Calla's one year old pictures!

I finally got Calla's one year old pictures done today! She was in a surprisingly good mood and did better than I ever imagined! The tutu ones and/or cake ones are the best I think. I took her in a dress just as a back up plan. Take a look at them and let me know what size and pose you want by Tuesday! These are all the rough copies. They kept the picture frame wide since she walking around, so alot of them need to be zoomed and recentered. I'll make a big group order to take advantage of BOGO Wednesday.

Enjoy my beautiful smiling big girl....

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Bike-a-thon...

Leslie did really well on her bike-a-thon! The weather was not fun: it was cold and pretty windy as you can tell by her getting to wear her "snow hat" under the helmet. She did one lap around and decided she was done, but with Daddy's cheering and guarding from the bigger kids, she managed to get 25 laps in before she finished. It was hard for her to peddle her plastic-tired bike on the asphalt. I didn't realize how hard until as we walking back to the car she kept on saying she was going to throw up. We managed to make it home without any reversals luckily! Thank you everyone for your help in building a new church playground for my little girls. I'm sure we'll be using it weekly as they grow!

Calla's Birthday...

Calla's birthday party was so much fun! I've been planning a princess party for her since before she was born. I tried to keep things fairly simple, but by the time you get all the family invited and just a couple friends, it's a packed house. Here's Calla, in the tutu I made her, holding up the number one...


Mommy with her little princess...


We did presents first, and once again Calla could have cared less about the packages. All she wanted to do was climb on the biggest one...

Here's Calla while we were all singing The Happy Birthday song to her. She stopped... and looked around... and realized everyone was singing to her, and then got a big goofy smile on her face and kept on clapping. Too cute...


This is the only room that got decorated. I wanted things to be as refined and as regal as a one year old party could be, so most things are pink or white, and we used all the fine china for serving pieces...

Here the table is closer. I guess this is before we got the jello cubes (jewels) out of the fridge...

I made a fondant cake for the party. It was supposed to be alot fancier, but I ran out of time and steam. It still turned out cute...

Here is Princess Calla in her throne enjoying her first cupcake...

She had the ugliest faces while eating her cupcake, but she still kept going back for more...

That was all we did! Just presents and cake, but it was a great party and fit my little princess perfectly!

Like most mothers on their baby's first birthday, I am overcome with the need to reflect over the past year...

This is not the journey I anticipated piloting last year. Calla's addition to my life has been an adjustment for all three of us- filled with many hills and valleys, twists and turns, and far too often, reversals. But there is one thing I am convinced of: Calla is a blessing straight from God. For this child, I have prayed. She has stretched the boundaries of my love. My heart and spirit have grown so much as a result of her. God's grace and unconditional love for me has been exampled in my relationship with Calla. I know I consider her more of a challenge than Leslie ever is or was, but the truth is, there are so many countless joys I experience with Calla, that even Leslie, never filled.

Calla will let me hold her until she falls asleep. Watching her sleep, with her cheeks puffed out, sucking her invisible pacifier, completely limp, trusting, and safe in my arms, is the closest thing I could ever imagine to seeing the face of God.

Calla wants me to hold her. Often to a fault. But a secret part of my heart always smiles when wants me so much. Her first word was "up." She chases me around all day and when she finally catches me, she pulls herself to standing, looks up at me, and throws an arm up saying "uh!" I love having my baby genuinely want me. I love that I get to be the hero, that I get to be her provider and comfort. I love that she allows me to be her mother in all capacities. One day, much too soon, she will stop letting me hold her, and she will stop running to me for guidance and safety. So for now, I will treasure all the "uh"s in my life.

Calla wears her emotions on her sleeve. And while this causes her to be loud and yell-y, and a bit of a crybaby at times, it also sets the stage for the most lovable little girl I've ever know. Even as an infant I could tell her "Snuggle snuggle," and she would lay her head on my shoulder for a hug. As she's grown, her hugs are more lingering and intentional. She'll give me kisses. She comes up to me during the day and simply lays her head down on my lap, sometimes to play her favorite game of, "Night-night, Good Morning" other times, she just wants to be close to me. She'll lay down and let me draw/scratch her back for several minutes at a time. I love that she lets me love on her so much.

I look forward to traveling down this road with my two girls and seeing the women they become. The struggles with Calla that are such a challenge right now, are going to be her greatest attributes as she grows. She is going to be a child that loves and lives life to its fullest. She will live in the moment and probably make lots of mistakes, but she will be strong enough to survive them all a better person. She will never sit idly by, watching life pass her by. She will be in the crowd. She will speak her mind. She is going to experience all parts of her life with a greater passion than I could ever imagine.

I know God has amazing plans for her. I pray that God gives me the wisdom to know how to be the best mother to her. I pray that I have the discernment on when and how to discipline, praise, or redirect her actions. I pray that all her love, passion, and energy be placed in Christ and living her life as a blessing back to Him. For this child, I have prayed.

Binx and Grammy visit...

I think this was pretty much the highlight of Binx and Grammy's visit. Both girls were sick, and the weather so stinky, so sometimes, you just have to make your own fun! We got out Leslie's train set and made some pretty awesome tracks through the table and under the bridge...



We even got out some extra toys and made a zoo stop and dinosaur exhibit...

This dino, ankylosaurus, stomps around and makes chewing sounds if you put something in his mouth. It was ALOT of fun to have it terrorize the train! And, here is the ferocious Baby Calla destroying everything in her path, too...

So, I got her shopping cart and sent her into the other room. She loves walking behind it, but doesn't know how to turn it around yet, so it was a pretty effective tool to get her into another play area...

"Oh no! The ankylosaurus escaped! And it's eating Puppy!"

"Crunch... crunch... munch..."

We bought this purple box to hold all the train pieces... turns out it makes a good fort too...

We took Calla out, but Leslie still wanted to play. I promise... she wanted us to shut the lid on her...

Crazy girl...

Moments from our life...

Grandmommy invited Leslie over one night for a special Gingerbread House building session. It took longer than expected, but I think they did a great job!

I was playing on the floor one afternoon with the girls when Leslie picked up the Magna Doodle and told me she was going to draw a monkey. I told her it sounded like a great idea... then she showed it to me. I was expecting some indiscriminate squiggles, or a circle with lines out of it for limbs at best, but she turned the Magna Doodle around and revealed what I consider to be the best monkey picture ever drawn by a 3 year old!

It had a separate head and body, which is impressive enough, but then it also had a big circle for its cheeks and circles for the ears, all in correct proportion and position. I could not have been more surprised or awed at her artistry! While I went to find the camera, she drew a picture of Dora to the right. Not as recognizable as the monkey, but still good nonetheless. I might have a little artist daughter yet...

This is a "cake" that Leslie made last Saturday morning for Calla's birthday. It was super cute, sweet and fun, but mysteriously, Leslie only used Calla's toys. So while Leslie's toys were all still available for play, Calla's were held hostage in the sculpture all day...

Barry told me that Leslie announced she's going to go back to New York City with Grandmommy and PaPa to go to the cake show. I was so proud!

All of the toys are decorations on it, except the toy she's holding, that was the knife. Be very careful, it's sharp...

My brother, Ben, doesn't use his Wii anymore, so we're housing it for a while. Barry and I were playing Frisbee Golf one afternoon when Calla woke up from her nap. She's usually pretty cranky at first and won't let you put her down, so Barry decided to teach her how to play some Wii...

She seemed to like it alot, but Leslie had a ton of fun with it. Frisbee Golf gave her a little bit of trouble, even with Daddy's help. But, Barry turned on sword fighting for them to play and discovered she was a natural...

Presenting HRH Calla and her Cinderella wand...

This is a pretty good picture of Calla getting her entire paci in her mouth. All of her caregivers are always amazed. If you look close, you can actually see the stream of drool flowing down her chin...

I wasn't fast enough, but she did have her paci entirely inside her mouth and her lips closed. She's going to be a sad little girl when those teeth start coming in...

Abernathy Christmas...

Saturday after Christmas, we all went to Abernathy to have Christmas with Barry's family. Here are all the grandkids in front of the tree Saturday night...


MiMi is famous for fruit in the stockings. This year we were surprised with tangerines. Most people put them back in the fruit bowl, but Calla LOVED hers. She would chew on one until it started juicing too much, then we handed her a fresh one to start again! She went through about 5 I think...

She was hamming it up for the camera this weekend...

Mam-maw bought this new car puzzle track. It was pretty amazing. Paw-paw and Calla enjoyed it the most I think. Paw-Paw would make a crazy track, then Calla would put the car down and watch to go...

Calla loving on her Mam-maw some...

Princess Calla with her first crown...

Holly and Leslie got to help make breakfast for everyone...

Cousin Holly and Calla sure did like playing together! It was nice having all these big kids around to play with Calla. I know she loved the attention, and I'm sure Leslie loved the break!

Sunday afternoon, EVERYONE came over to Mam-maw's for lunch and presents. And of course, I was stuck dealing with my eldest... Leslie woke up Saturday complaining that "she just wants to go home" (which is not an unusual request for her on overnight trips.) We didn't think much of it, but as the day carried on, Leslie got crankier and crankier. I think she finally willed a sickness and fever on herself. She wouldn't even let me put her down. So, all day, I was stuck holding her while everyone else ate and drank and opened presents. They got all the little kids together for a picture and I plopped Leslie down at the last minute, just so we'd have record of her being there. You can see how good she felt...

I don't know what was going on because she has never acted like that before. We finally forced some Advil down her before we got in the car, and by the time we loaded up, she was fine! Yet another crazy adventure on this ride we call, The Brauchi Experience. Like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, you never get the same adventure twice!

Christmas Day...

Between naps, we slipped over to Mom's for lunch and presents. She got the girls a bunch of matching clothes and just through them all in this big sack. It was funny watching Leslie climb in it trying to get things out...

Once she realized it was just clothes, she moved on. I think the present was more for me in the end...

Calla wasn't real sure what to think of her zebra. It seemed a little tall for her. I think she always has the weirdest expressions. Looking at pictures from her and Leslie as a baby, you can definitely tell the differences in personality. She's since learned how to work all the sounds and to point her toes so she can bounce better...

It was a fun laid back day that we all got to simply enjoy!

Merry Christmas indeed!

Christmas Morning...

We had such a great Christmas morning! It was a huge blessing that our families let us do Christmas morning on own this year. We opened a present, then played, then opened another present, then ate, then opened another... It was super easy and laid back, and Barry and I just let the girls have fun on their terms... at their pace. Here is the living room after Santa came...


We mostly took video and just enjoyed the morning. Here are a few pics we did capture though...
Calla woke up the best mood! She was all smiles for the camera...

Even Belle got a stocking filled with new squeaker toys for her to destroy....

I was surprised by Calla's favorite thing of the morning... I knew she wouldn't really care about the presents, but I was surprised she didn't care about the paper either. All she wanted to do was climb on the biggest box and pose...

And after all that fun, what better way to enjoy Christmas morning than with a big bottle of milk...

And the aftermath...

Christmas Eve...

After the amazing success of host Thanksgiving, Barry and I decided to tackle Christmas Eve as well. It made things so much easier on us and especially the girls. Ben finally relinquished Santa privileges to Leslie this year. She was super excited to get to hand out every ones' gifts...


Calla's little bloomers say "Who needs Santa? I've got Grandma!" Leslie wore them her first Christmas as well...

This little series of pictures is funny. Calla hates things on her head, like hair bows... or gift bows in this case. But, Mom was determined to get the classic "Bow in Hair" picture...

I like to think Calla is saying, "You have got to be freaking kidding me. Someone just make her stop already! Oh, please don't show my friends."

The best Christmas present this year...

I gave Leslie the plate of cookies for her pick and choose from for Santa. She is truly a giving child... She counted all 20 cookies out and put them all on Santa's plate...

Merry Christmas to all!