I'm One!

I turn one today! Mommy & Daddy said they're going to take me somewhere special to celebrate and then we'll celebrate with our families on Saturday.

Mommy discovered the reason why I'm probably waking in the middle of the night -- a front tooth! My first tooth is beginning to pop through on top.

Caught with my hand in the cookie jar (sort of)!

This morning I baffled Granny by licking my palm as I came into the living room. She couldn't understand why I was licking my palm. After some investigating, she discovered my secret. The sugar canister!

Mommy later caught me on camera sneaking to taste the sweetness of the few granules of sugar that Daddy so carelessly left behind on the spoon. (It pays to be neat!) I quickly learned that if I lick my fingers and then touch the spoon, that some of that goodness would stick to my hand and I could taste the forbidden treat! So much for keeping sweets out of my little hands!

Granddaddy's visit

Granddaddy and Lois are in WV to visit with family members -- including me. We had a nice visit Sunday afternoon. Granddaddy sang to me and let me grab his glasses. Aunt KaKa kept me entertained by letting me pull her hair and making me laugh with stuffed animals. We just spent the day relaxing and hanging out with family.

Love the outdoors!

I just love the outdoors, but not my hat. It's a challenge for Mommy & Daddy to get me to wear it. I did wear it while we strolled briefly downtown in Lewisburg Sunday on our way home.

It's fun playing outside in the dirt and getting some sun. I don't like it when Granny,Mommy or Daddy makes me come in from playing. Mommy said the good thing about me playing outside during the days is I get worn out easily and by 8 p.m. I'm ready for bed. I have a tendancy to wake around 3 a.m. though. I just like to call for Mommy to come into the room so I can have some cuddle time with her. The other night, I grabbed both sides of her belly, leaned in and said hello to my baby sister. She kicked in return. Then Mommy and I cuddled while she rocked me for a few minutes before putting me back to bed. It's our nice mid-night ritual.

I'm learning new words every day. The past two days it's "cookie." As in "Cookie Monster." Aunt Sara reinforced the word all weekend when she kept showing Cookie Monster to me on the Sesame Street toy I have. Then I got home Monday and played with the stuffed Cookie Monster and told Mommy it was "Cookie."

I love dirt!

There's nothing better than playing in the dirt. After we spent the weekend in the woods, I helped Mommy & Daddy around the house on Monday and Tuesday. We went to Capital Market and bought some plants for the garden and flowers for our planters. After a long nap in the afternoon, I helped Mommy place her flowers in the planters. Well, I mostly just grabbed the dirt. Later, Mommy made me get cleaned up with a nice long bath before bedtime.

Weekend in the mountains

We had a short, but adventurous trip to Pocahontas County, where the Bott family cabin is located. Saturday we took a train ride at Cass Scenic Railroad to Whittaker Station. I made a friend on the trip. He was two months older than me, but didn't talk nearly as much. We played in the dirt and with rocks this weekend. And Daddy gave me a salamander to hold (first photo). you can't see the salamander very well. Unfortunately, he had an untimely death because I didn't realize how fragile he was and squeezed too hard!

Everyone we met couldn't believe I wasn't a year old yet and of course mentioned how cute I am. We saw Chris Legg from church at Meck's Bakery, but his son Benjamin (who I like to talk to in church) wasn't with him.

Exploring my world

Now that I'm walking all the time, it's so much easier to explore my world. For instance, I quickly discovered the wipe warmer. I like to pull all the wipes out. So Mommy locked it so I can't get into it.

I overheard Daddy saying something about child-proofing the house. I think that means he's going to take all the fun stuff away from me. Daddy and I had a good time hanging out last night. We played and giggled just before bedtime.

Can I have a bite?

When I'm not busy walking across the floor, then I'm sharing my food with Daddy or anyone who asks. Daddy, Granny or Pawpaw ask me for a bite and I gladly oblige. Pawpaw and I have a new game we play. I say "Daddee" and he says "Pawpaw." We keep going back and forth. Today, Daddy played the same game with me but he said my name instead and I said it back.

Baby sister

Belle's getting a baby sister!

First steps

I took my first steps on my own today! We were hanging out in Grandma & Grandpa Bott's living room Sunday afternoon. Daddy went outside to pack the car and I tried to follow him. I took about four steps before I fell. Grandma and Mommy cheered and laughed. Then Daddy and Grandpa came in and I was a walking fool. I walked several times, 6 steps, then 8 and then four. They all laughed and cheered, but I wasn't sure why. I just knew I was entertaining so I kept it up!

We had a good visit in Morgantown this weekend. Mommy had an event in town this weekend. I "walked" along the rail-trial with Aunt Dee, Grandpa & Grandma and some of their friends. We saw ducks, dogs and the Subway Sandwich guy.

I had a great time chasing the cats around Grandma & Grandpa Bott's house. We had a cookout on Saturday after the walk and I got to see Great Grandpa Bott and Aunt Barb and Jenny. Cousin Kevin was there too! It was a fun, but exhausting weekend. I was wiped. As you can see from the first photo. Mommy said I fell asleep before we hit the Interstate.

We'll try to do a better job updating the blog. I know everyone likes to know what we're up to. We've just had a busy schedule lately. Tuesday we find out whether I'm getting a brother or sister, so we'll definitely update Tuesday afternoon.

Visit with Aunt Sara

Aunt Sara is finally back home! Well, sort of. She's at least closer, so we'll see her more. She came to visit us for the weekend. At first, I wasn't sure who she was, but I quickly remembered and we became good friends. It's easy to be friends with someone who operates on the same level as you! We did enjoy some nice weather this weekend and together, with Daddy & Mommy, took a walk around the neighborhood.

I waved bye-bye to church friends on Sunday -- which pleased everyone. And I'm saying some words but not with regularity. (Nor do I realize what I'm saying.) They keep asking me about this yellow animal that says, "quack." Course, "da,da" or "dadee" are still my favorite sayings.

A new friend was born on Saturday. Trevor Lane Bailey was born at 3:02 p.m. He weighed slightly more than when I was born at 9.2. He's the new son of friends of Mommy & Daddy. Jaiden said she is excited about having a baby brother. We'll find out in a couple of weeks whether I'm getting a brother or sister later this year.

Standing

Every day I practice standing on my own. Granny, Pawpaw, Daddy and Mommy try to distract me so I'll try to walk. I'm stumbling some, but not quite walking. As you can see, it's easier for me to stand when we're outside or on the carpet at Granny's house. I've been playing in the back yard with Daddy a lot lately. He's excited about the warm weather and getting his garden planted. I just like the breeze on my face!

Crafty

It was such a nice day on Sunday that Daddy decided to finally mow our lawn. Then we all worked on a craft together. We created a stepping stone for the garden with my name on it. It was supposed to have my handprints on it, but I didn't like the feel of the concrete on my hands.

Visit to Morgantown

Daddy had to go to Morgantown on Saturday for football practice. Since it was raining and Mommy couldn't do much around the house, we decided to drive up with Daddy and visit Grandpa & Grandma. Daddy turned my car seat around so I face forward now. What a difference! I sure like looking out the window and being able to talk to Mommy & Daddy. We had a short but nice visit with Grandpa & Grandma and, of course, Penelope!

Emmaus #2

After the Emmaus people had their party, a nice man named Dan gave me all the balloons to play with. As you can see the string always fascinates me.

Clowns, balloons & fun

I met some clowns today. We helped out at Rippling Waters for the Men's Walk to Emmaus. Daddy spent the weekend out there working on the team. I thought the clowns were funny and liked to watch their show.

Hot day, cool shades

Hello peeps,

Wasn't it a gorgeous day today? Daddy took me out so I could enjoy the sunshine and the beautiful flowers growing in our yard. He even let me touch my feet in the grass. How fun.

We can't wait for the weather to stay warm so we can work in the garden and play outside.

Happy Birthday to Mommy!

Mommy turned another year older yesterday. I helped her celebrate by playing with the balloon that came on her flowers. Granny sent them to her office. We just had a good time hanging out at home last night. Mommy moved some stuff around in my room trying to organize it better. I think she's trying to do some spring cleaning. I had a good time bouncing the balloon around, but the strign was most fascinating to me.

Two teeth!

You can barely see my second tooth in this picture, but it's there. No others to speak of yet. I woke the folks early today and didn't want to take a nap so we've had a trying day. They let me try to feed myself at dinner to entertain myself a bit. I made a big mess.

I did let them watch some basketball while I played in the playpen for a bit. As you can probably tell, I don't like to be contained for too long so I started fussing when I wanted out. I overhead Daddy say something about being "your daughter' to Mommy -- whatever that means.

Happy to be home!

I'm sure many of you are upset that the beloved Mountaineers lost Thursday night, but Mommy and me are happy. Daddy is happy. We're happy to all be home together! We had a great time hanging out today reading the Dr. Seuss books that Aunt Sara sent me. See my cool Dr. Seuss backpack? I like taking books and toys out of it. Mommy keeps trying to put toys away and I just bring them back out.
Daddy took Mommy out for her birthday tonight. Uncle Richie and Aunt Grace watched me, but I wasn't happy about that. Course, I didn't take a nap this afternoon so that probably added to my grouchiness.
I'm crawling on my knees now. I finally learned I can get around quicker. It's easier to get into stuff I shouldn't! I can also feed myself puffs. I have to stick my fingers in my mouth, which makes a mess, but Mommy will just have to deal. She showed me the mats for under the highchair. She said I can start feeding myself now since I can't make too big of a mess!