This weekend I took my first swim lesson! And guess who else was there? Elmo!!
It was super fun- Mom basically did all the work- kicking my legs for me and pulling me along. 
The part where she dunked me under water was NOT cool. I looked up to find my Dad so he could come get me the heck out of that pool. 
Dad calls it Camp Eat-a-lot when we visit my Georgia Family... he says that he always eats too much. Mom tells him that the yummy Southern goodness is worth the 5 pound weight gain! 
The best part of the trip was meeting my new girl cousins. Joli is the sweet angel on the left (she is still too young to cause any trouble). Keeley and I connected immediately- I gave her the Heisman... then she pulled my hair... 
and we made up over the sparkly decorative fruit. I see great fun in our future! 
The weekend was all about happy babies! Baby Joli just chilled with her perfect pout and pretty blue eyes, watching all the action around her.
Her big brother is Jakob, my favorite entertainer! He is always ready to crack me up with his funny faces and crazy singing. 
Baby Keeley is just a chubbalicious ball of sweetness.
Her big brother is Colin- my first crush!
Mom says there is a rule at my age to only try one new food every 3 days... but we went directly to the accelerated toddler eating program by tasting some homegrown, homemade strawberry ice cream (loved it),
corn on the cob (got to see it again the next day in my diaper) ,
pickles (don't let my face fool you, I gobbled up 2 of them),
and more cake icing! These people know how to entertain!
We had a cookout that included a little birthday celebration for me. The girls rocked it out in the swing and exersaucer.
The boys got wild in the hot tub.
And Dad and I lived dangerously for a minute.
"Fun" doesn't even begin to describe my weekend. This is how I looked every night!
I can't wait to see them again! 
Happy Anniversary Nana and Papa! They came down last weekend to celebrate their 36 years together (and to see me, of course!). It was great!
Life as a toddler is very exciting! Mom said her head is spinning with all of my new developments in the last month. These days I am taking steps while holding on to things, and practicing my "free stand" (usually while holding my toy out in front of me and making funny faces at it).
My vocabulary is expanding every day with hi, dada, mama, na-na-na (banana), ah-Mo (Elmo and/or Nemo), and of course, the universal screaming-whine-and-point that usually gets me whatever I want.
These are pictures from my school, having fun with my friends. This is my favorite toy... and no, it is not designed for shoving chubby little arms down the chute... but I have my own approach to getting the toy balls. 
Balls, balloons, and mirrors are big favorites. Dad loves to play "catch" with me, and Mom loves to laugh when I look in the mirror and say "Hi!" to myself, even with her small makeup mirror. 
Mom and Dad are grateful that I am finally sleeping through the night- now that I am strong enough to roll over onto my belly in my hip brace at night- I sleep like a baby! Every once in a while I will wake up confused, and push myself up. I can't figure out how to lay back down in my brace, so they have to come help me. So far, so good with this new toddler-hood!
Did I like it? You be the judge!
Not the most well planned activity by Mom and Dad- they didn't expect me to be a cake smashing lunatic. Turns out, destruction is my specialty! 
And it was sooooo yummy! Even Maggie and Moxie were able to enjoy the cake as they licked it off the walls... 
I hope we get to do this every weekend!
It's a big day! We are starting with a party at school with my friends, then tomorrow we are doing THE CAKE... 
Mom says this is really a "Birthday Month", since I am celebrating next weekend with my Nana and Papa, and the weekend after with my Chattanooga Family. We already went to the park for pictures in my birthday dress, then to the toy store, where I picked out my gift. 
Here is a look back at my early days... Can you believe that I am ONE?! 
Mom said that it seems like an eternity since she was waddling into the hospital, nervously anticipating my delivery while Dad admired her cankles. And here I am, transformed from a sweet cuddly blob into a loving, busy little person! 
Mom and Dad are so annoying this week- they keep staring at me with these big cheesy smiles. They are saying things like "Can you believe we survived the first year?" and "Did you ever think you could love something this much?!".
There will be more pictures to come... it's going to be a great weekend!
Mom and Dad think that I make hilarious faces when I am playing with my toys.
It's important for me to FOCUS on the duckies while I bounce them around on the chair.
What?! Now I'm going to throw all the toys out of my basket and watch Mom pick them up.
