2.23.2011

adalaide's first birthday


it's an interesting thing being pregnant and extra emotional when your baby turns one. i teared up during brian's prayer for her at her party. i teared up looking back at the photos from her birth. and i could probably tear up right now just trying to put words to how much we love our little adalaide.



from the day i met her i've had this urge to just eat her, or squeeze her or kiss her to death. do you know what i mean, or does that sound creepy? some babies just do that to me, and she's one of them {probably has a lot to do with her adorable chubby thighs}. she joined our family with such ease and made the transition to two kids incredibly easy and enjoyable. even through all her illness this winter, she's been one of the least demanding babies i know.



she is a dynamic little thing. she's  mostly loud, silly, and on the go all the time. but she can be very shy and reserved in certain settings. she wants her family right by her side at all times. she's always been this way, so i'd venture to say it's a part of her personality and not just stranger anxiety. she always warms up to new people and new settings-she just wants to do it on her terms and in her timing.



she is loving. so extremely loving, and affectionate.  please lord, let her always have such a loving spirit. she loves to snuggle and give hugs.  throughout the day she crawls over to me and gives me big, slobbery kisses-all on her own without me asking. when brian comes home from work she needs to spend a couple of minutes loving on him. if this time doesn't happen, she'll follow him around making it known that she needs something.



she loves her big sister. before having our second child i never would have imagined how fast a bond develops between siblings. even though the age gap is quite obvious at this stage, they really are buddies. she needs to be in the same room as finley at all times, eating the same food, and playing with the same toys. the cute thing is, for the most part finley loves it and reciprocates it. i love listening to them giggle and play together. seriously, there's no better sound.



things that she loves: her blankie, baths, playing in finley's bed, strawberries, sneaking into the bathroom to unroll the toilet paper, reading books, going to the park, and dancing.



this weekend we had some family over to celebrate her special day. it was the kind of party i think she'd ask for if she could-simple.



i made her a special pink cake, but wondered to myself if she'd actually eat it. she hasn't had sugar before, and doesn't particularly enjoy getting messy. 



sure enough, she hated it. she barely touched it and grimaced every time she had a taste of it.



on her actual birthday i made her something i knew she'd love. strawberries! covered in whip cream, of course, so i could get the classic 'messy face' picture.



we love our little adalaide may so much. this year with her has been such a joy, and she's been such a blessing to our family. even though i'd love for her to stay our adorable chubby baby forever, we can't wait to watch her grow into a little lady.


happy first birthday, adalaide!


and just for fun...










2.21.2011

Happy Birthday Mama!

This is the last year my wife can say she's in her twenties and I feel it necessary to reciprocate words of praise on her special day (which was yesterday). First off, what a wonderful mom for sharing her birthday with her beloved daughter. Doesn't get much more selfless then that. And for all of you who know Meghan, you know that the birthday is possibly the most important day of celebration in ones life. This is obviously reflected in how much time and effort she puts into giving me and her daughters the best birthdays ever. If only I had a cloning machine to make another Meghan to throw herself a party. One can dream! She really knows how to go the extra mile to make us feel loved and important and we are so blessed. Plus she is an awesome party thrower; And Pregnant! Anyway...for all you people who enjoy this thing called the blogosphere, I just wanted you to know how much I do appreciate and love my wife. She is the BEST. So happy birthday honey. May it be our best year yet!

2.15.2011

weekend of l-o-v-e


brian and i went on a little date. we ate yummy food. slowly. and actually conversed with one another. it was quite lovely, and i feel motivated to make it happen more than, oh twice a year. also, someone may have needed to loosen their belt on the ride home. and it wasn't brian. 


we baked treats for vday






and put together special goodies for our friends. cute cards from here.



we made a special valentine for brian




which was fun for a while...



until it wasn't anymore.



good weekend, for sure.

2.10.2011

can i give some advice?

on my old blog i had a tracking thingy installed that told me where my visitors came from and how they got to my blog. one day i saw that someone {from germany} had gotten to our page from google by typing in some crass pedophile search. since then i've been much more mindful about the content i post on our blog, and the words that i use in a given post. WordPress offers a different, far less informative, tracking thing that is built into my blog. it doesn't tell me much, but it does keep track of visitors who come via a search engine {google} and what words they searched for. luckily the person who came by our site this week, didn't find what they were looking for, but it's still disturbing nonetheless. and since most of the people who check our blog have family blogs themselves, i felt the need to share a bit of advice. be careful what photos you post. be mindful of your words. even if you aren't writing about something inappropriate, a google search pulls words out of various sentences. ok, that's all.

have a good day :)

2.08.2011

etsy: girly edition

i'm feeling on top of the world right now. my mil came over to watch the girls this morning so i could go to mom's group. it's almost scary how much i enjoyed those few hours...having a peaceful car ride with my sister-in-law, being able to carry on a conversation without three billion interruptions. i love my little ones, but let's just say i needed some 'me time'. i feel like a new woman-thanks grandma!


anyway...


my due date is sneaking up on us, and even though this girl doesn't need a single thing, i still have the desire to get her {or make her} a little something. i've been looking on etsy for some special little girl things and these are some of my favorites...



from here



i'll take one of these for all 3 girls. from here



and what the heck, i'll take 3 of these as well. from here



can't you just picture some chubby little legs in these!



this is my belated christmas gift that i'll order after no. 3 makes her arrival. from here


i love etsy. and i love window shopping...especially for little girls.

2.05.2011

bounce

what were you doing at 9:30 on this saturday morning?
sleeping? enjoying a lazy breakfast?


i was going into premature labor at the bouncy house down the street.
isn't it funny that our town doesn't have a grocery store, starbucks, or stop light, but we have an amazing bouncy house?


finley and i went on a little date a few weeks ago and discovered this little gem, and i have to say it is incredibly fun.





and just because this picture makes me die laughing every time i look at it...



she tried on these boots at target last week. and apparently this is the pose  you do when wearing boots.

2.03.2011

february

february is a good month. obviously we've got valentine's day to celebrate, as well as mine and adalaide's birthday. my birthday isn't really that big of a deal to me, but i'll tell ya what is.... my baby's birthday. her FIRST birthday. We're putting together a party that is fit just for her. small and simple, but a special party nonetheless. even though we're only having a couple people over i couldn't resist putting together an invitation- you know, for baby book purposes.


{front}



{back}

2.01.2011

adalaide

a message to our friends:

we are going into hibernation.
unless you can tell me where to get a child size bubble {a la seinfeld}
she has been sick non-stop since halloween.
it is sad for her.
it is sad for us.
we miss our friends.
we miss being social.
but, if you are sick, stay far, FAR away.

love, the neuenschwanders

all kidding aside. she really has had a rough couple months. so much so, we had her doctor do some blood work to make sure nothing serious was weakening her immune system. praise the lord, the tests came back fine. but, in an attempt to let her body rebound we've been advised to lay low for a couple weeks. 

and just because she's so gosh darn cute {even sick}...