Birthday Party!!!

The girls had their birthday party on Sunday!  It was the most stressful party I have ever organized, but Jason didn't think it went badly at all, so maybe it was just me!  First of all, Haven started being fussy the night before her party and that has continued on to this day! :(  Her molars are really bothering her now.  She's been sleeping a lot and biting her fingers like crazy.  Also, the morning of her party she was really constipated and tried pooping 5 times, screaming each time.  I finally gave her some prunes and that helped a bit.  I was excited that Haven got a nap in before her party started, but unfortunately she was still super tired at her party and wanted to be held most of the time!  On top of all of that, it was freezing cold for an outside party!  I think the high was in the low 50's, which was made worse by the fact that it was gorgeous a few days before the party and now, a few days after it's back in the 70's!


My mom made the girls' cakes, just like they wanted them and they turned out really well!  We had a pinata and the kids played at the park, which they loved.  We only opened about half of the presents at the party, since people were all leaving b/c it was so cold and Haven wanted nothing to do with that b/c she was tired and cranky.  She only took a few bites of her cake too (which is understandable seeing as it was the third time she'd had cake in one week, lol!).


Both girls fell right to sleep on the ride home (at 5pm) and I finally woke Haven up at 7:30pm to eat dinner and change her diaper.  Venily, however, continued sleeping ALL THE WAY UNTIL THE MORNING, lol!  She woke up and opened the rest of her presents! :)  The girls got some really great stuff and have been having so much fun playing with everything!!!!  Lots of kitchen toys (which is one of their favorite things to play), lots of clothes (which I LOVE), drawing things, and other fun new toys!  I went through some of their other toys and packed some away!
Overall, I think it went well.  But I seriously don't think I'd do another park party again, even though I LOVED the fact that I didn't have to stress out about how clean my house was before the party!

Annnnnd.... we're DONE!!!

Nursing, that is! :(

Yesterday she tried to nurse twice and didn't get anything either time!  She was mad and would unlatch and say "MILK!" so I gave her a cup of whole milk instead both times.  Today I didn't even offer it to her.  I just gave her the whole milk when she asked.  Soooo.... I'm sad.  I can't even think about it too much or I start to cry.  That and the whole hormone thing is not going well for me.  I would have thought since I've had my period back for several months now, that the drop in hormones while weaning (and the fact that I've been doing it gradually) would make it not so bad, but that's not the case.  I'm a bit of a wreck.  Mood swings and zero appetite (I literally have to force myself to eat and then I feel sick right afterwords).  Hopefully it regulates out soon!


It's weird that I have my body back to myself finally.  It's been over 4 years since I wasn't pregnant or nursing or trying to get pregnant!  I feel like doing something to celebrate, but I don't drink, lol!  So... maybe I will go down some Nyquil or something?!  LOL, I'm just kidding, but I am looking forward to being able to take Nyquil the next time I get sick!  YAY, or any other medication that I haven't been able to take in over 4 years! :)

Tomorrow is the girls' birthday party!!  They're excited even though it's only supposed to be in the 50's!  yuck!  Hopefully it all goes well!!!  I can't believe that Venily will be 3 in only 12 days!!!

Haven's 1 Year Pics!!

My sister-in-law Jacki took Haven's 1 year pics!!!  Haven never stands still long enough to take many pictures, but Jacki does an amazing job anyway! :)  How in the world did I get such gorgeous kids?! 

And this little girl... well, she's my favorite!!!  ♥

Haven Araya is ONE year old!!!

I can't believe that my baby girl is one year old already!!!!
Yes, her birthday was on Sunday.  Yes, I am posting this on Tuesday.  No, I don't have her update ready, even now! :(  I just can't do it.  I will, but it might take me a week or two.


She had a great first birthday though!!  It started out a little rough, we had to call Poison Control for the first time ever!  She woke up from her morning nap with stuff all over her and it ended up being the entire container of fish food that she had grabbed off her dresser and opened.  Not knowing what the heck is in that stuff, we had to call and it turned out it was fine... though it DID shake Jason up pretty badly.  
After that we went out to eat with her aunt and uncle and cousins and then we went to the Bear Den Petting Zoo, which is always a good time!  The weather was nice and Haven loved seeing all of the animals and she went on a hay ride too.  
 
 
Then we went back to our house where we had a fire and dinner with more family and she got to eat a cupcake for the first time!  She even blew out her own candle even though I had never practiced that with her before, I just taught her to blow on hot things! :)


Today Haven had her one year well check and shots!  She is doing awesome!!!!  I think her doctor used the term "amazing" at least 3 times, lol!  And I purposefully didn't even tell her all the things she can do! :)  Haven weighed in at 23 pounds (88th%ile) and was 32.5 inches long (100th%ile).  The doctor was laughing that she's so tall, lol!  Her head circumference was 47.5 cm.  She was not a fan of being at the doctor's at all.  She wasn't screaming or anything, but she had tears streaming down her face almost the whole time and her face got all red b/c she was so upset! :(  She did fine with her 2 shots though.  One was a combo MMR and Chicken Pox shot and the other was a half dose of the flu shot.  She's supposed to come back in a month for the 2nd half of the flu shot.  But, I may "forget" to come back, lol.  The nurse said that just having half would offer her protection against it.  I also "forgot" to ask about her lead test.  I just didn't want any more sadness from her!!!  Plus, I really don't think she has any lead problems.


She's beyond all of the things she should be doing, which I knew, but it's nice to hear anyway.  The only thing she needs to work on now is going DOWN the stairs.  Which fills me with absolute anxiety b/c I have an irrational fear of stairs.  I've let her go down a few times and she CAN do it (on her butt), but she likes to stand up and I am soooo scared she's going to fall, so I hold onto her hand while she does it most times.


We've been down to only nursing twice a day recently, and will continue to wean from here.  I've been giving her whole milk w/ all of her meals, so there is really no reason for me to continue nursing anyway.  It's bittersweet.  I love nursing, but am finding it kind of embarrassing like when we were in the waiting room and Haven comes over to me and says perfectly clearly "Mama, Mama.... milk!!!" while pulling at my shirt, haha.  The doctor was happy to hear that we made it this long.  Also, she supports my decision to Extended Rear Face Haven's carseat.  She suggests going until 15 months since Haven is so tall.  I mentally rolled my eyes at her, but I'm thinking that's probably how long we'll go for anyways. She goes back in 3 more months for her 15 month check up and shots.


Other random stuff:  She still has her umbilical hernia (which I knew).  Her top molars are definitely coming in (which I knew).  And her eyes/ ears/ hips, etc. all look good! :)