melted smoosh

dear Cecilia Marie, it seems impossible that an entire year has already gone by since your dramatic entrance into the world on our front sidewalk. and yet here you are, wearing 12 month clothes, chewing your food with your EIGHT teeth, chasing after the cats, and playing peek-a-boo with Greta. your personality is still happy and outgoing, although you've started to have a little trepidation around strangers. most of the time, though, you wave and sometimes say "hi!" in the sweetest little voice. here's a look back at the last year!  Cecilia we celebrated your birthday with a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom party! Auntie Kira, Uncle John and Tia Genesis were here, along with your godparents John and Jen, your best friend Adeline (and Ryan and Amelia!), Nana and Pappy, and many other friends too. our neighbor, Drew, came too -- and he will always have a special place in our hearts, since he caught you when you were born!  of course we had to do a little photo sh

dearest Cecilia, it sounds like such a cliche, but i honestly cannot fathom where the last year has gone. it seems like just a few months ago that the leaves were starting to fall and we were setting up your co-sleeper and baby swing and organizing all your tiny newborn clothes. and here we are, in October again, and as i write this, you're in your pack'n'play, drinking your last bottle of the day.  soon you'll begin visiting the Walker Transition room at daycare (for 12- to 18-month-olds). you and the other babies your age in the nursery are starting to play together now. you and Zach especially love to crawl around after each other, or bang on blocks together. and you absolutely love circle time, when the teachers sing songs and read books to you all.  you certainly have a bit of a daredevil streak. although you're not standing by yourself yet, you love to climb -- up the stairs, on the arm of the couch, onto the bathroom stepstool, on top of t

dearest Cecilia, where to begin?! you are developing into such a little person and it's so much fun to watch. if i had to describe you in one word, that would be "determination". you decide what you want to do and you do it, or at least try your best! this month, you have been pulling up to stand like a pro. you cruise along the furniture, and a few times you've stood for a few seconds by yourself. you love playing with the Mickey Mouse ride-on airplane and the gumball machine toy. you started climbing the stairs a few weeks ago, and you can make it all the way to the top within thirty seconds. you're starting to get into mischief this month too: playing in Kaiser's water dish, unrolling the toilet paper, tasting everything you can get your hands on. you like to open and close cupboard doors, and you especially like to run your fingers over the ridges of the heating vents. whenever you're getting into something you think you shouldn't, you

dear cecilia, today marks the day you've been on the outside just as long as you were on the inside. (although, technically, pregnancy is closer to ten months... but i digress.) and every week this month, you've been growing and changing. you are crawling everywhere, although you tend to keep one knee bent underneath you and scoot along that way. you pull yourself up to stand, and you're so pleased with yourself every single time that we can't help but cheer for you. you're starting to cruise along the coffee table, although at this point it's pretty uncoordinated and you don't move very fast.  your new mobility has its good points and its challenging points. of course, you are very excited to explore the house, and you entertain yourself for long stretches of time just crawling around and seeing what fun discoveries await around the corner. one downside is that you do not like to be contained. you immediately roll and try to crawl aw

dearest cecilia, what an exciting month you've had! reading back over your seven-month post, i'm amazed at how much has happened in the past four weeks. first of all, you got your first teeth! your bottom left incisor made its appearance a few days after you turned seven months old, and the bottom right incisor joined the party about a week later. you like to stick your tongue out these days, so we don't actually get to see your teeth all that much, but they sure are cute! you also went swinging for the first time and absolutely loved it. as soon as i put you in the bucket seat, you grinned and waved your arms in excitement. then i gave you a gentle push and you just about lost your mind with happiness, kicking your legs and laughing. it's so much fun to watch you discover the world! i'm guessing you weigh about sixteen pounds. you are wearing 9 month clothes, and as soon as we use up our current stock of size 2 diapers, you'll be moving into