Emotions

I know you all have at least one child who is not a "cuddle bug."  I hoped so much that Sedona would be.  It started off easy to cuddle her. She had no choice.  And, she was too little to push away from me!  She was an infant that HAD to be swaddled, though, or she would not sleep.  As time has gone by and she has gotten older (and bigger) she has become exactly what I feared...INDEPENDENT and completely un-cuddly. (if that is even a word)  Not that independence is a bad thing, it will serve her well. And I quite enjoy that she is self-entertained and that she likes to do things by herself.  She is sassy and full of personality that totally reminds me of myself as a young kid. (maybe this isn't so good...)
Anyway, it has been quite a while since Sedona has wanted (or allowed) me to swaddle her.  It has been MONTHS since she last let me rock her to sleep and sing to her.  She is great about letting me give her a bottle and then placing her in her crib, shutting the door, and then going to sleep on her own.  I know, every mother's dream, right?! And I should be dancing in circles with gratitude that she is so. dang. easy.  Not so...not for me, anyway.
She is my only baby. For now. Maybe forever.  I HAVE the time to cuddle and sing and rock her to sleep!
Well, today, for some reason, she didn't follow her normal routine.  I did exactly what we have been doing for the last several months (even when she was sick) and ten minutes went by and she was not sleeping.  Fifteen. Twenty. Still upset.  I went into her room and picked her up. She snuggled right into me.   "Wow. Okay, I'll take that!"  I sat in the practically unused rocking chair and began to rock her.  She squirmed and pointed for the door.  "Well, that was short-lived," I thought.  But no, she needs to take her nap.  So, I held her tighter and she fought it, but only for a second.  As she relaxed I started to sing to her.  "I Am A Child Of God."  Her favorite song since she was an infant.  She relaxed and put her hand on my face.  Heaven. This must be what Heaven is like.
Within the time it took me to sing 3 Primary songs, Sedona was fast asleep. In my arms. I didn't want to let her go.  My baby is getting so big. So...grown-up.  I was filled with emotions.  Lots of happiness and gratitude for this beautiful blessing in my arms, and a tinge of sadness because it is all happening so fast.
Mommys...remember the tender moments.  FEEL the emotion of the moment. Record it, somewhere.  They are such a blessing in our lives.  I hope you all have a great day doing and being what we were meant to do and be!

Lately....

....Sedona has an obsession with this particular picture. It's her Grannie and Grandpa Teichert.  She loves ALL pictures of people she recognizes, but she HAS to carry this one around every morning.

She has an obsession with stuffed animals.  It started over a month ago when she had strep-throat.  I thought she'd be over it in a week or two but she's still going strong!

Sedona LOVES her Gerber Cheetos...

She had a nice long visit at her Mimi and Jojo's house...

She wrestles with this guy every morning. She can't seem to get enough of this sheep chair her Aunt Sadie gave her for her birthday. Her favorite thing to do is give him kisses and poke his eyes...

She LOVES to empty things! Especially her wet-wipes and...

...Mommy or Daddy's wallet. She has pennies in her little paws.

We are trying to get her to take her first steps...

And she LOVES to watch the Ellen show with me every day at 4.  She loves the beginning where Ellen dances because I will dance with her all around the living room.  She squeals with delight and is now quite the dancer herself.  Whenever music comes on in the house, the car, the store...she starts to MOVE! While this picture is NOT the best of me, it captures her joy for sure!

Sedona Turned 1!!!

Warning!!!! MAJOR picture overload...

February 10, 2011...Sedona turned 1!  We celebrated by going to a frozen-yogurt place here in Rexburg, called Kiwi Loco.  She LOVES Kiwi Loco and I can get her sugar-free yogurt and not have to deal with a baby on a sugar-high! Isn't she adorable?! Explanation of the red "owie" on her top lip...she had a fight with the lenolium and the lenolium won.

I wanted to throw a birthday party for Sedona and have some family and friends come...it was meant to be low-key and laid-back.  But, even with all my preparations in advance (making goodies and putting them in the freezer, making LISTS, and inviting people weeks in advance) it still turned out a little over-the-top for a first birthday (in my opinion, anyway).  However, it was really nice to have so many friends and family there. It was worth all the work.  My parents and my sisters Tessa and Tami and Tami's three boys were there.  Austin's parents and his two sisters Sadie and Markie, and a whole slew of friends.  It was great fun!

These ice-cream-cone cupcakes were so fun to make and they turned out so pretty thanks to Mariam (my Mother-in-law) and friend Kelly.  They made the frosting for me and frosted them while I was running around setting things up.  What life-savers!! Or should I say just party-savers?

Sedona LOVED them!

The goody table.  I LOVE how it turned out. 

I didn't get any pics of her opening her presents because I was, well, opening them for her.  She doesn't quite get it yet.  It really was such a fun celebration and I feel so blessed to be this little sweetie's mom.  She is so much fun and I am looking forward to many more fun birthdays with her!

(wish I had a big group pic...lesson learned for next year, I suppose.)

Months 6-12...WAAAAYYYYY overdue

Month 7: Still so "baby-ish"

Month 8: She just steals my heart! 

Month 9: Still NOT crawling...but cute as ever!

Month 10: Nope...still not crawling. This was the day before her first haircut.

Month 11: I just Love her hair in this pic! Not the best pic of her, but I do like her hair :)

12 MONTHS OLD!! We celebrated her birthday with Daddy, Mommy, and Markie at Kiwi Loco.  It was so fun to have the four of us together since it was just us four the day she was born. What a great first year!!

The First Six Months

This may bore quite a few of you, but I did want to do a "timeline" of Sedona's first year. Since her birthday is this Friday and I have A LOT to do this weekend, I figured I would try and get it done a little early.

This pic was taken the night we left for the hospital...I would be a Mommy in less than 24 hours!!!

The first hour of life and the first of HUNDREDS of pics I have of Sedona on my phone...I loved this moment!

Month ONE

Month TWO and already in her second "home" in Texas...and looking not too happy about it, either!

 This pic is one of my ALL time favorites! This was taken the night we got to TX. Look how TINY she was! I sometimes look back on that LONG drive and wonder, "What were we thinking?!"

Month THREE...her shirt says it all. 

Month FOUR...HUGE transition, I think! Also LOVE this pic.

Month FIVE...I wish I could get rid of that darn red-eye! This pic is killer cute in B&W.

Month SIX

I cannot believe how much she changed in six months! The next six months will be even crazier, I'm sure...

Tender Moments

I can hardly believe it.  My baby is turning 1 year old this Friday.  I thought I might do a month-by month photo timeline of her for a post, but I just don't know if I can remember each month! I hope to get that done later this week.  Anyway, I was putting Sedona down for her morning nap this morning and I just looked at her....sleeping. Peacefully. Beautiful. Innocent. Precious. All mine.  

I couldn't help but cry a little bit when I think about how fast she is growing up.  How did my baby go from this:

To this!

(this photo is almost 3 months old, too!)  

She is crawling all over the place. Pulling herself up on things.  Eating anything and everything she finds on her highchair tray (or on the floor). Yesterday, she learned how to climb stairs! She's a stair-climbing machine now.  She stands by herself for a few seconds and I just know she'll take her first steps any day now.  I cannot believe how much joy she brings us every day.  I am one lucky Momma!

Quarantine

Usually, my sweet baby gives us lots of this...

...and this! Mostly lots and lots of laughs and smiles. She is such a happy kid. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better baby. A better traveler, yes, but...I can't have it all can I?

More recently (like the last 6 days), we have been getting this...

...and A LOT of this!!!....

...very few moments of content...

...too much of  "Mommy, I'm just miserable"...

...and the only part I like about this: CUDDLES.

(And if you look closely, you'll see she has attached herself to this cute little teddy bear that she cuddles all the time, now.  So random, but so sweet!)

My poor Sedona has been sick sick sick.  She started with a stuffy nose and not being able to sleep. Which escalated into a fever of 101.7 or higher for 2 days. Which put us in the Doctor's office where she had a 103.4 fever and we discovered strep-throat!  

She's been drugged up on Tylenol and IBProfein since she started with her cold.  We went in to have her checked out when she had been running high temps for 48 hours, unless she had meds in her.  POOR BABY!!!!!  On Saturday, the poor kid didn't even close her eyes for a nap...not even ONCE!

She's been on antibiotic for 48 hours and was still a little warm this morning. This Momma is just not sure WHAT to do at this point.  Needless to say, we have been "quarantined" for a little TOO long and I'm anxious for her to get feeling better.