Baby Marin | Week Fifty Two

This is it. We made it to one year. I am a few days late in posting this but I wanted to make sure we celebrated our little one's birthday, surrounded by family. I realize that she probably won't remember much of this party, but mid-party, Saturday evening, I took a step back and realized how greatly loved our little girl is. There was a pretty intense snowstorm going on outside and family still braved the drive to our home. 

Marin thoroughly enjoyed opening up her presents and playing with her new toys. Her attention span was shockingly long when it came to opening up her presents. She understands the concept pretty well, I believe. Marin received a lot of new clothes, which she needed. She also received some awesome toys, including a drum set, a circus tent to play in, and a little car to ride around on. She was given puzzles and books, bath toys and even the beginning of a college fund that family can place money in throughout the rest of her life. 

She is well loved. 

She also loved the cupcake, once she figured out what to do with it. She was a lot cleaner about that whole process than I expected. Granted, I still had to clean a lot of cupcake off of the floor, but we didn't have to give her a bath afterwards. 

She slept like a rock that evening and didn't wake up until almost 8 am. Marin has started her first year with a bang. 

Baby Marin. Week Fifty Two. 

Baby Marin | Week Fifty One

One more week until Marin is one. I just sent out the invite for her birthday bash. I am debating whether or not we should get her a smash cake or just a cupcake. I've already bought her way too many birthday gifts over the past few months. 

The weather has been abnormally amazing for February and we took full advantage of that earlier today. We haven't been out in the jogging stroller in far too long. Most of the time, the stroller just sits in our living room and our cat uses it as a hiding place when he is running away from our crazy baby. But, today I decided to pack us a lunch, bring my camera, and we walked to the park that is literally right across the way from us. 

I need to get our kid out more into the world, into nature. I want her to be the type of child that plays outside any chance she gets, dirty knees, sun kissed, and only coming in when the street lights start coming on. We played outside a lot when we were younger. I want Marin to not be cooped up in the house all day. I can tell she isn't outside enough. She's still not sure of grass and leaves. She is finally old enough to crawl around through the grass and she is constantly on a path of discovery. 

We ate our lunch in the sunshine. I would like many more days like this one. 

Baby Marin. Week Fifty One. 

Baby Marin | Week Fifty

2 more weeks. 2 more weeks until our little baby is a one year old. This time last year, I was big and pregnant and waiting for her arrival. February 8th was my due date. We went far past that day and Marin took her precious time in getting here. We waited until ten days past my due date. We did lots of waiting, and wondering, and waiting some more. 

Marin and I try to make a trip to see the Great Grandparents once a week or so, as our schedule allows. I always love going down. It gets us out of the house and she always has fun. We usually have lunch and play on the floor. We usually make the trek down after her morning nap and hang out until right before her afternoon nap. That's what we did today, although as I write this, she is supposed to be taking a nap and I can hear her playing around in her crib. Go to sleep, child. 

Marin has been fighting a gnarly cold the past few weeks. Her nose finally has stopped running constantly but she now has a lovely cough instead. Having a sick baby is a tough thing. She really hasn't been sick at all yet, so this feels like new territory. It's tough when they can't tell you what's going on and you just make sure they are comfortable and cozy. I am ready for this sickness to be out of house. 

(She wasn't quite sure about the Cabbage Patch doll.) 

Baby Marin. Week Fifty. 

2 more weeks. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Nine

This week has been full of baby drool, baby snot, and working on baby teeth. We resorted back to wearing bibs for a while because this little gal is a drool producing factory at the moment. I believe she is working on a few more teeth. Marin hates having her nose cleaned out and wiped off. She battles against the Kleenex every single time. I can't wait until we get to the point of where she knows how to blow her nose. For now, we are all kind of snotty messes around these parts. 

I feel like Marin is so close to walking. Part of me isn't ready for that, it is all going so fast! She will stand on her own every once in a while and then quickly realizes what she is doing and she falls back to the floor. One day she is just going to walk and surprise us all, including herself. 

Also, these photos should be proof of the toy destruction that is usually found in our basement. Building blocks, toy pianos, baby dolls, stuffed animals. Everything must be out on the floor and should never be in the nice baskets that we have for the toys. That's at least Marin's philosophy on all of it. 

I only have a few more of these posts before we hit one year. I am trying to decide what my next plan is with the Marin photos. Creating these posts every week has been pretty time consuming. But, they do help me get out my camera and actually use it even within the chaos that is our life. There is never a dull moment when Marin is involved. 

I feel like this could be Marin's first "Selfie." 

Week Forty Nine. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Eight

"Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it."  

Proverbs 22:6 NLT 

Music runs through our family's veins, it is in our bones. Even when we go through seasons where we aren't playing music as often as we once did, in our younger, childless years, we still always find it and it always finds us. I believe that Marin has music in her as well. She dances. She sings. She lights up whenever music is playing anywhere we are. 

The day will come in the not so far off future when I will sit down at the piano with Marin and teach her just like my grandma taught me. She will probably have those moments of watching the clock during practice and long for the time when she can go out and play with her friends. But, maybe in the further future, she will feel the freedom of playing in front of and with a group of people for the first time. She will feel the heat and nervousness but then also the moment of realizing that she is doing something truly special. There's nothing like it. 

Maybe she will be a drummer. Maybe she will play guitar. Maybe she will play piano. Maybe she will sing. Maybe she will write songs. 

I can't wait to see her love for music grow and morph. 

Week Forty Eight. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Seven (11 Months)

Tomorrow Marin will be 11 months. We are barreling quickly towards having a one year old. I don't have a ton to say today other than the fact that she is growing like crazy and is keeping me on my toes. Marin loves to get into EVERYTHING. I can't blink without her crawling across the room and going straight for something electronic. 

She has decided that she no longer likes bananas and turned up her nose this afternoon at sweet potatoes. We are still trying all sorts of new foods, which is an adventure in itself. 

(Marin's hat is from Ember Kid.) 

Nap times have been hit and miss this week. She has been taking great morning naps but the afternoon naps have been a bit of a struggle. She's moving around in her crib as I write this. I have had to move the baby monitor way out of her reach. 

Baby Marin. Week Forty Seven. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Six

I am becoming more and more aware of how soon Marin will be a one year old. My brain almost can't grasp that quite yet. I've been slowly figuring out what gifts we will give her. I want there to be a  smash cake. It will be here before we know it. 

Marin has finally mastered the art of feeding herself. I feel like we have been working on this for a while now but one day she just started picking food up and feeding herself. It was like something just clicked for her all of sudden. My current struggle is trying to figure out all of the things that I should feed her and then all of the things that she will eat. Marin eating food is great but there have been a few moments where the simplicity of breast feeding sounds so great but also so long ago. 

Whenever Marin hears music she starts dancing. That's probably my favorite quirk of hers. This girl loves music. Coming from two musician parents, we are obviously ecstatic and can't wait for the day that I begin teaching her how to play the piano or when she will get her first set of drums. Music is in her blood and I am forever thankful. 

Baby gates have become my best friend. Every morning, I pick up the house. I've been letting Marin roam the floor while I put away dishes and wipe up baby messes. She loves "helping" with emptying the dishwasher, has found a new love for anything that is stuck on the fridge, and still loves trying to escape out the kitty door. One day she will surprise us and just start walking around. It will happen soon. 

We also tried the nursery at church this past Sunday. She was fine when we left but only made it about 3/4 of the way through the service. I think it was pretty overwhelming for her to be around twenty other babies. Her existence usually consists of her family and her cousin. That's it. We will still keep trying because I know it's good for her to be around other littles, but we had some pretty epic tears on Sunday. Tomorrow will be a new day and we will try again. 

Week Forty Six. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Five

Another week has past. The dust from the holidays is settling and our living room looks empty without the warm presence of the Christmas tree and lights. I always am sad when we pack away everything for the beginning of a new year. It is nice though to have our home back to normal once more. 

We have been fighting some gnarly colds around these parts and I feel like we are finally nearing the end of all of this sickness. We have spent many days at home lately and I feel like Marin is going a little stir crazy. She has been full of it. Aside from a runny nose, she seems to have bypassed the colds and I am very thankful for that. 

Marin has found a new love for Sesame Street. She has been trying new solid foods and is slowly learning to pick up her food and not just toss it on the floor. Don't get me wrong though, a lot of it ends up on the floor still and I'm sure it will only get messier as we try new foods. Someday we will try spaghetti and someday it will find its way into every nook and cranny of our kitchen. 

Marin's current word is "pretty." She points at everything and states that everything is now "pretty." All day, every day. "Pretty, pretty, pretty." 

It was snowing again today and Marin gets so excited about seeing all of the snowflakes. We need to get this kid out to play in the snow soon. I haven't quite embarked into that yet. 

Week Forty Five. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Four

Marin experienced her first Christmas Eve & Christmas this past week. She loved the ribbon, she loved the wrapping paper. She is loving her new books and toys. She was pretty wiped out by the end of the festivities, but I know she loved every bit of it. She didn't want to miss a thing. 

Also, I cannot believe I am writing these words...... but we have teeth! Her little teeth are finally breaking through. So far, I can feel two of them. She won't let you look at them, but I am certain they are finally there. 

Baby Marin. Week Forty Four. 

Baby Marin | Week Forty Three (10 Months)

As of today, Marin is ten months old. I feel like this week has been super crazy and I have been running all over the place for work and the holidays. Lots of parties, events, meetings. All good things, but I am very glad to have a Thursday at home with this little gal. She is currently napping like a little champ.

She is extra drool-y today and we are still awaiting the arrival of a tooth. Someday it will happen. Someday.

Marin discovered the kitty door today that is in the door in our kitchen that leads out to our garage. That is not a place for babies and she knows that she isn't allowed out there. That realization makes it even more a part of her little baby agenda. Any chance she gets, she crawls as fast as she can to reach the kitty door. Geoff the cat just kind of looks at her like, "Hey, that's my room!"

She has surprised us lately and has been sleeping in later than usual. We didn't roll out of bed until after 8am today. The days of waking up at 3am or 5am have left us, at least for now. It has been a nice, welcomed change.

(A gal and her kitty buddy.) 

I can't wait for this time next week when Marin gets to experience her very first Christmas. I think she will enjoy the wrapping paper and boxes almost more than the gifts themselves. She was totally entertained with tissue paper for a very long time while I was wrapping gifts the other day. Simple distractions.

Week Forty Three. Ten Months.