I just tucked Delilah in for her afternoon nap, she is so sweet.
She likes to fall asleep with her pink stuffed giraffe, I wind it up and it plays Rockabye Baby... she just lays down listening to it until she drifts to sleep. Sometimes I will crack the door open and just watch her, she's so innocent watching laying there listening to the lullaby. I love her so much.
This week Ryan is in Australia, he toured Sydney over the weekend...
When he is away, we try to do Google Hangouts to keep in touch. Ryan can so silly sometimes on them to make Delilah laugh...
The Hangout sessions really help her cope with having a parent who travels. When she was an infant, she didn't show many signs of missing him, as she probably didn't understand he was gone. I believe she was 18 months old when she first showed us that she knew he was leaving, we were driving to the airport, Delilah was strapped in car seat looking out the window... when we got off the 405 freeway at the LAX exit, she quietly said "bye bye Dada". It was pretty significant, and somewhat heartbreaking, to hear the instincts of such a young child. The older she gets, the more she understands that Daddy is away. This week she has been clingy to me, she would rather fall asleep with me by her side. Usually I will turn on a movie and sit with her on the couch, she will lay there until she falls asleep. It's a little out of our routine, but I think making adjustments to help her is the best thing I could do for her.
Ryan travels nearly once a month, so this is nothing out of the ordinary. He has been all over the world, and is flying to Tasmania on Saturday, marking his 25th country visit! I'm so happy for him for getting to travel and explore the world, it is truly a luxury, and he absolutely deserves it. He is a hard-working man, and is such a good person (and Daddy!).
Today we went to the Irvine Railroad Pumpkin Patch in Orange County!
It was just us girls, since Ryan was in Utah for a company trip.
We really love going to this pumpkin patch, it was the first pumpkin patch Delilah ever went to... so it's pretty sentimental to me (emotional Mommy moment, sorry!).
This year Delilah was much older, and was able to do much more than be strapped onto my chest in a baby carrier. Here's a photo of her first visit compared to our recent visit...
How cute is that itty bitty 3-month-old face?!
She's grown so much, and still won't look at the camera when she's playing 'train conductor' lol.
This year she watched horses...
played in the pumpkin patch...
I made her candy corn tutu, but she's the one who made it look cute:)
decorated her own cookie...
...and even rode a pony!
She has so much fun when we go to events like this, I love it so much.
It has been way too long since I've updated this! I could go back and try to update each month, and I may do that at some point... but that seems like such an overwhelming task to do just to update to present time... so I'll just start from now.:)
Miss Delilah is 27 months old today!
She is talking and communicating and progressing perfectly.
There was a good 3 or 4 months around her 2nd birthday when I was worrying about her speech, but I quickly realized that Delilah is her own person, she moves at her own pace, and is doing so flawlessly. So I let it go, I quit stressing and dropped the constant attempts at speech lessons and justlet her be... and she amazed me with her speech in no time. Some of her favorite phrases are:
ohhh noo!
uh-oh!
I see, I go.
Where's Dada?
Let's go byebye, get shoes.
Let's go outside.
Her favorite foods are:
apples
Cheerios
baby corn
oatmeal
seaweed
string cheese
and apple juice!
She likes to dance, play outside, draw, help Mommy sweep, feed her fish, swing, and seeing dogs.
Delilah just went on her very first road trip!
We flew from LAX to Seattle, then to to Anchorage, Alaska! We stayed the night in Anchorage, drove to Fairbanks, stayed the nights, and drove back down to Anchorage. We had the best time, everything went perfectly... and considering this was a last minute sporadic trip across Alaska, that is pretty awesome! Here are a few pictures from our adventures!
Day 1, Delilah finds a 'wishing flower' and gets up close and personal with the Alaskan Rail
Mommy & Delilah at Mt. McKinley... the tallest mountain in North America!!
Mommy, Daddy, & Miss DK about to walk a trail at Mt. McKinley
Delilah giving Mommy leaves and rocks she found
Delilah exploring in the woods
Delilah and Ryan climbed over the boulders to the rapids of the river! Pretty brave!
We stopped every so often to get out and explore, this particular stop was a really super experience! We climbed down the hills to the river, drank fresh Alaskan water, and collected rocks to throw off the bridge (Delilah's favorite part!)
Delilah and her Daddy!
The Alaska Airline wing pendant on top was given to Delilah by am Alaskan Airlines flight attendant... she must have been a VIP flyer!
There's a good bit more pictures and some video footage of our trip, I just wanted to add some of the highlights. This was the smoothest most memorable trip I've ever been on, we had a wonderful time and will always look back on it and smile! I do believe Delilah proved to us she is a good traveler... more opportunities to come her way, I'm sure of it! I suppose that is all for now. I will try to get back into the habit of updating this, until then!
...a grand beachfront restaurant in the Pacific Palisades, featuring several bars, decks, dining rooms, entertainment rooms, and patio seating! Servers walked around with hors d'oeuvres, the open bar was incredible, there was lei making and face painters, a live band and cartoonists... we ate like Kings and had an amazing day!
While we were there, Delilah met the Pacific Ocean for the first time!
She was not too fond of it (but neither am I, that water is way too cold for my liking!)... especially after we turned away from the water for picture taking and a giant wave knocked her down... and in her pretty little outfit! :(
We did get a few photos of the big 'Ocean meet & greet'...
Here she is holding Daddy's hand tight, about to step in the Ocean for the first time...
...get your camera ready, Ryan!
Pretty little thing!
Oh yes, that is a little cruise on her cheek! She had a fall a few days prior!:(
...It's a lot to take in, just the sound of the powerful waves was enough sensory for her!
Delilah & her Daddy taking a break in a booth at Gladstones...
And to top it all off...
we had a family portrait drawn by one of the cartoonists!
I couldn't get over it, I framed it and now it hangs in our dining room lol!
I can't believe it, my little bundle of joy is a YEAR OLD! It's been the most amazing 12 months of my life, and just the first 12 months of Delilah's! So much happened this month, where to begin??!
Since Delilah's actual birthday fell on a Wednesday, we had her birthday party the following Saturday and went out for a special dinner on her actual birthday. She LOVES the Olive Garden, so that's exactly where we went!
She had lots of bread, salad, fettuccine alfredo... and of course, the yummiest piece of chocolate mousse cake they had! Here she is absolutely indulging in this chocolatey goodness...
Very focused!
So, of course, the big event happened this month...
Delilah's 1st Birthday Party!
We had so much fun, the entire party was absolutely perfect! By far one of my favorite memories ever!
All of our friends and family joined us in celebration, we had games and food and fun! Delilah had the best birthday ever, which makes me one happy Momma!
Here are a few pictures from Delilah's big day...
My homemade rainbow cupcakes, and Miss Delilah's special birthday cake!
Delilah Kate posing on her giant pinata!
The aftermath of said pinata! Bags full of candy for all!
Walking around the party at the park, look at her little customized onesie! The party theme was "Look Whooo's Turning 1!" It was a hoot!
Present time! We had a LOT of gifts to open, we loved each one!
Smash Cake! She really dug into this treat!
Miss Thing, crawling around to greet all of her guests!
Family photo!
What a BLAST! We enjoyed every moment and are so thankful for all the LOVE!
Delilah ALSO has a big, loving family all the way in GEORGIA! Since they couldn't make it to celebrate at the party... they sent a huge package full of presents! What a lucky girl! Here is Delilah opening her UPS box from the Alexander Family!
What a nice surprise!
The 12 month mark also means...
vaccines!
She was such a brave girl though!
She also found her first dollar bill, y'all!
We put it in her piggy bank, that she got at her birthday party, for safe keeping!
The big party wasn't the only thing we did this month! We were very social, too!
Here is Delilah playing at the giant food court playground, at one of our local malls!
We also played with all the puppies at the adoption center...
And we had a great 4th of July, too!
We had lunch at Chili's (one of our favorite restaurants!) and went swimming at the pool!
And last, but certainly not least...
Delilah learned to walk!!!!!
Here is a short video I made of some of her first steps!
The video is unfinished, but I really like the direction it's going.
Phew!!! What a month!!!
Can't wait to see what's ahead for Miss Delilah Kate!
Nearly a whole YEAR old! We are counting down the days now until birthday time! Getting everything ready for celebrating and parties! The weather is getting sunnier here, so we have been biking on our Saturdays at the ocean... And since our special birthday girl is old enough now, we gave her an early birthday present... her own bike seat!
Playing in the sand at Google, about to begin a fun bike ride!
Here is Delilah and her Daddy, Ryan, taking a break from biking by the Pier...
As you can see, she absolutely LOVES it!
She really loves her Daddy!
But when he is at work, Delilah and I always try to make our days special by doing something memorable.
Here we are doing a balloon release for my brother, Andrew, for his birthday...
This was actually her first time so close to the Ocean! She was a little mesmerized by the powerful waves...it is pretty breathtaking, isn´t it? I always feel at peace by the water.
We love going to parks, we visit new ones all the time for a little variety... she loves the outdoors!
I am trying so hard to get caught up on this thing, but with a little one it isn´t easy!
Look at those tiny footprints!
Motherhood had really brought out my craftiness again... it´s nice to capture these precious times, and getting imaginative can really help bring out some fun creations for saving some memories! I have so many little footprint and handprints around the house... they won´t be little for long!
It´s the little things...
Delilah has been so busy exploring the world. She likes to play in nature, and living in the city... that can be a challenge to find! But we always find a way...
Here she is playing in the grass outside our house... taking the time to smell the roses.
There is a beautiful park lining the entrance to the Pier, with some truly breathtaking views! Delilah likes to look out at beauty of it all... the Pacific Ocean, the Pier, the houses lining the beach, Pacific Coast Highway. It is quite the experience!
She is such a happy baby, always smiling and being a sweetheart. She isn´t camera shy one bit, and that´s a good thing... cause this Momma loves capturing a moment!
This month, Delilah also her first visit from the Easter Bunny!
She loved waking up to a room full of presents... just for her!
The Easter bunny sure does love Delilah Kate!
We also had a fun lunch and egg hunt with her Granny and all of her Aunts and cousins, to celebrate the special holiday!
Here she is enjoying some time with her Granny...
This is a really funny memory for us...
As we were leaving the family egg hunt, I gave Delilah her first cookie. In less than a minute, I looked over and the Oreo was completely gone...
and I had one chocolate-covered baby on my hands!
What a busy month! Always something to do and something to learn!
We have started getting everything ready for her 1st birthday party coming up, we are pretty darn excited! I made Delilah´s tutu for her birthday outfit, here she is trying it on...
I definitely sense she feels like a princess in it!
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