Let's Eat Cake...

Our little Remi girl turned ONE years old on February 9th.  Fastest year of my life!  We celebrated by staying indoors and being snowed-in - we had just "survived" winter storm Nemo.  Man do East Coasters not know how to deal with snow, but that's another post.  After a morning of presents, playing in the snow, and naps (yes, all of us) it was time for the fun part - the cake.  

Remi was not shy, and dug right in.  That's my girl!  She double fisted that baby in her mouth like there was no tomorrow.  

The "smash" cake.

Mesmerized by the candle.

After her first taste, there was no going back.

What do you think?  Did she like it?

We also gave Remi another birthday present.  We changed the spelling of her name.  I'm not sure exactly what sparked it, but for some time I had liked the spelling Remi better than Remmy.  One day I just decided to change it for real.  My mother-in-law pointed out it was better to do it before she learned to spell her name, so we did.

At ONE YEARS OLD, Remi is still the sweetest baby known to man.  She is crawling all over, pulling herself up, and walking with the mini shopping cart.  She loves her brother and sister and they can get the best gut laughs out of her.  She has two teeth on the bottom, and recently broke two on the top.  Something you may not know....Remi has a little tumor in her neck.  We are currently in the process of determining exactly what it is, but it is most likely a benign neoplasm, or hemangioma in her submandibular gland.  She loves books, and practically throws herself out of my arms to reach the books on the shelf in her room.  She is a decent sleeper, but usually gets woken up by her overly-eager brother who cant stand to let her sleep past him.  She is super social, and waves at any and all people we pass.  She often gets the giggles in sacrament meeting, providing entertainment for the congregation.  

We love our little Remster, Remikins, Remmers, Remi-booth!  Happy Birthday sweet thing.

Remmy at 11 Months...

Our little Remmy has been the greatest addition to our family.  She brings happiness to us all, and is constantly smiling and laughing.  We can't get enough of this little one.

At 11 months, she is pulling up on everything, getting more and more curious, loves to bite and curl her tongue, loves her mama, laughs at her brother and sister, loves to eat all kinds of food, has NO teeth, loves her bamboo blanket, has the best gut laugh, loves bath time, has started to notice Tuscan, and is her daddy's biggest fan.

I can't believe she will be ONE in less than a month.  Boy did that year go by fast...too fast.  I miss my newborn, but Remmy is such a Joy, I can't complain too much. ;)

Half-Birthday...

I know, I know, every mom says this, but where the HECK have the last six months gone?  This girl is thee sweetest little babe you'll ever meet.  She is so easy going, smiles at first glance, and loves hearing her own voice.  I love hearing it too.  She has the sweetest coo's and THE BEST deep, gut laugh.  I'm so happy this little girl joined our family.  Happy half-birthday Rem!

Remmy's First Campout...

In June we were so excited to spend some time with our friends, the Christensens, while they were in Utah.  We spent one night up Big Cottonwood Canyon hiking Donut Falls, and then spending the night at Redman campground.  It was so fun to sit around the campfire with all of our friends and laugh our guts out.

It was our first camping trip with Remmy and she did great.  I was worried about her being cold, so I just tucked her right next to me and we all stayed warm.

4 Months...

My baby, my baby, she's already 4-whole-freakin'-months!  I seriously can not believe it.  She has been such a delight (since she got over her colic) and if parents had favorites (which they don't) she'd probably be mine.  She smiles constantly, always sticking her little tongue out of her mouth.  I love it when she scrunches up her nose, and her laugh is the best sound known to man (and woman).  She has each and everyone of us smitten.  She loves attention, and if she's not getting it, you'll know.  She has the saddest cry, but it can be erased in one second with a little love and some smiles.  She's in one of my favorite stages of a child's life and it is going way too fast.  Now, if only she liked her car seat, this baby of mine might just be perfect!

Remmy's Day...

Today was a special day for our family.  Today, Remmy received her name and blessing.  Mitch did a wonderful job, and we felt blessed to have all of our family with us on this wonderful occasion.

Remmy is such a happy little girl.  She loves to coo and smile and prefers to be held.  She is getting more and more social, and has all of us wrapped around her finger.  She is one loved little lady and we can't imagine our family without her.

8 weeks...

This little cutie is 8 weeks old!

She is smiling, cooing, and trying really hard to laugh.

She is a cuddle bug, and constantly wants to be held.  

She's not my easiest baby (I'm not gonna lie) but she's worth all the fuss.

We couldn't be more crazy about this little lady of ours!

Meeting Grandpa Matt...

I was doing a "look-back" at my blog and realized I was such a better blogger with my other kids.  Remmy is already getting cheated in the photo department, and now the documentation department.  I really need to step up my game, so here I go.

My dad was out of town when Remmy was born, so a few weeks later he made a trip out to come meet his newest granddaughter.  He drove up to our apartment, played with my kiddos (or, let them climb and wrestle all over him) and took us out for dinner.  What a treat!

We went out to eat in Old Town Pasadena, and Finnley just had to bring her new baby and car seat (courtesy of Grandma Matt) to dinner too.  She has been such a good mommy to all of her dolls, and the best helper for me.

Sleeping by her baby in the bassinet...just like mom.

We were having beautiful weather, so we hit up the beach.  The kids had fun as usual, building sand castles, catching sand crabs, and chasing seagulls. Remmy just snoozed in her seat, enjoying the fresh ocean breeze (or at least I think she was). 

We loved having Grandpa Matt come and visit us in SoCal, that a few days later we followed him to UT!  More on that to come.

Two Weeks Old...

Why, when you're pregnant, a week seems like a year, but then when you have a new little bundle that you don't want to grow, a week suddenly seems like a day!?  

I can not believe its already been two weeks since we welcomed little Remmy into our family.  She has been the sweetest addition and nobody can get enough.  

What we know about Remmy so far...well, she doesn't like to be swaddled, but prefers her hands above her head or right by her face.  She has some major body when her hair is nice and clean.  She has a princess bottom, meaning, she pee's or poops - she needs a change pronto or else she starts acting like its the end of the world.  She's already smiling, and not the "I'm peeing" smile, but a real "I think you're awesome, mom" smile.  Don't believe me?  Check out the video at the bottom.

My mom is seriously AMAZING!  She flew out the night I delivered Remmy and stayed for 12 days!  Twelve days of cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, waking up with my kids, entertaining us, and keeping us company while Mitch hid in the back room studying for his upcoming Dental Boards. She left on Monday, and she is dearly missed.  Mom's are one of a kind (especially mine)!

Dieter is coming around too.  After pointing to my belly and saying "Mom, I want baby Remmy go back in dere"  I think he's finally okay that she's here to stay.  He loves giving her kisses, holding her, and asks many questions about her throughout the day.  I guess its safe to say we're all in love!

One Day Old...

This sweet angel already has us smitten.  She has each and every one of us wrapped tightly around her long skinny fingers.  I can't stop looking at her, analyzing each of her features, and laughing at her sweet (and mostly funny) facial expressions.  Finnley is the ultimate big sister.  She loves holding Remmy and has already given her many "presents" from her own collection of goods.  

Dieter is interested in Remmy, but that's about it.  He'd rather sit in my hospital bed, eating cream cheese out of the carton, watching T.V.  He's trying his hardest to be soft and sweet, but every once in a while the 2 1/2 year old boy comes out of him and he almost head butt's her.  We'll be keeping a close eye on this one.

This angel lady has been taking care of my two oldest (how weird is it to say that!).  She scooped them up and took them down south so Mitch and I could have some quiet bonding time with our little lady.  It has been sooo nice, and I've loved napping with my sweet angel on my chest and waking up late.  I do miss my other two and look forward to seeing them today!  Did I mention she skipped out on a trip to Costa Rica with rest of my adult family!?  I know...a total mixture of feeling extra special and extra guilty.  But she swears she'd rather be here doing what she's doing, so I'm going to choose to believe her. ;)

We are loving having this special spirit in our home.  I am trying to have a positive attitude about the many middle-of-the-night wake-up calls, and remembering how fortunate I am to have another baby join our family.  Although I haven't pulled out my camera as much as I'd like, I'll try and add more photos soon.