Easter 2010 - Part II

As promised, here are the pictures from Easter Sunday. They are so good, I felt they called for a post all of their own.


Heading to church...

I think this is my favorite...

Although, this one is pretty good too. Oh that little face...

A family portrait...

We hope everyone had a great Easter! Welcome Spring!

Easter 2010

(Yes, I made this cake. More on that in a later post)

Boy what a difference a year makes! This was Mia last Easter...

This was her this Easter...




Easter weekend was fantastic. And super busy.

We went to our neighbor's Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Mia's first Easter egg hunt. She had a blast. She didn't care much about the Easter eggs. She would rather play with the rocks, but she had a great time anyway.



The Easter Bunny made an appearance. Mia is such a brave girl. Didn't even flinch. He looked a little scary to me...


A look of confusion "what am I supposed to be doing?"...

This is a staged photo taken just after she was handed an egg. We tried and tried, but in the end she just didn't really care about the eggs...


Eventually, she decided to take Daddy for a walk. Toward more rocks. See her pointing? Yea, that's for the rocks she sees up ahead...


Then came the baby ducks....

This is what I love about her. She has no fear. When I was a kid, I probably would have been terrified of these cute, harmless little duckies. But our Mia handles them without trepidation...
After the hunt, we went home for a long nap and to prepare for the next day's activities. Easter Sunday we got all gussied up and headed for church. I am proud to say we actually made it to the early church service with no hiccups. After church we hosted the Easter dinner for the Schnelle family. Not all the family was able to make it. They were greatly missed, but we had a great time talking and eating yummy food. Unfortunately, nasty storms were headed our way and our day was cut short. I don't know where my mind was, but it was not on taking pictures of Easter dinner. However, we did get some incredible photos of Mia in her Easter dress at church.

Mia looked absolutely adorable in her Easter dress. We got some incredible pictures. But you will have to come back tomorrow to see!

Big Birthday Bash

Yes, it's the much anticipated Birthday Bash Blog!! What a crazy couple of weeks it has been. A little overshadowed by the death of our dear Linus, but amidst our tragedy we did have a fantastic time celebrating Mia's big milestone with friends and family.

Her birthday party was a blast! Despite the late season blizzard that hit on the very day of her party, everyone still came out to celebrate. Thankfully, the Denverites and other travelers all made it ahead of the storm. We had all the grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends there. About 30 people. It was standing room only in our house.

Mia did wonderfully. She totally loved being the center of attention. Never getting overwhelmed with all the people and goings on.

Check out the pictorial review:

Mia had a little butterfly smash cake all to herself. The girl hardly made a mess of her cake. So dainty....

Then it was time for presents...

And oh.....were there presents....

Even Cheyenne wanted in on the action...

Took a little time for Grandpa...

Yep, Mia is one lucky little girl! So many people love her dearly. We cannot express our thanks to everyone who braved the weather to be with us on that special day.

It was so much fun!

Maybe next year the sun will be out.

In Memoriam

Yesterday, we lost a dear member of our family. A freak accident took the life of our young and loving cat Linus.

What happened is a mystery. My mother and I were on our way to run a quick errand. We were driving down our dirt road out to the highway. As we made it around the last bend about a mile from our house, I noticed a dead cat on the side of the road. Unfortunately, this is not an unusual sight in this part of the world. Nevertheless, I always notice them and say a little prayer. On this day, however, I noticed the cat looked a lot like our Linus, but I knew it couldn't be since he never strayed far from our house, and he NEVER would be anywhere near where cars were. But as we passed this cat, that is when I saw the red collar and there was no question.

Our cats always wear collars so that people will know they are not strays. I never imagined it would serve the purpose it did yesterday. To identify beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was my cat. He was just 4 years old.

The question will always remain. What happened?? I can't believe he was hit by a car even though his location would lend itself to that explanation. But what was he doing that far from the house? Did he chase something there? Was he chased there? Was he killed by a dog and carried there? Could he have gotten into some poison somehow and wandered there disoriented?

We will never know. All we know is that we lost a wonderful pet, friend, and companion to us all. We are all heart-broken.

Rest in Peace, my Linus-bubba....

Surviving the First Year

Our little munchkin is about to turn one! 1! Yes, I will say it again. ONE YEAR OLD!

I just can't believe it. It seems like ages ago that I gave birth to that beautiful child, but at the same time it seems just like yesterday.

As the big day approaches, and as I plan the big Happy-Birthday-Mia-We-Made-It-And-We-Are-Still-Alive party, I have been reflecting on the last year and thinking about the things that made our lives easier and kept us from losing our minds. The first year is certainly a huge learning experience.

So, I thought I would share a list of the things we couldn't have made it without:

SwaddleMe blankets - These things were awesome. Mia always broke out of her regular blanket swaddles through the night and these things stayed in place. We never had to worry about loose blankets and suffocation. Plus, they kept her nice and cozy and secure.

( sorry for the model baby. For some reason, I don't have a picture of Mia in her swaddle)

Itz-Been - This little gadget makes an awesome gift especially for the breastfeeding mother. Even though I couldn't breast feed like I planned, this sucker was a sanity saver in those early days when you are so sleep deprived you couldn't remember your own name, let alone the last time the baby was fed. This thing give you the time between feedings, diaper changes, naps, and meds. Plus, if you are breast feeding, it has a switch that lets you know which side you used last feeding.

This Book - Hands down, this little book was the best thing we used all year. I kid you not, during those awful colic months, the strategies in this book were the cure. As soon as we applied them, it was like a switch was flipped. After a couple of weeks of poor Mia's wails and our stress increasing by the day, we couldn't get this book fast enough. As soon as it came in the mail, we ripped it open and, while Mia wailed, Gabe quickly skimmed though the book and read all the important stuff. We followed each step and within minutes we found instant relief. GET THIS BOOK for anyone having a baby. Trust me. They will love you forever.

Baby Bjorn - Probably the second biggest help to us was this thing. Actually, it was more of a help for Gabe than me. For months, he would put Mia in it every night during her fussiest time (right before bed). He would pace the basement for an hour every night and Mia was happy as a clam. It allowed all of us to relax a bit after a long day. To this day, Gabe will pull it out in an emergency despite the fact that she is so heavy I think it is going to bust at the seams.
Bumbo - Many, many days, the Bumbo allowed me to get things done around the house while keeping Mia happy. It really helped her gain strength to be able to sit on her own too. We definitely got a lot of use out of this puppy. Again, a great gift.

Mesh bags - Oh boy, don't leave home without them! It's all about pacifying the kiddo, and these things do the job. Before they are able to eat solid foods, you can stick different kinds of food in these little mesh bags (apples, bananas, pears...etc) and they can mash it up with their gums and suck out the pulp through the mesh. These are a big help when you want to go out to eat or have long drives in the car. It keeps them busy and feels good on their teething gums. Now that she is older, she doesn't have much interest in them anymore, but they were great while they lasted.

Binkies - These need no explanation. Love 'em. Some people are against these suckers (no pun intended), but they are life savers to us.
Pooh Blankies - Oh how Mia loves her Pooh blankies. We got one as a gift and she loved it so much we went and bought three more. She can't go to sleep without snuggling with it. It is definitely her "woobie". Now, one has a permanent home at her daycare. In fact, just today, her sitter told me that she cannot live without it. And don't even think of trying to a look-alike. She knows her woobies. I know we will have the "woobie" talk someday (a little throw back to an 80's flick - can you remember?).

Halo SleepSacks - once Mia outgrew her swaddle blankets around 3 months, I still didn't feel comfortable using loose blankets on her. These are the perfect solution. They provide the warmth of the blanket, without the worry of suffocation. I never have to worry about it coming loose and inadvertently getting around her face. The fleece one is plenty warm enough on a cold night and the organic cotton ones are nice and cool for the hot days. We still use these today and probably will for a while. They are a little pricey, but definitely worth the money for the peace of mind.

Binkie + Sleepsack + Pooh Blankie = Trifecta

(she looks kinda weird here. She just woke up from her nap and wasn't happy about a camera in her face.)

And finally,

My Husband - I thank God everyday for this man. He is my best friend, my soul mate, and my savior over the last 12 months. He stepped up and took the reins the first six weeks while I was so sick from the terrible rash I got from my epidural. He stayed up through the night with Mia so I could get some sleep and heal. He suffered through the majority of Mia's colic episodes while I was a blubbering, hormonal mess. He takes over every week night so I can get dinner ready and take a break, and makes sure I can sleep in on the weekends and refuel for the next week. I couldn't have asked for a better husband/father. I certainly have a new respect for single mom's. I don't know how they do it and keep their sanity.

And there you have it! Our must-have list for baby's first year. Whew.