Honestly.....

Where has the past year gone? Here it is, today's the first day of July, and my baby girl turns 1 in less than 3 weeks. I can't believe it. I'm so excited, it's been so fun to watch her grow so far, and I know it's going to get even more fun (and crazy) as she starts to walk/run, talk, etc. But, I am a little sad too - where is my cuddly little baby that just stared at me and depended on me for EVERYTHING? It's gone way too fast.

She started liking to try to feed herself. This is new. She'll grab the spoon and pull it towards her wide-open mouth. Luckily, she lets me still hold on to the spoon, or else I think it would end up in her eye more often than her mouth!

We have things together pretty well for our trip to PA. We booked a rental car for the week, and today I booked parking for the Fort Lauderdale airport. I've started making lists of what to pack (yes, already!) so I can be sure I either get it or make arrangements for Mom to pick it up. The design on the cake has been decided, we just have to let her know when it gets closer how many people so she knows how big. The invites were mailed yesterday.

Brooke is now riding in her "big girl" carseat - rearfacing for the moment, but it will be turned around before our trip. It's super big and cushiony - I wish they made one for me, haha. It looks super comfy! She is now also drinking all whole milk - still needs it warmed up a little, but we're working on drinking it cold straight out of the fridge. She also still drinks it from a bottle, but we'll work on the sippy soon. I've been a little curious how much she should be drinking a day, so I will have to ask her dr that soon.

I have a month until the trip, and so much to do! I'm sure I'll need a haircut. I know I'll need to buy Brooke something to wear in the pictures with her cousins, food, snacks, and small toys for the airplane/car ride to my parents house. We gave her the big toy for her birthday already, but we will need to pick up a few more presents for her to open on her birthday. Will we look terrible if she doesn't get any gifts from us at her party? haha.

I'm so very excited to take her to her friends' parties a couple of weekends this month. I think Brooke will have a blast, she loves playing with other kids! At our last playdate with Adriana and Gaby, Brooke was a little shy - I'm not sure why, because she's not like that at all at daycare, but she warmed up quickly after she had dinner (maybe she was just hungry) - so I fully expect that, so long as I make sure she has a full belly before the parties, she will play until she crashes on the way home!

This weekend, I think we'll go shopping and see if we can pick up anything needed. Maybe birthday presents. I found a cute stand at the Dolphin Mall that sells headbands with the big flowers for Brooke - definitely going to get at least one of them!

On Saturday, my wonderful husband is giving me a chance to swim and lay out by the pool. He's going to bring Brooke down to the pool for a bit, then take her back up and play, feed her, etc., while I have some Mommy relaxation time. I hate spending my weekends away from Brooke since I'm away from her so much during the week, but I'm really looking forward to relaxing and getting some sun - that will refocus me enough for work for the rest of the month, and I'll get a start on a great tan for Becky's wedding (afterwards, I think the tanning bed for me because it's so hard to find time to be outside).

Oh, and I mentioned the lists. OH, the lists. I've always made lists - but right now, I have about 5 going, and I love it. Since I love lists so much, I'll make a list of my lists so you can see how crazy I really am:
- List of what we need for Brooke's birthday party
- List of what I need to pack for Jim (very short!)
- List of what I need to pack for me
- List of what I need to pack for Brooke
- List of what bills we have to make sure we pay before vacation, what we need to pay during vacation, and our income until vacation
- At work, I keep a to-do list so I make sure I get things done each day.

I like how lists keep me organized, writing a list gives me a chance to spit out everything I'm thinking and clear my brain so I can focus, and I love the sense of accomplishment when I get to cross items off my lists.