First Pair of Big Girl Shoes

We are having a very, very mild winter in Memphis. No complaints here but it is to warm to wear our Uggs everyday....so after story time this morning Elizabeth Magee and I headed over to Cotton Tails to purchase her first pair of "real" shoes.....she wasn't sure about them at first but after about 10 minutes she was very proud of them.....watch out Daddy...your budget now has to buy two girls shoes :)

Birthday

Where did a year go? We've been blessed with a full 365 days of this bundle of joy...she's changing by the day and it's been such a rewarding experience being a mother for a year!

Trying to figure out her parents....it didn't take her long.....Elizabeth Magee has both of us figured out and wrapped around her little finger!

Elizabeth Magee showing off her 8 teeth and her ability to swing. The swing is one of our favorite toys. If she sees it out the window, she starts grunting and kicking her legs......her favorite is for Oliver to push her and her pretend to kick him in the face....he's real dramatic and falls back and makes a noise....Elizabeth Magee loves it and laughs and laughs.
First birthday present from us! We've already tracked about 2 miles in this thing (whose surprised)? Favorite feature is the cup holder. Elizabeth Magee put her cup in, takes in out, and back in....over and over..

Siggi came and took us to a fun birthday lunch at our neighborhood eatery (and bike shop that serves gelato)...we shared a gelato and it's save to say that Elizabeth Magee loves chocolate as much as her mama and grandmama!

All smiles for the camera this morning........she thinks it is really funny when I put anything on my head!
Not so funny when the hat is on her head!
Until Ms. Rachael gave her an early present....birthday oreos for breakfast are ALMOST as good a blueberries!
Her smile is so beautiful! She lights up and gives us this smile a lot.....it makes my day.
Do you think the other children will make fun of her BIG eyes? You can get lost in them.......you should see how big they get when she's scared!
At one, I'm still her only favorite.....I'll take it for every day I can get it....she'll grow up soon enough on her own!!!

51 Weeks TODAY

51 Weeks today. Oh my...almost birthday time at our house. Elizabeth Magee pulled herself up on the coffee table yesterday afternoon for the first time. This picture was taken a few seconds later. She is changing SO quickly...it's really amazing. She can now say "Mama" "Daddy" and "Bye bye"....she also says "bye bye" for hello.....she can point out the light, head, nose, toes and loves to brush her hair and teeth......she has no interest in sippy cups (or juice) and loves blueberries more than any other food -- even cookies. I cannot believe she's about to be ONE.....
This is the way she sleeps....every nap and all night long. She's a good night time sleeper and a sometime a good napper...but those aren't nearly as consistent...she still takes two naps a day! Notice the book in the bed....she loves to "read" herself to sleep and she prefers a new book every day or two!

On another note, do you like my new vases? Kroger. $7.99 each. And they make the house smell wonderful!

We are now completely off baby food. It's a little harder to make sure Elizabeth Magee eats healthy because if it was up to her she'd eat blueberries three meals a day. This weekend I made whole wheat pumpkin muffins and whole wheat carrot pancakes. She liked both....she had one helping for breakfast Saturday and another on Sunday...I froze the rest so that I can pull them out on weekday mornings.....here's the recipe for the pancakes:

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

2 t. baking powder

1.4 t. baking soda

1 and 1/4 cups milk

2 T. canola oil

2-3 carrots

Blend carrots, milk, 1/2 t. nutmeg and 1/2 t. cinnamon until there are no chunks.

Stir carrot mixture with all other ingredients and cook on hot griddle.

Elizabeth Magee has Friends!

It has hit me TODAY that Elizabeth Magee has real friends. It is a slow realization that really started this past weekend. This weekend we went to Greenwood for a cousins birthday party and spent all day with cousins. Elizabeth Magee is the youngest...the oldest cousins are twins and they are 5. At Christmas, Elizabeth Magee really didn't have much interest in her cousins...but a month later...they are something special! Her favorite part of the weekend was pulling her highchair up the children's table for dinner.

I think Olivia may be her favorite......she seems to think she's pretty cool (even though she looks a little scared in this picture)
Then today, I got a text from Virginia's mom that said they drove by our house today and she point out that "there's Elizabeth Magee's house" and Virginia replied "Gee! Gee!" ....a little later at home Virginia started whining and when her mama asked what wrong she ran to the door and said "Gee! Gee!"....

And of course, Thomas and Elizabeth Magee have been excited to see each other for a few months but I've noticed this week they are playing together even more.....he's starting to crawl and it looks like he will walk before she does....

Boycotting Valentines

Oliver sent me these pretty flowers today at work. I absolutely love getting flowers at work (or anywhere else)....makes a girl feel special! This is the SEVENTH year in a row we have not celebrated Valentines Day. My friend May appropriately described my flowers as, "Oliver continuing his tradition of boycotting Valentines." Oliver thinks that Valentines is a commercial holiday and should be avoided at all costs....even at the cost of sending flowers the week before so he doesn't get in trouble :) Yesterday at story time, Elizabeth Magee "made him" a Valentine....I don't have a picture but it was pretty funny. I've asked Oliver if he was going to recognize Valentine's Day with Elizabeth Magee and he said YES.....so maybe there is hope for future Valentines!

Ground Hog Lied

I'm pretty sure the Ground Log lied this morning. It's 70 degrees in Memphis -- sure doesn't feel like 6 more weeks of winter!