Easter

Forgive the late posts, but I'm trying to get caught up on blogging.  It just got away from me over the summer.  So, I'll be posting a bunch of catch up stuff over the next couple weeks.

We had a great Easter filled with lots of fun family activities.  It was fun to watch Naomi be more of an active participant in the whole "egg thing".  :)  Just a warning - picture overload on this post.

Saturday morning, we went to an egg hunt at a nearby church (not ours).  She was a little overwhelmed, but enjoyed picking up and shaking the eggs and then throwing them back down.  :)

Saturday afternoon, my MIL, Emily, came over to play with Naomi (and make sure Brian had back-up as he was on-call for work and I was at a baby shower - thanks!).

Sunday morning before church, she got her Easter basket from us.

Sunday morning at church, we met up with my Mom and Stepdad and she got her Easter basket from them - she left a wake of Easter grass behind her - cracked us up.

Sunday evening, my Dad and Stepmom came over and we did a little egg hunt.  She gathered all her eggs and stuck them in "Busy Town" on her activity cube.  Too funny.

That's it!  Only took us 6 months to post.  :)  Ooops.

YouTube Channel Test

I may delete this post if it doesn't work, but I want to try posting a video from my YouTube channel to my blog.  Totally new at this, so we'll see...

A Look Back at Naomi's First Year

I typed this up back after Naomi's first birthday in January and am just now posting it (just days before she hits 15 months and I need to do another post). 

I can't believe a whole year has flown by in the blink of an eye. 

If you've never read Naomi's birth story, you can read it here: 
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/naomis-birthday.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/aftermath-mag-and-nicu.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/rest-of-our-stay-and-release-days.html
I still tear up reading it over a year later and I wonder if that will ever change. 

We've watched our baby girl grow from a helpless lump of cuteness to a curious baby girl with an emerging independent streak.  We've gone from sleepless nights to mostly good nights.  We've childproofed and continue to do so as Naomi reveals her increasing knack for getting into things.  We've read, played with toys, learned to eat, gone to Tiny Tots, gone to story time at the library, gone to the park, and enjoyed countless other firsts both small and big. 

And, we've watched ourselves grow - as individuals, as a couple, and as parents.  We've both become more patient.  Brian has become an even harder worker as the sole provider for our family (such a blessing).  He's an amazing Dad who does everything he can for her and gladly takes over as soon as he's home from work, so that I can have some me time (a HUGE deal for me - thank you, thank you, thank you).  I've become less selfish (at least where Naomi's concerned; no one else has probably noticed a difference).  I've become far more tolerant of mess (as evidenced by Naomi's birthday cupcake pics) which is huge for me.  As a couple, we've had to work much harder this year.  The first year of parenthood is very stressful and definitely a challenge to your marriage.  We've had to be patient with each other in various areas, we've had to work hard not to take out frustration/lack of sleep on each other, and we've had to be very intentional about making time for us as a couple.  Overall though, in Grinch terms, our hearts have grown ten sizes. 

Here is a flash back to the past year in pictures:

12 Months Old - 1 Year Old!

Stats?
About 18 lbs 4 oz (25%) and 28.5 in long (25%) - petite and proportioned.  :)
She's in size 3 diapers and her 9-12 month clothes.

How is she sleeping?
No change here.  Sleeps from about 7:30pm to 7:00-7:30am.  Naps about 9:30-10:30am and 2:00-4:00pm.  The girl likes her sleep (most of the time, of course, we all have those days). 

How is she eating?
We've been working more on giving her whatever we are eating and she prefers that. In fact, if you try to feed her Cheerios or other snacks while you eat something else, she whines.  I'm still nursing her about 2-3 times a day and we are planning to wean her over the next month (we started a little this month, but I'm taking it gradually).  I can't believe I nursed her a full year; it seemed impossible at first, but I'm so glad that I stuck it out.

Doctor Visit
She checked out great.  Doctor says she's just perfect and is on track developmentally on the whole.  She got some vaccines that weren't supposed to affect her, but they did.  She would not nap without being held all afternoon.  But, she bounced back pretty well the next day. 

What new tricks does she do?
She's all over the place - she continues to cruise really well and her transitions from laying to sitting and standing have improved a lot.
She'll push anything around to get where she wants - chairs, toys, etc.
We've coaxed her into walking one handed a few times, so we'll see how that goes next month. 
She's tried standing on her own for a few seconds here and there and does well until she figures out that no one is holding her and she suddenly gets shaky. 
Verbally, she's still babbling away and we still can't make sense of it most of the time.  We've gotten cat (without the t at the end of course).  We're still trying to teach some signs, but no progress yet, we'll see.

General Observations?
She still has 6 teeth so far, though we suspect 2 more may be on their way.
Her little personality is really starting to shine.  She's friendly, smiley, determined, stubborn, curious, and generally happy. 
This months photo session was tricky; she just did not want to sit still.  We had to give her the book to flip through just to keep her from climbing out of the chair.  She's SO active!
Can't believe it's been a year... time flies!


Until next time... Enjoy!

First Birthday Party

Another picture heavy post... just a bunch of pics from Naomi's First Birthday Party! 
We had a lovely party with our immediate family. 
Thanks Terah for taking these photos! 

Christmas Clips...

Here are some random pics from Christmas that I never posted...

Reading my Baby Elf book

Christmas Eve Morning

Fun with tissue paper

Me and Grandma T

Me and Uncle Alex

My new red chair

Pulling the hat off my head

Me and Grandpa Ken