The Big One

by Allison

It's official!  I'm not a little baby anymore.  I'm a one-year old!  Let's start with the official stats:

-I weigh 21 pounds & 7 ounces (52% for kids my age).

-I am 31 inches tall (93% for kids my age).
I'm not a petite little thing.  I wear size 18 month clothes already.

-I have 5 teeth, but you can only see 4 of them when I smile.  I'm working on several more.

-I point at things that I am interested in, but don't really say any clear words yet.  Why do I need to talk, when I can just point & grunt?

-I feed myself most of my meals, except for things like yogurt or applesauce that require a spoon.  In fact, I prefer to feed myself with a fork.

-The list of foods that I don't like is very short (bananas & mini rice cakes).  My favorite foods are raviolis with tomato sauce, Dad's scrambled eggs, hot dogs, and black beans, but I'll eat most anything.

-I hardly ever crawl anymore, and I try to "go fast" (run) with Gracie.

I celebrated my 1st birthday three times: once with my parents and Gracie since my dad would not be here on the actual day, once with my mom, Gracie, Nana, & Bop, and once with my baby friends and their moms.  And I had cake each time!  Pretty good deal.

I received some nice birthday gifts, and the best one was having my Ford grandparents here to celebrate with me.  Gracie and I had a really nice week with them.  Nana is an expert in the play kitchen, and Bop quickly learned my favorite activity of jumping about, being swung around, and/or upside down.

My other hobbies are swinging and playing at the playground, cooking in the pretend kitchen, and taking care of baby dolls, especially pushing them in the stroller.  I love bubbles.  I'm a very good climber, I do a little dancing sometimes, and I like to pass the ball.  I love to put things on my head and play peek-a-boo with my blanket.  I'm always watching Gracie, whose antics make me laugh hysterically, and whose singing almost always makes me stop crying.  I love my pacifier (good luck getting rid of that, Mom!), and I sleep like a champ.

I've got big plans for the coming year, but they are hard to communicate by pointing and grunting, so you'll just have to wait and see!  Keep an eye on our photo collection for a daily update!

Happy Valentine's Day!

shirts by Nana

To all of our sweethearts,

Happy Valentine's Day! We wish you were closer so we could share sweets, hugs, and kisses with you.  We spent the day visiting an armadillo instead... he ate worms, he was not so huggable, and he was definitely not kissable.

XOXOXOX,

Gracie & Allie

11 months

by Allison

Hello family & friends!  It's that time again... another month has gone by, and just one more until I'm a year old already.  As always, I've been very busy.  First of all, I have learned to walk!  Not just behind a buggy or push-toy, but the kind of walking where I let go and walk across the room by myself.  I am loving it, and walking a little further everyday.


Some of my other favorite activities include:
- putting things on my head
- playing in the dog food dishes
- waving at people
- pushing the baby doll in her stroller
- giving hugs and kisses
- tossing my cups & bottles on the floor and laughing when Gracie picks them up... over & over again
- turning on the water in the bathtub and sticking my hands in the water
- copying everything that my sister does, including clapping my hands, flapping my arms, patting my head, and trying to do "Itsy Bitsy Spider" hand motions
- playing fun Daddy-games, like "Allie Bombs" and "Flying Baby"
- "helping" with the laundry and the dishwasher, and
- swinging and hanging out at the playground

In the last month, I've gone to my first circus, attended a baby friend's awesome Dr. Seuss themed birthday party, and gone to music classes and story-time at the library with Gracie.  I go to playdates, and enjoy them so much more now that I can participate in the play.

I have grown 3 new teeth, for a total of 4 (and believe me, that was not pleasant work).  I prefer to feed myself, and some meals I have not had any help from my parents.  I like peas, lasagna, cheese, scrambled eggs, waffles, ice cream, green beans, hot dogs, and various other people foods.  I think that pureed baby food is best used as a hair conditioner.  Maybe that's why I have almost as much hair as my big sister now!  And the rest of me is growing too... no official stats this month, but I'm wearing some 18-month size clothing already.  I've been napping better and I sleep great at night.

That's all for now!  See you soon!

Elephants, horses & camels, oh my!

by Gracie

I am still celebrating Christmas... today I finally got to use the circus tickets that NanaBop sent us for Christmas.  I was not sure what the tickets were for.  I explained to my mom and dad on the way to the circus that I expected to see roosters, cows, bees, and butterflies.  It turned out to be so much better than that!

There were colorful lights and interesting sounds, people flying and spinning round and round, a silly clown, motorcycles, a strong man, and cotton candy.  And all of this was happening just about 20 feet in front of me!

Allison really liked it too.  She contributed a lot of hand-clapping and dancing in her seat during the first half.  She caught a nap during the second half, which meant that she missed my favorite part.... the dancing elephants!  I liked all the animals.  There were also camels, horses in varying sizes, and some very smart dogs.

Despite the strong aroma present during the elephant dances, I highly recommend "The Greatest Show on Earth"!  It was an amazing morning.  Thank you again NanaBop!

10 months!

by Allison

Can you believe I'm into the double-digits already?  In a couple months, I'll be a year old!

At a recent visit to the pediatrician for a cold, I weighed in at 20.6 pounds.  I'm still growing strong & fast!  As you can see, that one tooth that I mentioned before is visible now, and there are at least 3 more on the way.  I will definitely be glad when all the teeth get here, as my aching gums can make it difficult to sleep soundly and can make me generally a little grouchy at times.  But for the most part, I'm a happy girl!

Want a closer look
at that tooth?

My hair has been growing too, and seems to be darker and straighter than my sister's.  She likes to help me maintain my luxurious locks.

I am highly mobile.  I've only walked a step or two on my own, but I can walk behind a push toy quite well, and like to walk holding hands.  I have mastered standing up and waving my arms in the air, and I am fairly certain that I could win a championship in speed-crawling.

I prefer to feed myself finger foods, but my mother still insists on trying to sneak some baby mush in my mouth.  I enjoyed grown-up chicken & dumplings this evening, probably my favorite meal so far.  I enjoy playing with all Gracie's toys, and sometimes my own.  I love dancing with the family, playing with dog food every time I get the chance to race over there, and I still enjoy hanging upside down as much as I can.  I've figured out exactly how much fun Dad is, and have been spending more time with him.  I get excited about bathtime, especially running water.  I am losing interest in naps more and more, but my parents won't give that up either.  Life as a 10-month old is fantastic!

All new!

by Gracie & Allison

What's all this?  Out with the old, in with the new!  We are starting a 365 day photo project.  We'll post a photo for each day of 2012 that in some way reflects our day.  Click on "Our 365 Project" above to see the photos.

In related news, as some kind of New Year's resolution that we don't quite grasp, our editor has given notice that she will retire "the blog" after Allison's 1st birthday.  It's probably about time she stopped putting words in our mouths anyways.  But the pictures (worth 1,000 words) will be here, and there will be another section for "Extra Specials," like the occasional video or other photos.

Yes, change can be difficult.  You have a couple of months to get used to the idea, and will get double bloggery in the meantime.  "Try it. You'll like it," as Toodee of the Yo Gabba Gang says.  Happy New Year!

Self-portraits

by Gracie

I took these photos of myself with my new kiddie-cam ("pink cammur"), which I love because I can flip the lens around backwards and see myself on the screen!  I tell myself: "Gacie!  1-2-3-cheese!"  It's awesome.  (Collage courtesy of Aunt G.)

Wrapping-up 2011

by Gracie

Happy New Year & Welcome to 2012! 

Christmas morning lasted about three days at our house.  The only thing that could've made it a little better is if all of our family had been here with us.  We are so fortunate to have generous grandparents, great-aunt, aunts, uncles, and cousins who re-stocked our toys, books, and wardrobes for us this Christmas!  And of course, there was also Santa.  Thank you one and all!  Perhaps these pictures will help you feel like you were here with us.

The unwrapping was quite fun for me this year.  Not only did I unwrap all of my own presents, I also unwrapped Allison's presents for her.  I got a sneak-peek of each of her gifts, checked with my parents to make sure it was really for Allison, and then showed it to her and handed it right over.  This seemed to surprise my parents, especially when I didn't hesitate to let Allison have her own baby doll, or to invite her into my tent.  I'm catching onto sharing, in most cases.

We have been enjoying all of our new stuff everyday: books, coloring books, giant pianos, "Gracie's house" tent, singing dogs, noisemakers, hand-crafted play food, pillow-pets, new storybooks... the list goes on and on!

Thank you for such a wonderful Christmas, everyone.  We will enjoy it all year long, and beyond!  New adventures in the new year coming soon!  Hugs, kisses, no-ees, good day!