Winnie is ONE

The day has come and I can't believe it. My little 7 lb baby, is no longer a baby.. and no longer 7 lbs. ;) Our Winnie has grown into the sweetest, smartest, most joyful one year old I know.

This year seems to have flashed before my eyes in a matter of seconds. The days are long but the years are so very short. I remember this day, one year ago, so vividly. Do moms ever forget? One full labor and an emergency c-section later, our beautiful little girl came into the world and stole my heart. [You can read her birth story here]. Winnie is our miracle baby and I am always reminded of God's love for me when I look at her. Though my love for her is but a glimpse of God's love for us, I can only imagine how much more he loves us, because I love that girl more than she knows!

Winnie opening her birthday present this morning

Celebrating Winnie is one of the easiest things I could do. We celebrated Winnie's first birthday this past Saturday with friends and family that have loved our girl so well. She enjoyed having her little buddies over, they played and ate and danced and we all laughed. Win was not a fan of her smash cake. She pretty much hated having all that icing on her hands and started crying, which cracked us all up. Win loved the donuts though. She would go back and forth between a few people begging to have a piece of their donuts. So much sugar! [Speaking of that, it took her an hour after being laid down in bed to fall asleep, she just paced back and forth in her crib. Hilarious!] She was showered with tons of great toys and clothes and lots of books. Birthdays are so fun!!

Winnie's smile and laugh are so contiguous <3 <3 <3

Age: ONE!!!
Stats: 20.4 lbs and 30.5 inches tall
Favorite Foods: Winnie will eat ANYTHING! But I'd say her "favorite" is pretty much any fruit.
Favorite Words: "Mama", "Dada", "Doh" [Dog], and "Nuh" [Which I think is "no" but when she says "nuh" I say other words like: Banana, Nana, and Night night to try and trick her so she doesn't say no. Good luck right?
Favorite Toy: Winnie loves her xylophone and anything that makes noise. She also loves anything that she can push through out the house, wheels or no wheels.
Favorite Activity: Playing "I'm gonna get you" from behind the couch.. she laughs and laughs and laughs. I will never tire from playing that with her. She also loves to look out the bay window and sit on the vent underneath it. That is one of her favorite spots in the house. (Which we just turned into a baby window seat so now I'll have to teach her to climb and sit and look out the window from there).
Signature Moves: Other than walking, I'd say her dance moves. They are something else. She spins in circles and head bangs and claps her hands and shimmies. It's so much fun to watch!!
Nicknames: Win, Little Lady, honey bear, baby, my flower, my little bunny, and sweetie.
Sweet Moments: Winnie loves to be around me and I am soaking that up. She will literally sit on the back of my legs/heels while I'm at the sink or stove. She brings her toys and doesn't leave my side. It's precious! Some other sweet moments as of recently is how much she's starting to hug and give kisses. She gave Taylor a huge hug the other night and it made him melt. I can't get enough.
Mom & Dads Proudest Moment: This year has been full of proud moments, we can't just pick one. But we'd both have to say we are pretty proud of how fast she learns. She is a good listener and very quick learner. It has made teaching her things so much fun.
Other Milestones: We'll probably start thinking about weaning soon... I'm not ready.... not.ready.at.all.

Here are some pictures from her birthday party.

Art credit: Jeni Kubicek 

Mommy and daddy love you so much!!! 

Happiest of birthdays to you Winnie!!

11 Months Old

This past month has been such a blast with Winnie, her personality is really coming out, and she is so funny. Constantly making us laugh and always keeping us on our toes with her adventurous spirit.

Age: 11 months old, weighs 20.10 lbs

Clothes: She is currently wearing 9-12 month clothes and fits into some 6 month onesies.  

in her big girl pj's

Favorite Foods: We give her almost everything we eat, with the exception of the obvious no no's for babies under 1 year. Recently, she loved French toast and last night scarfed down sautéed mushrooms without taking a breath.  I am so thankful she isn't picky and I hope it stays that way!! She is totally over baby cereal and applesauce mix... I think I gave it to her 1 too many times. Luckily she doesn't have to eat that bland stuff anymore. :)

Favorite Activity: Tossing/rolling balls, dancing, sitting in her chair, flipping through her books, looking out the window, and playing in her kiddie pool.  

Signature Moves: Her dance moves are my favorite. She bounces and shakes her head and twists her mid section while holding her arms by her waist. It is the best!! She has also learned how to clap and wave hi, bye, and "night night". 

Sweet moments: Calling her over to come see me or stretching out my arms and she walks to me and hugs me or turns and sits/leans against me. She is becoming more snuggly, which I LOVE!

Moms Proudest Moment: Mother's day celebration. Couldn't be a mom without Taylor & Winnie!

Dads Proudest Moment: Seeing Winnie choose to go sit down and read her books all by herself. :)

Other Milestones: She is very good at mimicking what you do and when we ask her to bring us a ball or to sit in her chair, she does it. 

Working on: Learning what she is not allowed to touch, i.e.: the fireplace, the internet box & dvd players, and [yanking on] the curtains. She obeys sometimes which we praise, but other times she doesn't. Thankfully, we are learning with her and it's all for our good! 

We're working on more signs. Winnie has mastered "all done" and we are teaching her "please". I love watching her learn. 

I have also discovered Winnie's FIRST freckle!!!! It's adorable and I love looking at it. Placed so perfectly on her belly. 

The following pictures are from a photo shoot Julie and I did with Winnie & Josh. These 2 are so ADORABLE!!!!! Funniest part was definitely us moms behind the scenes trying to snap pictures and get their attention and get them to smile. Oh the things we do. Haha!

One of our favorites.

i love her smile!

Have a great week! 

Little Girl Nursery

It's been a year since we moved in to our home before Winnie arrived and we are finally done her nursery. We finished last month with organizing some wall art, now that everything is hung I can now share with you what we've done. I am so happy with her room. It's probably my favorite room in the house.

Her room before was a bright blue. I wanted to have white wainscoting with purple walls and yellow and grey accents. So, I decided on a faint purple for her walls, white furniture w/ purple knobs, purple curtains, a grey rocking chair, a grey rug, and yellow accents here and there.  I love it!!!

Taylor and my dad planned and built the wainscoting on her walls. You can click here for the step-by-step process of how to make it yourself. I was full-term when we put it all together, thankfully, my parents were here to help us finish paint her room.

Winnie's Nursery 

This wall collage is my favorite. It completes her room!! 

What's on the wall [L to R]: Our first family photo after my c section, 4 generations of Browns,
Winnie with her Nana Winnie, her name, ABC & I AM HIS wall art, a canvas, a mirror,
a shadow box of her hospital stuff, and the 2 empty frames will eventually be filled
with a song I've been singing to her since she was in my belly, and a picture... soon. 

I love these 3 next to one another! 

One of my favorite sections of the wall collage.
"I AM HIS" wall art from Inspired Simply
Her name drawn by my friend Jeni :)

Changing table made out of my moms childhood desk. :)
Taylor built a shelf to hold the diapers. 

Canvas I made years back...
[dancer painted by Jeni]

true life. <3

I love her room so very much!!!