch with Mommy & Daddy's friends!

Awesome shoulder ride from Daddy at Lowe's

Mommy & Daddy are OUT!

Has finally learned to put the rings on the base!

The longest, most overdue post yet.

I have to apologize, but life has been a bit crazy lately. The last 2+ weeks have been a few of the weirdest of my life... much less Anna's short life so far. So I'm sure you'll all excuse my absence.  I'll try to cover everything as best I can, and hopefully from here on out be a little bit more on top of updating!

Before Superstorm Sandy hit, we were all kind of just waiting for it to arrive.  There were shopping trips to Costco and the grocery store (and the liquor store....twice), house cleaning, laundry doing, worrying, fretting, etc. Anxiety levels were high.  We knew it could be bad and all predictions had it hitting New Jersey directly. Things were not looking good for us or the boatyard.  My dad & his crew worked tirelessly for DAYS to prepare, doing everything they possibly could to get ready for Sandy. Then it was a wait and see-type event. Nothing you could do after Monday morning arrived.

Anna practiced her walking from inside the kitchen chairs.

She wore her special "Lil Dane" outfit to help cheer up Pop on the Sunday before Sandy.

She helped me unload the dishwasher by playing with a spoon for 10 minutes.

We carved our pumpkin, who was also equally concerned about the storm.

It weighed 28 pounds - bigger than Anna!

Early in the day on Monday while the winds whipped through, we lost some branches.  Then we lost power around 8pm and had no idea what was happening around our area......

Unfortunately when we woke up on October 30, life would forever be different. It's a little hard to write about it, even harder to talk about it, and hardest to be living it. The storm was more powerful and destructive than anyone had imagined. It tore through the boatyard leaving nothing in its path standing.  The shop had 4 feet of water inside. 2 boats tore through the end of the building. The gas shanty and "Little House" apartment plus a 3000 gallon tank of gas......GONE.  Wiped out.  It was one of the saddest, most surreal moments of my life that morning. It was cold, wet, windy and overwhelming. All the guys were there and Doug quickly got to work helping however he could. I had Anna strapped to my chest, covered with a blanket as I tried to wrap my head around what had happened to our family.  She was wonderful that day (and pretty much all week - sleeping 12 straight hours... almost like she knew we couldn't take anymore..)

I will say it again and again. We are fortunate. Our families are safe. Our homes were spared. We have warm beds to go home to (well, now we do... it was pretty chilly without power for 7 days) - we have food, clothes, cars. HOUSES.  Many people right here in our neighborhoods, our towns, the areas we go to dinner in, spend our summers, where our friends, family live........their lives are completely torn apart. Some have no homes. The rebuilding will take months. The places we knew and loved will never be the same. It tears me apart to think of all that Sandy did to everything we love so much. 

My trusty sidekick through it all - never a peep or complaint all day long.

Still, we persevere. We had no power but we did have a generator. We would turn it on for a few hours for fridge/freezer use and a light in the kitchen. We bundled up.  We had my mom and dad live with us for 3 days since they had no heat, no hot water (we did!), no working generator. My dad needed a place to come, relax, shower and try to take his mind off of all that was happening.  The roads were a mess. No stoplights working for miles. You couldn't get anywhere easily.  A normal ride from my house to my parents takes about 12 minutes.  One day it took me 65.  Yes, one hour and 5 minutes. 

There were gas lines for miles. For hours. People with cans standing outside for hours. It was one of the scarier things of that week without power. PANIC was setting in. 

Red Nose in her own kitchen!

We still had to dress in our Halloween attire, even though this was the year with no Halloween.

We wore many hats inside, struggled to keep her socks on her & layered up at bedtime to keep her warm. She was a trooper most nights, never complained and slept well.  Thank you God.

My office had power after a couple days, and although I couldn't fathom doing actual "work", the 3 of us did go to get warm, watch the news, have some pizza and just get out of the house.

Doug's parents selflessly drove down from RI with a brand new generator in the truck for my parents. Doug and Peter installed it on Saturday for them so they could have their house back, even partially. Thank God they did, as even though 95% of Keyport was back up and running by Friday, my parents didn't regain power until Wednesday. And then after that, their furnace broke.  To this I say to God.... ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  But thankfully it wasn't too bad with electric heat upstairs and hot showers, but come on. 

We dined in the living room watching football on the generator.

The family bundled in our hoodies!
Then the power RETURNED just before her bedtime! AMEN!

So as I said, they all but canceled Halloween throughout NJ. Some towns held them on different days, but it was just.... off.  Too bad, as we had a super cute costume planned for Anna (and us) and we were going to execute it no matter what.  On November 5, we costumed up and headed to Keyport to spread some cheer.

The "I Survived Sandy" was a cute afterthought

Watching her crawl in her full lobster costume was the best part!

This picture is just cute.

Then on November 6, I took Anna to the voting booth and we voted together for the first time of many to come. She was not as impressed as I was about voting for President.

BOR-ING.

We practiced blowing kisses during dinner. Messy but cute.

Then to top it all off, we got SNOW last Wednesday.  Again.......seriously?

Just the beginning.  We got about 3+ wet inches of snow overall.

So I bit the bullet and went to find Anna a "real" winter coat.

We came back with this gem from Old Navy.

And this amazing puffy vest. I love them both. Anna.... less impressed.

Since I have been feeling so powerless in all of this madness, I decided to bring my company together to do something for the people of Monmouth County who have been the hardest hit.  I made a brochure and started collecting donations of clothes, coats, food, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, baby care - diapers, food, bottles, etc.

Doug & I loaded up the first round of donations and this weekend we took them to some of the places who needed them the most. Anna was a big helper.

We continue to collect and I have been making a few more runs here and there to some places. I hope to get out this week (possibly tomorrow) and bring more items to those in need.


So I think that's it. For now.  We are about 19 days away from our little peanut turning ONE. Can't even believe it.  Getting another flu shot on Monday and celebrating her very first Thanksgiving on Thursday! We'll watch the parade, eat lots of turkey and stuffing and mashed potatoes and hopefully go into a Turkey coma.  I know I am looking forward to not weighing 500 pounds at Thanksgiving this year, being able to help prepare instead of laying around complaining, and DRINK WINE!  YAHOOO.

Then starts a super busy month of celebrations...... a few for Anna, a few for Jesus. Fun for ALL.

Man this update is exhausting.