10 months

More gates have gone up in our house, this time at the bottom of the stairs. You like to crawl up them and we don't want to have to worry about retreiving you from the stairs. In fact, you prefer to walk up them holding onto someone's hands. Learning to crawl UP leads to the next lesson: crawling DOWN. I showed you how to crawl down backwards, one foot and one stair at a time, and it only took you one or two times practicing to learn how to do it. You keep busy cruising around furniture and walls. We even have your little car out that you love to stand up and walk behind. We follow you around and when you run into a wall with it, we pick it up, turn it around and send you back on your way in the opposite direction.

We're still having fun making your food, and you continue to enjoy eating it. You eat strawberries, grapes, blueberries, apples, carrots, pork, beans, beef, potatoes, chicken and rice, and various concoctions of all of the above. You are still a good eater, even Daddy's beans with "just a touch of onion powder... for taste", because apparently "you don't have enough flavor in your diet and you need to learn to like spices". We're not sure if it was the beans or the onion powder that didn't sit well with your tummy - really, are we surprised? As a result, Daddy will now be holding off on the spices for awhile. If we gave you the choice, you would choose a diet of strawberries and Cheerios.

Your 1-year birthday party planning is well underway, the theme has been picked and your dress has been bought and the invitations have been made to match. Its all a surprise until your birthday! We are very excited to celebrate this wonderful year we have had you in our life! How can it be that you are almost one? It was certainly hard to imagine 10 months ago. The menu is being crafted and the activities are being planned, but somehow I all of a sudden feel very inexperienced and inadequate at planning a 1-year old birthday party. I hope all of your friends think your party is fun.

Finally, after months of planning and talking about it, Dr. Jessica and Matt and Kate came over for dinner. You got to meet Henry, who just turned 2 years old. Henry is a very sweet, loving little boy who wanted to give you hugs and kisses; we knew you two would have fun playing together. Henry had practiced saying "Baby Kayla" before he came, so he knew who you were when he saw you and had no problem saying "Hi baby" to you all night.
You have outsmarted your highchair farm plaything. The ordinary way to retrieve the Cheerios is to gently push on the chicken's head which releases the Cheerios. But you are no ordinary child. Why dispense one Cheerio at a time when you can turn the whole farm upside down and retreive the entire loot at one time? That must've been the very question you asked yourself too. Your method is really quite brilliant.

You love to stand at the door and look out the window.

You love to play the piano.

Just being you!