First Renaissance Faire

The wee lassie attended her first Renaissance Festival. She was able to enjoy the noise and activity without yet being able to participate in many of the events herself. She mostly loved dressing up and spending time with family and friends. Aelyn looked at the kids swinging and playing games whilst wishing she were able to join in the fun - next year!

But, she did get to crawl on the ground and play in the dirt and grass. Aye, Aelyn had a wonderful time!

All Caught Up...

One Year Old and I'm all caught up from my "Preemie" status. I'm in the 60th percentiles for height and weight at 29 inches tall and 21 lbs and I have a big ole noggin in the 75th percentile for my head circumference. Mommy and Daddy say it's just because it's "full of big brains".

I really don't like those shots. Those are not any fun at all! And, the nurse wouldn't even let me look and I was trying my hardest. I just wanted Mama to hold me afterwards. She always makes things so much better! :)

And, I don't have to go back to that doctor for another 3 months. YAY!!!

New Adventures!

Playing outside in the back-yard.

Swinging on the Swing by myself for the first time. What Fun!

My First Birthday Party!

I had a wonderful birthday party with many family and friends coming over to enjoy the fun. I was, as always, very spoiled and received more gifts of toys and clothing than a baby girl could even want.

It was much fun enjoying the cuddling and crawling to everyone. However, my favorite time was my first bite of cake. And, let me tell you it wasn't just a bite. I dug right in, got the icing and cake in between my fingers, and even a good third of it made it into my mouth.















Uh-oh - Mommy and Daddy could be in trouble as I may have a sweet tooth yet!

My First Year!

What a year this has been.... I was born way too early and scared my families by having to stay in the hospital for almost 2 months. I was very small but very healthy especially for being so premature. I had a few issues with reflux but that disappeared when I hit what was to have been my birth date. Although, I still had a tendency to take too much air in and Mommy had to go through almost every brand of bottle out there until she found the one that worked best for me.

I went to the pub for the first time when I was only 8 weeks old. I loved bagpipes and dancing right from the start. I met the first of my extended family and learnt what a large family I had become a part of. They welcomed "the Princess of Dunedin" and to this day I am being given surprise gifts from family and friends.

In my first weeks home I went to several highland games festivals and more Celtic and music festivals as the months progressed. I always have fun and meet many people. There is no way that I am going to be a shy child with my active social life.

I went camping for the first time and enjoyed the cold of the tent much more than Mommy did. As a matter of fact, my first teeth came through and I pulled myself up to standing for the first time while at Magnolia Festival camping.

For a baby that absolutely despised "tummy-time" I am crawling everywhere now. It was a sure thing that I was going to skip crawling and go right to walking and quickly running around. I surprised them all! I crawl wherever I can go and am constantly on my tummy including sleeping. I want to walk but my balance is not the greatest so I have a tendency to fall. I adore holding hands with Mommy and walking around though. I will let go one of these days soon and then watch out as it's off to the races we go.....

Talking is a blast. I love discovering the new noises I can make. Squealing at the puppies is the absolute best. I think the "pretty baby" in my pictures is just the cutest and smile with glee at her. Mommy and Daddy doing "raspberries" on my belly just makes me giggle like mad. And, I love when Mommy uses me as weight and does body presses with me over her head giving me kisses each time she brings me down. I have said "mama" for several months and "dada" is right around the corner. Daddy heard me say it yesterday but I'm stubborn and won't say it again until I want to. I know what words mean "bottle", "dinner", "cracker", "puppies", "bath" but I can't quite say them as of yet.

Baths are fun now too! I get to sit in the tub and play with toys. Splashing water and making bubbles is soooo much fun!

Food! Now, that's a great thing. I adore discovering new flavors and textures. I actually took a piece of romaine lettuce off Mommy's plate just last week and crunched on it. Corn, Beans, and Carrots are probably some of my favorites. I also like any of the little Gerber snacks or animal crackers! Actually, anything I can squish between my fingers and make a mess with is my idea of food. Who needs the spoon!...Fingers are so much better.

My first year has been a year of discovery and firsts....I know this next year is going to bring even more learning and firsts.....I hope I don't scare Mommy and Daddy too much!

Working with Daddy!

I am working in my exersaucer while daddy is working on the computer.

Officially Mobile!

Baby Girl is "army-crawling" everywhere now. She will follow us to the kitchen, go to her room, or if she sees something interesting go to check it out. It's awesome because she doesn't have to scream when we leave the room now BUT....

• I have to figure out how to make the Roomba work - the dogs shed like crazy
• We have to baby-proof now. I had to move Rob's claymore last night because she was checking it out.
• We can't wean her from the binky/bippie. She wants to put everything in her mouth and the only way to stop it is to have the binky in her mouth
• We never know what she is going to get into next.

Aelyn still only has the 2 bottom teeth. Top ones are just below the surface as they have been since October but they just don't seem to want to break through. We still think she is going to potty-train early. Once her diaper gets wet in the middle of the night she turns on her belly and sleeps on her forehead and knees with her butt in the air so she doesn't have to feel the wet. I have to get a picture because it's just the cutest thing.

Happy New Year

We went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house for New Year’s Eve. I played with everyone and even stayed up late to welcome in 2009. It was 2am before I wanted to fall asleep. I kicked and screamed with joy for the fireworks. 2009 is going to be a great year of firsts for me.

Baby's First Christmas

I was up late on Christmas Eve. Mommy says that it was because I kept waiting to see Santa and the Reindeer flying through the sky. I woke up about 10am Christmas Day and that was my present to Mommy and Daddy (to let them sleep in a little bit – but it didn’t work so well because they were up early getting ready for the Christmas Day Open House.)

We went out to the tree and there were all these Gifts and bows there just for me. I had so much fun ripping the paper and playing with everything. I didn’t have many toys so the new drum and balls are great. My favorite thing right now is this palm pilot toy that teaches me to count to 10 and the abc’s.

Every year Mommy and Daddy have this Open House for all of our Friends and Family. Daddy smoked some meats and everyone brings a dish to pass. It gets everyone together for drinks and fun. I get to see all my “Aunts, Uncles and Cousins”. It was such a blast!

Cousin Miles Visits

My Aunt Erica and Cousin Miles came to Florida for a visit this month. He’s only 16 months old so we got along very well. I tried to teach him how to feed himself and he tried to teach me how to stand up on my own. We celebrated Christmas together early. The bows and paper were the absolutely best.

I did play with my new toys which people kept telling Mommy and Daddy I wouldn’t do. Grandaddy Bob had these 2 chairs when he was little that he gave Miles and me. Daddy and him are re-doing them to make them pretty again. They are just perfect for us.