- Oh, January... -

...you were a [not] jewel! 

We kicked off the month by ringing in 2019 in style...

...then celebrating a very special someone's FIRST birthday!  

There were several snow days and afternoons at gymnastics and even a Princess Tea and Grammy's birthday, too!  The month was shaping up rull nice...

...until BOOM:  GI virus for Scarlett. Boo.

Vomit here, there, and everywhere. She made a fairly quick recovery...

...then BOOM:  green, snotty noses and thick, nasty coughs for both girls! Hiss!

Essential oils and extra sleep for you and you and you! A week or so went by, and we got over that...


...next, BOOM:  RSV.  Rawrrrrrr.

Oh, pooooor, sweet Sissy and her sad little lungs! Can Motha' Nature and her despicable ole' viruses just cut us a break puh-LEEZE?!  Harper and Emma accompanied us to the pediatrician where Scarlett swabbed positive for R-to-the-S-to-the-V and also received her first breathing treatment. We went home with a brand new nebulizer [meet Sami the Seal!] and a stash of albuterol -- two of the main ingredients needed for our "a super fun weekend awaits us" recipe! 

We gave Sissy her treatments every four hours around the clock, and Harper was the absolute BEST big sister during all of this. She was always extremely attentive to Scarlett's needs and also regularly checked up on Scarlett's lungs.  ...And Scarlett really didn't seem to mind; she even let Harper give her a couple of the nebs! #sistersunite

Brian was spending a lot of time working at the house [by "a lot," I mean "all day Saturday and all day Sunday during this particular weekend but basically every waking moment that he's not at his 9-5 job"] -- and so! We were pretty much home to fend for ourselves from sun-up to sun-down.  I'm so very grateful that Harper was such a good helper to me and such a nice, sympathetic sister to Scarlett, because it all could've crumbled beneath my feet .justlikethat. But it didn't. Thank you for cooperating, Harper girl!!! You are the very best.

And of courseeee, it should go without mention but I'll say it anyway: the days without Daddy are long and sometimes seem never-ending, but every night I go to bed feeling super appreciative of Brian and all he is doing for us!  It really is a huge commitment, not to mention an exhausting job in the cold weather with a never-ending to-do list! But he goes at it every day without complaint and wakes up again the next day to start all over again!  ^^ This night, in particular, I realized more than ever that we may not have it all together, but together we have it all.  And that is more than enough. <3  If we can just get through these next several months without Daddy, it's allllll a downhill slide from there! *party emojiiiiiii*

 
Anyway, off my tangent. Thannnnnnnkfully, the treatments worked wonders! We were so very fortunate to escape an ER visit, and before we knew it Scarlett was on the mend...

...so much so, in fact, that the pediatrician said at her breathing checkup a few days later that she made a REMARKABLE turnaround! Respirations of 60 down to ~30ish AND having our sassy, strong-willed little girl back? I'llllll take it!

Go, Sissy, go!  

OVERALL, January, we will not miss watching you melt away! You were exhausting! 

And somehow, all of the sudden, here we are: 10 days deep into February.....

...So watch out, world!!!

- SNOW FUN! -

Snowwwww fun is SO fun; see what I did there?! ...

I'm typically more of a "watch through the window while sipping hot chocolate ...under a blanket and next to the heater" type of gal, butttttt when Daddy's gone every day building us a new house, Momma has to pick up the slack!

3, 2, 1.....let's go!

Do you wanna build a snowmannnnn??! :)

^^ Scarlett was not a fan of the cold OR snow and preferred to watch the action from afar.  I see beaches and sand in our future, Sissy! :-* 

Then! What's that you say?! Ohhhh yes, the fun parent ditched the new house project and arrived home early to save the day!  Daddy and Harper bundled back up and hit the snow while Mommy and Scarlett stayed inside and snuggled up for [Sissy's] naptime.

I have to admit: while I've never once been excited to trudge around in a pile of wet snow, experiencing a snow day through a toddler's eyes was actually pretty wonderful!  Bring on the next snow storm... This momma's all in!!! :)

- Turning ONE is so much fun! -

^^ Soooo so much fun, in fact! In honor of our sweet snowflake's milestone day, we transitioned our home into an igloo and opened it up as Scarlett's Winter ONEderland! :)

After dinner was finished, Harper helped her little Sissy get a taste of the smash cake...

...and it was allllllll downhill from there!!!

Pretty sure it's safe to say that she thoroughly enjoyed it! I wiped off her face a few times to give her tiny nostrils a pinprick of patency, but she just kept shoveling it up and in by the fistful.  Like momma like daughter; I'm thinking we have another little sweet tooth on our hands!

Thanks to this bath time crew for helping me get that messy, cake smeared ONE-year-old all cleaned up!

On to presents...

...and then a little love from both of Scarlett's grammies! 

Is it true what they say? ...We have another BIG GIRL in the house?!? :(

As if a full blown party and successful cake smash wasn't enough celebration, we skipped off to IHOP on Monday morning to celebrate Sissy's REAL birthday! She looked through the menu a few times before settling on the perfect pancake.

^^ Brian finished his food and dashed off to work mid-meal, which left me stuck with two sticky girls. Syrup here, there, and everywhere; messy messes for you and you and you!  We finalllllly finished up ...and cleaned up ...and hit the road for Grammy's house...

...where Scarlett was serenaded again and lapped up a lemon macaroon! She smiled and clapped as we sang, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOOOO YOU!" and her sweet little self just literally couldn't even be a tiny bit cuter.  [PS - No children were harmed/burned in the taking of this photo.] 

Happy 1st birthday, Scarlett [for the last time, I promise!]!!!

- Forever young ...but ONE! -

Ohhhhhh man, how can this actually be possible??!?  This year vanished at record pace, and I literally can't even wrap my mind around the fact that this [once] small, squishy baby is now a big, bold ONE-YEAR-OLD!  

Scarlett Clare, we love you so!!!

...Annnnnnd in true "this is our second child" form, the 12-month chalkboard photo totalllllly slipped my mind. But this is just about as good... :) 

TWELVE months of amazingness... Happy birthday, Scarlett!!!

- Winter ONEderland! -

This sweet girl has been a little snow goddess from the beginning...

...which is why I had absolutely no trouble deciding on the theme for her very special first birthday party!  

Welcome to Scarlett's Winter ONEderland!  

Oh Sissy girl, we've loved you since the moment we met you [and, really, for 9 months before that, too!]! You brought a new dynamic of love to our family and expanded our hearts in ways I didn't even know was possible.  You fit into our lives so perfectly; so much so that we hardly remember our lives without you here!

 

 

^^ What a huuuuuuuge difference one year can make!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Scarlett Clare! Mommy, Daddy and Harper love you to the moon! :-* :-*