birthday party

for some photos from karis’ birthday party, check out my other blog: http://www.the-acts-of-grace.com/

partying

we’ve been partying hard over here! karis is one!

it was just the three of us on her birthday. we had birthday pancakes for breakfast (one of karis’ favorite foods).

then it was time for some gifts! she was really into unwrapping her gifts. we gave her a doll, some accessories for the doll, and some colorful fabric scarves.

after gifts, we drove out to the farm where we buy our milk. a calf had just been born the day before and we were able to see the little guy. karis loves walking around at the farm – there are animals everywhere! to continue with the animal theme, we headed to the zoo for the afternoon. it was a good time.

and we couldn’t let her birthday pass by without balloons – the kid loves them! and she actually says the word “balloon”. it’s so cute.

we both had our sentimental moments all day as we thought about how much she has grown and changed. stay tuned for a birthday party post with photos of the smash cake!

happy first birthday!

march 17…our little love is ONE! oh how we love her – more than words can ever say. we are so thankful for the gift of her life. i still remember so clearly the moment she was born – i could not stop smiling and laughing because she brought me so much joy. she continues to bring so much joy to our lives. this past year has been very difficult and she has been a little light to us and a constant reminder of the grace of God in our lives. i am so proud and thankful to be her mommy. each day, i think that i love her as much as i possibly can…and then the next day comes and i am amazed to find that i love her even more.

here’s a short slideshow i made to celebrate her birthday on this blog. the song is “when i’m with you” by jj heller. a perfect song to express how we both feel about our karis.

smarty-pants.

our kid is smart. so smart. yes, this is parental bragging. but she really is really smart.

she has a huge vocabulary. she has been saying balloon (yes, with two syllables) since valentine’s day when she was almost 11 months old. she has recently added pompom, more, yucky, sock, shoe, and milk to her vocabulary. the other day she started saying bible. no kidding. a few days ago she started saying “brown bear” whenever she sees the book brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? it’s so cute. oh…and when we get to the page that says, “i see a yellow duck looking at me!”, if i say, “i see a yellow…” she will fill in the “duck” almost every time.

but today, TODAY…i was playing with her and i hugged her and said “i love you”. and she actually said “i love you”. it sounded more like “ah ou ou”…but she said it several more times throughout the day and it definitely is the karis version of “i love you”. she even laid a big smooch on my cheek right after she said it. wow.

no baby sign language for this one. jeremy and i are still debating whose genes contributed to this intelligence.

and p.s. – one year ago today was my due date and exactly one year ago, i was a very pregnant and very crabby woman. it has gone so fast. i would go back and do it all over again if i could…even the labor! check back on the 17th for a special little birthday post about our one-year-old girl.

all will be made new

these are hard days since my dad died. when my dad was admitted to hospice, a very nice couple from my parent’s church gave me, and each of my sisters, a beautiful homemade card with an itunes gift card inside. i found this to be an incredibly thoughtful gift as music (for me at least) is a helpful way to process some of my grief. jeremy and i finally chose some new music to purchase with the gift card, and one of the songs is “kingdom come” by jj heller.  this song has been on repeat on my itunes and in my heart.

i found this video on youtube so i could share the song. some of the photos in this video are a bit cheesy…but the song is what i have been listening to.

all will be made new. hallelujah.

in my dreams

my dad came into one of my dreams last night. i don’t remember the exact circumstances, but i very much remember him being there. as soon as i saw him, i ran over and hugged him. it was a real hug – i could really feel him. and i said, “i have missed you so much!”

i do miss him so much. i just can’t get used to it…this new life of missing him.

and how is it that photos both soothe and worsen the ache at the same time?

words and animal sounds

this video is from the other day. (please ignore the fact that karis is licking the dog’s dish at the beginning of the video. haha.) here she is showing off some of her words. these are some of the many words she says on a regular basis (she is not just imitating me).

first steps!

karis took her first steps the other day!

happy valentine’s day!

snowed in

it’s time for some new pics of our little love.

here she is eating braised turnips. she LOVES them! she’s a good little eater these days. hard to believe we had such a hard time getting her to eat when she was a newborn!

love the little curls behind the ears. oh, so cute.

she’s ten months! actually…ten-and-a-half months now.

her first snow angel (with momma’s help)

she wore pig tails one day to surprise daddy when he got home from work. silly.

and we’ve taken several excursions out into the snow with our trusty little red sled. what fun!

we just had a blizzard. we got somewhere over a foot of snow and jeremy had two snow days. what a treat! jeremy did have school today, but he got stuck trying to get out of the driveway and ended up missing class. oh well. our street finally got plowed this afternoon (we are one of the last to be plowed, i think!). we ventured out to the farm today to pick up our milk and ended up careening into a snowbank and getting stuck. we were so thankful when two guys with pickups stopped and offered to pull us out!

jeremy is at class tonight. i got karis to bed, cleaned up the house, and am settled in watching mary tyler moore. despite the mounds of snow everywhere, i think we will be back to our normal routine tomorrow.