It’s been a long time since I have posted a blog, so there is a bit of catching up to do.  The last time I posted a “Miriam-centric” blog, she was starting to sit-up and babble.  She has progressed from crawling to pulling-up on furniture and is currently taking steps with support.  She has not taken those sweet first independent steps, but she is getting close.  She also likes crawling up the steps, which has resulted in the return of the lovely “Bryan engineered stair-gate 2014/2016”.

So – in just the blink of an eye, my sweet child has progressed from a totally helpless newborn into an energetic and bubbly toddler.  Sigh ….

Our sweet little Miriam Aoife

In just a few short hours, my youngest will be 1 year old!  I know it’s cliche, but it really does seem like just yesterday that she was born.  Really, I just don’t know where the time goes.  When she was a sweet little newborn and sleep schedules were tossed into chaos, I knew that one day we would look back with sweet fondness on those times.  I must say, I love getting a solid 7 hours of sleep.  So yes, I occasionally remember those 3 am feedings that Miriam and I shared with just a little bittersweet sadness, but I quickly remind myself how nutty I get without sleep.

Our sweetie found the Easter Bunny

I think she is laughing at me for beginning the Harvard propaganda so early …

It isn’t too often that I am at a loss for words, but it’s hard to describe how much love we have for our little girls.  Despite these indescribable lovely feelings, there can also be lots of  worry/anxiety that can stifle the joy of parenting.   Fortunately for Miriam, I am either too exhausted to care or have learned the hard way that “sweating the small stuff” is a waste of time, energy, and sanity.  Oh, who am I kidding – of course I worry?!?!?!  Who knows, maybe she will be disgruntled because she has “last kid syndrome” OR maybe she won’t care?  Maybe, if I am lucky, she will know that her old and exhausted mommy and daddy gave it their best shot?  Currently, she seems happy and well-adjusted – just look at these adorable photos and videos!

Heck, Bryan and I are skipping a Guns-N-Roses concert (their first tour in a zillion years) in order to spend the evening with the girls on Miriam’s official birthday.  Talk about parental sacrifice…  We are going to have a little party for her this weekend, so if I am not too busy (or napping as a result of my post-party crash) I will post pictures!  In the meantime, I have some video that has been sitting on my phone for a while.  There are several videos so scroll until the end!

This is video of Miriam crawling (taken sometime in June).  You can hear Sarah tell me a story about a frog, which is followed by Bryan’s sneeze scaring Miriam.

The next video is a cute video shot one Saturday morning (sometime in April/May).  Miriam is trying to steal Sarah’s pacifier.  Yes, Sarah sneaks her pacifiers out of the cabinet.  She only suppose to use them for bedtime at home.  I think it’s way past time for the pacifiers to officially go bye-bye.

Here is video of Miriam starting to walk with support.  This was taken a month or so ago.  Don’t judge the messy living room.  Well, go ahead if it makes you feel better – LOL!

OK – I think this is the best video. First – some backstory.  When Sarah was a baby Dad fixed Rachel’s old Tickle Me Elmo, but Sarah was terrified of poor Elmo! A week ago, I introduced Miriam to Elmo.  She spent several minutes playing with this Tickle Me Elmo and seemed to like the toy.  As soon as I brought out my cell phone to catch the sweetness on video, Elmo flopped too closely to Miriam.  The result was a little funny.  Special note – the bruises on her forehead were obtained when she bumped her head at the daycare and she is fine  🙂