impromptu photoshoot - 14 months

I bought a mini rocking chair so Brielle had one to match ours for the front porch. I decided to take Brielle to a field near our house and get her pictures in it before she's walking all over the place. She had so much fun in it, rocking herself and pointing up to all the birds & planes. The next night, the three of us sat on the porch in our chairs until we realized it was past her bedtime. Who knew a rocking chair could entertain a 14 month old so much?

easter

who needs candy on easter when you can just fill up the eggs with cheerios? :) brielle loved going through her basket and then we quickly got dressed and off to nana & granpa's to celebrate with everyone. 

sunday morning

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse was the show of choice when Brielle was itty bitty. She seriously loved it. She would get so excited when we would put it on. It came to a point when we had an insane amount on our DVR. Looking back, I'm not sure why. She didn't realize if it was a repeat or not. Then, she lost interest in the TV for a couple months and sadly, we were just hoping that she would get back into it. Clearly, we aren't the parents who say "my child will never be into TV". If it makes her happy and buys us a couple quiet minutes, I'm all for it! :) A couple months ago, she became hooked on Sprout. It's our wake up routine and our bedtime wind-down routine. She is really becoming a little toddler lately and although it's becoming really hard to get pictures of her, I want to look back and see the everyday moments. Watching sprout and eating some cheerios :) (and no, this isn't her breakfast. this is her snack immediately following breakfast. that's right.)

little bit of this. little bit of that.

gorgeous weather one weekend so we got to play outside a lot.  here she is one day over at her cousins. it was nice to be able to sit out on the deck, rum & coke in hand, and watch all the kids play (well, as much as a non walking 13.5 month old can play). we'll be over kt & justin's a lot this spring/summer, invite or not. :) 

playing in our backyard.  she is blinded by the sun & cracking up at riley chasing the ball.  right now, the funniest thing in the world to her is riley, and i love it. 

snow day.  this shows how crazy northern va weather can be.  this was just 4 days before the gorgeous weather in the pictures above.  i was excited to get more sledding in, but it was really windy this day so we just played inside. 

I decided to try to give her pig tails one morning.  She screams as if she's in pain the second I start to gather her hair up.  We can put bows in her hair but that's the extent of what she can handle.  Hopefully that changes.  Ryan is pretty good at braiding ;) 

weeknight evenings go by way too fast.  right now, daddy is playtime and mommy is HOLD ME NOW.  hello heating pad & motrin.  brielle isn't exactly light ;) 

splish splash!

Forget all the toys she has in the bath, she would much rather just stand in the tub & jump up and down. love this girl & her wild personality.  

self challenge

One thing I really want to get better at is taking more pictures of Brielle with the actual camera. I still (two+ years later) don't really know how to use it, so I feel myself missing out on a lot of really cute moments because it ends up being dark or out of focus. This is why it's just easier to use my iphone. It's always on me and I know they'll come out. I follow a couple blogs (well, let's be honest... A LOT) and I always see these challenges. For example, the 356 project. Taking a picture of your child everyday for a year. I know that just won't happen so I'm not going to tell myself I'll do that, but it's going to be my motivation to just simply take more pictures. Period.  I don't want to look back and think I didn't capture as many memories as possible.  

Quick picture to end this Monday. Now time for Bachelor & wine.

13 months

At the risk of sounding cliche, WHERE DID MY BABY GO?

At 13 months you are: 

• saying momma, dada, mo mo (more), ba (bottle and ball), uh oh, do (dog), shhh (telling riley to be quiet or when the microwave/oven beeps), shoooos (shoes), hiiii and bow. you say A LOT more but we haven't been able to make it out just yet :) 
• sign more along with saying it
• dance anytime you hear music, when we sing to you or your favorite sprout shows come on
• give high fives
• give kisses
• jump up & down while holding onto things 
• clap your hands constantly, especially when we say "yayy" or sing "if you're happy and you know it" or "patty cake", which is somethings our only saving grace with diaper changes
• love books and turning pages yourself and pointing to everything
• prefer daddy to put you to bed and wave at me as soon as he picks you up to take you upstairs, so sweet
• love grabbing the pillows from couch, putting them on floor, putting your head on them & saying "awww"
• not walking yet but seem to be getting more brave while cruising furniture or standing while holding onto things
• terrible twos? well, you started a year early.  you throw quite the temper tantrums, usually when we take our iphone away from you OR when you are playing with it and it's on the "lock" screen because you know it's locked. 
• throw the ball to the doggie
• eat anything and everything.  your favorites are carbs & cheese.  girl after my own heart
• have 8 teeth! four on top & four on bottom.  thankfully, your teething hasn't interrupted your sleep yet. (better knock on wood now)
• still an amazing sleeper.  you play in your crib when you wake up in the morning and just wait for us to come get you
• GORGEOUS AS EVER! xoxoxo