I am not doin' too hot on this blog thing... I am sure it will only get worse as the years go. I finally understand why some moms took forever to write on these things.
Mommy brain.
Too much goin' on in there! Moms are always thinking about everything! I mean I had a busy brain before but now, man its crazy up there haha!
Pria is growing way way fast and it is hard for me to think of all the things she has developed with.
She is walking so fast she is basically running. She is SO freakishly smart and understands MORE than you would know. She may not be able to speak but when we talk we point to certain things so she knows what those things are and she copies us a lot and I can just tell that she understands based on her expressions.
She can sign a bunch of things like; food, water, milk, 'all done', shoes, more, pick me up, and we are working on some more. It is very helpful when she uses her signs to let us know what she wants until she can speak better.
There isn't really any foods she distinctly dislikes. Since she is 1 now, we let her try most of what we eat. Except of course any junk or things that are difficult for her to eat. She really prefers eating things with her hands, by herself. Which makes it hard sometimes because that just means a huge mess...But I gotta just push through so she can learn...
Buying food for her is also hard because she eats in such small portions and we never know if she is actually going to eat what I prepare for her. SO I feel like we waste a lot of food. It is a struggle I am figuring out the hard way. I am sure I will have it down by the next kid... Maybe lol.
She loooves broccoli, tofu, chicken, eggs, couscous (a new hit), Evolution green drinks, and bananas are still a big favorite.
Also, since she is 1 now, walking AND teething apparently that means it comes with nursing A LOT during the day and at night. I read online that it is normal and only lasts a couple months. Feels like forever so far.
I am so sleep deprived it isn't even funny. It is exhausting. But I read why it happens and it makes sense. So again I need to push through and just make it work for Pria and me.
Pria had her one year birthday a few weeks ago and it was great! I went a little overboard on the decorations and planning but I enjoy that type of stuff and everything looked amazing like I imagined it. We had pumpkins of different colors and sizes everywhere. I even spray painted some hot pink and gold. It was a gold, orange and hot pink theme. She had a photo table with two big cork boards of pics of her all over it. A big food table decorated with pink flowers and mini pumpkins. I had a burlap birthday banner and a very color for banner for fun that I made across the house. There were a bunch of hay bales everywhere for extra seating. And the hit of the party was the 4x4 corn box in the middle of the backyard!!! There were about 10 kids there and they all loved it. We got the idea from a pumpkin patch that we went to which had a pool size corn box that was awesome! SO we made a mini one to go in the house when we don't want to go outside. And then we got the grand idea to make a medium size one in the backyard for the party and for Pria to keep in place of a sandbox.
She got a lot of great presents from family and friends. Blocks, puzzles, noisy toys, fleece pajamas for the winter, books and more! Pria was happy for the whole party walking around in her little pink/orange/green/brown tutu I got her from Etsy.com. She didn't really eat the mini Shepherds Pie I made her in place of a birthday cake... But oh well. Ya never know. I should have just put a candle in a banana and she would have had a ball with that. All-in-all it was wonderful and I had fun planning for it.
Every night Dustin, Pria and I have our nightly routine of dinner, giving her a bath, chasing Pria around the house (crawling around quickly saying "rawr!" after Pria as she squeals in delight) reading her night-night books and then having a few sips of rice milk before putting her to sleep.
She is getting more and more fun to play with. She likes to hide in tiny corners as we chase her around the house and giggles when we say, "where is Pria at?" We have tickle sessions all the time. She is most ticklish around her neck, her inner thighs, the side of her ribs and sometimes her armpits. I love it when she really laughs.
Pria really doesn't like wearing diapers. Like most kids of course. But I really think when she is ready, potty training will come easier to her. As soon as we take of her diaper she rolls over and tries to get away as fast as she can while giggling. It is so cute and hard to not let her run around naked happy as can be. I don't really give in though when the house is cold early in the morning and I don't want her to catch a cold from running around naked...
Since she is walking now, her legs are really starting to thin out and loose the chunkiness. It is so still there but not as much. I am hoping her 18-24 month clothing will last a long time because of this. That is what she is wearing now. And some 2T things like jackets.
I have shoes for her. Size 5. But haven't really needed them too much yet. I always have her in socks and not often is she outside where she absolutely has to have them on. I wanted her to get walking down pretty good before I put her in shoes that made her walk funny ha.
Our next door neighbor is moving out this month. So after they renovate the guys side of the house (he has been there 18 years and hasn't had someone fix anything or clean the carpets the whole time), we will have a new neighbor. We are trying to get someone we know in there so we don't get some random crazy person. Hopefully we will succeed. Random I know.
In one more month it will have been a year since Jelina left for her mission. It has gone by so fast and the next 6 months I am sure will cruise. She is doing great and loving her work. She has changed a lot and we are excited for her to come back. We plan on flying out to New York to pick her up and spend a week in the area. Maybe 2 days in the city and then go else where for fun including Rhode Island where one of my dads great friends lives. I am excited for Pria to see her again. We try and show Pria photos of her all the time. They are all over the fridge. I should show videos too...
Speaking of Jelina AND Pria, Pria is a dancer! Most any song she will move her little body too with a smile on her face. It is so adorable. Dustin and I don't really dance well so we are hoping Jelina can teach her some fun moves when she gets back. I think they will have a blast!
More fun stuff coming up during the holidays like a big Powell family trip to the cabin over Thanksgiving, a trip to Papas house for a weekend over his birthday and flying to Nebraska for Christmas this year. I will most likely write about all that in January...maybe.
Oh yeah and our photography business is growing rapidly. It is still a side hobby business. But since I took it over, we are getting more referrals and making some extra money which is very helpful!
Check it out at holdmyhandphotography.com!!!
