Whatchu Talkin' Bout, Willis?!?

Kensley gets it honestly. She talks non-stop. She babbles, she informs with a very matter-of-fact face and fingerpointing, and then, there are the semi-recognizable 'words.' Here's a run-down: Mama Daaa-da Wibbeeee (Libby) Nanna Pop (this also means Poppy) Ahh-ma or Wa-meee (Grammy) Annnah (Joanna) No Uh-oh Da-du (Thank you) Pllllbbb with a hand flipping her lips (Please - don't know how this came to be, but that's what it means) Dare-do (scarecrow) Mooo Wuf (in the sissiest voice you can imagine) Grrrr (this goes for horses, bears, tigers, lions, etc.) Hot Otch (ouch) Up Waadaah (water and also uses the sign) Mik (milk) Heeeeeey Bye Wu-yu (love you) Nak (snack) Dat (that) Mo (more) Wa-dat (what's that?)

Birthday Bash with the Grandparents

Kensley is lucky to have both sets of grandparents living close to one another so we can celebrate together. Nanna and Pop hosted Kensley's [third] First Birthday on Wednesday night as we arrived into town and just before the boys headed out for their pheasant excursion. Grammy, Poppy, and the infamous Uncle Mike came in to celebrate Kensley's big birthday. We had no preference on cakes, but Pop thought Kensley needed a pink cake...and the best kind of pink cake is made-from-scratch strawberry cake! Kensley would come across more icing, lick her fingers, and say, 'Mmmmmmmmmmmm!'

Never Too Far from HOME!

After the birthday bash and while the boys were on their bird-shootin' bonanza in SD, we headed south to see Grandmama. We hadn't seen her since February and it was overdue!

While we were on US-319 from Albany to Coolidge, we saw this Police Truck with his lights just a-blinking, but cars were passing it. We merged over to the left lane and gawked and rubber-necked to see the frenzy. We were surprised to see a Duluth Police Truck (about 230 miles out of its jurisdiction), a van, a large man on a road bike, then the GA State Trooper in front of him with his lights a-blinkin', too! I immediately knew this was a ride in honor of or for something and got all teary-eyed. Since Mike's marathon, I have such a soft-spot for people who commit to run, bike, swim, etc. an astronomical distance to honor or memorialize someone/something. In this case, the Duluth PD had its 2nd Honor Ride for fallen soldier, Lt. Michael Murphy. I looked all of this up on their website as the suspense just consumed me until I had answers. I am so proud of them and thankful for their dedication! See the video from their journey!

2nd Honor Ride

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Halloween - not so baaaaaad!

Kensley had been home for about 6 hours when Halloween began last year. She was 2 days old. This year, being a year and two days old, Kensley participated in Halloween and approves of the occasion.

To start it off, Kensley went to the squadron's Halloween Party the day before. She had lots of fun and got lots of candy dressed as a sweet little lamb.

On Halloween night, Mike and I carved our pumpkins. As we were doing so, Joanna stopped by donning her Hallow's Eve best (ladybug) and got us moving along to start heading down the street.

Kensley was excited to go up to people's houses and see all of the, "Big Gu's" (big girls - and boys, too, for that matter) dressed up. Instead of saying "Trick-or-Treat," Kensley would walk up and say, "Hey!" and wave. Of course, she was loaded when we got home between her sweet little draw and the to-die-for lamb costume. We finished up the night with homemade pumpkin soup and Kensley enjoyed a sucker. What fun!

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!

Kensley had her very first birthday party on Saturday with all of her friends here in NJ! Kensley's REAL birthday is Wednesday, October 29th, but not wanting to equate her day with Halloween, we decided to have her party a weekend earlier. Sadly, Mike was out bringin' home the bacon, so he missed the party that we planned, but he will be able to celebrate at the Grandparents Birthday in a week. (Click on the picture to view it as a larger image on another screen.)

And...I just couldn't resist this picture that I took today. She was so sweet and peaceful all wrapped up in this blanket. It's little monogram says it all, "Thank Heaven for Little Girls!"

Here is a re-cap of the past year:

One Month: smile, follow objects~Two Months: clasp hands, laugh, follow movement, perpetual smile, vocalize, vigorous body movement, recognize food source,~Three Months: grasp objects, reaching, enjoys play,~Four Months: transfer objects, babble, eat cereal,~Five Months: sits alone, play with two objects, pull to stand, kiss and hug, drink from sippy cup,~Six Months: roll from tummy to back, waves, "mama," "dada," reach for people, bounce, TWO TEETH ERUPT, peek-a-boo~Seven Months: clap/pat-a-cake, "bah-bah" (southern for bye), twist and turn and support herself on all fours, DANCE~Eight Months: pull up, CRAWL for things, clap for Libby, "swim" (loves the water!),~Nine Months: pull up, cruise, smack her lips (like yummy), click her tongue, mimic, another tooth erupts (top left), climb stairs, blow kisses, clap with music, say, "Wow"~Ten Months: 2 front top teeth!; dance to just about anything; sign: "all done," "milk," "more;" say: up, Libby, baby, daddy (not just dada); answer/nod "yes" and "no;" repeat inflections and part of words; enter a room and say hi, hey, or hello; fetch with Libby;~Eleven Months: WALK!; dance; "snap" (video does it justice); stand alone; climb; say "Nanna," "Pop," "Wam-mee (Grammy), "Pop-ee,"