Sweet, sweet summer

So, tomorrow is the last day of summer. As I look back on our summer, I have to say that it's probably the best summer I have had! Last summer, Adilyn and I were kind of trapped in the house because she was so tiny. We didn't really travel, and we were pretty boring. This summer was ridiculous. We took three vacations, went on two airplane rides, had lots of fun at the pool, hung out with our friends, and had lots of fun together! There were some days that Adilyn drove me absolutely crazy. There were some days that I couldn't wait until her bedtime, but the majority of days were filled with wonderful times and beautiful memories. I am so glad I am a teacher and that I have these times with her. The thought of having to give up all those precious times made me really sad last week. As I was getting depressed about having to leave her, she began her reign of holy terror; she started getting so silly. Touching all the buttons on the tv, throwing all the clothes out of the drawers, playing in the dogs' water...every little thing that she knew she wasn't supposed to do. I think it was her way of showing me that I would have a really hard time being a stay at home mom. I just don't have the patience that you need to have for that job!

Adilyn, Mom, and I in Oklahoma - our last trip of the summer.

Summer Fun!

Whoa, where do I even begin....

Although I haven't been working this summer, I seem to be busier than ever! We have been traveling, putting in new floors, visiting friends, and having so much fun. I will try to summarize all of our adventures as best I can...

Michigan

Cory, Adilyn, and I all traveled to Michigan to visit my mom's side of the family in June. It was Adilyn's first flight, and we were both pretty nervous about how she would do. Besides the fact that she kept throwing all of her toys around, she did surprisingly well. We brought her favorite toy of the moment, the rubber duck, and we had to make a few strategic duck rescues when she decided to chunk it down. All in all, the first flight went well.

We stayed at my aunt's house on Lake Fenton, and we got to do so many fun things. Some of Adilyn's firsts...riding on a boat, wearing a life jacket, riding on a paddle boat, seeing real ducks, touching a fish, swimming in a lake, seeing horses, playing with her little cousins, and more. We had a great time, and she seemed to love every minute of it. I was worried about how she would sleep, but she took crazy long naps and slept through the night just fine. It was a great first family trip, and I feel so lucky to have such a great extended family that lets us come visit and have amazing experiences for us and for Adilyn.

Here are some pictures of her Michigan adventures:

ON THE BOAT

DRIVING THE BOAT WITH DADA

SWIMMING IN THE LAKE


Our plane trip home was even easier. She slept for a little while and was very chilled out. I did go to change her diaper, and she didn't like that too much. She was screaming in there, but I didn't think anything of it because I thought the planes were pretty loud. Anyway, I got back to the seat and I said to Cory, "That was traumatic!" He replied, "Yeah, I heard." We were on row 15...which means at least the whole back half of the plane heard. They probably thought that I was abusing her back there! =) The ride home in the car was a different story. We didn't get in until 10pm or so, and she screamed and screamed all the way home. We didn't mind too much, at least it was only us suffering, and not a whole plane full of people!

Leakey, TX - The Frio River

Our next adventure was going to Leakey to visit the Ruizs. We stayed at Jessica's grandparents' house. We try to get all the college roomies together there at least once a summer, and it was great that everyone could be there for the 4th of July. We had 6 kiddos age 4 and under there, so it was quite a crowd! It was beautiful chaos, though. I am so glad after all these years that we are still able to have such a great relationship. Heather, Jessica, Jackie, and I have been friends for 11 years now! That doesn't happen very often these days, and I feel blessed that it happened with us!

Thank goodness for Heather entertaining Adilyn in the backseat on the entire 4 hour ride up there! She just doesn't like being trapped in the car, I suppose. On the way home we smartened up and went back at night. Adilyn slept most of the way, which was much easier to deal with!

SWIMMING IN THE FRIO

The Baby Crew - Ella (22 months), Jace (almost 4), Olivia (almost 4), Sara Beth (7 months), Amber (2 1/2), Adilyn (13 months)

Adilyn looks so lonely with no siblings... =)

South Dakota

Our most recent adventure was going to South Dakota to visit some old friends - Kai, Justin, and their baby boy, Kadin. This time it was just Addy and I, the fearsome twosome. We had a two hour flight to Denver, a lay over, and then our final leg to Rapid City. I was a little nervous about the flight because when it was Cory and I, she just kind of went back and forth to both of us. Now, it was going to be just me and a stranger. We got on the flight and there were two super nice guys about my age next to us. I warned them that she may grab them or hit them (because that what she does these days), and I apologized ahead of time. Lo and behold, she did get a little grabby and a little restless. She cried a little bit, but I tried to keep her quite by continually shoving food in her mouth! I'm such a great mom. =) Anyway, the flight went well, we got to Denver, ate some food and had a little run around time. The flight to Rapid was super fast and again, we sat next to a really nice guy, so it went pretty easy.

Our week in South Dakota was filled with beautiful views, bike rides, walks in the mountains, site seeing, and hanging out. Again, we had an amazing time.

One funny thing was that Kai and I took the babies for a bike ride. I couldn't get clipped in the pedal, so we finally stopped to see what was wrong. Well, I finally got it in, but wasn't really ready for it and I fell over. Keep in mind, I was stopped on the side of the road, but fell over. Of course, I yelled and cussed, but was laughing too. Adilyn freaked out! She was in the bike trailer behind me, but she was completely fine. I just think it scared her to see me fall. We kept going because I thought she would be fine...well, ten minutes later I'm still dragging this screaming baby behind me. I was beginning to feel like I was torturing her, so we had to turn around. She eventually calmed down, and I must admit that I was kind of glad because that bike up the canyon was pretty much kicking my butt! =)

After the fall...

Addy and Kadin at Custer State Park

Adilyn and I in Spearfish Canyon

The last leg of our journey was not so happy. On the flight from Denver to Houston, she started out great. She fell asleep before we even took off. I thought I was golden...until we got about 45 minutes into the flight. Something startled her awake, and she was evidently NOT ready to wake up yet. She couldn't go back to sleep and proceded to make the next hour and a half a living hell for me! She screamed and was super grumpy, she wanted to touch everything she couldn't (the guy next to us, the guy's hair in front of us, the flight attendant call button, etc). She would throw little mini tantrums everytime I told her no. Finally she was entertained by putting vanilla wafers in a cup of water, getting them all super mushy, and then eating them or giving them to me or the guy next to us. By the time we landed I felt like I had nilla wafer mush all over me. It was a stressful end to a fun week, but I have to remember - she's just one and she's doing the best she can.

The Birthday Party...

Adilyn's first birthday party was so much fun! It was a lot of preparation, but it was so worth it in the end. So many family members and friends came out to celebrate with us, it was amazing! I was a little worried about Adilyn's mental status because she failed to take her morning nap before the party. When we first got there, she went to the park area with Mimi and Pops, and they let her swing for a while, which she loves. We ate lunch, and then got into the cake. I kept watching her thinking that any moment might be the moment that she would explode, but she hung in there. She had a fantastic time playing in her cake. I don't know what she liked more - making a mess or her first taste of sugar! Probably a close tie! I was trying to move things along because it was ridiculously hot, and I felt like Adilyn was a ticking time bomb. I wanted to go out on a high note, so we got to the gifts quick. She got a little fussy, but then a toy caught her attention (thank goodness), and she was successfully distracted for the duration. By the end of all the presents, I looked down at her, and even though she had about 10 brand new toys all around her, she was happily playing with a ribbon...again, it's the "non-toys" that make the best toys! =)

Making a mess is so exciting!!!!

All done!

Ahhh...what a day, what a day!

The Little One is 1!!!

So, today was the first day of summer, but even more momentous and exciting was that it was Adilyn's first birthday. The sweet girl slept in until 9:30 this morning, I love that she's a sleeper! Anyway, I thought it was ironic because that was almost exactly what time she was born. Here is a picture of her with a huge smile on her face to greet me this morning!

To celebrate, we took her to ihop (okay, to be honest, since Adilyn just eats yogurt and cereal for breakfast, it was really for Cory and I to celebrate surviving our first year of parenthood!). We just hung out for the rest of the day, but I felt very reflective. Almost every time I would look at her, I was just flooded with memories from throughout the last year. I remembered all those late nights waking up with her. Trying to comfort her when she was sick. Not knowing what in the heck I was doing while I was giving her a bath, or changing her cloths. Driving around aimlessely because I didn't want her to wake up if the car stopped. The first time she smiled at me. The first time she sat up by herself. The first time she laughed. The first time she crawled...so many things have happened this year, I can hardly even keep it straight in my own head! I have loved being Adilyn's mama, and I don't think that I was whole before she came into my life. Stealing the line from Tom Cruise - she has truly completed me. Although, there have been days when I wondered what in the world I had gotten myself into - more often than not the days have been filled with pride, joy, and love for this little person that I get to hang out with forever! She is amazing, and I feel like I am so incredibly lucky because I get to be a part of her life.

Here are some more pictures from her birthday. Her party will be on Saturday, so of course, there will be even more pictures then!

Her gourmet dinner...chicken, peas, cheese, and pears. Who could ask for anything more?

In her pj's... the day coming to an end...we wanted to get her holding the #1 - how symbolic and how ridiculously impossible! So, I had to hold it...you take what you can get with a crazy one year old!

Some weekends are better than others

Last weekend was a great one! My dad and Kris came down to visit on Friday and Saturday, then my mom came down Saturday night and Sunday. It was so nice to see them all. It's harder than I thought it would be to live away from them now that we have Adilyn. Sometimes I feel guilty that they can't see her as much as they would like to, but then I really believe that everything happens for a reason, so I know that we are in Houston for some reason. I'm sure one day that will become more apparent. For now, when we are together, I just try to enjoy each moment as much as I possibly can.


On Saturday, Adilyn took her first "no-hands" steps. She was walking from Kris to Cory, and she took off - after about 3 steps just fell forward into Cory's arms. We all laughed and clapped, and she looked so proud. The problem was that I think she thought that we were clapping for her falling, so that's what she kept doing. Still, it was exciting to see her trying new things.




Sunday morning came along, and I was going to do a triathlon. It was an hour drive away, and we had to be there by 6am. We got Adilyn up super early and threw her in the carseat in her pj's. Once we got there, Cory and Mom stayed in the car while Adilyn got some extra z's...I finished the triathlon (without dying), hung around there, had some lunch, and we went home. Long story short, Adilyn was super cranky all day. She was whiny and all she wanted was for me to hold her. She went to sleep pretty early, and I had intended on leaving her at home in the morning to let her sleep in a little. I called Cory on Monday morning at 9:30 and she was still asleep! She did not wake up until 10:00 that morning! She almost slept for 14 straight hours, poor sleepy girl.


I guess all that walking, cheering for her mama at the triathlon, and having fun with all the grandparents really wore her out!

My First Mama's Day

My Mother's Day started with Cory going upstairs to get Adilyn when she woke up, so I could sleep in. Of course, when given the opportunity, no matter how hard I try, I cannot sleep in...Reluctantly, I got up, and we decided to go to breakfast at IHop, my favorite. It was crazy busy, but we were ready for it. Adilyn was in a really good mood at breakfast, keeping everyone around us entertained. After breakfast, Adilyn and I decided to go on a bike ride in the neighborhood - she really likes taking rides in her new bike trailer. We stopped at the park and played around there a little bit, she kept wanting to give me the pebbles, sweet girl. After that, we hung out at the house for the rest of the day, which is exactly what I wanted to do. My idea of a perfect Mother's Day this year was to hang out with Adilyn and just relax...it was everything that I wanted it to be.

The Last Hoorah!

Every night after Adilyn's bath we have one last little play time. She should probably go straight to bed because she's tired, but she's so silly I hate to put her down. She crawls around, giggles, and buries her head in the pillows or blankets that are around. She'll "help" with cleaning up, which really means that she just throws all her toys out of the box when I put them in there. If the dogs are around, she plays with them. She'll crawl over to Willow, reach her hand out to touch her, and then squeal and run away when Willow turns and licks her. I love that time because sometimes she will start giggling uncontrollably, and that makes me laugh, too. It's great to end your day with that much joy. =)