Halloween Happenings

Last year for Halloween we stayed close to the house and Amelia Grace wore her costume for all of 15 minutes before she decided she'd had enough of being a little chickie. This year was way different and has me even more excited for the future! Our little strawberry had more fun than I can express in these simple words as she went to a few houses and then hung out with her new pal, Addie. She even got to enjoy a piece of her candy behind our backs when she somehow managed to get a KitKat bar open without our help! I think it's safe to say we have a Halloween fan in our fam. What made the day even more special was when we got to introduce her to Carter-Finley Stadium for her first tailgate and football experience. This year is going to be hard to top!

Go Pack!

Our little cheerleader went trick-or-treating in the parking lot before the game.

SO much joy in this little one's heart!!

Mountain Getaway

I love Fall and everything that comes along with it. Changing leaves? More like eye candy. Pumpkin spice everything? Never met a pumpkin-spiced food I haven't loved. Cooler temperatures and shorter days? Sounds like an excuse to binge watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix. Seriously, I absolutely adore Fall. A few weekends ago we were fortunate enough to head to the mountains and take in some of the gorgeous views of North Carolina with some fantastic friends.

We kept it low-key on Friday evening but ramped up the fun Saturday and Sunday with hiking, the outlet mall, and multiple trips to the grocery store (there were 12 people total-we couldn't help but forget a few things here and there!). The kiddos had a great time running around our incredible hideaway "cabin" (it slept all of us comfortably which blows my idea of a cabin right out of the water!) and through the woods on our hikes. There were lots of laughs and good food to be had and I'm pretty sure we all left with our hearts a little fuller as well. All in all it was a fabulous weekend and we can't wait to do it again soon!!

You mean your husband doesn't do push-ups while baby wearing??

Baby girl taking in the views.

So many beautiful leaves!

She was NOT a fan of the horses!

Little Things

Have you ever watched a little one explore? I mean really watched? One of the amazing joys of being able to stay home with Amelia Grace full time is I have plenty of chances to watch this little love explore the world around her and I love every second of it. From watching her feed herself for the first time to picking up piles of mulch and moving it around the playground (her current favorite activity), I have been so fortunate to experience these new things with her. The best part is her over the moon joy and excitement! 

We take for granted so much of what we see and do every day. Littles don't. Give us a pile of pine straw and we just sit and stare at it. Give it to a toddler and they can find all sorts of things to be excited about. Have you ever given a baby the sample cups Trader Joe's gives out with their coffee? Did you know they can be used as hats, music makers, and chew toys? When we went to Florida earlier this summer we didn't bring any toys with us; she entertained herself with coasters and old magazines. 

If only we could take the simple things in life and truly appreciate them too. The ability to feed ourselves a blueberry and not miss our mouths. Or moving a handful of crayons from one hand to the other. Or even the fact that we can comb our own hair! All of these tasks seem so menial, but are so exciting when first experienced and truly appreciated.

I am so thankful for all that I am able to do, but I'm even more thankful for being able to experience it all over again with her! 

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

-Matthew 19:14

12 Month Update

Happy ONE YEAR, little love!

So much happiness! 

Legs for daysssssss 

Big smiles! 

Oh lookee here. . . 

Now that I've taken the sticker off, I'm going to try to put it back on;-)

Height/Weight: She was 31 inches tall and 22.5 lbs at her one-year check up. So this all means that her height in in the 90-95th percentile (is anyone surprised by this?) and her weight is in the 60th percentile. Whooooo healthy baby!

Clothes: She is rocking out the 18 month clothes and a few 24 month. I've heard the rapid growth slows down because if not all those great clothes I bought at consignment last season aren't going to fit!

Likes: This happy girl likes just about everything. She loves anything musical and crawling around on her daddy. She is also a big fan of going up the stairs and having us race to catch her before she can go flying back down. 

Dislikes: Not a huge fan of us trying to make her walk by holding onto her hands. She just hoists her legs up and plops down on her behind!

Milestones: She can stand on her own but hasn't been brave enough to take a step yet. She also has another tooth popping thru, but this one is one of her vampire teeth! She's going to look so funny with two on the bottom and a vampire tooth on the top:-P She has also figured out that putting stuff away can be just as fun as taking it all out. Thankful she learned that little trick!

And a little side-by-side comparison for a year. . .

One Year Pictures

A few months before we moved I joined one of those buy/sell/trade sites for North Raleigh and after a few days of stalking the wares I noticed a post from a woman offering mini-sessions for $50! I knew we wanted to take pictures for her first birthday so I quickly messaged her and set up a time. Despite it being super close to her bedtime, Amelia Grace was the ideal model and allowed our photographer (the wonderful Amanda Conrad!) to take some fantastic pictures. They all turned out FANTASTIC so picking just a few to share with y'all was hard!

These are just a sampling of the almost 50 images she captured!

Happy first birthday, little love!

First Birthday Shindig

This past weekend we were fortunate enough to celebrate our little love's first birthday with family and friends! It's so hard to believe that this sweet girl is already one year old. They aren't kidding when they say you blink and your baby is gone. Our precious nugget has been replaced by a wild, child toddler with no fear. Don't get me wrong, I love every stage, but I definitely wouldn't mind if she decided we needed a day of cuddles like old times ;-) Anywho, enough mommy sob time and onto the pictures!

We did an owl theme and my mom really went above and beyond making that possible. I don't have any pictures of the decor but it was impressive! We are so thankful for all those who pitched in to make this such a wonderful day!

Owl fruit tray

Owl veggie tray 

Owl cupcakes 

More cupcakes

The SUPER impressive cake TJ's sweet girlfriend, Rebecca made!

 3/4 of the baby date crew 

(We missed you, Adah and Rachel!)

And when it came time for the cake, Amelia Grace definitely showed that she belonged to us by diving headfirst into her cake!

Here, momma, you get a bite too 

The yummy cookies Aunt Lisa made! 

The babes loved the water table and bubble machine 

My heart is so full!

We were truly blown away by all those who came from near and far to celebrate our precious girl's first birthday. And this truly was a group effort. We are so thankful to all who made this wonderful day so special! I think it's safe to say she had a good time. . .

My Lighthouse

Every morning while I'm making breakfast and Amelia Grace is playing, I put on music in the background. She has always loved listening to music and since music is great for a baby's development it's a win-win. For a while we were rocking out to a Raffi station on Pandora, then it was the Kids and Family station on iTunes Radio before we switched to my personal favorite-Rend Collective. (Rend Collective is an AMAZING contemporary Christian band who remind me a lot of Mumford and Sons-kind of folksy.) 

Much like Pandora, when listening to iTunes Radio you can identify songs you like and they play other songs similar to that one. Well, the first song that came on was "My Lighthouse"-a personal fav. I quickly told the minions inside our AppleTV I liked it in hopes they would play it again soon. As I danced around the room with AG she laughed and giggled and we certainly got our praise on!

The next morning we turned on the radio and "My Lighthouse" came on again-whoo! This time, before I could even pick Amelia Grace up to dance she crawled over to me and lifted her arms to be held. She then nuzzled down on my shoulder and hugged me tight. 

*Cue the tears*

We danced around the room and sang as loud as we could the entire song. When it was over she motioned to get down to play and we went about our day. Fast forward to the next morning-she did the same thing! Y'all my sweet, wiggly, wild toddler willingly nuzzled down on my shoulder for the entire song. Amazing. How precious it is to worship our wonderful Lord and Savior with this incredible gift in my arms! I know she doesn't understand the weight of the words yet, but with prayer and His guidance we will one day be able to raise her to.

You better believe we now own that album and will be playing it until all our technology dies and it no longer works ;-)

A few of our favorite things. . . 6-12 months

A few months ago (6 months to be exact;-) ) I put together a list of some of our favorite things for parenting Amelia Grace from birth to six months. There are SO many lists out there suggesting what to buy to help you parent and even more products to choose from so I narrowed it down again for the next six months! Here are a few of our favorite things. . .

Jog Stroller

We were gifted with this AMAZING tool and we couldn't be more thankful. We use it at least once a day, but most days even more. This thing has gone to the beach, walked to grocery stores, strolled to Starbucks, and helped us explore our new digs. If you are at all active, I highly suggest adding this to your list of must-haves!

High Chair

I fought this for a while. I thought we'd be just fine with a little booster we could just strap to a chair and call it a day. Not so much. We ended up going with the Graco Dubliner 3-in-1 high chair and couldn't be happier. It allows us to have a highchair AND a booster to strap to a chair all in one. Definitely a win!

"Stand Up Thing"

I know there is a better name for it, but that's what it was referred in the Mobley house. She spent hours in this thing. First it was just standing and staring, then it was twisting and turning, and finally it was jumping and screaming. She loves this thing and I loved that it kept her trapped entertained.

Bath Seat

This little gem became so helpful as she started to sit up and become more active. We were able to have her sit unassisted in the tub as we cleaned her. Super helpful! 

"Eating Jacket"

This too has a fancier name, but we just referred to it as the "eating jacket". These were wonderful when she was first navigating the waters of food introduction. They helped save quite a few outfits there at the beginning!

Florida Fun

We are blessed to have so many family members who love our little girl SO much and this past weekend we were able to take her to Florida and spend time with them! We got to introduce her to David's wonderful Grandpa and GrandBobbie, uncle, aunt, and cousins while also taking her to visit his sweet grandma at the rehab facility she has been in since suddenly completely losing her sight a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, David has most of the good pictures on his phone so I'll just share the few that I have of our girl loving the time she had on the beach!

What better way to kick off a road trip than with Chick-fil-A? It was an all outdoor Chick-fil-A too! 

 Sitting in the same high chair that Grandpa grew up using!

 A beautiful morning on Jax Beach.

Enjoying the tide pools.  

What's that thing flying over there? 

Pondering the world of babyhood.  

 David and his mini-me. 

Hey, ma, how come we're this close and not at the beach?!? 

She loves her daddy!

 When some random guy at the beach offers to take a family photo, you let him!

Enjoying her very first balloon. I'm pretty sure she would have been over the moon if it had been a red balloon ;-)

11 Month Update

Happy 11 months, little love!

Falling off the ottoman now! 

What is this thing on me? 

You want one? 

Hmmm, I wonder what this tastes like. . .

Height/Weight: Not sure about exact height and weight measurements, but when we took her to Urgent Care a few weeks ago she was 21 lbs, 13 oz and 29 inches.

Clothes: A few 12 months, but more 18 months. This girl is long!

Likes: She is such a happy baby it's hard to pinpoint just a few likes. She is still interested in my keys. In fact, they kept her occupied for an hour and a half in the car on the way to Florida! She likes unpacking any bag that I pack and making big messes, then crawling away. I suppose that's just a part of toddlerhood! She seems to really like the beach too-yay!

Dislikes: Not a ton of dislikes since she is such a wonderful little one!

Milestones: She is scooting around the furniture standing up now. She has also stood for a second or two on her own without holding onto anything before she plops back down.