Birthday Girl Turns One!!!

Grace didn't quite know what to make of the cake. A fistful in each hand, she leaned forward, mouth open, to reach what she could no longer grab...got it all on video! She enjoyed visiting with the other kids and picked up some great habits -- began walking more after they left. She's very impressionable. I plan to drop her at the nearest physics lab to see what else she can pick up! Even so, she is still mostly crawling; you can tell by the knees of her pants and the tips of her shoes. Favorite present (mom and dad's favorite, that is) -- "Walter the Farting Dog." It's a book. (Thank goodness, as we have enough live farting dogs in this household already!) Thanks, Sarah!!
Hair is straggling. She is having a bad hair month. Latest new "words" are "good girl" and "again," although it's really just tonal mimicking rather than any real pronunciation. Still, we think she's brilliant. Loving our baby on her first birthday celebration. Pics follow:

More from Xmas

The First Noel!

Gracie was great. Very cheerful. Biggest hit of the day -- no, not the paper or the boxes -- it was a big green jingle bell someone put in with a present. Later, we tied it to her birthday balloon. See pics of Christmas Day below:

Frosty the Xue-shirt

The xue fell last week. I missed her first day in the real stuff as I had to go to work. When I came home, we went outside and made xue-angel hands on the top of the picnic table. Then we made xue-balls and threw them to Talley, who ate them. Grace is intent on crushing the xue-ball in her fierce grip, willing it to collapse into something dense and hard. I think she may be strategizing an improvement for the next generation of Super-conducting super-collider.

[Note the really great rocking horse from Pap.]

More Amazing Grace

Grandma "Honey" visited last week to help out and spend some time with her granddaughter. Gracie nicknamed her "MamMam." And since Mommy was out of town for three days, Grace has started to substitute "DaDa" every time she would have called for "MaMa."

We were also treated to great visits by Aunt Elaine and Uncle Lee, bearing gifts of pink Harley-D. clothing (thanks! She would also like a Hog, please), and Todd, who coined the "raised by a pack of dogs" comment. Todd brought her a doll, her first (other than the one the pawn shop lady gave her) -- she pulled it in next to her cheek and ear and nuzzled it close. Awwww...

Next week is Grace's first birthday. It's hard to believe this much time has passed.
She is loving the books and other toys everyone has given her. She also gets great joy out of running her hand along the handrail as we carry her up the stairs. And standing at the back sliding glass door yelling "TAAAAA!" at the top of her lungs. That would be Ta for Talley, the dog we are most likely to be yelling at/for....

Here are some more pics (photo credits to MamMam). Stories to follow.