Halloween and Georgia's PARTAY!

 So...if you can't tell I am a little behind.  Halloween was really fun this year!! I am really going to take advantage of Georgia letting me choose her Halloween costume as long as I can.  She was a magical unicorn this year.  We did lots of fun things for Halloween.  Nick's school did a fun Halloween party for all of the families with kids in law school.  I can't believe how many people have kids in law school.  I thought we were the minority!  It was so fun.  They decorated the law school and the hallways and it was so fun!  Georgia got lots of candy (correction---WE got lots of candy!) 

 We got to go trick-or-treating with the Stones after the annual Ballantyne party that Nick and I are so graciously invited to every year!  (Thanks for all these pics Autumn by the way!)  I am too lazy to download my own. :) She is our family photographer these days!

 And for Alena's Birthday we got to get together for a yummy lunch and dress the kiddos up in their costumes.  It was so fun.  I love these girls and life wouldn't be the same without them!

 

I made Unicorn Poop cookies.  A girl said they were good but kind of gross.  Nobody wanted to eat them because of the name.

 Georgia's Birthday was so much fun...at least for her it was really fun.  She had a blast playing with all of her friends.  She loved the birthday cake (see the video below).  And I think it all came together well.  We had lots of people come and celebrate.  I have pictures on my camera but don't feel like uploading them right now so here are a few.  (most from Autumn). ;)

 We also got to watch the Sloan Fam for a few days.  Aka "Slart" Family Reunion.  We love them and feel like they are our second family.  Georgia was getting used to the idea of having siblings (not yet though) ;)

 We went to Discovery Place with the Sloans and I remembered Alena saying how much June loved the fish tank.  Well Georgia loved it too!  She could have stood there for hours. 

 Here are some pics of the party decorations.  I should have gotten more...but oh well. 

 And we have been enjoying the scenery out here.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving we met Shannon and Brian and Ski in Asheville.  Nick and I went to Chimney Rock before we met up with them and it was gorgeous.  Forgot to get a picture with the cousins dangit!!

 And last but not least...the young women who completed the Book of Mormon this summer got to do this awesome day at the White Water Rafting Center.  We went paddle boarding and it was awesome.  I just love the girls! They are darling.  Only 11 finished but we have 25 girls in young women now.  I can't believe how much it has grown over the past year.

 And...the ward Christmas party seeing Santa.  I didn't think Georgia would be scared but she didn't like the ol' man!! 

She's ONE!!! What the??

Everybody says that "they grow up so fast!"  Now... I know.... what they mean!  I feel like this year has been such a blur and has gone by faster than any year in my life.  I would re-live everything again if I could.  I would even re-live the hard times because they have made me appreciate the good times.

Having Georgia in our family has been such a blessing.  I remember before I got pregnant we prayed for her to come to our family.  We got what we asked for and MORE.  I can't even imagine our lives without her.  We have had far more happy times than we have had hard times but it has been a very challenging and growing year too.  I decided that to have to see your daughter go through anything just feels like your heart is being ripped from your chest.  I thought her hip dysplasia was rough but I hate that she will deal with her hearing loss for the rest of her life.  I wish she didn't have to deal with that.  But... I know Heavenly Father has a plan for her and He knows what is best for her.  I WOULDN'T have her any other way!   She is absolutely perfect just the way she is.  And heck...I have never seen a girl look so cute sporting those pink hearing aids. :)

Here is a brief recap of her first year: (and I mean "not so brief"...since I am the worst blogger ever and haven't posted these things as often as I would like to!)

Born November 6th, 2011 at 9:55 a.m.

Georgia weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces

Length: 18 inches

She has a cute birthmark on her left leg

Georgia loved sleeping!  All of her pictures during those first three months were of her sleeping.  She slept through the night (about 8-9 hour stretches) at around 3 weeks old.  People kept saying it wouldn't last but it did and it really just kept getting even better.  I remember the first week she was home I was waking her up every three hours in the night.  What was I thinking?  Note to self on the next baby...do not do that!  I stopped doing that after the first week and she was sleeping through the night.  No wonder she kept falling asleep while breastfeeding? Geesh.  Live and learn I guess. 

 

When she was born the first thing Nick said was "She isn't even weird looking like everybody tells you a newborn will look."  The doctor laughed but it was true--she looked perfect and I couldn't take my eyes off of her those first two days.  When Nick cut the umbilical cord, he squirted blood into the nurses eye.  Ooops! :)

She didn't pass her hearing screen in the hospital but at the time we didn't think anything of it.  We figured it was just fluid in her ears that would clear up in about a month. 

December: 

We had a good December with lots of family visiting us the month before and after Christmas.  She loved people and was very interactive even early on.  

She didn't pass her second hearing test and we were worried but we felt like she could hear everything.  She would wake up when we would tap on the wall, etc.  We knew she could hear though but we didn't know why she wasn't passing her hearing tests.

 

She was also diagnosed with mild hip dysplasia and had to wear this not so awesome harness for 3 months!! Sorry Georgia you inherited my hip dysplasia from when I was a baby!  But...now her hip is alllll better!!

January: 

Henry and Rachael came to visit and it was so fun. :) I wish she could come visit every year!

Georgia received her final diagnosis on her hearing loss in January.  She was diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss meaning that she can hear most things but without getting hearing aids she would not develop or hear certain sounds with her speech.  This was somewhat devastating news to us at the time but now we are empowered to do everything we have power to do and give her all the advantages we can.  She is doing great and not behind at all with her speech! So proud of her!

February: 

She loved to makes raspberries with her tongue and would go in spurts when she would do it or she wouldn't.  She was really good at it too and would spit for hours on end. 

She had to get an EKG on her heart because apparently the heart develops at the same time as the ears so they can be related.  This was such a relief when the EKG came back normal!  It seemed like every test that had to be done was coming back with something wrong.  

March:

She got to get out of her harness for hip dysplasia!! YAY!! WE burned that darn harness in a bon-fire never to see EVER again!!  I hated that thing!   But...so glad it made her hip all better!!

She first rolled over March 23, 2012!

 She also started seeing her speech therapist who is AWESOME!! Georgia loves when Margaret comes to our house because she brings lots and lots of toys!

April:

Georgia got her hearing aids.

She was also standing on her legs and jumping on her jumperoo like crazy at this age.

May and June:

We went to Utah for the summer and she had fun with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins!  She would scream for JOY every time she saw a kid.  She screams now but it is more controlled.  Looking back I realize how hilarious it was how excited and loud she would scream every time she would see a little kid or baby.  

She also started army crawling in June!

July:

July 20th: She said her first word Mama and gives kisses on command

July 21st: Pulling on her feet

July 25th: She started crawling on hands and knees and was standing in her crib

July 27th: Really distinguishes between objects when asked what they are

July 28th: She turns when asks where is "daddy" or "mommy"

August:

She managed a cross country road trip twice and was a dream baby both ways!  I couldn't believe it!  She just played with toys and we read her books.  She had fun in Utah for the summer meeting new friends and cousins.  We went swimming a lot and she loves the water. 

September:

She knew who her mommy and daddy were when asked. She distinguished objects and toys.  She climbed all stairs in our house.  She was eating mostly table food.  She occasionally started saying "hi."  She imitated gestures such as waving, squinting of her eyes when we squint, imitating sounds, saying mama and dada, giving kisses and biting, saying "mwah" when giving kisses, starting to balance on feet without holding onto things.  Loooves Books.  I would say, "get a book" and she will lean over in the chair and grab one or crawl to the books and hand it to me.

October: 

I swear she knows most of her animals and can point to them when asked where they are in books.  She reads about 30 books a day.  She loves putting things into containers and organizing them.  She manages to throw all 6 binkies out of her crib and thinks it is really funny.  She loves binkies and her "dolla".  She loves babies and I can't take her to Target without buying her something.  She loves dogs and bath time.  She will often hold something in both hands and crawl around on her elbows.  She loves going on walks and jogs with her momma.  She especially loves taking out her hearing aids and eating them so she can get my attention and I will come over to her.  :)  

November:

 She now weighs 20 pounds!! She is three times the size she was when she was born!!

She looooves babies and can't even handle herself when she sees a doll or other baby.  She loves crowds and social situations.  She has said a couple more words like, "hi", "eyes", "mamamey", "dadadey", and "out".  She walks with her dolly stroller and dances to music.  She has her bottom teeth and is just starting to get her top teeth.  She likes to play keep away and give hugs where she wraps her arms around your neck.  She likes to put socks on her feet and tickle other people's toes and belly buttons.  I can't believe she is a year.  Can somebody tell me where my baby went??? 

 

Hey diddle diddle

So....Georgia loves nursery rhymes and she laughs EVERY TIME we read this nursery rhyme to her.  

I don't know why...but every time when the dish runs away with the spoon it just kills her. :)

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Summer Part 2 and back to NC!

Here are some more pics of our summer in Utah and some now that we are back in NC!  We are getting back into the swing of things.  Nick is back in school and got an awesome job being an assistant to a Legal Processing professor!  Woot woot!  That is a big accomplishment considering this is the hardest class in law school and Nick did awesome in it!  The second year of law school is not nearly as stressful.  It is going to be busy that is for sure but not as much pressure as the first year! It is really nice to know what to expect and also see a little light at the end of the tunnel!  I do have some thoughts though about our experience out here in North Carolina.  I definitely know that we are here for a reason.  I actually think we are here for several reasons.  As much as we love Utah and miss it and our family and friends out there, I cannot even imagine missing out on this experience in North Carolina.  This has been probably the most fun we have had in our marriage together.  It is my personal opinion that everybody should live away even if it is just a little bit of time.  It is really hard for me to describe to somebody what it is like and why we would even enjoy ourselves being away from "home."  I can't imagine all of the experiences we would have missed out on if we didn't move here.  We have met so many amazing people, we have been so many fun and cool places, and we have started a lot of our own family traditions.  I know not everybody can live away but I am really glad nick and I got the opportunity. It has really been a great thing for us.

I know this year has been different having a baby and that is probably a huge reason why this past year has been one of our favorites, but I really wouldn't want to have our first year with Georgia anywhere else.  Yes...being in Utah would have been great.  And yes...I would have seen family more with her and we miss family like crazy.  But....no...I still wouldn't have traded it and firmly believe that we weren't supposed to be in Utah and North Carolina is where we were supposed to be.  Do we like living in North Carolina to be on our own?? NO....in fact--if we could have everybody in our family move here...we would love that!!  That is the thing...I wish we could have the best of both worlds and live where we want to and where it feels right but have our family all here too!  Just so many things have come together for us in North Carolina and I am so glad our path led us here (even if it is just for a while.)  We will see where Nick gets a job opportunity and where we feel we are supposed to be after law school.  It is so up in the air.

By the way...have I told you how proud I am of Georgia?   She is doing great with her speech therapy. She loves her speech therapist. The other day she was crying because she wanted a toy and instead of reaching for me (her mom) she reached for Margaret (her speech therapist). Margaret has such a way of making her listen so well and make so many sounds. I don't know how she does it.  I try to imitate her during the week but really don't do it like Margaret does.  But...I do talk to her at least 3-4 hours/day, sometimes more. She reads more than 10 books a day (maybe like 25) and she seriously sits and reads them one after another.  She would rather read books more than playing with toys. She says mama and dada and knows who we are. She can distinguish what animal is a cow, horse, pig, rooster, dog, cat, etc. I just ask her to find the animal that says, "moo or meow" and she picks the right one about 98% of the time. She gives kisses and says, "mmm-wah!" She even gave me bite marks at church with those cute two bottom teeth. Crazy girl! I am constantly amazed with what she can do and just celebrate all her accomplishments especially with speech milestones.  I know she has had help from Heavenly Father and we have had help from Him as well!  We are so blessed!

This is how she kept entertained on our 2 1/2 day road trip!!

Sleeping positions

At the Panthers game

These two...

Shopping with mom

This is the only way I can get ready...with her in the sink while I put my make-up on..

Follow the leader with Cooper!  We love swim dates!

She loves swinging!

Four of July Kaysville Parade.  I love Avery's sunglasses here.

Nick didn't see daylight for months...haha--jk!

Playing with Audrey.  She was so jealous that Audrey was in her jumperoo!

The only way I can get laundry done

Happy Birthday to Cooper!! Cutest Birthday Party!

Happy Birthday to Cooper at his party! 

Sleeping with her Georgia Doll!

Swimming with dad