It was simply *magical* to get to throw a birthday party this year after endless months of no gatherings. You opted for SkyZone so my options to decorate were pretty limited on site…so we decorated at home for cake (donut) cutting with Papa and Mimi!
Favorite memory: you performing a magic trick for your audience of buddies. Happy SEVEN!!!
This quarter was a big one for you. We were finally able to get you baptized, we sent your brother back to a (normal!) school year, and as things opened up for the first time since you were born, we were able to start “normal” toddler things like swim lessons, storytime at the library, and music class.
It was a lot of “new” all at once, and you were timid the first couple of outings, but it was so nice to start having some regular routines without your brother along to show you how it was all done, you learned where to go, what to do, and what to expect. Once you had that down, you really started having FUN.
This last month has brought so many noticeable changes. More gestures and more versions of new words, more and more FOMO about whatever everyone else is doing, more intensity about the things that interest you (animals, drawing, swinging, clapping to music, brushing your teeth and bathing) and often a meltdown when the said interest has to come to an end. You tolerate bows much better than a month ago, your walking has gotten much sturdier and picked up some speed, and with the gates gone you get yourself up and down stairs with ease. We are ALL relieved you have all of your teeth in for a while! You play independently and happily but looove picking up your brother at the end of the school day and chatter away like he can understand every word you’re trying to say. Bring on the second half of this second year. Happy 1.5, Greer Girl. 💛
Year two, quarter one is in the books. The last month has been one endless miserable cold, but if we look past that, you are doing so much growing up! Babbling all day long, reading all the books (in our laps or on your own), and finding all the writing utensils in the house although miraculously you will search for a piece of paper to doodle on. We are amazed that you can already hold a pencil the “correct” way – we’ve skipped right over any toddler palm crayons for real art supplies!
In the same theme, you already show a love of doing art on yourself — you have discovered what nail polish and makeup is and you. are. fascinated.
You have a handful of words and a few signs (most notably waving, “all done” and “more”), and you are finally starting to open up a bit at weekly daycare days which you are attending for the summer. You enthusiastically bob your head up and down to music you like. It’s a running (accurate) joke that if you’re upset putting on anything by Lizzo makes you happy, but nothing comes close to the obsession that is your blankie.
You are SO close to walking, can get from a squat to standing in the middle of the room and balance without so much as a wobble…you just don’t want to move those feet! You LOVE having your brother home for the summer — we’ve been adventuring to all of the parks and hitting the pool regularly. You spend a lot of time at your water table and you love to CLIMB on any and everything!
We have given up on headbands but moved on to bow training, you’re off all bottles, down to one pretty epic nap (3-4 hours lately) and finally, post endless cold and ear infections, you are back to sleeping through the night. You are sassy, naughty, snuggly, and do. not. want. to. be. left. out. It’s been amazing to see you open up as the world has done the same. You are definitely more sensitive than your brother at this age, but you’re also a quick study and sure of yourself and what you want!
This has been such a fantastic quarter in terms of life starting to feel much more “normal” for the first time in over a year — we’ve gotten out to restaurants, sent you to some daycare, and been back into the hustle and bustle of outings and activities. It’s been so much fun to show you more of the world right as you’re really starting to soak it all up!
There was no big blowout first birthday party, but even better — we celebrated at home the four of us, and then with Papa and Mimi the following weekend. The theme was clementines and oranges and the puns ran rampant 🙂 Orange you cute?! Our CUTIE is one! Oh My Darlin’…we could just SQUEEZE you! 🙂
I made your vanilla cake and added some orange ombre to the vanilla frosting, topping it with sweet little felt orange slice toppers and a name banner I made.
Even with a small gathering, we hung allllll the balloons in pinks and oranges, and strung up your monthly flower photos for a total of twelve. Thanks to Mimi, you had the most perfect orange jammies to start your party morning in!
We made it into a double celebration of Greer + Papa, so his favorite, carrot cake, appropriately fit the color scheme as well!
You LOVED being sung to, and were especially animated about your sparkler candle. You dug into your cupcake and left very little for cleanup! 🙂
Happy first birthday to our Greer Girl! We can’t wait to see what’s in store for you this next trip around the sun!
Ten months:
You eat anything we give you, have popped three teeth, love to clap and bounce to music, and you’ve clocked in at just shy of twenty pounds of goodness. This month included your first flights, first (toe) dip in the ocean, and crawling!
Eleven months:
You are starting to pull up on things, have several teeth, are obsessed with books and your brothers toys and spend your days crawling laps and laps around the house looking for things you shouldn’t be doing like eating toilet paper or chewing on cords. You have been saying mama, dada, and baba for a while but recently added ball, all done, and sometimes hi to your vocabulary. If music is on, you dance and “sing” babble along, and when something makes you especially happy you smile and scrunch your nose audibly snorting, pop your thumb in your mouth and give whatever is making you happy your full attention. You had your first tummy bug this month but also your first rides in your pink car outside because *spring*!! We can and can’t wait to ring in the big ONE with you in just a month!
You are ONE. You have opinions and personality and love to laugh. You will yell your way into any conversation you feel you are being left out of and have FOMO about everything. Your twelfth month brought a second vacation, a third head cold, pulling up and cruising on everything, taking a couple steps here and there with something to hold onto, and climbing a flight of stairs. You love most foods including your birthday cake, ducks and reading books. It’s been quite a first year on this planet for you. I’m confident this second one only gets better.
We celebrated at home just the four of us on your actual birthday, then enjoyed celebrating a Greer + Papa double birthday the following weekend. It was quiet and simple, but we loved getting to celebrate with all the orange-themed puns about our “cutie”! Orange you cute?!
Watching you grow has been such a bright spot in the past year! Happy first birthday to our sweet Greer Girl! <3
I may not be blogging regularly this year, but I was NOT going to miss sharing our baskets! Playing bunny is an absolute favorite thing about parenting for me, and while Greer was technically born about 45 minutes before Easter last year, and she DID have a basket (see them here!) I am more or less considering this her first actual Easter.
I stole these gold baskets from our office for the second year in a row and attached their wooden name plaques (purchased here) for the occasion. The large plastic bunnies and small carrot eggs came from the dollar store a couple years ago, and I added their monograms to them with my Cricut.
Starting with 6 year old Crew’s basket… this kid loves his sugar, but is very picky about it, so some made its way into his basket, but I focused more on activities (lately, reading is a big one!) and some instant gratification stuff to DO right away. (Linking what I can – some may be affiliate links.)
Reflex soccer ball
The Good Egg
Don’t Throw it to Mo!
Slinky
Cubebot
Water Works card game
Mario Lego figures
Scented putty eggs
Nerf finger football egg
100 dollar bill wallet
Various candy, Icees (his new fave!), bubbles
Greer is about to turn ONE and while I still have a handful of baby and toddler toys to pass down, she already has her own set of interests and always needs clothes 🙂 Links below!
Pop up toy
Where’s the Chick? felt flap book (someone tears paper flaps!)
Fabric activity book
Mini Spinny
Oranges print dress (Old Navy, no longer available online)
Little People
Sandals (no longer available)
Sunhat
Various cheerios/snacks, bubbles
As for our egg hunt, we are doing a light up egg hunt (knowingly set up by Mom and Dad!) on Saturday night, filled with candy. The Sunday morning bunny eggs also have some treats inside, along with these finger puppets in Greer’s eggs and these desert animals in Crew’s (inspired by our upcoming Arizona vacation). Happy basket planning!!!
Seven months:
You are sitting, still toothless, sleeping closer to twelve hours straight versus ten-ish at night (woo hoo!) LOVE Christmas lights, prefer yogurt to fruits and veggies, and want to YANK anything that dangles in your view. You are happy, happy, happy!
Eight months:
You shriek loudly (happily) about everything (all day long) chatter, blow raspberries, giggle, shake your head dramatically, and occasionally clap when prompted. You love music, your pink blankie, yogurt, feeding yourself, and being allowed to drink from a regular cup (no interest in a sippy). You are sporting a single tooth and get on your belly but just shake side to side and don’t move forward at all ha! That strawberry blonde hair is just barely trying to come in!
Nine months:
We celebrated nine months with a vacation! You loved the change of pace and scenery and surprised us all with how easily you napped and slept in a new place, as long as you had total darkness, your blankie, and a sound machine cranked.
You can get from a sit to a roll but can only army crawl backwards at this point. You love bites of what we are eating, and drinking water from a cup is your new favorite pastime. We hit a nine month separation / sleep regression but it seems to be on the way out!
Like with everything else this past year, plans pivoted and we got creative. There were no parties, but Papa and Mimi as always brought the fun, and I tried to make it feel as “party” as I could despite the quiet and lack of chaos.
We did a full spread of treats and Mario paraphernalia. I even leaned in to all the branded character stuff this year because WHY NOT — this was the year to do it. Banners, door covers, it all went up in a crazy attempt to make it feel so over the top we’d forget this wasn’t normal.
I made your favorite sugar cookies to look like the stars from the game and used the Cricut to DIY some signage and a cake topper to round out the theme.
We had a tower of krispy kremes in lieu of a cake. In place of friends and party games, I set up gold coin boxes with dollar bills and coins inside all over the house to find like a sort of egg hunt – for one. 🙂
Of course, there was a lot of Mario Kart played with the guys and you got a major kick out of blindfolding us all to play pin the mustache on Luigi.
Looking back, it’s actually one of my favorite birthdays of yours. It was slower, but selfishly that meant I could soak it up more, there was less to prepare and it came together so easily, and you enjoyed it as much as any other birthday.
No matter what’s going on in the world, celebrating you is always easy. Cheers to Level SIX!
