11 Months Old

Can you even believe it? I'm almost one-year old! Month 11 was really great with all the holidays and my mobility increasing all the time. I can now stand up with ease and good balance and I go for regular walks with my push toy. I say "mum-mum" to get my favorite rice rusk snack (they're actually called Mum-Mums) and I can say intelligible variations of the words "ball" and "bird." I say "Mama" and "Dada" all the time too, but to lots of things; not just to Mommy and Daddy.

One of my favorite games is librarian - I like to go to the book shelf, pull off all of the books, and then push and kick them around on the floor. Occasionally, I'll open a book and peruse the pages too. I also still love playing all of my instruments. In the picture above, I'm standing up and playing my chimes.

It just seems like the older I get, the more fun I have. I can't wait to see what exciting things Month 12 will bring! Maybe those first unassisted steps.... :)

Here is a link to photos from my 11th month: http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=593368068308%3A814893276

First Christmas

I had an awesome time celebrating Christmas! We spread the celebration out over a week and I got to see lots of family and friends. For Christmas Eve, Grandma Linda and Andy Pop came over. They gave me the coolest drum that I love to bang really loud. Here are a couple pics of us on Christmas Eve:


On Christmas morning, Grandpa T came over and we ate pancakes. That's right - WE ate pancakes! Myself included! I am definitely a fan of the flapjack. Then we opened presents together. Grandpa T got me a piano because he wants me to use my left and right brain to become the smartest baby in the world. I'm on my way! I can play so well you can hardly tell the difference between my tunes and the demo. Below are a couple pics from Christmas morning.

For Christmas evening, we drove out to San Clemente to celebrate some more with my aunts and uncles and cousins. I put on quite a squat show - standing up and sitting down over and over again. Everyone was very impressed with my strong legs and they all cheered for me. If anyone forgot to cheer, I clapped myself to remind them.

The day after Christmas, we went to Santa Anita race track. I got to see Zenyatta, the greatest horse of the decade. Also, Mommy and Daddy took some handicapping pointers from me and won $140 on an exacta box!

The Sunday after Christmas, we went to Great Uncle Terry and Great Aunt Janise's new house in Redlands. Everyone from the Talley side of the family was there and it was so fun! We actually had all four of the 2009 babies together! It was a total Cutefest! I'm the oldest of the 2009 babies in the family, so I am the most mobile. I didn't really want to sit still for pictures. Cousin Jackson had to hold me back. After pictures, we got to open more presents. It was a wild party with all of us little ones together.

Bottom right photo from left to right: Neal, Kate, and Jackson (behind); Magnolia, Madison, Oliver,Talley, and Paisley (in front)

The Wednesday evening after Christmas, we flew out to Reno to visit Grandma and Grandpa O. Mommy and Daddy's friends, Dave and Kelly, came with us and Aunt Jo and Uncle Colin met up with us when we got there. We celebrated Daddy's birthday and New Year's Eve and we had a Christmas celebration with presents too. I loved every part of presents - the wrapping, the ribbons, the boxes, and the actual presents. Grandma and Grandpa O got me fun toys and books and some snow gear. While we were in Reno, I got to see snow for the first time. I thought it was very pretty and I enjoyed looking at it through the window from the comfort of the warm house. I did not have any desire to touch it, though. Too cold. No thank you. I'll just keep admiring it from afar.

Bottom right photo: This is a face that does not want to touch snow.

All in all, it was a wonderful first Christmas. I'm grateful I got to see so many of the people I love. I'm also thankful for all of the nice presents. I have more toys now than I know what to do with! Thank you to everyone who came to visit and celebrate with me. You helped make my first Christmas so special!