Its fun being One!

Can you believe it??? I sure can't- Roselyn is one year old! Time sure does fly when you are having fun- and that includes her birthday weekend as well. I was very grateful that her birthday fell on Labor Day weekend this year so we have a long weekend to celebrate this milestone (even though if I got a dollar for everytime people laughed that her birthday was on Labor day thinking she was born on the holiday- come on ya'll, it is a different day of the month each year!). Anyways, the festivities began with Grandpa Steve and Grandma Kim coming on Saturday, September 5th to visit for the weekend. Roselyn had a great time playing with them and couldn't get enough attention- I mean, who needs parents when there are grandparents?:) Roselyn woke up on the big day all smiles. Rob and I had to rush out to get things ready for the party, but we knew Roselyn was in good hands with her Grandparents. Unfortunately, Grandma Kim was feeling under the weather, but Roselyn's other Grandparents were on their way to help. All grandparents arrived right on time (10 am) with Roselyn to the Carl Miller Park. We reserved Pavilion 1 which is the first and largest Pavilion in the park. It is right next to the bathrooms (super handy after the smash cake) and close to the spraying fountain and smaller jungle gym area. Roselyn came in her Grandmother's arms wearing her pretty butterfly dress made by my mom (butterflies were the theme for the party). The Pavilion had ten tables and seven had white table clothes and balloon and butterfly centerpieces for people to eat. One remaining table was for the gifts, one for the food, and the final one was for the cake, punch, and guest of honor. During the first hour of the party guest came and socialized, making sure to say hello to Roselyn and sign her one year photo frame. At about 11am it was time for Roselyn to dive into her smash cake. We made sure to take off her dress, but left her in her bloomers and placed a 1st birthday crown on her head and bib around her neck. As we sang happy birthday you could tell she was ready for the cake- I kept having to hold her hand back from grabbing for it. After Roselyn and I blew out her one candle we let her dive in. Oh boy, did she like it! She was not the messiest of eaters, but she definitely made sure to get big handfuls of frosting and cake and put it directly in her mouth. Mouth, hands, and forearms were covered in the yummy goo. After a few minutes half the cake was demolished and we figured it was enough for her. She was taken to the bathroom by Mimi and Nannie to be cleaned off. People began to slowly leave and we prepared for the after party at our house.
Since it was Labor day we decided for any guests that wanted to come, we would have a cookout of hamburgers and hotdogs at the house. Most out of town people came by as well as a few close local friends. Since it was about 1pm when this half of the celebration started, Roselyn missed most of it since it was her nap time. You would think that with about 20-30 people in the house (including other crying babies) she would have trouble taking her nap. But we didn't hear one peep from her for nearly 3 hours. I guess she was wiped out! Once she did awake, it was time to open gifts. The only people remaining was family, which was a perfect amount of people to view this unveiling. Roselyn loved taking the tissue paper out of bags and ripping wrapping paper off of boxes. Each gift brought a even bigger smile to her face. Truthfully, that entire day I do not believe she ever stopped smiling. I guess she knew it was her first birthday.
A couple of side notes. Roselyn went for her one year appointment Thursday and received three shots (one being the flu shot). She did fantastic with them- thank goodness. We also had her iron level checked and she still needs to stay on Poly Vi Sol. She was 29 inches long and 22lb 10oz- both are in the 75th percentile. She head was still in the 90th percentile, however:)
More big news! Roselyn is crawling AND standing on her own! I guess she figured she was a year old it was about time she did both things. It certainly has changed the dynamics in the house, however. Watch out picture frames and candles- nothing is safe now! She actually got a hold of the ironing board the other day and it fell opposite of her (thank goodness!). Baby proofing- here we come!

Almost One and so much Fun!!!

It is two days before Roselyn's first birthday, but she has already accomplished two big milestones. First, she rode in a toddler (forward facing) car seat for the first time today. Lately, she would cry once she was placed in her infant car seat and we left to sit in the front seats. Today when she was being placed in the seat, she began to start crying, until she realized there was something different about her perspective. She had a huge smile on her face when we looked back at her and she realized that she could see us. She also was consumed with looking at everything in the car she had never had a chance to observe before- the back of the front seats, the dashboard, the arm rest, etc. The reason for the car seat was the trip to complete another milestone- getting her ears pierced. The Merle Norman was recommended as the best place for babies, and I would definitely agree. Only the owner does the piercings and one could tell she was well experienced at working with babies. She was very gentle and very patient. Roselyn did not seem to mind the marker on her ear, but when her ear was held for the gun, you knew she knew something was up. The first earring went in quickly. Roselyn let out a short cry, but seemed to get over it quickly. However, the second ear took quite a bit of work. Roselyn recognized what the lady was doing and would move her head every time the gun approached her ear. Luckily, the lady piercing her ear was patient. I wish Rob and I had that patience. I begin to get nervous and hot and sweaty. Finally the moment was exactly right and the earring went in. Another quick cry, and it was over. Roselyn now has two beautiful earrings in her ears. I am so proud of her!!!

Vacation Time!

Roselyn became a beach baby a week ago! The Prout family made our way down to Destin, FL for our first family beach vacation. The trip down left something to be desired- it rained all the way- but Destin was beautiful and sunny, and it stayed that way the entire time we were there! We stayed four nights in the Embassy Suites. Having a suite was perfect when you have a baby- the Pack in Play stays in the bedroom during the day for naps, and the "living room" are for nightly bedtime. The first full day there we walked across the street with Roselyn in her stroller to the beach. We did not anticipate a couple of things: 1) there were stairs leading up and then down to the beach, 2) the sand was super soft and definitely not conducive to strollers. We attempted to walk down the beach, but eventually gave up and took a bunch of pictures before we returned to the hotel. Luckily, there were a pool at the hotel that did not have the difficulties of stairs or sand. Rob and I spent our afternoons at the pool while Roselyn napped in the room. Don't worry, the pool was outside our bedroom and we had a monitor with us in case she woke up from her nap early. We brought food with us to have lunch in the hotel, but dinners were always out at a local restaurant- Pompano Joe's was our favorite! Prior to dinner, there was always a Manager's Reception with snacks and free drinks. This was a perfect time to enjoy a glass of wine and feed Roselyn her snack before dinner. While on vacation Roselyn discovered some new food she has grown to love- pancakes, bacon, eggs, and saltine crackers. Now that she is eating more "regular" food she always reaches for everything that we put in our mouths. We often have to turn our heads to eat the last piece of cheesecake or tiramisu.
We did attempt the beach two more times with Roselyn. The second time we actually sat in the sand to get some sun while Roselyn sat under an infant sun shade. Unfortunately, Rob's concern over the heat of the sun and Roselyn's skin had us out there a mere fifteen minutes. The last opportunity at the beach was on our way out of town for more pictures. I was disappointed that Roselyn did not have more time on the beach, but I guess she has many more years to experience it.
We did experience two fun excursions in Destin. First, we drove to Seaside to see the pastel homes found in The Truman Show. They truly made me want to move there. Roselyn sleep during that excursion so we were unable to get her opinion. However, the next day we went to Fudpuckers to see the alligators and Roselyn definitely enjoyed that. We walked around their mini reptile museum and she reached out for every critter behind the glass. I hope she always stays that brave!
Overall, the vacation was a fantastic getaway. Rosleyn must have loved it- I have never seen that girl sleep harder than the couple of nights after we returned.

Teething- need I say more?

It happens to all babies, and now it is happening to Roselyn. She is getting new teeth ( at least two on top and two on bottom by my count) and her mouth hurts- bad. So she cries...and cries...and cries (yes, she is even crying now as I write this blog). As a mother, you feel helpless. You want to relieve the pain, but there is only so much one can do. I used to say I would stay clear of Orajel and other numbing agents, but at this point Roselyn is getting her dose of Tylenol (or Motrin), Orajel, and teething tablets. Do they make a difference? Hard to tell since even when Roselyn is not crying she seems so unhappy. Or it could just be her being tired. Sleep has been hard to come by these last few days. When I check on her crying at night she usually has her fist in her mouth with an expression on her face that reads, "I am in pain". Roselyn also tends to have conjestion when she is teething. That means with the tears and drool comes snot. I was only giving her the pacifier at bedtime, but seeing that is one of the few things that kind of relaxes her, it has been a permanent feature in her mouth the last three days. I have tried cold items for her to chew, but she refuses to put anything in her mouth. Well, besides Cheerios, that is. Now that I think about it, any food seems to make she half way normal again. Could there be a baby Tylenol made out of Cheerios?
On the flip side, her mind was definitely off her teeth when we visited Nathan and Anna Woods in Kennesaw and attended the Pork and Peaches festival. Rob ate BBQ while I enjoyed looking at all the purses, aprons, and jams for sale. Roselyn was content sitting in her stroller playing with the paper fan given out at one of the booths. Nathan and Anna have a greyhound at their home that Roselyn also found amusing. That is something else that tends to relieve teething pain- dogs. Sometimes I feel Roselyn loves our dog Mac best of all. She is always so happy when he walks by. Roselyn makes Mac happy because she feeds him, you guessed it, Cheerios.

Another birthday party!

All of Roselyn's friends are turning 1! Today we celebrated Roselyn's "boyfriend" Hudson Zidar's birthday. We started celebrating at 6pm at the Zidar house. Once at the house Roselyn immediately started playing with birthday boy Hudson and friend Addison on the floor. Kids swapped toys (and drool) as parents relaxed and talked. Soon it became dinner time and babies were fed by moms as dads had BBQ and made plates for their wives. Roselyn had cut up asparagus for dinner and a big jar of beef pasta- probably not as tasty as BBQ and potato salad, but she ate it up. However, I did not think about her nice dress and gave her a strawberry in her chewing net. Quickly her pastel dress had red blotches all over it. I used a couple of stain removers borrowed from Shana Bevill and Stephanie Zidar, but only was able to minimize (not remove) the damage. However, it was good enough for outside pictures in the wheel barrow. Hudson saw his girlfriend Roselyn having pictures taken and walked over to the wheelbarrow to join her- it was so sweet! The cake came next. I remembered the crying scene at the Bellamy birthday party and did not offer Roselyn any cake. Hudson was real hesitant with the cake and just got a little in his mouth (mainly from Stephanie shoving it in for pictures). Since the party was in the evening all the babies quickly became tired and we headed home by 8:15pm. Roselyn fell asleep in the car- having pleasant birthday dreams I'm sure.