Millie's Last Day of School

Thursday, May 22nd was Millie's last day of Mother's Day Out....forever.  Next year, she'll officially be in preschool.  I think she'll love it, just like she loved MDO.  She had a great year with Ms. Kimber and loved all of her classmates.  I never felt sad leaving her because I knew she loved it and was thriving and having a great time.  Such a good time, in fact, that she never took naps there.  Most Monday and Thursday afternoons were pretty rough with the non-napping monster, but it was worth it...good for both of us to have some time away and also great for her social skills.  I'm proud of our big girl!

Millie isn't much for hugging people outside of immediate family, but she didn't hesitate to give Ms. Kimber a big hug!

Afterwards, we had a special treat with Sawyer at TCBY (this year was wayyy better than last year)

Syd loved it too, of course ;)

Another classmate, Finley, met us there also...it was so much fun for these big kids!  It gets a little crazy once the ice cream is gone though...can I suggest that TCBY install a playground to let the kids run off the sugar high?!

Finley's little brother, Tate, is only 2 days older than Syd!  They'll be in MDO together next Fall <3

Ms. Kimber had the kiddos make this thumbprint tree the last week of school

Random turtle artwork, which Mills especially enjoyed...she loves turtles (I think because of Crush the sea turtle on Finding Nemo)

The week before, her class had a special field trip to the local Fire Station.  Millie was in heaven.  Ms. Kimber even commented on how she thinks Mills had the most fun...climbing all over those big trucks and "driving".  She sent me this pic...the cutest thing I've ever seen!

What a good year for Millie...I hope Syd likes school as much as Millie!

Party Pics

party time!

Syd's 1st Bday Party

Syd's 1st birthday party was Saturday, May 17th.  We had it here at our house, and it was absolutely lovely to have our friends and family here for the day to help us celebrate!  We had a casual lunch and some delicious cake (Syd LOVED her cake!)...and the kids played outside on the swing set while the adults enjoyed some delicious spiked punch.  It was pretty perfect.  Syd enjoyed all of it, but she crashed hard after coming down from her sugar high...thus, she left the party a bit early for a nap.  It was a wonderful reminder how many friends we've made here in Northwest Arkansas, and as always, I was blown away by everyone's generosity.  Our little family felt very loved that day, and it was the perfect ending to a year full of getting to know our sweet Syd.  She went with the flow, just like she always does, and I think it's safe to say that birthday cake is her new favorite food (based on the fit she threw when we took it away).

My dear bestest friend, Jamie (aka Auntie Midge), flew in for the party and was in charge of photography.  She did a gorgeous job, and I had a hard time narrowing it down to these favorites of mine for the blog.  So much prettiness.

The following are from the previous day, which was her actual birthday:

1 Year Pediatrician Appt

Syd's 1 year pediatrician appointment was this morning.  She had one finger prick and two shots...so she's still sleeping as I'm writing this. :(  Poor baby...this appt came at nap time, so it was especially hard on her.

Stats: length 29 inches (40th percentile); weight 20 lbs, 12 oz (60th percentile); head 46 cm (75th percentile).  Our growth chart shows her at 27" and the nurse measured her twice today at 29".  They measure her laying down though...so maybe that's the difference?!  JKK knows how much these inconsistencies bother me. ;)

Dr. Averitt gave us a new plan to follow for weaning.  I've been having trouble feeding her bottles with formula in them.  If it is only breastmilk in the bottle, she will take it just fine.  But when I add in the Alimentum formula (which is dairy free), she refuses it or will only take small sips at a time.  Dr. Averitt said the Alimentum formula tastes really strange, so that's probably why we are having so much trouble.  She is having us a try a different formula called Enfamil Gentlease, which has a small amount of cow's milk protein, but somehow it is broken down into a gentler state.  It's a good place to start to see if her body can handle the milk protein.  I'm thankful for a new direction because it has been weeks with no progress.

Otherwise, she's healthy, happy, and growing right on track!