Happy Birthday, Madeline!!!

Madeline's first birthday was Sunday, June 20. It was also Father's Day, which made both extra special. We can't believe our darling baby girl is already a 1-year-old! She's toddling all around, too - she's accomplished so much in such a short time! Her vocabulary is ever-expanding, she understands so much and she's developing a keen sense of humor along with her amazing personality. Here she is birthday morning looking like she has something to say:

Here she is after getting dressed in her birthday onesie, ponytail and cupcake clippie looking a little more civilized:

And just before we headed out on our morning walk looking very cool as always:

BallBall

Madeline has lots of balls and plays with them all more regularly. This clip features her taggies ball, which is lightweight, colorful, and has little tags sticking out for easy handling, though she's always preferred the actual tag to the decorative ones. As you can see she's really good at tossing and catching. With all this ball play, she's learned to say "ball," though for some reason she usually prefers to say "ball ball" like in this clip from June 8.

New Park Swing

A new park opened nearby and we like to duck down so Madeline can jump on the baby swing. While she's swinging, she likes to look around at all the park activity and other little kids running around. In fact, a few weeks ago on our way to the swings, we went past a lady who was walking 2 dogs and told them to "say hi" to a little girl who wanted to pet them. Madeline heard "say hi" and started waving in their general direction. It was so cute.

Lion with 1 hand

Madeline handles her push lion with great dexterity. Here she goes with one hand holding lion and the other bringing Daddy along for the ride. This is from just a few minutes before getting ready for bed, so that's why her hair's down.

Here she wields a sippy straw cup and pushes at the same time. No problem.

Jiapers

These would be an example of the new Huggies baby diapers printed to look like denim. I call them "jiapers" which is of course "jeans diapers." As you can see, they're basically baby "jorts." This was a complete novelty, and we had to give them a try. Poor baby. To be fair, they probably keep her very cool as temperatures go over 90 and she doesn't have to put on more layers.

In case you missed it, the fun commercial is here, so you can see I really had no choice in getting these.

Mirror Kisses

Madeline has always enjoyed her reflection. She also loves to say "baby" and often kisses babies she sees in books or even on jars of baby food. She is so so sweet. Here she has fun with this baby in the mirror. You'll notice Madeline's hair is getting longer... trying to find the best solution. This do is hard to fix, plus it looks a little too Cindy Lou Who.

Mobility

Madeline's been working on her mobility all her life. She actually took her first step May 28, but it's been hard capturing it on film. (We did, though... that's posting later!) Here she is working her way around an ottoman with great excitement. This one is from May 21 just a week before those first steps. (We know... we've got some catching up to do!!)