Cati's First Year in Four Minutes

Here's a little video of pictures taken during Cati's first year of life. Who would have thought I could condense her life in four minutes? I set the video to Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet" because that's the first song she knew, recognized, and calmed down to when she heard. Plus, it's the first song she and I ever danced to so it has a lot of sentimental ties for me.

My baby is one and, surprisingly enough, I don't feel like crying or mourning the end of this stage. Maybe it's because I hated the newborn stage so much. More likely it's because I am utterly infatuated with the stage we are currently in and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for us. 

Twelve Months

Today is a milestone little one. It is a milestone for our entire family: it has been one year since you were born, one year since I gave birth to you, and one year since we became a little family. Today you say hello to toddlerhood and goodbye to babyhood.

And what a goodbye you gave. In the past month you have grown up so much and become such a little girl. I've said it before that I see you more as an active little person versus a blob of a baby but when I say that I mean I see you as an independent active little person. You can do so much on your own from walking to feeding yourself to playing on your own.

In this past month you have started to let others into your private little world. You bring us toys to play with you, you chat up a storm in your own little language, you like to engage us in games like peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek, and you aren't afraid of interacting with new people anymore (especially babies). You are so social and active.

The downside to you being so active is that now you hate sitting still and being tied down for more than ten minutes. Car rides and walks in the strollers have reverted back to that newborn stage because you start throwing a fit (in the form of crying, throwing toys, and swinging feet or some combination of those three things). My car now looks like a traveling Toys R Us because of all the things needed to keep you entertained and distracted. At one point this month I even timed your attention span: shortest time 32 seconds; longest time seven minutes.

You have always been a happy baby but this past month you showed us your range of emotions particularly anger and sadness. You showed us we could hurt your feelings by telling you no. You also showed us how much it hurts your feelings when I don't put you down to sleep myself. You are such a sentimental little girl and now it takes consolation on an emotional level to make you feel better as opposed to the consolation on a physical level marked by the first few months of your life. You also showed us your sense of humor and ability to understand the absurd (me skipping seems to be a personal favorite).

The past month in your life has been wonderful and magical. Each day my little stranger becomes more familiar. Each day I understand you better and see you as a wholly separate entity. The month was split in two for me: on one level the month was spent seeing you come into your own and letting us in your world and on another level it was spent in preparation of the one day that would celebrate the most amazing 365 days.

This past month you stopped drinking breast milk and started drinking cow's milk. You gained another tooth and expanded your vocabulary with the addition of "agua" (water) and you helped us realize day after day how lucky we are to be your parents.

Photo by Yania of Breathtaking Memories

Today is February 14th. Today you woke up to the most annoying rendition of "Happy Birthday to You". Today I not only get to reflect on the past month of your life but also the past year. Today is the day I get to assess the whole of your life instead of its parts. Today I get to celebrate you in the most loving way: one year ago you came into my life and blessed me with the gift of motherhood and unconditional love and awe. For that there are not enough thank yous in the world.

Styling C: 02.10.11 to 02.13.11

Thursday, 02.10.11

The Look: Casual Cutie
The Outfit: Old Navy gray top and blue jeans

Friday, 02.11.11

The Look: Casual Cutie

The Outfit: Old Navy blue floral top, Gap brown jeans, Stride Rite brown shoes


Saturday, 02.12.11

The Look: Birthday Chic

The Outfit: Cutienessers rosette headband, Carter's ballerina top, 
The Children's Place pink tutu skirt/pants, Stride Rite brown shoes

Sunday, 02.13.11

The Look: Sunday's Best

The Outfit: DKNY blue striped dress, Old Navy Tights, Payless pink shoes

 

This Week in Mommyhood

This was the last week of Cati's first year of life and it was marked by the celebration of her first birthday. Cati's birthday is tomorrow but the week was spent in preparation of her party. I'll have more to say on the party when I have more pictures but just know that it was a fantastic day and Cati was spoiled with love.

To really mark the end of her first year of life there is no longer an ounce of breast milk in the house. Cati had her last bit of breast milk during her last bottle of the day on Feb. 10th. I thought I would be sad about this but I wasn't because of how well Cati has taken to the organic whole milk. If she still had that rash and apparent sensitivity then I would have felt guilty about not pumping longer.

Cati is getting a top tooth! I knew something was up with her and it was confirmed when I looked in her mouth. That sucker is starting to break through and its appearance is only further confirming my suspicious that the child will be teething into her teens since teeth are coming one month apart.

 

Cati has become such a social baby over the last two weeks. She loves to play with you and is constantly bringing you toys so you can play with her. She's also become a bit of a chatter box and the intonations of her voice are the most beautiful and hilarious things we have ever heard. Best of all, she loves and understands hide-and-seek. Alex will cover his eyes, count to ten, and then chase after Cati. While Alex is counting to ten, Cati tries to run away, and as soon as she hears him call out ten and his footsteps approaching she stops and breaks down into the biggest giggling fit. It's as if the anticipation of him catching her is too much for her to handle and she explodes with laughter.

We had our final photo session this week and Cati was not feeling it at all. She was all smiles during her 9-month session but this time around she wanted nothing to do with the camera. All she wanted to do was play with the water in the fountain or walk around and she got mad every time we tried to hold her down for pictures. The only pictures she cooperated with where the cake ones because she was distracted by all the blue sugary goodness. I still can't get over how she reacted to the cake and that will definitely be one of the highlights from her first year of life.

That's it. My baby will be one tomorrow. I don't know if I am going to keep on doing these "This Week in Mommyhood" posts because my goal was just to do them through her first year of life. I guess we'll see how I'm feeling next Sunday!

Trash the Tutu!

Or Cati's Cake Smashing Session. We had Cati's 12-month portrait session today and, for as long as I can remember, I have wanted to do a cake smashing session for this portrait session. I debated what Cati should wear and ultimately decided that she should wear her tutu and really give it a big good-bye. I still want to squeeze her in it on Monday but this was the big celebratory wear. I also wanted a pink cake but Publix only had blue and I did not want to make another trip out to the grocery store. I actually think the blue worked out better than pink!

At first, Cati was confused by the cake and she needed Alex to give her the go ahead but once she got started there was no stopping her. She had cake everywhere and she looked like a little blue alien as I tried to wipe her down at the end. Here's a video:

Here's the poor trashed tutu. It has definitely seen better days.

Here's my favorite picture taken by Yania of Breathtaking Memories:

This kid is such a stunner. I still remember her newborn session and now her 12-month session is over and done with. I'm so happy we decided to document her first year of life in this way. It's crazy to think of how much my baby girl has grown and developed over this last year and how much she has filled our lives with love, happiness, and hope.

Birthday Zone

The party is this week! Cati's first birthday party is just a few days away. I have made so many trips to Costco, Michael's, BJ's, and Publix in the last few days that I'm starting to think I work there. I have been so busy with prep work and a ton of last minute decisions that I haven't even had time to register how I'm feeling emotionally about this milestone. I just know that it will hit me after the party: after we have celebrated with our loved ones and I'm once again reminded of how much people love Cati. The big weekend bet will be at what point will I cry: after the party, on her actual birthday, or as I'm putting my baby to sleep for the last time as a baby. All I can say is that I'm thankful Alex is on vacation so he can give me a little talk when my emotions get the better on me.

Anyway, enough about emotions. The party is this week! True to myself, the one thing I am really excited about when it comes to the party (other than celebrating Cati herself) is the dessert table. I have layouts drawn out and I even set-up the table just to get a feel for how everything would fit and look. I'm not so concerned with other aspects of the party but, for some reason, I am obsessing over this dessert table. There will be ten items on the table and I am making six of those items. Today was Day One of my mini baking marathon and it was a huge success. I'm already ahead of schedule and am so proud of how everything came out. My kitchen is a disaster but I guess that's the price you pay for baking heaven.

Here's the current state of affairs in our kitchen and a sneak peek into my highly anticipated and planned dessert table:

Styling C: 02.07.11 to 02.09.11

Monday, 02.07.11

The Look: Casual Cutie

The Outfit: Junk Food for Gap purple Belle top, Old Navy jeans, Gap jelly shoes

Tuesday, 02.08.11

The Look: Miami Casual
The Outfit: La Ideal pink bow, Bonnie Baby floral top, Crazy8 jeans, Me Too silver shoes

Wednesday, 02.09.11

The Look: Sweet & Girly

The Outfit: First Impressions pink floral dress
 

TWD: Bourbon Bread Pudding

I never thought I would be a bread pudding fan but Dorie has turned me into one. Alex and I both enjoyed this week's Bourbon Bread Pudding selection. I will admit, however, that I cheated a bit because I wasn't in the mood to wait around while the pudding sat for an hour. Instead, I stuck the pudding in the oven right after I pour the liquid over the bread without a water bath and baked for about 25 minutes. The pudding looked gorgeous right when it was taken out of the oven because it was all puffed up like a soufflé. The pudding itself was delicious and I thought the bourbon actually gave the pudding a bit of a coconut flavor.

Thanks to Sharon of Simply Southern for a fantastic selection. Make sure to stop by her blog for the recipe and the TWD site to read what everyone else thought about this pudding.

Styling C: 02.03.11 to 02.06.11

Thursday, 02.03.11

The Look: Cupcake Cutie
The Outfit: Bonnie Baby green plaid cupcake top and pants

Friday, 02.04.11

The Look: Gingham Baby

The Outfit: Crazy8 blue gingham top, Garaminals jean leggings , Jazzy Toes socks


Saturday, 02.05.11

The Look: Sweet & Chic

The Outfit: Ten purple peasant top, Gap skinny jeans, Carter's white socks

Sunday, 02.06.11

The Look: Miami Casual

The Outfit: Gymboree white watermelon top, Old Navy jeans and brown socks

 

This Week in Mommyhood

This past week was an interesting week for Cati. We had been doing so well with the milk switch when, all of a sudden, Cati started having loose poops (not diarrhea) and got a nasty diaper rash. I called the pediatrician but never heard back so I did what every mother should never do: I googled. Turns out loose poops and diaper rash are signs of a milk sensitivity. It also turns out that this could just be her body adjusting to all the sugars in the whole cow's milk. I was freaked out by the diaper rash because it was so bad that it hurt Cati to sit on her bum in the bath and it hurt when we wiped her down. So, based on handy Google,  I had two options, (1) stop giving her cow's milk and try giving her 2% or (2) keep on giving her the milk until her body adjusted. I want with a modified option (1) and stopped the cow's milk for a day so the rash could clear up. I made sure to keep everything else in her diet the same just to completely rule out a milk sensitivity.

The diaper rash got better, but then I was faced with another problem. The frozen milk was dwindling down and I didn't want to throw her into something new without her being eased in first. After a day of breast milk only, I went to the store and bought her organic whole milk and 2% milk. I started off with the organic whole milk because I know whole milk is better for her. And would you believe it that she is taking the organic milk like a champ? No diaper rash, no loose poop diapers, nothing! Now I'm wondering if she is reacting better to the organic milk because it is less processed? Either way, I'm glad she is reacting so well because there is literally 20-something ounces of breast milk left in the house.

Other than the milk setback, Cati has been doing wonderfully this week. She's still being a fickle eater and, unfortunately, she seems to eat better when other people feed her. She definitely associates me with playtime and takes me feeding her a game of "here mommy, eat this!"

Cati loves to drink out of a straw so I thought I would try giving her a sippy cup with a straw to drink out. I know these are such normal things but when my daughter does them I think they are the cutest things on the planet. She looks absolutely adorable walking around with her cup.

Last week Cati learned how to say "woof" when she saw Perla but this week she's learned how to say "woof" whenever she sees a dog! I can't believe how quickly babies make connections like this. Another example has to do with bubbles. We showed her bubbles for the first time last week and this week she knows you have to blow to get the bubbles to come out. She also knows grown-ups are better at bubble blowing and she's constantly bringing us the bubbles so we can blow her bubbles.

The cutest moment this week was when Alex was leaving and she waved at him and blew him kisses. Talk about melting your heart. I will miss certain parts of the baby stage but it's moments like this that remind me there is so much to look forward to with Cati growing up.

Cati has eight more days left of babyhood and this week was spent pouring over her newborn pictures and being amazed at the change and rate of growth.