Iowa Children's Museum

Recently our MOPS group had an outing to the Iowa Children's Museum at the mall in Coralville. Before signing up to go, I asked some moms who had been there whether or not Aria would be able to enjoy it yet. They told me it was just like a big play place and that she would love it. They were exactly right! Here are some pictures to capture the day!

See, Daddy, I like golf just like you do!



The slide was a BIG hit!

We went down it at least 34 times!



I can't wait for the park this summer!

Cars are NOT just for boys!



Mommy doesn't like flying, but I think I can handle it!



This cool air machine that suspended the ball in mid-air was my favorite!





Look we're down under!





Hey I think I can fit right through here!





Of course, Grandma insisted that we couldn't leave until we rode the carousel.



How Old Is She?

Random thought of the day....

Shortly after Aria was born, whenever I received the title question I answered in weeks.  Actually, throughout my pregnancy when people asked how far along I was, I answered in weeks.  Weeks were more fun to count than months.  They go by quicker.  I wrote down milestones in her baby book in weeks until about 15 or 16 weeks when I thought it was getting a little ridiculous.  So, I switched to saying how many months.  But even then I would say 4.5 or almost 6 or I just said 9 even if she wasn't quite there yet.  Now my girl is 1 year old.  Actually, she's 13 months.  (Well she would be soon if February had 29 days.)  So how old am I supposed to say she is when people ask my title's question?  I feel like I shouldn't be counting in months anymore since we have surpassed a year, but I also feel like there is a BIG difference between a 12 month old, a 15 month old, an 18 month old, a 22 month old.  At what point do you just say the year or the year and a half?  I remember being a little kid and being so excited to say I was the next age older.  I remember one specific scene at a restaurant on vacation where the waitress asked how old I was (probably because meals cost different at different ages).  I hesitated and looked at my parents as if to say, "can I say how old I'll be in just a few weeks?"  Then my mom had to explain why I didn't answer.  So back to my original thought, what do I say when I am asked how old Aria is?  Well, she is 1 year, 27 days, 18 hours, and 51 minutes!  :)

Recently Read: "The Greatest Coach Ever"

Timeless Wisdom and Insights of John Wooden

If you've never heard of John Wooden, google him.  Even if you think sports are the worst thing on the planet, learn about who he was and how he lived his life because he was an awesome, awesome man!  John Wooden was the men's basketball coach at UCLA in the '60s and '70s and won 10 National Championships.  He died in June of 2010 just a few months short of the age 100.  He died before the book I just read was published.  The Fellowship of Christian Athletes put together 40 different stories from athletes and coaches who were influenced by John Wooden to make the book, The Greatest Coach Ever.  The best part about the book was that it wasn't at all about how great of a coach John Wooden was or how great it was that he won so many championships.  It was about his character and deep faith.  It was about how John Wooden touched the lives of those he encountered from his star players down to the managers.  From a rival coach down to a grad assistant just trying to learn the ropes. 

Most of the people who wrote a chapter for this book talked about how John Wooden lived his life so similarly to Jesus.  All of them took a character trait of Wooden and related it to Jesus.  It was really amazing to read.  Every person had so much respect for Wooden.  There weren't just basketball players and coaches, either.  Football, volleyball, women's basketball, swimming, athletic directors, pastors, tv analysts, and many more were represented in the book.  I loved reading about their faith and what they learned about faith from Wooden.

John Wooden created "The Pyramid of Success" that I won't take time to break down here, but it can be used for all aspects of life, not just in sports.  All of the people who wrote for this book spoke about The Pyramid and how it worked for them.  I strongly encourage anyone to read this book, even if you don't like basketball or sports.  There is a lot that can be learned from John Wooden and I have loved every book I've ever read by him or about him.  People always talk about his deep faith and how he served others.  I hope that I can learn from his example and serve others the way he did!

Lucky Charm?

Okay so I'm a sports nut!  I mean a real sports nut.  Most of the time I fit in more with a group of guys talking about sports than I do with a group of women talking about....well whatever women talk about.  :)  Most of what I watch on tv or read about in the newspaper or online are sports.  One of my daughter's favorite words is ball and she points out basketball hoops everywhere.  She also gets very excited to see basketball games on tv or in person, so I think we're passing it on.  And, I also think she's been a stroke of good luck for my favorite teams.  In her 13 (almost) months of life the team I coached up until she was born won the state championship, my favorite basketball team, Duke, won the national championship, and my favorite NFL team won the Super Bowl!  It's been a great year of sports in our house!  Come on Cardinals, how about a World Series to top it all off!

The whole family on Super Bowl Sunday.  Can you tell who we were rooting for?

So Many Firsts

With the first birthday has come so many, many firsts for my beautiful little daughter!  There was the first ride in the forward-facing carseat (for which she ooooed and ahhhhed and clapped her hands).  There was the first taste of many new foods like peanut butter, strawberries, blondies, etc. (most of which were promptly spit back out).  There was the first time she didn't throw up from regular milk (which we have now switched to 100%)!  And, there was the first temper tantrum (and the second and third and fourth...).  It seems like my infant turned toddler overnight.  I'm sure there are many of you that will tell me she is still a baby until she's walking full time or until she's 18 months or 2 years or some other particular milestone, but I'm just going to call her a toddler.  She has decided to let out blood-curdling screams when she doesn't get what she wants, which I ignore.  She has decided she will no longer sit/lay still for a diaper change or for changing her clothes.  And, she has decided that she must be attached to my legs a lot.  A little recurrence of separation anxiety I think.  Overall, as frustrating as the attachment and screams can get, it is so much fun to watch her develop in leaps and bounds.  Here are some newer things she can do:

• put the circle and square into the shape sorter (the triangle and star are still hard)
• walk about 15-20 steps
• eat off a plate/bowl without throwing it on the floor!
• label many body parts
• go up and down the stairs by herself!
• sign please when she wants something
• take off her mittens, hat, and coat (if mommy takes one arm out) by herself
• give kisses and hugs
• point to some animals and objects in books (especially balls and penguins)
• brush her hair or mommy's hair or daddy's hair
• go find objects that mommy tells her to look for so she doesn't stay attached to mommy's leg

The list could go on and on.  It amazes me the things she understands these days.  Her verbal vocabulary is still limited to Ma (which is pretty much everything I think and occasionally mama), Da (definitely dada), and Ba (definitely ball).  If I ask her to say a word she will usually say something, but it doesn't always seem much like the word.  She is more confident with her walking and sometimes will just take off across the room.  Yet other times she just wants to crawl.

At her one year check up she weighed 22 lbs. 2 oz. or at least that is what they wrote down because the scale was all over the place as she wiggled.  That is only the 69%ile, so she is still slimming down from the 95%ile at birth.  They measured her at 30 inches, but I think she is taller.  She wouldn't hold still for that, either.  That is the 80%ile.  She only briefly cried for the shots, but the finger prick and squeezing blood out of the finger for 2 minutes was awful screaming.  But, the band-aid on the finger afterwards was pretty cool! 

Even though I already mentioned it, I must stay again that Aria is drinking 1% milk just like us!  No barfing!  No buying special stuff just for her!  It is such a relief to me that she has grown out of her sensitivity!  Naps are still quite interesting.  We are trying to get rid of the morning nap, but she just isn't letting it go.  I'm only letting her sleep 30 minutes and her afternoon naps are getting longer and are at a more normal time now, but she still zonks out for that 30 minutes.  So, we'll just go with this routine for awhile. 

I must say I am enjoying my life with a one-year-old!  I'm often pretty busy, but I'll take it!  Parenting is quite the learning experience, with something changing every day, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Body Parts

The Birthday Party

A week ago we had a birthday party at our house!  What a day!  I've already reflected on my daughter turning one year old, but I haven't said anything about the celebration.  Of course the first birthday party isn't much about what the one year old wants, but how the parents want to celebrate.  However, we'd like to think she enjoyed it a ton!  We had the grandparents and a few close friends over for tacos, play time, wagon rides, and birthday cake!  Aria really loved the wagon we got her, the balloons, playing with friends, the sunglasses, cup, shoes, and games.  But she didn't think much of the cake...at least once she realized it was not a real ball!  Thanks to everyone who made her day special and also for being such an important part of her life every day!