13 Months with Molly Pop

Wow! You are 13 months old and growing more entertaining with every day. You just celebrated your second Christmas which was so much fun! Mama is happy to report that she remembers more of this year's Christmas and your parents had so much fun watching you open presents. By the fourth celebration, you had gotten pretty good at opening gifts. You were fascinated with the paper and loved the boxes the gifts came in.



This month has been a whirlwind of sickness, celebration and learning. Mama was sick with a bronchitis infection and then you caught some sort of virus that gave you a nasty week of diarrhea. You took it all in stride and were only a little bit sad. You also got your 1 year molars this month. Yep, all four of them.



You met Santa this month with your friend, Ruby. Neither one of you were impressed with the great man. In fact, you both screamed your little heads off.



Your mothers (and fathers) may have laughed at all the screaming while snapping photos. We had to document this occasion in order to taunt you with it later.



You did however enjoy the festivities of the season. We went to the Pathway of Lights at Greenlake with Motty when she was in town. Our friend, Kate and her two little girls also joined it. It was a cold, cold night and you did get a little cranky after awhile. Next year, I'll pack hand warmers and hot coco for you.



You and I spent a lot of this month prepping for the holidays and you were a great little champion through it all. Just before Christmas, you helped us deliver cookies to the neighbors. This is a new tradition that I hope to keep up!



We also went to the Seattle Center to take in the Winter Festival. This is a must for you from here on out. You loved listening to the orchestra and watching the toy train set. You were also filmed for Meg's TV show, CityStream.





On my birthday, it snowed so as soon as we woke up, I threw on your boots and took you outside. You thought the snow was funny and quickly tried to eat it. It didn't even last the day but it was still exciting.



I'll sign off now as there are many Christmas toys to play with and only so many hours in the day to play with them all.

Custom Thank You Cards

I love custom cards. I love having cute cards printed with great photos but I do not like the cost! I hit upon a great idea (if I may say so myself) after Molly's birthday this year - custom photo Thank You postcards that I could easily make myself!



I took a photo of Molly from her birthday party. This one was taken by our lovely friend, Paul.

Next I did a Google search for an image of the words, "Thank You" (it would be best to find an image with a creative commons license).



Then using Photoshop, I super-imposed the "Thank You" image onto the photo of Molly for a cute postcard. I printed these at home but you could also print them at your local drugstore. Many of them have super easy photo uploaders and can print these out within an hour for a small cost.



Then I wrote little thank you notes on the back of the cards, addressed them and put a stamp on them before mailing them out. Family and friends loved them and a few even stole the idea for their Thank You cards.

Zany Zoo Toys

Molly and I often visit a nearby play cafe where she can play, play, play and I can drink coffee (the drink of Motherhood). We love this place!

I noticed that one toy was capturing her attention more than other toys so I decided to invest in the Zany Zoo Activity Cube. I'm so glad we did because this has provide Molly with hours of play. We had it out at her birthday party and all the kids were busy playing with it. The box says this is a great toy up to the age of 3 and I believe it! I can see Molly getting years of play out of this. It's an expensive toy but I figure if she plays with it for two to three more years, it will be worth the money.

On meeting Santa

Last weekend, my friend Meg and I decided it would be SUPER fun to take our girls to meet Santa. We coordinated their outfits, discussed our plans and headed to West Seattle.



Scott, Molly and I arrived just as Meg and her husband were putting their little girl on Santa's lap. She was having NONE of it. There was screaming, grabbing for her father and tears. Oh the tears.



I thought, Molly will be fine! Meg's daughter is just having a fussy day. It will be ok. Instead it was HILARIOUS! Poor Molly was not amused with Santa.



We even tried two different times and each time lead to the same. Lots of tears.



The day did end with cupcakes and so Molly forgave us. And now we have the BEST photos of Molly meeting Santa.

12 Months with Molly Pop

Molly,

You are now ONE-YEAR-OLD! And I have to say my little baby is no more. In her place is a delightful, squirmy toddler filled with so much joy at the world. You are the happiest little girl. You find delight in the smallest things.



You found out at your birthday that you LIKE cake! and well anything else with sugar. I think you may still be coming off your birthday sugar high.



This month was a busy one. We took you to Hawaii on your very first plane trip and you did great! I was super worried that you would get fussy on an almost 6 hour flight but you LOVED it. I really shouldn't have worried. The plane was full of the one thing you love the most, PEOPLE! Your grandparents were also on our flight so that helped get the wiggles out.



The resort we stayed at had a nice pool which you spent hours swimming in. We called it Molly's pool and teased you when other people were swimming in it. You did not like that. It was your pool and NO ONE ELSES!



You also celebrated your first Halloween while in Hawaii. You dressed as Thing 1! My friend, Danielle's son, Henry was Thing 2 out on the East Coast.



I mean really, the cuteness was almost too much!



You became very, very, very active this month and learned that running while throwing toys around is the best thing EVER!



Unfortunately this new skill combined with toddler clumsiness lead to your first trip to the ER. You were rampaging around the den with a waterbottle when you tripped and cut your upper gum. It was bloody as mouth wounds tend to bleed which made your parents nervous. We took you to the ER to get you checked out. You thought it was FANTASTIC! The nice nurse gave you a Popsicle and you got to wave at people. In the end, you were just fine and your parents are just nervous people. (OK, let's be honest, your Dad is a nervous person. Your Mother went along with the plan to be safe.)



You also got to spend some time with a Baby! We watched Edmund while his Momma was doing some work. You LOVED seeing him and didn't even mind when I was holding him instead of you.



I can't believe how fast you've grown. I love you more and more each day. I'm not entirely sure how that is possible since my heart exploded with love for you on the day you were born. You are the very best thing to have happened to your Pop Pop and me. It's been a roller coaster ride full of ups and downs. We thought we'd never sleep again but somehow we all have found our sleep groove. We love spending time with you and really don't care that we now have to eat dinner at 5 p.m. if we go out. It's all worth it. All the sacrifices and all the work is so worth it. The reward has been bigger than I ever imagined and more than I can explain to anyone who isn't your Momma and Papa. You are the best kid even when throwing a tantrum. Tantrums just show me that you have a lot of spark. Luckily you tend to lean toward the happy side which means the rare (for now) tantrums are easier to deal with.

Happy Birthday Molly! This has been the very best year! I can't wait to watch you as you continue to grow.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be full of food, family and friends. This year I'm grateful for my family, friends and readers. I'm also very grateful that I am NOT in labor during Thanksgiving Dinner because that means I'll be able to enjoy all the delicious trimmings. I am also grateful to have made it through my daughter's first year (her birthday is in two short days). I've learned so much and have had soooo much fun! 

Here are some photos from yesterday's day of Thanksgiving Prep. Now it is time to go and finish making the Turkey!

11 Months with Molly Pop

This is the month you began walking and it is awesome! You love walking everywhere and have pretty much stopped crawling. It also means that I really had to step up my baby proofing game as you like to roam the house, inspecting and throwing things as you go. Toddlers are messy!




We visited the pumpkin patch with your friend, Ruby and I think next year, you are going to LOVE it. You enjoyed yourself this year but really you just like hanging out with me and Pop Pop so since we were there, you were thrilled!




We also visited the Zoo for their trick or treating event where they fed the animals pumpkins. You wore your Thing 1 costume which was awesome thanks to Mommy's friend, Danielle. Her son, Henry was Thing 2, way over on the east coast. Bi-coastal Things!



You got a lot of teeth this month! You now have seven teeth and are working on a full set. Getting teeth is a bit hard on you and understandably so! I'd be cranky too.



I'm in shock that in just under a month that you will be one year old. Your Dad and I have managed to take really good care of you for almost a year! And in that year, you have grown from being a wee little babe who just laid there to this energetic person that charms people with a smile. You are quite the charmer too! You love waving at people with your pageant wave and pointing to express your desires. It's adorable!




We can't wait to celebrate your 1st birthday with you. Momma has gone a little bit overboard but you have an overachiever for a Mother so you'll just need to get used to it.

10 Months with Molly Pop

This month has brought even more fun. You are quite a joy and we are so blessed to have you as our daughter. You've been cruising up a storm and practicing your standing skills. You'll be walking before we know it.



This month has been filled with play dates, rawr'ing and trying really hard to say doggie and cat which comes out as Oooogie and THat. You are also starting to really understand when I ask you to do something and have conquered the "All Done" sign language. You are such a social little girl and wave at everybody with your pageant wave.



I've been running a lot which means that you've been my patient stroller running buddy. We have been out enjoying our Indian Summer and exploring the neighborhood. The bonus side effect is that I've been getting in shape which is fantastic!



You have become quite active and spend a lot of time rampaging about. You love taking all your toys out of your toy basket and throwing them around the room. It's exhausting but fun.



We're really getting glimpses into your personality. You are a fun kid and a very social one. Grocery store trips take us quite awhile because you must wave and make eyes at everyone. I sense that when you can talk, these trips are going to take even longer! When we go to playground or play-yards, you charge ahead to play with everyone. You barely notice where I am because you must greet everyone!



You are also a clapping fool. You love clapping to music and just to show your happiness.



We love you, Molly. We are so happy to have spent the last 10 months with you and look forward to spending even more time with you.