Her First Birthday

Found this in the "drafts"...

Mercedes turned ONE on Tuesday last week! We had a small "party" for her on Saturday with my parents and a couple of friends.  Very simple but nice.  I decided to be useful and made her invitations, birthday cake, banner, and party hat.  I searched online for the longest time trying to find cute invitation ideas and they were all the same thing and blah.  I knew I wanted to do something with her hands to document their size but wasn't sure how to incorporate it.  Then an idea came.  I think they turned out cute, although not exactly as I had envisioned.

As for the cake - I made marshmallow fondant, dyed some of it to make the different colors, cut out circles, and voila!  It took forever to make for such a simple cake.  It definitely was not perfect, but not terrible for my first time making and using fondant.  Since the top tier of the cake that was supposed to be for her slid off the oven rack and onto the oven door she only got a slice or cake to eat rather than her own cake.  I think this worked out for the better because she was able to get better handfuls or the cake rather than trying to claw through the fondant.

 She had just woken up from a nap and had this expression like "why is everyone staring at me?"

 Green and pink polka dots to match her dress.

The letters are done in gold glitter.

It's Been One Year

Usually moms tend to say they can't believe their baby is one, but I can.  She is taller, bigger, funnier, smarter, faster, louder (well maybe just as loud as she has always been), and more able.  I just love my little babe and am so blessed that I get to take care of her all day. 

 Anyone who has been around Mercedes for more than a few minutes knows that she is a firework.  She has a very strong personality, short temper, and a determination to get her way.  She can be a bit feisty during the day, but I can't complain too much because she is such a good sleeper. She goes to bed around 6:15 p.m. (I know, crazy but she's so ready for bed then and I don't mind) and wakes up around 6:40 a.m. and she takes two 1.5 hour naps a day.  Her feet are looking beautiful and correcting so well. 

I'm not sure if this is typical of babies but she LOVES ANIMALS. Obsessed. I have no clue where she gets this from because it is definitely not from Eric or me.  One of my favorite things she does is talk to the animals we pass by throughout the day.  She hears or sees a bird, dog, cat, squirrel, whether it's real or a stuffed animal and she immediately begins squawking "gwa-gwa-gwa" (that's her "animal" talk).  It's amazing how quickly she notices an animal.  I hardly ever recognize the birds over head or the ones in the planters on my way into a store, but she will instantly.  After shopping at Michael's the other day, I found myself inside the Petco that was next door.  I normally would NEVER step foot in any pet store for fear it would smell like animals and make me gag.  But here I was showing her the parakeets, guinea pigs, rats, mice, and whatever other rodents they had just to watch her smile and squeal in delight.  The things we do for our kids....

One Year Old Summary:

• 29 inches - current length
• 21.5 lbs. - current weight
• 4 mos. - rolled over day before turned 4 mos.
• 5 mos. - crawled backwards
• 6 mos. - crawled forward & clapping on que
• 8 mos. - pull herself up & stand up & "da-da"
• 11 mos - walks with help holding her hands
• Says: dada, da-ee (doggie), na-na (no no), ah ga (all gone), haaa (hi)
• Favorite things: her blanket, this brown bear stuffed animal, Little People farm house, hippo push toy thing, hair clips, keys, her vitamins (sick), cell phones, the car steering wheel, being outside, trying to pick up ants, teeth getting brushed animals, trying to walk, dancing & shaking her tush, eating oranges and tangerines - she's addicted!!
• Dislikes: the Roomba iRobot (terrified of it), water dumped on her face when taking a bath, blankets on her legs, the sound of my parents house phone ringing, grass, getting rubbed with lotion or sunscreen, sitting still, her Bumbo, being told "no", drinking out of a straw, getting her diaper changed, long carseat rides,

Happy Holidays

We hope you had a great Christmas and New Year!  We spent our holidays in Wyoming, Utah, and California.  It was crazy, busy, fun!  Here is the holiday card we never sent out.  I wanted a professional picture so I could make a cute card and we didn't end up taking any so I felt silly sending out my makeshift one where none of us look too hot.

P.S. My baby will be turning ONE years old in about two weeks.  I can't believe it!

To Make Bread - or - NOT?

Doesn't that look delicious?  

I'm considering getting a bread maker machine.  I've never used one and I don't make bread regularly with pans or anything, but would like to start making homemade bread.  It's tastier, healthier, and cheaper - so why not?!  My sister makes bread all the time without a bread machine and it is fabulous...I just don't know if I have the baking skills for that.  Do you have one or know someone who does and just love it?  Which kind is it - if you recommend it?  Any downsides to a machine vs. by hand?

Thanks :)

It's that time of year

 

I am actually going to send out Christmas/New Years cards this year....I guess that's what you do when you have a baby right?  I know I have a lot of your mailing addresses, but just in case would you please email me your address or if you don't mind posting it in the comments, feel free to do that too!  Thanks!

ehlaidlaw@gmail.com