12 Month Well

Irelyn,

At 12 months you weigh 25 lbs and 13 oz! WOW! And you are 31 inches tall!  You are in the 95%, so you are bigger than 95% of all other 1 year olds!
The doctor gave you a Clifford book.  She is very proud of your walking, and pointing, that you like to bring us things to show us, your whole milk drinking, drinking out of a cup, and your overall health is great! 
You received shots.  We both shed a few tears this time, but as soon as Mommy picked you up you were happy.  Well, as long as I did not put you back down.  You are never as cuddly as you were there except when you are sleeping!  Mommy did like that part. 
You also had blood drawn from your finger.  I cannot believe how good you were for this.  You just sat there.  I thought you might fall asleep you were so quiet and still.  It took a while for her to squeeze all the blood she needed out of your finger.  She said you were the best baby ever!  And you know what?  I think so too!!

Love,
Mommy

Busy Birthday

Today is Iley's actual birthday!!

I took the day off of work to spend with her.  It didn't start out so well.  I tried for awhile now to think of something we could do together that was a little special.  I never really came up with anything.  But, this morning I thought- what does she love?  She loves animals so I thought we could go to the Human Society to look at the kitties and puppies.  Well, they were closed.  I should have checked the hours first.  So, I thought I would go get her this outdoor toy I want her to have that I have seen at Target- sold out.  We ended up going to the library, but she fell about a million times and got pretty crabby about it.

I should of known a day with Mommy at home would have been just fine with her.  Once we got home she was happy and we had a good afternoon. 

When Daddy got home we went to Chuck E Cheese to meet both Grandmas and Annette.  We all had a great time!!  She is sound asleep now after a busy 1st birthday!

I have had almost a week off of work and I go back tomorrow- Boo :(. 

Happy Birthday Irelyn!

My baby girl is one year old tomorrow!!  One year ago right now I was probably getting my epidural, while my husband didn't hold my hand because he was going to faint. :)  I did not even feel the epidural because I had constant back pain and constant contractions.  I always thought when labor started it would be that 5-7 minutes apart.  NOT for this girl.  It was BAM you are in labor and you get no relief.  The car ride from Holmen to GL never seemed so long! 7 hours later I was holding the most beautiful little girl in the world and everything was right again in the world :). 

I can not believe what a difference a year makes!!  I was thinking about the beginning of her life a few days ago and Joe and I talked about how we really were just flying by the seat of our pants.  But slowly but surely we are figuring out this whole parenting adventure. 

Irelyn is now at such a cute stage.  She is hilarious and just walks around being cute and funny and making herself laugh.  She loves phones, her baby, music, sitting in her little rocker, and sitting on the "big girl chair" which is our kitchen counter stools. 

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday, March 26.  Princess themed of course! We had the party at our house and had 17 or so adults and about 10 kids under 8.  I made and showed a slide show of pictures of Irelyn from birth until now set to music.  We served hot beef sandwiches, fried green beans, fruit salad, cheeseballs, and cakes. 

We discovered Irelyn is terrified of balloons and also now inflatable balls.  She was a little overwhelmed with all the activity, but hopefully overall she enjoyed herself.  She got lots of great clothes and toys. 

After the party Iley was super happy and back to herself.  I think she looked through all her presents many times.  (except for the scary balls:))  She now loves playing with her magnet barnyard. 

My mom then took Irelyn for the night so we could celebrate Erica's 26th birthday.  Erica and her husband Jud came from Florida to help us celebrate Irelyn's birthday, so I had to plan a celebration for her as well.  We got a group together and had a fun night in downtown La Crosse.  We called my Mother in Law at the end of the night to drive us home.  I say this just to point out that even at 26 you still need your parents and being a parent truly will never end.  And I am just fine with that!! 

MOMMY AND DADDY LOVE YOU SO MUCH IRELYN!!

Cleaning Up

Irelyn has been helping Mommy clean for her birthday party the past couple of days! We also got her 1 year pictures taken.  Which turned out AMAZING! If I must say so myself :).  Check out Sarah Schultz Photography on facebook if you haven't already!  Big birthday party is tomorrow!  I will post pictures probably on Sunday!  We have been having a good time with Irelyn's Godparent's from Florida who came for her birthday.  She is needing a little time to warm up to them because she has not seen them since she was 3 or 4 weeks old.  Just guessing, but I don't think she remembers that :). 

Cleaning out freezer

 

 

 

 

 

Boo Boo

Well the time has come.  Iley had her first nose bleed.  She was walking with her cup and took a little tumble.  Didn't even fall down just smashed her cup into her nose.  She was so tough.  I think I was more concerned than she was. What if it doesn't stop bleeding?  She won't let me clean it?  Is it going to bleed all over?  And then the who do I call?  My mom?  Well she is 25 minutes away what could she do?  The neighbor?  She knows it all she watches Irelyn when I am at work and has kids of her own.  She helps me through alot.  Luckily, it was fine.  My mind just immediately begins to overact.  Typical overprotective mom I guess.  :)  She has never had active bleeding before.

The snow continues to come down.  It has delayed the arrival of our guests from Florida.  I'm really excited to see them!!

Here is my tough little monkey with her first boo boo...

And she is definitely Mommy's daughter.  Here she is with Coach purse, cell phone, and jewelry box in hand.

 

 

Weekend

Saturday....
A friends baby shower gave me a little baby fever, but then having a grill out and having a few with good friends brought it right back down.  Hello Spring!

We tried to switch Irelyn from formula to whole milk, but she got a coughing spell and ending up hurling chunks all over me, her, and the floor.  Worst puke she's ever had in her short little life.  We are now working on a slower approach to switching.  Hopefully THIS will be my last container of formula. 

Irelyn has also recently started shaking her head "no."  Its so cute and funny, but I'm trying to get some "yes" nods in there too.  I had some friends over from college.  One is getting a PTA award.  I was holding Irelyn and said "Mommy should get an award too" and she shook her head no.  Little stinky.  She was definitely the little life of the party and so excited to have people over.  She's such a good girl!

I had to run a couple errands during Irelyn's nap today.  She woke up before I got home.  While I was gone I got a text from her daddy.  Here is what it said "She is walking all over the house going 'Mum, Mum, Mumm, Mummm'.  She's looking for you!"  Melts my heart!!!!  I love her soooo much!

Have a happy Great week!  Less than one week til the birthday party!

St. Patty's Day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day I thought I would share a little bit about.....IRELYN of course!

I first heard the name Irelyn a few years back on a TLC special about quintuplets.  2 were girls, 1 was named Irelyn.  I couldn't tell you any of the other names or anymore about those quints.  But, that name stuck.  I remember the name, but I can't say that I ever thought I would name my own daughter that. 

I actually had the name Kinley in my head long before I met Joe, got married, or pregnant.  Until the very end of my pregnancy it was between those 2 names. Joe never really suggested any names, he only would veto some of the names I came up with.

We did not share our baby names with anyone.  We wanted that to be a surprise and did not want others to influence us. We were pretty set on naming our baby Irelyn, but I said I had to see her in person before I could 100% give her that name. 

I remember thinking if she was born on St. Patrick's Day it was definitely going to be Irelyn.  But that came and went and the longest 2-3 weeks of my life continued.  (she was due March 21st)

Well the day finally came and I specifically remember holding my baby girl with Joe standing over us on my right side.  A nurse asked me her name.  I looked at Joe thinking we would discuss it and decide and he didn't even look at me.  He looked right at the nurse and said "Irelyn." So that was it, Joe named our baby after all.

I should add Irelyn and I are part Irish.  Joe is not.  So here is the 2 Irish girls on Irelyn's first St. Patty's Day!

She even had a green paci for the day

Riding the pony

Sickness Sucks

While my little Irelyn caught another little bug...  I hate it!  I hate that she can't sleep because she is coughing and there is really nothing I can do about it. I hate the snot dripping out of her nose.  I hate bothering her to wipe it.

On the bright side, she has slept a ton in the past few days, so I got to sleep in a little today.  And, I hope that her recent poor eating habits (i.e. only wants to eat fruit and everything else goes on to the floor) is related to her cold. 

I think collectively this winter we have had maybe a grand total of 10-14 days when none of us were sick. Granted a large part of the time it was always ME!  But, that's okay.  I would rather it be me than Irelyn.  But, she has had her fair share.  Joe gets pretty lucky.  I don't know how he does that.  Overall, I remind myself that things could always be MUCH worse and our little family is still extremely blessed to not have any major health issues or other such drama!

In other news, of course Joe got chosen for jury duty.  He is at the trial today.  I haven't heard from him yet.  We were both hoping it would be done by now.  I also thought they would get a lunch break.  Oh well, Iley and I are hanging out. (I am home because it is Wednesday and it is my day off since I went part time at work).  No big plans today since little one is sick.  Just napping and playing.  Out for dinner later for my sisters birthday. Bamboo House is her choice. Haven't decided yet if Iley will join us or stay home with Dad. 

That's all for now- gotta go check on the poor baby coughing through her nap :(.

Spring Ahead

I've never like the idea of losing an hour of sleep, even less now that I have a baby.

I followed the advice I heard and did NOT change the clocks the night before.  That way I feel that I slept the same amount I would have any normal night.  I changed the clocks around 10am.  Should have changed them while my husband was still sleeping in so he realized how late it was :).

I worried about getting Irelyn on a new schedule.  It went pretty well.  She took her morning nap early (what would have been 8:30, but now technically 9:30) so that worked out to be perfect.  She wasn't to hungry at the "new" lunch time, but we feed her anyways because I was taking her with me to meet a friend at the Home Show.  We walked around there for awhile and visited with our good friend from Hidden Valley Designs!

Then, it was home for nap and then last day of swimming :(.  It was a good 8 weeks and although you can't teach a 1 year old too much about swimming I think it was fun for us to do and get her used to the water.  Really looking forward to going to the beach and outdoor aquatic parks this summer!
Here is a pic of our little water bug

Night time was a little more challenging.  I think it will take a couple days to get her back on track.  Her bedtime is usually no later than 8, but sometimes it is quite a bit earlier.  Tonight it was after 8:30 and still a few tears were shed. 

Atleast the sun stays out longer and appears that spring will eventually return once again.  Fingers crossed!

Oh, one last note.  Since Irelyn is now a big walking girl I suppose I need to put shoes on her.  Which is actually kind of a pain and she doesn't like, but here is my baby in her big girl shoes!

Birthday Preparations

The planning is coming along for Irelyn's very first birthday!!

Today was a good day.  Joe got home last night after being gone all week.  My mom came over to sit while the baby was sleeping and Joe and I got to go out for a little while for a friend's going away party.  Since Joe was gone all week and he normally does get up with Irelyn on Saturdays I got to sleep in! YAY!  Plus she slept till 7 and took great naps, so hopefully back on track with the sleeping.

My mom and I went to the bakery today and decided on the design and everything for the cake.  I'm so excited to see the finished product.  We also went and picked up the rest of the decorations and ordered balloons. 

Since we both work during the week and have company coming next weekend and then more company next Wednesday, Joe's mom took the baby for the rest of the afternoon and evening so we could clean our house.  We got most of it done and then we were able to go out to eat just the 2 of us. 

I'm a little less stressed with the party prep now.  Just have to figure out the menu and food.  That should be my last hurdle.  And a little more cleaning I suppose.  But, overall I am excited and can't wait!

Sleep is Overrated

I guess I can't complain too much.  Overall Irelyn has been a very good sleeper.  But, this past week...man.  It better not be some weird growth spurt, because she is already tall enough!  And aren't babies suppose to sleep more during a growth spurt?  What is it?  Yesterday she took one 1 hour nap so I thought for sure she would sleep good. Wrong.  Up at 5am.  She laid with me for a little while (she is typically not a cuddly baby, but does like to sleep with me), but wouldn't go to sleep.  I decided she has to learn that it is too early, so I put her back in her crib.  She didn't cry, but she talked and whined a little for awhile and I think finally fell back to sleep a little before 6.  Then, she slept til after 7! So, she was obviously still tires. Ridiculous I say.  She has been up at 5:30 or earlier 4/5 days this week.  And of course this is the week I am doing it all alone because my husband is 5 1/2 hours away on business. 
I know it could be alot worse.  She still sleeps through the night and is typically happy during the day.  I was planning to go out for a little while tonight after she goes to bed.  I doubt I will make it much past 10 o clock.  But, daddy is suppose to come home tonight so he can get up tomorrow.  I've earned that much!!

Out to Eat

Ever since we had Irelyn going out to dinner has been..different.

In the beginning we had to try and time it out to make sure she wouldn't be hungry while we were there.  If we did that it wasn't to bad and she would just sit in her car seat.

As she got older and could go longer in between feedings we had more of a window to work with, but then she needed to be more entertained.  But, she was typically content to sit on our laps or in a high chair with something to play with.  We did have to play the drop it on the floor and pick it up game very often though.

Now that she is eating "real" food we have to time it out to make sure she will eat while we are there.  Tonight was the first time I ordered her food from the menu.  My mother-in-law invited us to Panera with her since Joe is out of town and she loves to see Irelyn.  Irelyn normally likes to eat shortly after 5 but I held her off till 6 so we could all eat together.  I ordered her the mac and cheese off the kids menu and she loved it!  (I ate what she couldn't and it was very yummy).  She no longer will eat much baby food nor does she like to be feed.  She is a very independent little lady.  She didn't even want to eat the yogurt (which came in a tube like package) from the spoon because she couldn't do it herself.  If we pushed it out the top of the tube she would then put her mouth on it and eat it.  I do struggle finding things she can feed herself and that she will eat.  The babysitter has good ideas and she does well with her. When we are at home, she tends to hand her food down to the dog when she doesn't want it.  This annoys me, but I don't really know how to prevent it.  Irelyn has also graduated from bottle to sippy cup.  We still use bottles periodically though. 

Back to going out to eat though.  I think it is probably the hardest now.  Mainly because she likes to walk and is not content to sit still in a high chair.  She also can be loud and opinionated.  I don't think she will see another fancy restaurant for quite sometime.

Something else I already knew, but can be a problematic when in public.  Irelyn LOVES other kids.  As soon as we got there she walked right over to another table with 2 little girls.  Luckily their family was nice and the girls were happy to say hi to Irelyn.  They left shortly after we got there, but then a 9 month old baby came and sat right by us.  This baby was shy, but Irelyn was all about her.  It was a little challenging to keep her entertained by us so these other people could enjoy their own meal.

All and all, Panera is a restaurant we can continue to go to and we had a good time.  :)

Our Family Timeline and Irelyn's Milestones

Our Family Timeline

8-10/2005 Joe and I meet through a mutual friend and start dating
2/13/2008 Joe proposes in Riverside Park and I say "Yes"
5/2009 Joe and I purchase our first home
6/6/2009 OUR WEDDING
7/17/2009 Joe and I find out we are having a baby
3/28/2009 Our pride and joy beautiful baby girl, Irelyn Loraine is born at 2:23am


Irelyn's First Year Milestones
7/7 Belly laughs at that dog, Bella
4 1/2 months starts eating baby cereal.  First food is Peas
5 1/2 months old sits up on her own
6 months old waves at a baby while in line at Target
11/10 army crawling
11/13 claps hands
11/19 dancing
11/20 Saying "ds" Dada, duck, and cat sounds
12/23 Pulls self up to stand
12/28 crawling with belly off of floor
1/5/11 "Mama"
1/21/11 Learns how to High 5
2/19/11 First real steps and walking
3/6 Able to stand up from the floor and take off walking

Irelyn or "Iley" to her mommy and daddy is now 11 1/2 months old.  I am still in shock that she is almost 1.  Not only that she has grown so much and so fast, but also that Joe and I have been parents for a whole year!  It is true that time goes faster when you have children!
I truly believe there is a level of love that you will not truly know until you have a child.  Probably the only person you love 100% more than yourself.  The person you would without a doubt die for.  I am so incredibly blessed to have been given this amazing gift.  I try to remind myself even when she is crabby or I am crabby and sleep deprived that I can never take a single moment for granted because I wouldn't trade it for anything! 

So, as our first baby continues to get older, people start to ask when we will have another.  We haven't decided/agreed :), but if/when God does bless us with another child we will let you all know!

I Started

Hello All,

So, lately I have been coming across posts from some of my "friends" on a certain social networking site that link to a few different blogs.  Being a sucker to click on anything... I check out these stories.  And I have to admit most of them are quite sad and/or depressing.  I started to think that if you have a blog tragic things will happen to you.  But, that's absurd to think, right?  I mean there have to be millions of happy blogs. But people don't post links to those because those people don't necessarily need extra prayers or support.  So, I get it. 

Naturally I am apprehensive to start a blog.  I worry about my thoughts and stories being "public".  But let's face it my life is not that interesting and I don't think these words will even be seen by very many eyes.  So, I am mainly doing this for myself and for my beautiful little girl.  I hope to document our best and maybe worst memories and that way we will always have a little record of that time in our lives. 

So, if you have found this- thanks for reading and enjoy!  And keep in mind my sister is the English major.  Not me.

There we go.  I started.