It's a Bee-Day Party!

We celebrated Phoebe's FIRST Birthday with a little Bee-Day Party for family and a few friends. It probably wasn't the first birthday extravaganza I had worked up in my head throughout the year. But even being 9 months pregnant I was pleasantly surprised at how wonderfully everything came together and I was really able to enjoy her and our families on this special day. We are no where close to being settled into this new house, but it is incredibly nice to finally have a space to gather our families. This little girl is loved by lots of people, what a blessing for her!

Bee-day treats

 

Aunt Brook was a little skeptical about giving Bee first rights to that beautiful beehive cake she made, so I made her a little "smash" cake that she could destroy all on her own.

 

I know, right?! She's the best. Fist ever taste of sugar...she wasn't that impressed.

Get it Bee!

 

Bee received plenty of thoughtful gifts from her party guests including blocks, flashcards, books, a special dolly, and a quiet book from Grandpa Lee. Brad and I gave her the bumble bee Wheely Bug to cruise around the house with.
Something I don't want to forget: I knew I would be great with child, just having moved, etc. so I did my best not to overwhelm myself with excessive party planning. She's ONE after all and couldn't care less about the hullabaloo I was creating. I called a local bakery to ask about making sugar cookies frosted with a simple bumble bee on top. They wanted a whopping $3 per cookie. UM. No thanks, I'll make them myself! I'm so glad that I did. They were the best sugar cookies I've ever made and just imperfect enough to be perfect for my little bee.
A few other details:
Papa Ed loves pizza from The Pie, so we ordered it special for him!
Aunt Jen came over one night and helped blow up yellow, silver, and black balloons.  
Kim helped me string the balloons together in a big banner that we hung across the backyard patio.
Aunt Polly and Joann came down from Logan to be there.
Aunt Brook made the beautiful glazed beehive cake, almost too pretty to eat! She borrowed a beehive water dispenser that was perfect as well.
Aunt Michelle took all the pictures, such a gift, so that I wasn't stressed about not capturing these details.
I was grateful for all the help! Seriously, even tying my shoes at this point is insurmountable without assistance. Ha!
Happy Birthday to my sweet little bee!

Bee's Blueprint: 12 Months!

Hard to believe this is our last Blueprint for baby Bee! My gosh, that first year just sails away. Our baby is growing right up UP UP, and I mean tall! She is taking charge of her toddlerhood and walking and running all over the new house like she owns the place (and of course she does!). With that has come a flurry of bumps and bonks, especially on the hard wood floors, and she suffered her first goose-egg (the size of a ping-pong ball!) just a day before her first birthday. Momma and Bee shared some tears about it and snuggled in the rocking chair until we both felt better. She's a tough little soul, inside and out, and doesn't let much slow her down. Bee's hair is growing long enough to fall into her eyes so we've been pulling it up into a Bamm-Bamm pony-tail and it's all sorts of cute. There is something about that first pony that just pricks a momma's heart. We've started to see small glimpses into the beginnings of her imaginative play. She will take a bowl and spoon and mix them together all over the house saying "nummy nummy nummy." She will bring me the spoon for taste tests as needed. We often comment on how we can literally see the wheels in her head turning as she thinks and works herself through certain situations. Babies are smart! The stairs in the new house are an attractive novelty and Bee can easily climb herself up them, but getting down will need lots of practice. Baby gates are a must! Bee makes us laugh constantly and I'd be fibbing if I said I didn't think that everything she did, even when naughty, was magical. She enjoys the art of the chase and giggles and squeals when she's finally caught and receiving an over-abundance of squeezes and kisses trapped in our arms. She's starting to find her voice and says a few words like "hi," "bebe," "yummy," "momma," and "dada." Bee LOVES playing out in the back yard kicking her yellow ball and finding sticks and interesting leaves and eating dirt by the fistfuls. It's just what this kid needed. We are so happy she's ours, we'll keep her forever!  
12 Month Stats:
20.5 lbs (25%)
31 inches tall (97+%)

Home is whereever I'm with you

We found it! We found the one. The perfect little house to call our very own and today it is officially ours. Feeling exhausted and excited and ohmygosh we have a home! Happy dance! The home is little and has a weird kitchen and a pink tile bathroom and creeky wood floors. It also has two fireplaces, a backyard, and gorgeous windows. We couldn't love it more. I'm anxious to get packed up and moved in and somewhat settled before littleman arrives in a couple weeks. It gives me chills to know that we will bring him home to this place and we will be a family of four.
P.S. Geeeeeezo. What a stressful process it is to buy a home. I wouldn't recommend it during your third trimester...

Baby Bee Turns ONE!

Be still my soul. My little baby is growing right up and somehow someway someone has allowed her First Birthday to creep up behind us. My bestie Jessie (who is our unofficial-official family photographer) captured her sweet and spicy personality spot-on. This child brings light into our lives and these pictures prove it. Her Bamm-bamm ponytail. Her crooked little grin. Her pat-a-cake clap. Blowing kisses. Walking. Talking. Big blue eyes. Her first pair of Levi 501's and red Salt Water sandals. Her shy, curious, hesitancy about life on earth. My book worm. My lovey dove. My Bee. Daddy's happy girl. Momma's forever baby. This is our Phoebe at one year old.
Some of our fav's...

Momma's fav

"Bee!"

Great-grandma's table and chair and doll

All in a year

This month is an especially busy one for thebradleeduncans as we prepare to move but I'm determined not to let anything overshadow my little Bee's first birthday. Many wonderful miraculous things have happened to our family this year, but none so blessed as how our sweet little first born baby girl went from this:

to this:

 

 ...all in a year! 

(More pics from JOP to come)

Bee's Blueprint: 11 Months

My baby is now 11 months old and I'm in so much denial about it. Where did my baby go? Bee is now officially a toddler, walking around solo like she owns the place. Let's face it: she does. She has the cutest little Frankenstein toddle...but takes her fair share of trips and falls several times a day. New bruises and war wounds are just a sign of growing and learning to operate that strong little body of hers. She's usually pretty tough to shake it off after a few cuddles and kisses from mom or dad. Bee has really latched on to one of her blankets and holds it to her face as she takes a bottle or falls asleep. She still takes a binky, but both the blankie and binky stay in the crib until nap or bed time. If she has her binky and blanket she can sooth herself to sleep with no problems. When we come get her up from a nap she will wave bye-bye and blow kisses to her animals, binky, and blanket in the crib. Teething is a constant and continuing distress but Bee seems to handle it pretty well. It feels like we are always on the verge of another tooth popping through. She amazes us with her growing intelligence and is absorbing more than we know. Her curiosity is insatiable! Currently she is a big fan of avocado, curry, tomatoes, and yogurt. She certainly prefers to feed herself, but momma finds it far more efficient to use a spoon as often as possible. On weekend mornings daddy will bring her back into bed with us and she gets such a thrill playing in the blankets and pillows. She is just beginning to learn a few animal sounds and will sometimes do an elephant trumpet and dog bark. Yep. It's the cutest ever. Bee is sweet and happy most of the time, but every so often we get a little glimpse of her SPICE that tells us she is not messing around. We sure love this sweet and spicy toddler, oh yes we do!

Taking it all in

Truthfully, I have so much I should be doing right now. A million little things that are beckoning me to tidy, sort, box, wipe, repeat. My little Bee is down for an afternoon nap and my house is quiet and still. Her little messes are scattered in every room and today they will stay there until I can find the energy to change it. I can't help but think that in just 2 months my afternoons will be entirely different. I'm nervous about this second little babe coming into our lives. And yet everyday I am becoming more and more pregnant and ready to love him on the outside. I pray that we can all adjust with some amount of grace.
The next several weeks are going to be busy and emotional for me and I'm bracing myself by hiding lots of chocolate about. Just in case. With all the good that is happening in our lives, there is also a certain bitter sweetness that overcomes my emotions daily. With such a big round belly in front it's hard to balance the wonderful new beginnings that await us and the sadness of creating a past that is still very much our present. I am nearly boiling over with gratitude for my many blessings.
Phoebe is becoming really pretty good on her feet these days, toddling around. It amazes me because her legs seem so skinny, I don't know how she holds the rest of her upright without snapping. We have plenty of tumbles, trips, and falls everyday. Literally, I want to wrap her in bubble wrap. She loves to walk holding my finger from room to room. Yes, it takes about 1.2 million times longer to get around the house this way. But my heart nearly explodes with pure joy when I see her eagerly reach for my hand all overly excited about the adventures awaiting us on the way from the bathroom to the kitchen. Oh! My heart. I'm trying to channel this exact kind of excitement about the next chapter for our family. Thank you, Bee.

These pictures have nothing to do with this post really, but still kind of cute. xo

Evening love

On this day. At this moment. I love being his wife, her momma, this woman. My heart swells on a Sunday evening picnic in the park. The little things are everything.

Conference Weekend: Baby Steps at Gwampa's

Spending part of Conference Weekend at Gwampa Lee's house, Bee practices taking some baby steps with the encouragement of her aunts and uncles. Atta girl! Momma looking very pregnant with baby brother. Atta Girl!

Easter Sunday

Easter was beautiful this year. BD was asked to speak in the Sunday Easter program at church. He did a wonderful job, as always, and his preparation on the topic of the Resurrection helped usher the Spirit into our hearts that whole weekend. That Sunday was also a lovely Spring Day in Utah and well, no one ever complains about that!

My perfectly imperfect Eternal Family

On our way down to Grandpa Lee's we stopped by the cemetery to visit Grandma Judy. There are some days when we feel her so close to us, watching, cheering, loving, and Easter is one of those special days. Perhaps because our thoughts are automatically focused on the Savior and the gift of eternal families.When I think about her I want to be a better woman, wife, and mom. When I'm having a rough day I often wonder what she would say to pick me back up.

 

Jana and Russell prepared a wonderful Easter Passover meal for the family and we learned about the
Passover traditions. Michelle had put together some darling Easter baskets for the kiddos and a little Easter Egg Hunt too! Bee didn't know exactly what was going on, but was pretty thrilled to have Easter eggs in her hands at all times for the following week. We stopped by Grandma and Papa Ed's for dessert that evening and the Easter Bunny had left a little something for Phoebe there too. Lucky little girl!

Tongue out, of course!

I can't even handle her in this picture!

I spy the cutest pink Chuck Taylor's ever!

Thank you for these pictures Aunt Michelle!

Bee's Blueprint: 10 months

Bee's wild child has been in full force this month and her stubborn little personality is beaming! Diaper changes are still proving to be difficult which has momma trying all kinds of shenanigans to get it done. We are giving her more and more table foods these days and she's generally a good sport about trying everything, but will let us know when she's over it by dropping it on the floor and waving bye-bye. Blueberries are her most favorite food right now. She squeals when she sees them coming and bangs her tray in fury when they are gone, hence, our blueberry monster. Fruit of any kind is a big hit at meal time and veggies are tolerated if they are the only option. Bee took her first few steps right at 10 months! She's still a bit unstable on her feet but is gaining more and more confidence every day. Crawling is definitely still the most efficient mode of transportation. When she hears the bath water turn on, Bee will head straight for the bathroom eager for her tubby-time. She is taking two naps a day and will put herself to sleep after books, songs, and snuggles. Bee loves to read books and "help" turn the pages. It seems she is learning new tricks everyday. She will  high-five, clap, dance, and sometimes give kisses on demand, of course always on her terms. We are working on sign-language for a few simple words such as more, all-done, please, thank you, etc. Bee despises the vacuum and gets nervous and scared when it rolls out. Needless to say, I don't get much vacuuming done unless I'm holding her and at 7+ months pregnant that becomes slightly interesting ;). Bee is curious and fearless and stubborn and sweet and smart. We sure do love this little wild child and are enjoying every bit of her.

We love the park and can prove it

Park initiation of Spring 2013. Try not to be surprised when I claim that I actually attempted to whittle down the park photos. I did make an attempt. But honestly, as her mother I could never have enough pictures of Bee in that baby swing grinning ear to ear. I couldn't be happier that she is a fan of the swing. It's my favorite! I used to drive past parks often before I had Phoebe and wonder if I would ever have a baby to fill the empty swings. These baby swings will always represent a very real heartache that has completely come full circle for me. Now when I drive past an empty swing I say a silent prayer for the mother who has not yet filled it.