Hollin's 1st birthday: her sweet party

Our little

Cupcake

turns

ONE

tomorrow!

What better way to celebrate the sweetest little girl I have ever met, than to have a cupcake-themed birthday party? How about having two parties?!

This is a combination of pictures from her party at my parents' house and at Matt's parents' house.

There was no shortage of people to love on this sweet girl!

And lots of sweets to eat!

She loved eating her cake!

Zane (aka batman) was concerned that she wouldn't wear her birthday hat.

She got SO many great gifts! She was so funny on this car. Her big toes barely touched the floor and she just kind of sat there in amazement, but would scream every time we took her off of it.

It's just crazy to me that we're already celebrating one year with Hollin Elizabeth. I'm so thankful for this little blessing. She and Zane keep me so busy, but honestly I'm not sure how I would've survived the past year in Wisconsin without them. I love them so much! And their sweet daddy!

A special thank you to Nana and DeeDee for helping with the parties. It's hard to travel 800 miles and plan two birthday parties!

Nana & I

My parents, "Nana & I", came to Wisconsin the last week of September. South Arkansas was experiencing weather in the high 80s and 90s, so I'm not sure that they were prepared for the little pop of cold weather that we got right before their arrival! It was 34° and raining the morning we picked them up at the airport.

We stayed pretty busy with activities. We went to the park and played a couple of times. We bundled Hollin in this snowsuit from last year. It was a little too small and wouldn't button between her legs! It kept her warm and cozy though! I love this picture of Hollin and my mom. They are twins!

I know this looks crazy because we are all bundled up and he's got on short sleeves. But this little toot head would NOT put a coat on! He had to "do it MY way!" I guess superheroes don't get cold?

Fun grandparents, huh? Wish we lived closer so that they could play more often. Soon....

The cold weather was the perfect excuse to light the fire pit. We cooked brats (like good little temporary Wisconsin residents) and made s'mores.

And Hollin proved that she looks cute in a hat.

We went to the zoo....

And to Schuster's Playtime Farm. We went last year with Matt's parents when Hollin was just 12 days old.

And then this little cowboy flew home with Nana and I.

 

Little sister wasn't too sure what to think about being an only child. One morning she found a picture of Zane and carried it around with her all day.

Daddy bought her some new outfits and she got some good snuggle time in with him.

Six days later we packed our bags! I think it was kind of obvious by the clothes that I packed that we were headed to Arkansas.

One random airport picture that I took during our trip home.

 

Dee and Doot

Matt's mom and grandma (Dee Dee and Mama Doot) came to visit us a few weeks ago. Mama Doot had never been to Wisconsin before, so we were so excited to show her our little neck of the woods. Unfortunately, the trip started out with Mama Doot taking a little tumble in our driveway. It was actually more than just 'a little tumble', but after a quick trip to the ER, a clear CT, and four staples to the head, we still mananged to show her a good time. I think Mama Doot's favorite part of the trip might have been reading books to Hollin.

These pictures were taken at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, one of our favorite places. The weather was perfect. The kiddos were pretty good, too.

I had to crop this next picture of Zane and enlarge it because the face he's making just cracks me up!

Sweet brother and sister sitting on the elephant together for the first time. "Baby" had to go on the trip with us. She even got to sit on the elephant.

Thanks for coming, ya'll! We had so much fun! Having a little bit of Arkansas coming to see us sure makes the homesickness go away for a little bit.

 

eleven months.

She's eleven months old. And beautiful and sweet and funny and smart. The best baby girl I could ever ask for. I love to hear her giggle when she plays peek-a-boo. I love her blue eyes. I love that she's started giving open mouthed kisses. I love her fuzzy strawberry blonde hair. I love her.

At eleven months:

*Hollin eats everything! Pretzel sticks are her favorite snack. She likes crackers, bananas, peaches, yogurt, grilled chicken strips...basically every fruit and veggie we've given her, she's eaten. She was weird with mashed potatoes, which is funny because Zane hates mashed potatoes. This past week she has been refusing most bottles and completely stopped nursing last week. She's definitely getting enough calories, though, because she is loving real food!

*She has four top teeth and two bottom teeth.

*She started officially crawling the 'normal' way a few weeks ago. She is pulling up on everything and has learned to crawl up the stairs. I'm having to keep a much closer eye on her these days.

*She goes to sleep around 7 or 7:30pm. Sometimes she wakes up in the night, but usually just fusses a little and goes back to sleep. She wakes up around 6:30 or 7. Still loves her yellow blankie. We also started putting her in a sleep sack again because the nights have gotten cooler and she doesn't stay covered up. We think she was waking up more at night because she was cold. Most days she takes a short morning nap and a longer afternoon nap.

*I found a baby doll in her room the other day and she LOVES it. "Baby" rarely leaves her side now. I realized that all the toys she plays with are Zane's, so Buzz Lightyear is probably the closest thing she's had to a baby doll. She's such girlie girl. When she see's "Baby" she squeals with delight. She loves on her and tries to feed her. She can point to Baby's eyes, nose, and mouth when asked.

*Words: dada, byebye, mama (rarely), hi (and it sounds very southern! Maybe we won't tell her she was born in Wisconsin), and bottle. 'Bottle' really makes us laugh because she actually says 'bottle' in low, kind of mumbly voice and she says it over and over. She says it when she sees a bottle, but I think she also uses it to mean any kind of food. She loves to play patty cake and peek-a-boo. When we sing the ABCs, she 'sings' along and it even sounds like she has the tune.

*She's wearing 9 to 12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. She never wears shoes. I have ordered her some shoes and boots for the winter. I'm sure she'll be walking soon and her little feet will be cold....however, I have not had any luck getting her to keep them on yet. I put some boots on her the other day and she kicked and screamed until she got them off.

*When I leave her with childcare at the gym she usually cries. I don't think it lasts long. They told me the other day that once I give her to one of the girls there, she won't go to anyone else. It's like she's thinking, "My mama trusted you with me, so you're stuck with me!"

She looks so big in this picture!

My camera was on the wrong setting, so every pic I took in her brown chair is blurry. I have to put one anyway, just for their comparison pictures.

I really can't believe that she'll be ONE next month! I need her to stay a baby!