Looking back on a year ago

I was looking back at some posts from this time last year. We were preparing to have Alyssa. We didn't even have a name picked out for her yet. I thought I was going to be induced, but was prepared for things to change at any minute. Good thing I was prepared, because nothing went as planned.

But this time last year I was at my last doctors appointment before Alyssa made her appearance. My mom had come to spend the day with me and learn our daily routine because she was supposed to spend my induction day here getting the kids off to school and home from school. But as I said those plans all quickly changed.

And now this year I am thinking about where the year has gone with Alyssa. She is perfect in every way. We have no party planned for her, but I am still trying to figure out a cake for her for Thursday. And planning a special dinner for her. And CJ and I have been practicing singing Happy Birthday to her. Kaitlyn keeps asking Alyssa what she wants for her birthday as if she understands or could answer her. Natalie wants a party, which we'll probably do at the end of the month.

And in 2 days my baby girl will turn one and we will find out what the groundhog predicts will happen for winter this year. It has been relatively mild this year, but I am still looking forward to the warmth of spring.

Barne's Bunch update

So I've been really quiet here on this blog. So I thought I would share with you all what the Barnes Bunch has been up to so far in 2012.

Starting with moi: I started a blogger internship recently which has been improving things over on my Monica's Mom Musings blog. Here was my first blog post on the Mom's Talk Network blog though: Teaching Our Daughters About Real Beauty And The Photoshop Effect. Other than my blogging stuff I am doing all the usual mommy stuff too. Cooking, cleaning, refereeing, homework help. Typical mom stuff.

Joe: He's working. Someone is retiring at the end of the month so we are hoping he gets promoted.

Natalie: She's doing pretty good in 7th grade this year. Finally adjusted to middle school and the expectations of her.

Kaitlyn: She's been playing her clarinet. She had a concert this past week and it was very impressive. For a group of kids who have only been playing an instrument for a few months they did great. She's also doing well in 4th grade and making lots of friends. She just went on a sleepover last week at a friends house and wanted to stay the whole weekend.

CJ: We have been buckling down on the potty training with CJ. He has been dry and poopy free during the day for over a week now. So proud of him. I am hoping once we fully get him trained during the day that night time training will be super easy and we can be done with diapers, at least for him. He's loving preschool this year. He's always talking about the kids in his class and makes up the funniest stories too. He has quite the imagination on him.

Alyssa: Well, she has been doing what babies do. She still has her gimpy crawl, but she gets from one point to the other pretty fast. She is cruising the furniture and she can stand up. No walking yet. She loves to eat and we have introduced coconut milk to her diet as well which she loves. That was supposed to be for CJ, but he won't drink it and Alyssa loves it. In less than 2 weeks Alyssa will be 1! Hard to believe.

So that's what's going on around here. I'll try to get some recent pictures up soon.

Happy 11 months Alyssa

Wow, 11 months old. Just 31 days until my baby girl turns 1. I can't believe it! She has been growing by leaps and bounds. We were worried about her weight a little, but I don't think we really have to worry. She is still breastfeeding, but she also loves to eat. She eats everything too. I made fajitas for dinner last night and while the rest of the kids were picking out the peppers and onions Alyssa was eating them. Joe had steak fajitas and she even ate some of his steak. There really hasn't been much we have found that she won't eat. She even ate pulled pork on Christmas Eve at my aunt's house.

She has just the two teeth, but she puts them to good use.

She still does the scoot crawl. I've never seen anything like it. It almost looks like she's just going to stand up and take off. Joe thinks she'll be walking before she turns 1. I don't think so. I might be eating my words.

She is cruising. Tonight she was standing at the couch and wanted to get to the coffee table. She was reaching for it and it was almost out of her reach. I think she might have been thinking about taking a few steps. I don't know though.

She is standing now for about a minute at a time. Definitely getting stronger on her feet.

She still is only saying Dada. She claps her hands together. She is a mama's girl most of the time, but there are definitely times when she prefers Daddy. She has the biggest brightest smile that lights up any room. She even had her haircut already. These past 11 months have been wonderful with her and I look forward to celebrating her first birthday with her next month.

Here are a few more pictures of the 11 month old...

So precious

What mom?

So happy

Lounging around

So this month I will be throwing myself into a very special 1st birthday party for Alyssa. Butterflies, dragonflies, and caterpillars have been an unexpected theme in her year. So that's what I have to work with.