Excited Big Sister

Mommy and Daddy gave me this t-shirt as an early birthday present but said the real present arrives in September.

Videos from December and January

Mommy made up some food for me with extra textures so I have to start chewing.

I love watching Scout fetch toys and tennis balls. I can almost grip a tennis ball so I am close to being able to throw them to Scout myself.

Christmas 2011

Reading books at the cottage
Enjoying my first experiance with snow.

Hamming it up with Grandma Smith on Christmas Eve

Unwrapping the my first present

Christmas morning at the cottage

Santa found me and delivered a lot of fun toys

I was quick to grab Daddy's new Red Wings hat and try it on

Grandma Smith and Nora help me get my new Christmas dress on

After nap #2 I am ready for another round of presents

I love my cousins Nora and Dawson.

Daddy is reading me my new Christmas book while I try on Nora's moose antlers

Grandma Smith gave me a special doll that all the other girls in our family got when they were babies.

I ran out of steam on Christmas so we opened up stockings the next morning.

The snow melted but I was still all smiles when Hama and Hapa came over for a visit before we headed back to Houston.

One of my favorite gifts is the bike trailer. Now I can go on rides with Mommy and Daddy.

Thanksgiving at Disneyland

Waiting at the airport to fly to Disneyland
I'm pinned in by all the pillows on the hotel bed

Mommy was brilliant and thought to pack my jumper which made me very happy.

Our first expedition was to Route 66

Then it was off to Pasedena and the Rose Bowl. Daddy got lost and I got cranky so Mommy declared that Hollywood will have to wait until the next trip.

The next day we went to the park to ride the rides. The carousel was my first ride.

Pictures in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Speaking of sleeping...I didn't do much of it on this trip.

Mommy's favorite ride is It's a Small World so she was excited to take me.

I was amazed at all the cool things to look at.

After a full day at Disneyland it was fun to play with my toys at the hotel while Mommy and Daddy rested from pushing me around in the stroller.

The hotel had a really great tub with a spigot that shot water everywhere when I grabbed it. I want something like this at home.

Hama flew in to spend Thanksgiving with us and she enjoyed the rides. Here we are taking a coffee break and eating beignets at Brennan's Jazz Kitchen. Hama's maiden name is Brennan.

My Disney souvenir was a new pair of Minnie Mouse sunglasses like my cousin Sophia. I have a feeling that there are more souvenirs that will show up around Christmas :)

Getting our Christmas card picture taken on the reindeer sleigh

I finally got to meet Minnie Mouse in person. I wasn't sure what to make of somebody with such a large head.

After months of drinking milk and eating pureed food I decided I wanted something to chew on so while Mommy was eating her sandwich I leaned over and took a bite. She laughed really hard.

Like I mentioned before, I didn't sleep a lot on this trip. I made Mommy and Daddy work hard before I would finally give in and close my eyes. But they still thought I was cute as I slept.

Tia drove up from Phoenix to spend Thanksgiving with us. I hadn't seen her since July and she was so impressed at how much I had grown.

Everyone else enjoyed turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, cranberries and pumpkin pie. I got squash and apple cinnamon oatmeal and a new thanksgiving bib.

Before I knew it our trip was over and it was time to leave California and head back to Houston. We'll be back again someday when I'm old enough to ride the big rides.

Sitting up photo shoot

Ms. Sara

This is Ms. Sara. She is our neighbor and the best babysitter in the whole world. She takes care of me while Mommy and Daddy are at work and does a lot of cleaning and cooking so Mommy and Daddy have time to play with me when they get home. She is an absolute blessing to all of us. Even Scout and Lucy get extra treats when Ms. Sara is around.

Ms. Sara keeps me busy and writes everything down so Mommy and Daddy know what I eat, how long I nap and how many dirty diapers they didn't have to change while they were gone. We have a lot of fun during the days.

We start out our mornings with a walk around the block.

Ms. Sara's house is right across the street. She says it is the best commute she has ever had. She always has her flag out and is famous for her wreaths on the front door.

She has a greenhouse attached to her house so we go over and she teaches me about plants.

While it may appear that I just sit around while she holds me, feeds me and pushes me in the stroller, it isn't a free ride with Ms. Sara. She puts me to work and makes sure I earn my keep. This day I was in charge of watering the flowers.

Ms. Sara discovers all sorts of new quirks about me. It just so happens that I really, really like to have water sprayed in my mouth.
This day she discovered that I could stand up in my crib when I woke up from my nap.

We both love hats, sunglasses and necklaces so Ms. Sara got me my own necklace that matches one that she has so we can dress up together.

She brought over a halloween tin and taught me how to use a spoon to make a lot of noise with it. Scout thinks there are treats in the tin because he is always around when I play with it.

A lot of the pictures on my blog are taken by Ms. Sara. She is really good about taking lots of pictures so Mommy and Daddy don't miss out on the action. This was my 8 month birthday!

We have a lot of fun dress up days. This was beach day.

This was Steve Job's memorial day. Thanks for the iPad and Facetime!

I don't remember which day this was but it shows how much fun we have spending time together. I am so thankful for everything that she does for our family.