2011 in Review (Part 1)

Can it really be time to celebrate the close of 2011? Though it seems impossible, I suppose the calendar doesn't lie.

What a year it has been for our family. Since I have been more than lax in keeping the blog up in the second half of the year, I thought I'd remark on some of the events that didn't get shared with the world. Enjoy!

 Happy, happy girl.

One of Grandma's (now Nana's) very frequent visit.

 Sweet girl.

Mary Ellen's first dip in her little pool.

 One of the many visits to Nana's house.

First trip to Busch Stadium with cousin Brooke.

 Nature Day at Wakiva River.

 Love Nana's house!

Mary Ellen loves her tree swing!

 

 

 Beach Day!

 

Happy Birthday at the Willow Tree.

Bathtime with Jenson

Year 1 in Mama's Cardinal jersey.

Trip to see the cows on Barb and Dick's farm

Love the music at Willow Tree Cafe

Another trip to Nana's house. Love her flowers!

A visit with Great-Grandma Knepper

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

The Christmas season is upon us, and I have been waiting for the whole year! Don't get me wrong, last year was an amazing time to share with our then 5-month old daughter, but this year is something else. Mary Ellen is taking it all in, and I had no idea how fun it was going to be to watch her get so excited about the lights and the songs and, of course, Ho Ho.

First stop of the season: The Winter Park Christmas Parade.

Waiting for the parade to start. Such cuties!

She really enjoyed catching the candy when we finally scored a seat near the road. Like mother, like daughter.

 Mary Ellen's glimpse of the Big Man.

 After the parade, it was time to pick out the Christmas tree. We got a great one, and it's been up for a whole week now. Too early? I think not!

 Such a big helper:  hanging up our new advent calendar. This one came courtesy of my friend Alie, who started a crafting blog to raise money for American Cancer Society. Check her out - she's a really creative chica! 

Giving Thanks

I'm blessed. There's no other way to say it. I have a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, a wonderful and supportive family, and countless wonderful friends. We're healthy. We're happy.  Life is good. Sometimes, those blessings just need to be counted, right?

Pumpkin Time!

Mary Ellen's got a few words. Okay, she has more than a few words. While "mama" is still slow-going, words like Elmo, balloon, and up (up, up) are frequently heard in our house. One other very popular one right now is "Pa-Goo" or pumpkin. Pumpkin! Pumpkin!

So we took little Mary Ellen to a pumpkin patch a few weekends ago. She was a pro and picked out a great one. See for yourself:

 I love that the pumpkin patch has so many Mary Ellen-sized pumpkins.

 

Seriously, she was a bit overwhelmed.

 She continues to carry this one around the house.

 Gotta find a good one for Daddy to carve.

 This one? Wait, this one?

I guess a big part of the pumpkin patch is the Photo Area. This pumpkin patch was complete with a giant well-used Snoopy. Mary Ellen was not impressed.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Mary Ellen had her first go at competitive yard games this past weekend. Here's her first attempt at a yard game:

Beach Day

During Mom's last visit, we took a trip to the dunes park in New Symrna Beach. This is a great place to bring a baby because it's stroller friendly and has restrooms and parking that's not too far from the beach. We mostly went there to get some good phorta of Mary Ellen (and so Mom could get her beach fix). Here's a sample of what we captured:

But No "Mama"...

A list of words that my daughter has said before she dares to utter the word "Mama":

1. Dada
2. all done
3. Where go?
4. Daisy
5. owl
6. cat
7. bear
8. bubbles
9. yellow
10. hello
11. up (up, up)
12. down
13. out
14. der (there)
15. dat (that)
16. Bop (her current substitution for Mama)

I know, I know.

The /m/ sound is difficult to form.

It's a physical limitation that will disappear soon enough.

She doesn't love me any less.

But please? For me? Just that one little word...I can't wait to hear it.