MOLLY IS ONE!!!!

I cannot believe my little angel is already a year old! She has been such a blessing to our family this year. She is such a great sleeper, so laid back and so happy! At 12 months she is taking 5-6 steps in a row. She is eating all table food and started drinking only whole milk, out of a straw. When she wants something she says DA DA DA very clearly and loud. Sometimes Matthew gets frustrated and says, "Mowwy, I'm trying to say something!" She has started giving kisses and hugs when we ask and she knows what sound a dog makes.

On her actual birthday we all went in her room and sang happy birthday when she woke up. I gave her a quick breakfast and we hit the road to take Andrew to school. Unfortunately, since the boys had been home sick I really needed to run errands for her party. She and Matthew were AMAZING. Then we picked up Andrew from school and grabbed some chicken noodle soup for Drew since he was home sick. Molly took a cat nap on the way home (that's code for a morning nap for the third child) and we had a birthday lunch of Bread Company. Then she took a great birthday nap while Andrew helped me get some projects ready for her party. Once everyone was up from naps we let Molly open her presents from us. Of course the boys were so excited that it turned into a battle of who got to open her presents and who got to play with them first. Poor Drew came down and tried to rally but he was hurting. Then Molly took a bath with some new baths toys and went to bed like our perfect little girl.

Friday I needed to take Matthew to get a hair cut because I had stupidly scheduled family pictures/1 year pictures the same day as Molly's party. (Drew was going to do it Thursday night but obviously was out of commission.) I got him into the Hair Saloon for Men and took all 3. After Matthew was finished I asked the lady who cut his hair if there was any way to make Molly's mullet look better. She said "well right now it looks like Billy Ray Cyrus and I think if I just trim it it will look better." So yes, Molly had her first hair cut at the Hair Saloon for Men:)

Saturday was a busy day! We had family pictures and Molly's 1 year pictures at 10am and then her birthday party at 4pm. Amazingly I was pretty organized and ready for the party. Knowing that the boys would be really into the party I made it into a princess/knight theme. I had a card board castle that they could play in and each child had either knight or princess party favors. I also had a scrapbook set up for all of our guests to write a little note to Molly on her big day. The notes turned out really cute and eventually I'll get them organized and add pictures. Dinner was Chick Fil A chicken nuggets and fruit and Molly's cake was the same pattern as her invitation...pink and purple leopard print. She LOVED the cake.

Thanks to everyone who came to her party and made her first birthday so special. She finally got some girly toys. It's really weird to see pink stuff around our house...but I love it!

AND THE BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL...Molly took right to drinking out of a straw cup with whole milk! Since she has been so picky about only drinking from me I decided I was going to stop her cold turkey. Starting on her birthday I cut out a feeding every day so by Sunday she was completely on whole milk and she is doing AMAZING!!! Thank you God!

Monday was Molly's one year check up. Once again it was easy and she looks great...until the vaccinations. About a minute after she got her vaccinations she got hives under 2 of them. Dr. Bob said he had never seen that in his 31 years of practice (just what I wanted to hear!) He asked me to stay so he could keep an eye on her but luckily once they got some Benedryll in her she was fine.

Her 1 year stats:

Height:30''...75%

Weight: 18lbs 12 oz...25%

Head Circumference:45cm...50%

Beginning of November

In the first half of November, we had beautiful weather. It was so nice to continue going on runs with Molly while the boys were at school and enjoy time outside with the kids. I started taking the boys on bike rides Sundays after church. We would go up to a swamp by our house and feed the ducks then ride to Walgreens and get a snack. They thought that was so cool AND I got a workout in.

November 1st my mom and the boys were off school. She came over to give me a break. I went grocery shopping and even got a manicure! Can't tell you how long it's been since I've done that. They boys sorted their candy by colors and grandma helped Andrew make a chart. Unfortunately Matthew is obsessed with candy so everyday was a battle about when he could have candy. Finally I just threw it away.

Friday the 12th we decided to try a new babysitter. She came over to watch the kids while we went to dinner. We got home about 11:30 and found Andrew still awake! I was shocked until I went to kiss him and he was ON FIRE! The poor kids spiked a fever while we were gone. I felt so bad for him. Matthew also woke up in the middle of the night with a fever. Talk about a buzz kill! By morning, Matthew's fever had broken and he seemed better. Andrew had spurts of energy but was still battling. The saddest part was that it was Andrew's last soccer game and pizza party. I felt so bad for him that he had to miss it. Being the coach of course I had to be there but was so sad for him. A positive of the weekend: Molly started taking steps!!

He got his medal

Monday, Andrew was still complaining of his throat hurting so I decided to take him in to the doctor. I got him in at 9:15, went out to my car with all 3 kids at 8:45 and my battery was dead! I was so frustrated. I unbuckled everyone and cancelled the appointment. I got my neighbor to give me a jump after lunch and was able to get Andrew in. Drew met us there in case my car wouldn't start again. It was quite the ordeal but I'm so glad I took him in because he ended up having strep throat. Poor guy.

By Wednesday, he was back to his old self and back in school. I was so thankful because I was very far behind and starting to stress about my party planning for Miss Molly. Drew got home from work early and said he was starting to feel bad. He was running a fever and was achy with a sore throat. By Thursday morning he was miserable and could barely get out of bed. AND it was Molly's first birthday!!! (He had strep throat too).

Halloween Weekend

The weekend began Thursday for Drew. He came to school with us for Andrew's Halloween Parade and then hit the road for a guys weekend. He headed north for the Tulsa/Notre Dame football game. He went with his dad, brother, and college roommates Rob and Sam.

Here's a picture of Matthew's class Halloween picture the day before:

Andrew's Halloween parade: (forgot to mention, this day was our first cold snap)

Thanks to our great friends and family, I survived the weekend. Thursday we hung out with the Pacificos after school and stayed through dinner.

Friday, they came here in hang out and left after lunch. Then after naps we went to my brother Pete's house for a family Halloween party. Some highlights of the evening: Grandma and Poppa dressed up (field hockey player and cowboy); We took a group shot of the kids which was hilarious. Josie sat there stunned on the couch; Kiersten had story time and was in full charge. Josie and the boys would scoot up close to her to see the picture better and she would say, "Excuse me, you need to scoot back a little bit, everyone please be quiet." After a major sugar hight all 3 kids fell asleep on the way home which was way too late but it was fun!

Saturday we had a noon soccer game. So after breakfast we headed over to hang out with the Pacificos for the morning. Then my mom met me at the game to watch Matthew and Molly while I coached. John and Josie came to the game too. Unfortunately Andrew played the worst game of his entire career (I know it's been a long one:)). It was so frustrating being a coach/parent. He literally walked around the field playing with the string in his shorts. Of course the kids and I were all really worn out and that played a huge part in Andrew's performance and my attitude. Thankfully once we got home, everyone napped and I was able to re energize. We even got to watch Tulsa beat Notre Dame AND we saw Drew on TV. The boys thought that was very cool. Saturday night we took it easy and after the boys went to bed (which wasn't easy because they started wanting daddy) my friend Tracy came over for a glass of wine. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Sunday, Halloween, I dropped the kids off at the Pacificos so I could go to church without having to take the kids by myself. It was so nice to be able to focus on the mass and pray. After mass I went and relieved John and Allison so they could go to church. We had one collision and a few melt downs but everyone survived. Then Allison took Andrew and Blake to a classmate's birthday party while John and I stayed home with the nappers. Having a birthday party on Halloween was not the best idea in my opinion because by the time the boys got home they were exhausted and melting down. Andrew took a cat nap on the way back to our house and we finally got to see dad, just in time for trick or treating.

Molly was a little frustrated on her first Halloween. She and I stayed home to give out candy while the boys went trick or treating. She really wanted to eat all the candy and got frustrated that I had to keep answering the door but she sure looked cute in her little flower costume.

The boys of course had a blast and from what Drew said everyone really got a kick out of their costumes. They drove the Gator from house to house with our neighbor Austin.

All in all it was a fun weekend and I survived!