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This blog challenge is brought to you from Kristin. Please head over to her site to get weekly challenges that are suppose to be posted every Saturday, but as you can see, I was totally late this week. Sorry, K!
Anyways, this week the theme is A Picture Worth A Thousand Words. (which means I do no talking) So here you go:
I feel entirely guilty for what I had to do today.
We had some unexpected expenses that came up, causing a short fall in funding this past week.
Well, we also happened to run out of milk and bread today, which is of course a big deal when you have a 15 month old who loves her milk and a 4 1/2 year old who adores his PB&Js.
I broke into my children’s piggy banks. Something I promised that I would never do. When I put money into those little piggies, I make a silent vow to my children and allow that change to become theirs.
Today, I felt like a bad Mommy.
But I also learned today that there are some sacrifices that must be made in order to keep your children happy and healthy. There are things in life that are out of my control, as much as I wish them not to be. That family is meant to be there for one another, no matter what. They don’t understand how they are helping, or even realize that they did.
There is an IOU in each of their piggy banks today because combined, I owe my babies $6.25. And come next week, when the funds aren’t so tight, and I can breathe again, they will be repaid for allowing Mommy to use their money to buy bread, milk and “eeeshies (pictured below).”
It’s with a bittersweet taste in my mouth, and a certain heaviness in my heart that I type this post.
Just yesterday it feels like I was pregnant with my sweet baby, Ariana. In the blink of an eye she was rolling, smiling, crawling, even cooing.
The next moment she was standing, walking on her own, giggling. How soon following she started saying “dada” then “mama” and then “uh-oh.” Now she says “bite,” “budder” (brother), “GO!,” “Tink eww,” (thank you) and so much more!!
Now, she can almost run, and really tries her hardest to jump. She dances, sings (which is more of a hum), and has her own personality. She even drinks from a grown-up cup sometimes!
Falling at about the 70th percentile for both her height and weight, I imagine she will be tall and lean. This, no doubt, has been the
genes on her father’s side of the pool. As a matter of fact, most of her physical features have come from her father, aside from her deep blue eyes which are a very dominant trait on my side of the family. Oh yes, and the size of her head is for sure inherited from me, since she is in the 95th percentile there.
What I’m trying to get at is that my daughter…. my baby…… is growing up. She is a toddler. As
overwhelming as all of this is for a Mommy like me, it also opens new doors and opportunities. She can run and giggle and play with her big brother, who adores her so much.
They are pretty much amazing together.
I hate that she isn’t a baby anymore, but I love and adore the toddler she has become!
My baby had to have 5 (yes FIVE) shots on Monday. One on each arm, one on her left leg, and two on her right.
Yet, she seems unfazed, doesn’t she?
You can find more WW at 5 Minutes for Mom, J. Leigh Designz, Mrs. Cox Slice of Heaven, and WW home !!
This is one of my “formal” attempts at trying silhouette photography.
Thoughts? Opinions? Tips? Anything helps! I think silhouette photographs are spectacular and really want to sharpen my skills.
Yayyyyy for Monday Mingle!!!!!!!!!
“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
– Anne Geddes
When you came into my life, not so long ago, I didn’t know what to expect. You had said you weren’t sure about having children, yet you knew Konnor was my life. You not only accepted Konnor, but took to him. Even if you never said it, you could just tell that you adored him. He may not have been yours but since you walked into our lives, you have been like a dad to him.
It wasn’t long after we began our journey in life that we found out we were expecting. Scared at first, I could tell you weren’t ready for a baby of your own. That’s okay, who really is 100% ready until their brand new baby is placed into their arms? That’s how it went, too. Up until she was born, I’m not sure it really sank in that we were going to have a baby.
June 
of 2009 came far too quick, and when you held our little princess in your arms for the first time, you were scared. But you were also so very happy. It was then I knew you were cut out to be a Daddy, you just needed to be there before you could fully take on the role.
From diapers to tears, spit up and giggles, you have done it all. In the last year you have grown and learned so much from Ariana. Not only are you cut out for this Daddy business but you rock it, babe! You interact with her and Konnor and adore them both so much.
You are an amazing father, Justin. You love your baby girl so much, and love Konnor too. It really does take someone special to be a Daddy, and you are indeed someone special.
I love you! Happy Father’s Day!
Love,
Me
Every child ne
eds a stuffed animal. A snuggle buddy. You know, something to curl up with in bed, to hold when you are sick, or even for a long car ride to visit relatives a state away. I’m sure each and every one of my readers have had, at some point in their life, such a stuffed friend.
Thanks to Build-A-Bear, Ariana now has one. Their new (and limited edition) Zoorrific Collection has all new animals to choose from, and let me tell you – they are ADORABLE!!! Ranging from $16-$20, these make for an affordable gift for any child, young or old. Whether you have a baby who enjoys soft, cuddly toys, or you have a 10 year old whose favorite animal is a Flamingo, Build-A-Bear’s Zoorrific Collection is bound to be a hit!
Ariana received the Giraffe, which is 19 inches in height. Not too big, and not too small, she took to this stuffed animal right away. The neck of the giraffe is long and slender, making a perfect area for Ariana to wrap her little arm around and snuggle her new friend. Not only that, but Build-A-Bear’s animals are so very soft
.
Naturally, if you want to dress up your new zoo friends, they have a ton of options in their Clothing and Accessories section. From adorable dresses, to pants, sunglasses, and shoes, there is literally everything you can think of to put onto your furry companion.
Now, generally with limited edition items, you get some special offers and incentives to go along with it, yes? Indeed you do, and this, my friends, is no exception. For one, if you purchase a Zoorrific Collection Furry Friend between 6/4 and 6/13 (only a couple more days), you will receive a reusable backpack for both your furry friend and yourself! Also, between now and 6/30, Build-A-Bear is hosting a Zoorrific Orlando Sweepstakes (click on the link for more information). And finally, after receiving your Zoorrific Collection Furry Friend, you can head over to Build-A-Bearville where you will have exclusive access to the new Zoo & a free Zoo Ride for your avatar.
Want to know what the best part about this review is?? Well, Build-A-Bear has graciously decided to allow me to host a giveaway on my blog! I’m ecstatic!!!!!
Mandatory Entry:
Visit Build-A-Bear Zoorrific Collection’s website and tell me which animal you would like to win and why.
Extra Entries:
Additional entries (each are worth one extra entry, unless stated otherwise):
Happy Birthday to my sweet sweet baby, Ariana!
She turned one last Friday, and so we had her birthday party over the weekend. The following picture will give you an idea of how all THAT went down…………….
She didn’t touch her cake.
She didn’t care about her presents.
She did eat some pizza.
Didn’t care about who was there.
And who had the bright idea of singing?!
Ariana’s top right tooth is coming in and, apparently, having a birthday party during that phase of teething was a really bad idea.
Well, now that I have exhausted my “Wordless” Wednesday post, go check out some others.
You can find WW at 5 Minutes for Mom, J. Leigh Designz, and Extraordinary Mothers !!
Well it was here. The sun has now begun to set, so we say good-bye. For tomorrow, there shall be rain. Again. In June..
Anyone else see something very wrong with that… There should never be rain in June. However, I am an Oregonian, and when you live in Oregon, things like rain in June, while very annoying, can be considered semi-normal.
I hope all of my fellow Oregonians got out and enjoyed the sun today. Tomorrow, like I said, brings rain, again. Then we are suppose to have a couple nice days, followed by yet more………….. yes, you guessed it, RAIN!!!
Really, I just wanted to share a couple pictures of our fun in the sun today. Ariana and I ventured out with one of my BFF’s and her son to a playground to get out and enjoy the sun!
The little boy in the right picture is my BFF’s son.
Sometimes I wonder how I have let the last year slip away. 365 days since you were born, but I remember that day. Embedded among my memories are painful contractions, a half faulty epidural, and t
he worst pain ever. Clear as day are the memories of your heartbeat on the monitor to the moment they placed you on my chest, and the peace that came over both of us as nearly an hour passed with us staring at each other.
All my life, I wanted a baby girl. One I could dress up in frilly dresses, tights, and hair bows and ties. For now, you let me. I imagine that as you get older, you will grow tired of Mommy constantly fussing with your hair, or making you get into those adorable dresses. When you outgrow it all, it will be okay. We are making memories, my Little Love.
You adore your big brother so much. And yes, he adores you as well. He protects you and plays with you. He has always been so fascinated with you. Watching you and him grow together this last year has made my heart swell. I can only hope the two of you remain close, protective of one another, and get along always.
In the past 365 days, you have:
There is honestly so much more that you have done that I can’t even name.
Each day you change ju
st a little bit. Each day I fall a little bit more in love with you. Would it be bias of me to say I think you are perfect? Even if it is, I will say it anyways. You are everything I ever imagined my baby girl would be.
I wish the time wouldn’t go by so fast. With every moment that passes, and each new thing you do or say, I try my hardest to live in the moment. My attempts to stop time have been unsuccessful. I promise you this though – pictures last forever. Each picture is a moment in time captured that can (and will) be relived over and over.
So I take pictures. Lots of them. Here are some of my favorites over the last year.
Ariana Lin, I love you soooo much! Happy Birthday to you! Here are to many many more years worth of memories and birthdays to come.
Love,
Your Mommy
Want more Wordless Wednesday?
Check out 5 Minutes for Mom, J. Leigh Designz, and Extraordinary Mothers !!
I realize that Mother’s Day was three weeks ago now, but between vacation and the writer’s block, I can not, for the life of me, bring myself to blog. For that, I apologize. I haven’t done a Monday Mingle, a Post It Note Tuesday, OR a Wordless Wednesday, all of which I enjoy very much. I hope that the illness that is causing my lack of writing goes away soon.
Anyways, back to Mother’s Day…. I just wanted to brag a moment by showing you what my son made me in preschool. I just love it!
While I’m not positive what it will grow into, it doesn’t matter. This is my first real Mother’s Day present from my baby. The preschool Konnor attends is big on arts & crafts. For Christmas, they allowed the children to decorate a picture frame. Using a simple hand print and a picture of each child, they created something like that of a scrapbook page. I will always have Konnor’s hand, age 4, framed with his smiling face the day he made it.
That isn’t all that I got for Mother’s Day. Well it is, but my daughter’s present won’t come for a few weeks yet. So here is a preview of what I will be getting, when I do get it. My mom, on my first Mother’s Day after I had Konnor, had his pictures taken in an Oregon Ducks (my favorite college football team) outfit. I had absolutely no idea she had done it until it was done. 
She wasn’t able to get Ariana away to do the same this year, but she already has the outfit picked out. So one day in the near future, Ariana and Gamma have a date to have her pictures taken. Yeah, my mom pretty much rocks!
Overall, Mother’s Day was calm, peaceful, and spent with the people in my life that I love. Thank you Mommy for being there always! Big thank you to my little sis for making us breakfast. And to everyone who wished me a Happy Mother’s Day – THANK YOU!!!
Ariana’s first tooth (bottom left center) poked through at the end of April, almost 11 months after she was born. Two days of a cranky, crabby, feverish, sick baby reminded me how lucky I had it with Konnor. You didn’t know that kid was getting teeth until he bit you with one of his new ones. They didn’t bother him at all. Ariana? Total opposite. Waiting for that tooth to break through was a nightmare.
Most of her baby friends already have 3, 4, 5, even SIX teeth! So Ariana’s ONE wasn’t too much to be excited about. I mean, it was obviously a sign of her growing up, not being so much a baby anymore, and all things related to such a depressing subject.
Now, her top left tooth has broken through the gums. This one I knew was coming. I could see her little gums were swollen as early as a week before our vacation. Both the top ones were coming in. I just knew that she was going to be cranky, crabby, sick, while we were on vacation. So I made sure that the orajel, teething tablets, and chew toys went with us. Were close by at all times.
Yet, while we were away, she wasn’t fussy. Nor was she crabby or sick like she was with the first tooth. So I figured the two top teeth had moved back up and weren’t causing her any issues.
Tonight, I noticed it. A week after returning from vacation, and there is the top left tooth. Plain as day. It broke through, and we didn’t even notice!
So, does that mean that teething is down hill from here? Sheesh, I sure hope so!!!!
