What???? She is 1??!?!?!?!

So, I have had issues . . . It was not until the day before her birthday that it officially hit me.  The memory of her birth was a tidal wave of emotions that hit me over and over that day.  While picking out plates I found myself getting crazy emotional.  I was a blubbering mess when I received her first birthday card.  I choked back tears when her gama came over to give her birthday gift to her. Throughout the day, I would look at the time and suddenly the year prior would spring forward.  I have put off writing this because I needed to be able to type it out with the assistance of water works.

My baby turned one a week and one day ago.  She has brought so many wonderful blessings to our lives.  She is a bundle of joy.  She does everything with enthusiasm.  Her smile warms my heart and as cliche as it sounds, I can't even remember what my life was like before her.  Well I lie, I do remember what sleeping in felt like.  Oh how I miss that . . .

The day went exactly as planned.  I was able to celebrate my daughter's first year with family and close friends.  I am so thankful for all those that have shared this wonderful year with us.

My baby's stats:

20lbs . . . on the dot
29" in length
Size two diapers
6-9mo. clothes
Sz. 4 shoe
You have 4 teeth with 2 on the way

Accomplishments:
You walk!!!!!
You can stack blocks
You open a close doors
You say so many words it is difficult to remember the ones that I have already mentioned.  Needless to say, you are very talkative.
You sign "all done" and "more"

We love you sweetie.  What a year it has been . . .

 

. . .a bit of a teaser . . .

A leave of absence . . .

Over the past two months, I have taken a close look at how I spend my days.  One blaring truth was quite apparent.  The ratio to computer time to chore time was in no way even.  The time I spent on the computer greatly out weighed the time I spent doing chores.  Now, you might think this to not be such a big deal, but when the chores pile up and my stress level reaches a boiling point, something has got to give.  So,  I took a slight leave of absence from the computer for the past month.  I have found that rationing my computer time is the key.  Chores were finished, quality time was spent with my family and most of all, my sanity was left intact for the month.

Of course because of my break, some very important blogs were left unwritten.  For instance, we went on our annual trip to Mammoth.  The baby turned 11 months.  Oh and she also turned 1 year!!!!  What in the world???!?!?!?  So I will catch you up over the next few days.  But for now I will leave you with a few pics from our trip to Mammoth.

Kaydance was a rockstar.  She took to camping like a pro and had a blast.  Unfortunately my family was not able to come with us this year.  So it was different and new.  I found myself kinda lost for the first couple of days.  However, with some nice hikes, some much anticipated Looney Bean Coffee and some great runs around the town, I found my stride and enjoyed myself throughly.