My [Almost] Walker!

Last Wednesday, February 20th, Berlyn took her first step!  I posted a picture of her on my Instagram and loved seeing all the congratulatory comments from all my mommy friends!  Berlyn started crawling just before she was 7 months old, started walking along furniture shortly after that, and now she stands alone ALL the time and takes a few steps here and there then falls on her booty.  When she took her first step I was ecstatic!  It really is crazy to watch your baby develop from barely learning how to see further than 6 inches in front of their face, to talking and then walking. 

 

With Berlyn's birthday just a few days away, this is a big milestone of hers that I will be proud to tell everyone that will be at her party! :) I am so happy that my little girl learned how to do this all on her own, at her own pace.  Well, partly at her own pace.  My husband wanted her to walk so badly that he would trap her on the ground in between the coffee table and two walk-along toys.  Of course she would get frustrated and I would save her, but that is just my husband's humor, I guess!

 

Tonight I captured her taking a few steps for the very first time on camera.  It is exciting for me to watch because as she goes to take the third step with her right foot, you can see a smile spread across her face like "I'm doing it!"  I love my baby so much.  She is growing too fast!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week is going to be SO busy for my husband and I.  Tomorrow night we will be going shopping for some last minute birthday supplies.  Thursday we will be taking Berlyn to her 12 month check-up.  Thursday night my mom will be coming over to bake cupcakes and go shopping for the food we'll be serving at the party, and Friday we are taking Berlyn to Disneyland for her birthday!  We took her when she was 8 months old around Halloween but I think she will enjoy it just a little more now that she's a tiny bit older. 

 

This little muffin is my pride and joy.  She will ALWAYS be my baby, no matter how old she is!

VINE!

Is anyone else on Vine?! I was hesitant about joining at first. The privacy settings are basically... Nonexistant. You weren't able to approve or deny follower requests and your videos are pretty much out there for all to see... But I joined anyway, and instantly fell in love with being able to see all my mama friends posting videos of their baybays!

I am so happy to say that all the hype and complaints (of mamas I'm sure) that their privacy settings SUCK got them to whistle a different tune. You can now report AND block a user's profile. This comes in handy when a weird man starts following me and I say to myself "Umm... No. You're blocked!" It makes me feel more comfortable about posting videos of The Boo (Berlynny Boo, that is). Speaking of which, I just posted a video of Berlyn being shaken by her daddy.. In the cutest way possible. Haha! Go and take a look, it's funny! :P

Valentine's Day and Birthday Month!

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that Berlyn just turned 11 months old. She has 11 teeth, can barely fit on her changing table anymore, and has decided to do away with naps altogether. I don't know if it's her teething or WHAT, but this kid will not take naps anymore! Don't get me wrong, she is a great sleeper at night (sleeping 12+ hours straight), but for some reason she wants nothing to do with napping. I can't complain though. She doesn't cry in her crib when we put her down, but she will play, laugh, bounce, and shout. She will do this for two hours sometimes... And the end result is a baby who is still just as happy as ever. Maybe she doesn't need those long morning naps anymore? Who knows...

This month is a bittersweet one for me. Valentine's Day will be Berlyn's last "first" holiday and she will be turning one in a few weeks. I can't believe that just a year ago I was just about to go on maternity leave and now here I am, a mother of a beautiful, healthy, almost-one-year-old. Life has certainly changed for the best in the past 11 months. Every month brings new surprises, new milestones, special memories. Berlyn is my pride and joy!

I also want to brag just a teeny bit that Berlyn now WILLINGLY gives her mama open-mouthed kisses. I have been trying to get her to do this for MONTHS but she would always fling her head in the other direction the second I moved towards her. The other day we were grocery shopping and I looked at her and said, "Can Mama have a kiss?" And she opened her mouth and moved towards my face. My heart melted.

Being that it's February and B's first (quarter) birthday is in a few weeks, I am now in full-fledged-first-birthday-planning mode. Her party will be Minnie Mouse themed (some ideas compliments of Pinterest), complete with a Hot Diggity Dog station and Minnie Mouse smash cake. I really don't like birthdays that are too "themey" so I decided to just go with bright pinks, blacks, and whites. Oh, and of course some polka dots and Minnie ears! I will be scouting out the perfect invitations for her party this week as well as some more decoration ideas!

As far as gifts go, I have a few ideas in mind of what I, myself, would like to get her. As for our guests, I have absolutely no clue what gift ideas to tell them! Birthdays for one-year olds are so hard!

Does anyone have any good ideas for one-year old gifts? Ahh!