Birthday Girl

So, I've been really, really, bad at this blogging thing. But, looking back I wish I would have kept up with it so I can remember all the things we've done with Christine. I'm going to do better. Let's start with this:


Christine is ONE!!! I can't believe it! We made it through the year!

Ironically last year I would cry because I was unsure what kind of mom I would be, or if I would even like being a mother. This year I cried because I feel like it's going too fast. She's getting so big and as much as I LOVE to watch her learn and just interact with her, there is a small part of me that wishes she was only days old and helpless. I miss watching her change daily, but at the same time I am enjoying that she is now a little independent and my life is so much easier. AND no more $ for formula; Yay!!

For her birthday we had a big party! Grandma & Grandpa Sampsel came down from Ohio and Grandma & Grandpa Walden, Great-Grandma Chappell, Ron & Missy King, and Brittany & Olyvia Pruett all came from Indiana. We also had friends and neighbors over for the celebration. We did a cupcake theme. Brian made a TON of cupcakes including a very large cupcake for the Bean. He had 3 flavors; dark chocolate, boston creme, and yellow cake. All the cupcakes were made from scratch including the frosting.

We've had so much fun with her over the past year and can't wait to find out what's ahead!

P.S. even though she's one, we still have yet to buy the next car seat. Our poor little girl is only in the 5% weighing a whopping 17lbs and she has to be 20lbs before we can turn her around!

What my day consists of now...

Laughing...

Just hanging out...

and of course, the exersaucer...

I wouldn't trade it for anything!

She's Getting Bigger...

Wow, a lot has happened in the past month. Christine is really starting to develop a fun personality and is definitely interacting more with us. She makes us laugh constantly with her expressions, laughter, and new noises. Here are just a few things that she's done in the past month:

She's discovered her feet!

We now get big belly laughs and we've discovered Christine is very ticklish!

Christine's first visit to the Georgia Aquarium.

First food - Peas!

And she can now sit up on her own!!

The Ramblings of Christine

Here is a little taste of Christine's social skills...

Pender, Nebraska

Once again, Christine is a little traveler. I needed to go to Cincinnati for training and it was actually cheaper to fly from Cincinnati to Pender, NE to Indianapolis (drive to Cincinnati) and then back to Atlanta, then to fly directly from Atlanta to Cincinnati and back...ridiculous. Anyway, my Grandma Koenig was unable to make it to Kansas City for Thanksgiving, so we decided to go see her in Nebraska. We were supposed to leave on Weds, January 28th but both Cincinnati and Indiana were hit by a winter storm so we were unable to fly out, so at the last minute on Thursday night, I found flights for Friday morning...it was quite the adventure!

Christine and I left Friday morning and met my mom in Chicago, we then boarded a plane in Chicago with my mom and flew out to Omaha...an hour and a half later we were in Pender, NE. We went straight to the nursing home to see my grandma. Christine was the hit of the nursing home! :) We spend Friday evening and all day Saturday at the nursing home with my grandma. Christine had her first card game with her Great-Grandma Koenig. (see the pic below)


We also took 4 generation pictures.


And of course, Christine had her first meal at PoPos! (sorry, no picture)


Christine also had her first bath in a sink at Great-Grandma Koenig's house. We found a rubber duckie and she hasn't let go of that thing since. It's her favorite toy right now.

So then to add to the adventure, Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2am, I (bethany) got the flu or food poisoning...we aren't sure what it was. I finally had to take Christine to my mom at 3am because I couldn't take care of her. It was horrible! We ended up leaving Pender at 8am, luckily I stopped being sick at 6am. Again, we drove back to Omaha and boarded a plane for Chicago. By the time we got to Chicago I was so weak from being sick that I could barely stand up. Once again, grandma pulled through and took care of Christine for me. We finally made it back to my parents house at 8pm Sunday night. I was still sick and went to bed. Grandma and Grandpa ended up tag-teaming all night to take care of Christine (although I don't think they cared one bit.) :) On Monday, we took Christine to the doctor. She had been fighting a cold since we left for Nebraska and it seemed to be getting worse. Luckily, it was just a cold and it wasn't in her lungs. Monday night I drove to Cincinnati and worked in the office on Tuesday. (I left Christine in Bedford with my parents) On Tuesday afternoon it started snowing in Cincinnati and by 5pm the roads were covered in snow. It took me 2 hours to get out of Cincinnati!! 5 hours later I was back in Bedford. Christine and I then flew out Wednesday afternoon to Atlanta. It was a great trip and I'm glad Christine was able to meet Great-Grandma Koenig, but I was SOOO glad to be home!

Oh - and I forgot to mention the biggest event of the trip. On Tuesday, Feb 2nd Christine rolled from her back to her stomach all by her self!! It was very exciting and I was so happy I got to see it!!!!

4 Months & Rice Cereal

Christine is growing like crazy! I can't believe she is 4 months old! We had our first "sick appointment" on the day she turned 4 months. It wasn't anything serious, the doctor thought she had a very mild case of the flu. Christine didn't act sick though, she was even smiling and talking to the doctor. The doctor called her "very social." :) She is now very alert and wants to be doing something all the time. She makes the best faces when she is concentrating really hard to grab onto something or put something in her mouth. She also smiles and talks a lot!

We also introduced Rice Cereal for the first time. I don't think she swallowed any of it, but it was fun making a mess!

Meeting Xander

The Edem's stopped to see us as they were on their way to Florida for their cruise. It was great to see them and see how big Xander is getting! We miss them like crazy and wish they lived closer! Below are some picture of Christine and Xander. :)

Xander is 8 months, Christine is 4 months.