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,"

Come Here, YOU!

Kensley is so blessed to have little friends that she loves so much and their mommies that I love so much. Last week, the girls saw each other a few times and on that third day, Joanna just couldn't get enough of Kensley! I don't know if it was the cheeks, or being so excited they aren't 'stuck' with us all day or what, but Joanna would smooch on Kensley's cheeks and then giggle and then give her sweet hugs. Of course, Kensley sponged up all of the attention she could. We really are fortunate to have such wonderful and loving friends!

Not Baaaaaashful

This is the cutest little coat that my girlfriend, Johanna, got Kensley last year. It took her a while to grow into it, no time to grow OUT of it, and now that she is slimming up, she can wear it again! Yes, this is a froo-froo coat, but if you knew Johanna, you would know this is right up her alley and she stuck to Mike's guidelines last year of "NO Pink!" So this is our little cutie in her little lamb coat. She looks so proud to wear it.

Dancin' with Dora

Kensley doesn't get to watch much TV, unless you consider my hour's worth of the Today Show in the mornings, so she doesn't know anything about Dora. Kensley does, however, LOVE LOVE LOVE music and has a bit of soul, might I add. So Nanna and Pop were out piddling around one weekend and noticed that this Dora danced and thought Kensley had to have it. Well, she loved it, and loved all over it and danced with it while she lasted. That's right folks; three days later, Dora quit dancing. Apparently Kensley enjoyed Dora's technical foot more than the other and she shorted out, but not before we got the necessary pictures and videos!

The Joys of Toddlerhood

I just read that some parents consider toddlerhood at one, others when their child begins walking. Either way, we have a toddler, as Kensley's first birthday rapidly approaches. Below you will notice some of Kensley's latest tricks. For a little girl who is so afraid to fall when she walks, she has NO FEAR about climbing all over things. (Maybe it's because I hover more when she is climbing???) Also, Kensley has begun to show her inner nosiness. She loves to know what's inside of things. Once she discovers it, she tosses it all out like a cartoon character and then sits in the box or bag of whatever. We are working on her cleaning up after herself. Kensley is doing well with putting things into its container, but we are surely going to have to keep this habit going without compromise so not to train Mama and Daddy to quickly do all the work ourselves! Uncle Matt and Aunt Jenn sent Kensley some of Lane and Laura Catherine's clothes and Kensley relished the opportunity to pull EVERYTHING from the box and then climb in.

Climbing into a toy basket

Just exerting her inner nosy.

Kensley pushed this box over to the laundry basket (that she uses as a toy) and proceeded to climb up and down and all around. Give me a BREAK!