Happy Valentine's Day

Another fun week in our household. Amy continued to receive birthday gifts this week - a package arrived from Uncle Tim and Aunty Deb with more clothes and toys, a package from Grandma Mary-Ann with more clothes and her first doll, some money from Grandpa Traynor and Granny-Ra and a gift from Jackie with a toy pony and Babies'R'us gift voucher. So more shopping to be had next weekend!

Wednesday was Amy's actual birthday and she played a round of golf with Jerad then played at night with mummy. On Thursday Jerad had a delivery to Fredericksburg so we all drove up in the afternoon and had dinner at the Brewery. It was a nice drive and Amy got to have some of Daddy's dinner. On the weekend we had the gym on Saturday where Amy learned to do more front rolls and play on the air-track. She really enjoys going there and playing with the other kids - I am so glad we enrolled her in the class. On Sunday Amy and I went to have a late brunch with Jackie at Mimi's then we went and did some shopping. In the afternoon I went to the gym and Amy played in the Kid's Club. She seemed to enjoy that too. After her nap in the afternoon while we were playing downstairs Amy has finally started to crawl. She seems very pleased with herself and was clapping when she was done. She is also getting better with 'walking". When we hold her hands she can now take bigger steps, seems steadier on her feet and walks a little faster than before. In no time we'll have to put up the safety gates.

I have today off work because of President's Day so this afternoon I am taking her to get her 12 month photos done. Then on Thursday I will be taking her to the doctor to have her 12 month check-up and vaccinations.

Amy's 1st Birthday Party

Another pretty quiet week in our household. Although Amy does have 2 more teeth (one on the top and one on the bottom, both on the left side). The three of us did go to Little Gym yesterday where Amy learned how to do a wheelbarrow handstand and how to do front rolls. She did really well - some of the little boys there were kind of scared about putting their hands out in front of them and tucking their head under - but Amy did great! She of course got to explore while she was there and played on the mats and with the balls. Then we all went grocery shopping (mainly to buy party supplies).

We just finished celebrating Amy's first birthday party. She was such a good girl and had so much fun with her birthday cake. Jane Martin did a great job ordering the cake and the little polka dots matched her birthday invitations. It was just a small gathering (Mr & Mrs Young, Jennifer, Roy and Nicholas Garner, Stephen Eckert and Jane Martin - Irma and Jackie couldn't make it). She had her own miniature cake to eat and at first wasn't sure what to do but then she got the hang of it and ended up with cake in her hair and everywhere. She got some really nice gifts too - another collectible Barbie Christmas ornament, Gymboree clothes, Laugh N Learn Piggy bank, book and ride on pony with a cowgirl hat!!

After everyone left I was talking with Jerad and commented how I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by. It doesn't seem that long ago I was pregnant and now she's 1. She of course gets cuter every day and I can't imgaine life without her. We are truly blessed to have such a little angel for a daughter. She may not remember much of her first year but we sure do and I have taken plenty of pictures to show her and also kept up with her baby journal. Hopefully one day she'll appreciate it.

Amy starts at The Little Gym

Today was Amy's first morning at The Little Gym! She had a great time. There were 5 other little kids there ranging from 9 - 18 months and she was fascinated watching them all. Hopefully by watching some of the others crawl and walk she will pick up what to do. During the morning they sang songs, played on the gym equipment (hang from the cross bars, partner log rolls, played with balls and bells and blew bubbles). The semester lasts 20 weeks and we'll do something different each week. Apparently next week they teach the kids some basic sign language. I've attached a picture of her before we left this morning. She was all ready to go in her track suit and sneakers! Unfortunately Jerad had to work this morning so he couldn't make it but we'll see if can get there next week.

I am continuing to plan for her first birthday party. One of the ladies I work with (Jane Martin) has offered to buy Amy's cake. So we will have a large cake for all the guests and she will get her own miniature version to eat (smash, play with ....whatever).

Our little girl was sick during the week with a cold - she of course shared it later in the week with Daddy. Even though I'm sure she felt crappy with her runny nose etc, she was a real little trooper and didn't get that fussy. The main difference in her behaviour was that she wasn't eating as much. She seems back to her normal little self now so that's good.

The rest of our weekend will be pretty quiet as I have some work to do this weekend and I'm assuming tomorrow Jerad will go somewhere to watch the Superbowl. He's cheering for the Giants (my brother will be too). I don't really care either way but it would be amazing to see the Patriots go undefeated.

Mummy's first week away from her little girl

I am back from Boston after being there all week and it was so good to see Amy and Jerad waiting at the airport. I have traveled a lot with work in the past and it is always great to get home but it seemed like I was away so much longer with not seeing Amy each night. It was fun though because Jerad would call each night as he was giving her a bath and he would have me on speaker so I could still talk to her and hear her playing in the bath tub. From what I hear she was a good girl for Daddy and slept through the night for him too. When I arrived back in San Antonio both of them were there to greet me at the airport and she was full of smiles and cuddles!!

While I was away her dresses arrived (pink/white birthday dress and a red/blue dress for 4th July). I didn't realize the bottom of her birthday dress was white but it is very pretty. So on Saturday Amy and I went out shopping (of course) and bought birthday shoes to match. After that Jerad met us once he finished his golf game and we just did the grocery shopping. Not much else exciting this weekend - Amy and I went to the Washtub to get the van washed and then all three of us went to Babe's for lunch. Amy and I also delivered her first birthday invitation to Mr and Mrs Young (neighbors across the road).

Yesterday was Australia Day - so I guess I should have done something Australian to celebrate but I was slack. So I'll have to make up for it and have a vegemite snadwich for lunch tomorrow :-) In the week that I was away Amy has also learned how to "feed herself" with her spoon. When I say feed herself I mean help you hold the spoon, take a bite and then hand the spoon back to you.

On the trip to Boston I read Iris Johansen's "Stalemate" and then I have started Jodi Picoult's "Plain Truth". They are both OK I guess but I definitely prefer Plain Truth so far.

We can't believe she is nearly 1

I didn't get a chance to update the blog last weekend so I'll try to remember what we have done for the last 2 weeks. Work has been pretty busy for me but not too much for Jerad. He hasn't had too many long distance deliveries lately but has had a few local ones all over San Antonio. He has also been able to fit in a few games of golf (from his Christmas gift - we bought him 21 games at Alamo Golf Course). He took Amy a couple of times in her stroller and pushed her around the course. Grandma Liz thinks his game was improved because other players were distracted by how pretty his caddy was ;-)

I am getting ready to go to Boston for the week next week for work. From what I hear it is bitterly cold up there at the moment but I am hoping there is not any snow as my plans are to walk from the hotel to the office each day. I'll certainly miss my little girl and this will be the longest I have been away from her since she was born. I'll be calling home every night to say Hi of course. It will also be the first time Jerad has had her all day and night on his own too. I'm sure Buka and Domino will enjoy Mummy being away as they can share my side of the bed.

We've also spent a lot of time over the last week starting to plan for her first birthday. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some cardstock and ribbon etc and have hand made her invitations. I have also bought her a pretty pink organza party dress. (see picture). I still have to get her some little shoes to go with it. Next we will be choosing which cake to make. I'm thinking of buying a "1" pan but we'll see what other ideas I come up with over the next week. Today Amy and I are off to have her 11 month photos done and then next month I'll get photos done in her party dress. She's growing up so fast - I can't believe how quickly the months have gone by.

Happy New Year

I can't believe it is 2008 already! We had a pretty quiet New Year's Eve - went to Brian's house late afternoon and had a couple of drinks and appetizers. Then I dropped Jerad at Steve's house while I came home to give Amy her bath, went back to get Jerad. Amy was down in bed by 9 and then I crashed at 10:30. Jerad at least made it until midnight and then came in to wake me up and wish me Happy New Year. There were plenty of fireworks in our neighborhood (as usual). In fact, due to the dry weather we have been having and the strong winds that night there was a small fire on some vacant land 2 blocks away from us. No damage was done to property and no-one was hurt, but I must have been out of it because I didn't hear the fire trucks at all. What party animals we are :-)

I'm starting to plan for Amy's 1st birthday since it will be here in a few weeks. Nothing too big, just invite a few friends over on a Sunday afternoon. I am thinking about handmaking the invitations so went to Hobby Lobby on the weekend to look for some nice paper and decorations. I'm also deciding what cake to make. Since I am not an expert cake decorator I thought I'd keep it simple and bake a number 1, then ice it and decorate it with pink, white and red M&M's (an advantage of a birthday near Valentine's Day means I can get a packet of them all in those colors). I found a neat gift I think I will get - it's a stack of 5 pink tins and the idea is you use plaster to make a handprint each year until she turns 5. I was also thinking of getting her a little sterling silver baby bracelet with her name engraved on it. I realize she won't remember her 1st birthday but I still want to have a special little celebration for our baby girl.

Everything else is pretty much the same here with us and the dogs (although they do miss Barry taking them for walks each day). Jerad has a load to Laredo tonight so it will be a late night for him and then he has to get up early in the morning to take me to work since the van is at the dealership getting an oil change and tire rotation. I'm sure he'll be tired tomorrow night. We did rent a movie on the weekend (Evan Almighty) - something we rarely do - neither of us liked it at all. I think because we enjoyed Bruce Almighty so much we were really looking forward to this one and unfortunately we were disappointed. I'll have to see if we can find something better next time.

Anyway, if anyone has some ideas for Amy's birthday just post a comment.

Post Christmas Update

On Monday Grandma Liz, Barry and Jane took Amy to have her photo taken with Santa at La Cantera Mall. Santa was a really genuine Santa with his own beard and Amy was very good sitting with him for the photo.

Well, Amy's first Christmas has come and gone. Santa visited and left her lots of presents. Much to Grandma Liz's disappointment Amy slept in until 6:45am (G'Ma had been waiting since 4:30am). Once she was up though we got straight into opening presents. Opening all of her toys and presents wore her out as she was asleep for Christmas lunch. The adults had Honey Baked Ham and Turkey, green bean parcels (with bacon), potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli/cheese casserole, stuffed peppers and fresh dinner rolls. This was all topped off with an ice-cream cake (Caramel Nut Nirvana).

Jane had to work on Wednesday (Boxing Day) because it is not a holiday here the US. Thursday Jane got off work early and we all went to Fredericksburg and had dinner at The Brewery. It was good - the beer too. Then on Saturday, Grandma Liz, Barry, Amy and Jane went to San Marcos to the Prime Outlet Mall and shopped. Amy got her first pair shoes - sneakers that light up as she walks. We also bought her clothes of course and Jane bought some homeware things at Restoration Hardware and Pottery Barn.

Sunday is Grandma Liz and Barry's last full day here in San Antonio and instead of going to the usual HEB we all went to HEB Plus! It was awesome, so much variety and Jane can buy Indian food items there (as well as some groceries from the UK). Amy of course got something.................a new pink Jeep umbrella stroller. We're all going for dinner tonight to the Macaroni Grill and then tomorrow it's off to the airport :-( Not sure that everything will fit in their bags (especially Amy). Will post again next Sunday - love to hear from you all.