My Little Animal

Mary Ellen's latest trick is to do little "actions" for many of the animals in her jungle animals puzzle. I can't believe she let me capture it on video.

More 1st Birthday Fun

I realized today that if I was planning to add more updates from Mary Ellen's first birthday extravaganza that I'd better do it before August 15 when she will officially become a 13-month old. Here are a few more pics from her birthday weekend:

For the final event on Mary Ellen's actual birthday, we took her to Willow Tree Cafe, a family favorite. This German restaurant features a polka band on Friday and Saturday nights, and our little dancer was delighted by the music. Jenson was delighted with the spaetzle, but then aren't we all?

On the Saturday after her birthday, we hosted a little BBQ for family and some close friends. We really tried to keep is simple, but there were a few special decorations for Mary Ellen. She (like I'm sure all babies are) is infatuated with the balloons at the supermarket. So what better decoration than the largest balloon I could find? Seriously, this thing was enormous. And she loved it!

I put together a quick timeline made of Mary Ellen's monthly photos. It still amazes me that the first year is already over.

Amy and I tried our hands at a cupcake menagerie. Aren't they cute? Don't worry, Amy. I won't show any pictures of the pig-lions.

Mary Ellen was somewhat interested in her little birthday cake, but she wasn't thrilled by any means. She tried a little bit of the frosting, smeared a little on her face, and then declared, "Dow-Doh.: (Translation: All done.)

Fun times with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Matt!

Part 1 of what I hope will become a birthday tradition: 1-year-old Mary Ellen in my Cards jersey. It's hard to believe that someday she'll fill it out.

Chores

When Brian and I were first looking to buy our house, I shared with him one of my little idiosyncratic requirements for our future neighborhood: children doing chores. I guess in my mind, it's the sign of a good neighborhood when you see the whole family outside raking leaves or washing the car on a Saturday or Sunday. I was raised in a house that values work and I am thankful for it. I guess I also don't want to be the only family on the block that sends their little one to the curb with a trashcan in tow. Anyway, back then he laughed at my search for the choring children, but I think he understood the point.

Our neighborhood turned out to have a few helpful children, so Mary Ellen will be in good company when she is old enough to lend a hand.

So check out our little darling attempting to help with her first chores. Never mind the dirty laundry. We all have it, you know.

The Texas Ranger

A few months ago, Brian dubbed Mary Ellen's walker "The Texas Ranger." See? He's a funny guy.

Well, as of late, Mary Ellen and Ranger have become fast friends. Check her out!

Mary Ellen is One Year Old!!!

Can you believe it? I mean, can you actually believe that it's been an entire year since this little beauty entered the world?

We celebrated in style this weekend. Mom, Dad, Amy, Jenson and Matt all made the trip, and they definitely made the weekend one to remember. We tried not to go overboard, and I think we were successful in making the birthday simple yet very, very special. Here are a few highlights:

One Grandpa in particular had been requesting permission to give Mary Ellen ice cream since she was about 4 months old. We managed to fend him off until she hit the 12-month mark and finally let him give her a taste on her birthday. Her opinion on the matter is still pending, as she didn't hate it but didn't necessarily love it, either. Don't worry, Dad, the seal has been broken and I see many more ice cream treats in the future for both of you.

One of the sweetest things I've seen her do so far. When Mary Ellen opened her gift from Brian and me, she picked up the little doll and planted a kiss on her immediately. Precious.

Grandma and Grandpa got her the Little People farm! It's awesome!! Gotta learn about farming somewhere, right?

This is one of those photos that will live to haunt the cousins... Oh well, they christened the new bathtub together. Hooray for bathtime!

The babies got along so well. There were a few pokes and eye rakes here and there, but all in all, I think they'll be great pals very shortly.

To be continued...

Chatting it up

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, right? Well, apparently this little piece of wisdom is holding true for Mary Ellen.

Legend has it that Brian was speaking in full phrases at 11 months. Apparently, his first words were, "Cow says Moo." The kid was a genius.

Well, I'll admit that Mary Ellen isn't quite that advanced, but she definitely has a little collection of words that are all her own. A few weeks ago, I heard her say, clear as a bell, "All done." She'd been working on that one for awhile, but on that particular day, she finally managed to squeeze the necessary consonants in there to make the words sound like actual words.

At this point, her vocabulary includes:
dada
k (cat)
ba (ball)
dere (there)
dow doh? (where did it go?)

Now how about we start working on Mama?

Happy 4th of July!

Okay, so it's the 6th of July but who's counting?

Mary Ellen celebrated her first Independence Day with a BBQ on the 3rd and a trip to Winter Park's festivities on the 4th. She didn't manage to stay up for fireworks either night, so we'll have to wait until next year to get a reading on how she feels about the noise.

Mary Ellen's first official washers game. She wasn't on the winning team, however. Don't worry, kid. Someday you'll give me a run for my money.

What BBQ would be complete without Cheerios?

It was way too hot to spend much time in the park on the 4th, but since there was a fountain we just had to check it out. Mary Ellen just loves the water and she could have stayed by the fountain all day.

Check out her little outfit - I made it! I really think it turned out cute, though it was a little big. This is the second outfit that I made for her; the other being a little dress for her birthday. Just a few more days until the debut of that little number!