Kube Visit

 

February 6-9

Karen, Kurtis and the kids came down for a long weekend earlier this month. It's always great to spend time with the Kubes! We spent some time playing outside, at Wildlife Safari Village, playing toys and games, drinking coffee... you know, all the usual suspects that make up a fun weekend. Molly and Josh splashed in the tub for a bit - a picture that might come in handy if they get married. :)

Wildlife Safari Village - a free place to run, play, pet some barnyard animals, and visit other animal exhibits.

This Burmese Python was acting so strange that it was almost creepy. It was a huge, thick snake and was making eye contact with Matt for a while before it started slithering upward along the glass. It was so strange! And slightly disturbing.

Molly got a birthday present from Karen! It is a cute little egg set where the eggs crack open and you have to match the colored shells together. The eggs also have a shape on the bottom that fits into a specific space in the carton. It's a learning toy at it's finest!

 

Molly's first plasma car ride! I'm not surprised that it's with Daddy and not Mommy... she was all smiles!

This little muffin can really go places on her balance bike!

The whole group! We forgot to take a group picture at Thanksgiving so I made sure to get it done this time. I think it's safe to say that our couch is sufficiently full.

I bought Molly and Josh matching bibs for Thanksgiving - mostly because I got them for $0.79 at Walgreens. Well, due to some hilarious discussions about Canada and America, I broke out this two-pack of American flag pacifiers for the babies. I hope Josh still sports his when he's home on his Canadian turf... I got them on clearance last summer. Too funny!

 

And the Party Continues!

2-4

Lake Grandma's package arrived the day after Molly's birthday so the party continued! Why cram all the fun into just one day, right? Molly opened a few outfits, a book, and a pull toy from Grandma and Grandpa. Of course, Charlie and Alanna were close by during the whole thing. That is one thing that caught me by surprise on Molly's birthday. I was extremely short with Charlie and Alanna throughout the day; I just wanted to focus only on Molly since it was her birthday and all. I probably told Charlie and Alanna to back up, give Molly some space, put her new toys down, give Molly back her things, and other things along this same idea a hundred times that day. I already feel like Molly hasn't gotten as much attention as Charlie and Alanna so I really wanted to make her feel special on her birthday. I think I really only made myself feel exasperated by the end of the day. We do have a pretty firm 'no need to share' rule on birthdays so I was trying to enforce that for Molly, too. The vultures were there at every turn, reaching and grabbing for things that weren't theirs. I'm sure my mothering got an A from Molly but probably a D+ from Charlie and Alanna. Matt thought I was being oversensitive because it was Molly's birthday, and he's probably right. He usually is. The emotions that come with a birthday came out in strange ways. Alas, we made it through.

Happy First Birthday, Molly Olivia!!

February 3, 2015

Molly Girl is officially one! I'm trying pretty hard to stay focused on the excitement of her birthday and less focused on the fact that the past year has flown by entirely way, way too fast. Our family changed when this little redhead came into our lives, and we can't imagine life without her. She has put up with a lot in her first year from overzealous older siblings to cross-country road trips to moving across the country. She has been shuttled, carted, pushed, pulled, carried, strapped, and slung to match the rhythm of our family. In some ways, I feel apologetic that her first year has been different from Charlie and Alanna's, but on the other hand, she and I have gotten in some really quality snuggle time in my various baby carriers. From the very beginning Molly loved to be upright on my chest, and that still is true now. She often lays her head down my shoulder and pats my arm. She says Mama, uh-oh, and Dada. She walks with help but is not walking by herself. She eats pretty much whatever I put in front of her, takes a 2-hour nap in the afternoon (sometimes less, more often more), and sleeps through the night from 8-7:30ish. Oh, baby girl. We seriously adore you!!

Ok, so Molly's birthday was filled with the usual things; pictures, playing, special meals, presents, cards, and birthday cake. I hope she felt special though it's really hard to tell. My only measure was that she hardly fussed all day long, so that must mean something, right?! Her birthday cupcake was purple and red with white frosting and loads of sprinkles. I put the rest of the cake batter into rounds and made a small layer cake for the rest of us. Molly kept dipping her pointer finger into the frosting and licking it off. She didn't make too much of a mess and ended up eating probably a quarter of her cupcake. Molly tried to open several presents with her teeth - hilarious and resourceful at the same time! She received lots of nice things from lots of people who love her. It was a great day focusing (as much as possible with two older children in the house) on our baby girl. Happy first birthday, Molly! We love you so very much!