Here comes Teegen Cottontail

With the afternoon off from work, following a well baby visit, Teegen and I headed to our friend Kim's house for some 9 month photos that coincided with Easter pictures. Here are the results. And yes, I know these will embarrass her when she is older!

Cutest bunny ever!

Mom, I think this tutu is too big, but I will grow into it one day!

Sleeping Bunny Beauty

This better be the only nude bunny picture she takes!

Love love love this dress!

Thanks Kim for such great pictures! Maybe next time she will smile for you!

Nine month update coming soon...I promise!

Happy Birthday Thorn!

Yesterday, we loaded up the car and headed to Richmond to celebrate my favorite little boy's 2nd birthday. It seems like only yesterday that Thorn was born. Where have the last two years gone? Thorn was loads of fun and his parents threw a fabulous party...not that I expected anything less. Great food, great cake, great friends, one cute 9 month old and one adorable and loving birthday boy...it really does not get any better than that.

Thorn at one day old!

Thorn at 2 years and 1 day!
He's getting so big!

Normally they share kisses...here they are sharing chips.
Apparently there were too many people at the party to find time to smooch!

While we were in Richmond, we also took time to visit Teegen's cousin Beckett, who is 2 months younger. They had a great time together, playing and eating lunch. I'm looking forward to watching them grow together. My cousins and I are very close; relationships that I treasure and cherish. I hope Teegen and Beckett will have a similar relationship.

Teegen and Beckett enjoying their time together

Does it get any sweeter?

All tuckered out after a long week of teething. Four new teeth on the way this week.

Celebrating and Healing

Since this blog began, I have talked frequently about losing my mom at a young age and how that shaped the person I've become. And I've been thinking a lot lately about how it has shaped my parenting and my relationship with my daughter. Even more so today, which marks 23 years since my mother passed away.

Last year I found myself at a very low point on this day. This year I wanted to start a new tradition, particularly since I now have a daughter. Instead of having a pity party for myself, I wanted to celebrate my mom and her life. I wanted to honor the ties of mother and daughter, those of the past and those of the present.

So I took the day off, loaded Teegen into the car and surprised my grandmother at work. She was so glad to see Teegen, which brightened her day. Shocked her, but brightened her day nonetheless. After lunch with my dad, we headed to my mom's gravesite. Teegen napped, while I meditated and reflected, leaving me with a sense of peace and reassurance.

We went back to my grandmother's house to wait for her to get home from work. Teegen and I spent some time enjoying the beautiful weather, eating some banana flavored puffs and swinging on the front porch. I fed Teegen puffs and she fed them to me. She took in her surroundings and enjoyed swinging for the first time. And in those moments, I realized how deep our bond has become and how important we are to one another. It was truly amazing. And I like to think that my mom was right there with us, watching and smiling as the void left in me when she died has been filled by this new and beautiful soul.

The Littlest Leprechaun

Happy St. Patrick's Day

When did this happen?

Seriously...when did she get so big?



It seems like only yesterday she was under seven pounds. Now she's 20 lbs of budding fashionista. Stay tuned for a nine month update.

Catching up

Last weekend, Teeg and I packed up and headed to my hometown for a birthday celebration. We met up with Leanne and Thorn for a girls weekend and had a blast. Thorn is so sweet and so smart! He has quite the vocabulary and impressed his mother and I, telling us what Mr. Hanky from South Park says. I totally love that kid! And so does Teegen! She and Thorn would get nose-to-nose and she would laugh so hard.

We were there to celebrate Ashton's 5th birthday! Ashton's mom and I have been friends since we were nine. And what a celebration at the Natural History museum. Teegen slept through the party, but Thorn loved running through the museum.

It was a great weekend. Can't wait until the next one!

Teegen and Ashton, the birthday boy

Thorn and Teegen. They love each other so much!

Maybe they love each other too much. We always seem to catch them midsmooch

No more pictures please

Sometimes, she just takes my breath away

Caught red-handed

Earlier this week, it became apparent that crawling was simply not enough for Teegen. Oh no, she felt the need to pull up. Here is what I saw when I went to get her out of bed this morning.

Oh, Hi Mommy, I was just checking out the room

I didn't know pulling up was so much fun.

Umm....is this something I shouldn't be doing?

I'm posting that final picture so people can check out her hair, which has exploded with growth over the last few weeks. I think that she is going to have some curls.

No to dinner!

Teegen's newest trick is shaking her head no. Here is a battle for dinner tonight. This girl cracks me up on a daily basis. What did we do before she came along?

Baby's First Snow Day

We were hit with quite the winter storm last night. Finally a snow day that does not involve freezing rain or the dreaded wintery mix.

This was also Teegen's first snow day. Granted we spent some time in Jackson Hole this winter, but this is the first home-grown snow fall. She sunk right into the snow, but seemed to like it.

Scene from our backyard

Snow angel

"Oh Mommy, this snow is so fun!"