12 Months and then some....

My computer is working again, and I've finally caught up on all my picture editing for other people, and I'm done. I'm not doing anymore for the rest of the year. December is so busy.

First things first - Alexis is officially 1 year old! And let's all celebrate because, holy cow! This past year was a beast! We dealt with a colicky baby, potty training a 3 year old, trying 4 times, dealt with the transition of 2 children, Jonas's defiance (still dealing with that), etc. I feel like this past year has been really crazy for us. I don't care what people say, two kids are hard - for me at least. But I love them both and I would do it over in a heartbeat to have the children that I do. I feel blessed that I get the opportunity to be a mom.

So About a week after she turned 11 months, she decided she didn't want to nurse anymore. Hallelujah!

And she's sick again. She was better for about 2 weeks and then got a cold and as of last night, she's got a stomach bug or something. Vomit, diarrhea, you know, the gross works.  Poor girl. She has been sick 3-4 times the past 2 months. I can't seem to keep her healthy for longer than 2 weeks at a time. It's really frustrating.

But, on a good note, this past month I've had several nights where I got a solid 8 straight hours of sleep with no interruptions, no waking up, etc.  It's been probably a year and a half (ever since I was prego with her and feeling like crap) since I got 8 straight hours. Alexis has always woken up. I think she likes comfort and knowing that I'm there. She's kinda clingy, but it's ok. I love her! So that was nice.

We went to the doctor today:

Weight: 19.29 lbs, 21% (down a tenth of a pound) - the doctor said he's a little concerned, but she is also sick, so she might have lost weight from being sick.  He said to just watch it. If she loses more by her next appointment, they will have to do tests. I don't know how she is losing weight. She eats a ton of food! But a lot of it is fruits and vegetables. We'll see.

Height - 29 in, 45%

Head - 18 in, 66%.

She is officially a walker. She can finally get up on her own and walk wherever. She's a pro. Sometimes she gets excited and walks too fast and falls, but she can get up herself.  And we finally lowered the crib. We haven't done it because she could never pull herself up and she didn't like rolling. Now she rolls everywhere and pulls up and everything just great. So down went the crib.

So for her birthday, we kept it real simple. Poor girl has a birthday in December, which means people are busy. It's just one more thing to do. I want to always try to make her feel special for her December bday. We even had a Ward Christmas party the night of her birthday. It's probably always going to be like that.


I made/decorated her cake. I just did it simple this year instead of doing something crazy like I have in the past for Jonas.  Got the idea from pinterest.

We just invited grandparents over, opened presents, had cake, and watched her "smash" her cake. :) I bought this canvas fabric from Joann's, which makes a perfect backdrop! I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't start my own photography business. But this will be very useful for lots of different photoshoots.

We got her balloons and she LOVED it! She carried them around all day and wouldn't let go . So cute!

 We got her and Elsa Doll. She saw this doll at Kohl's a couple months ago and she didn't want to put it down. So we got it for her, and she kept giving her kisses. She also gave minnie kisses too.

And then the cake smash. I loved doing this! It was so fun. And I put clothes on her that I didn't care if they got dirty, but they washed out just fine. She had fun, too. I think.

She never really "smashed" the cake. She just daintily touched the frosting and ate the frosting. Clint had to show her how to smash it, but then she would look at her hands all confused. 

 After about 5 minutes or so, she didn't want anymore cake. She didn't want to be dirty and she got a little fussy. So we gave her a bath. And that was it. It was still cute to watch her though. :)

And this is her carrying her balloon around the next day. 

It was really fun! Mainly the photoshoot I set up for her. That was really fun. It was a good, simple birthday.

And here are some random pictures of Jonas. To catch up on all that's been going on here with my children.


The leaves take forever to fall off our trees. They barely fell off a week or so ago. Jonas loved jumping in them.

We went to the festival of trees. Oh my goodness it was insanely busy! So many people. At least a thousand or more. But we finally figured out a system (we separated and took one kid each) and then it was more fun. Jonas loved it!

And I have to try and copy things I see on pinterest about capturing my kids by the Christmas tree and such.

You can tell Alexis loved seeing santa. Ha! She doesn't like anyone that isn't mom or dad.

And Jonas likes to go cross-eyed. It's really funny. 

 Riding his bike, because it's only December and it's been in the upper 50's.

So there you have it. I have now updated you on most pictures and stuff in our life.