1st Birthday Party

It is hard to believe that its already time to celebrate our baby turning 1. We had Henley's 1st birthday party this past weekend. Family from both sides celebrated with us and showered Henley with gifts. April did a fabulous job with the decorations and had 2 special cakes and cupcakes made. Henley had her own matching "smash cake". In true princess fashion, Henley had 3 outfits that she mixed in throughout the day. It was a great day and Henley loved the attention.

11 Months

Henley is now 11 months old. Wow, how time flies. I can't believe my baby is almost a year old. Her personality is really starting to come out. She is such a happy girl unless she misses a nap or is hungry, which she gets honest. ;-) April and I have both have commented how she is no longer a baby anymore but a little girl. She loves music and to dance. She will jibber jabber, and laugh, and point, and get into everything. She has even figured out how to start the iPod (music) from the home screen on our iPhones. These moments are so much fun and we are soaking up every minute.

She now has 3 teeth, 1 on the top and 2 on the bottom. It looks likes a 2nd top tooth has started to come through as well. She is doing excellent with her walking. She can walk from one end of our house to the other end without any help. In fact, because she is walking so well, today was probably her last day in the "baby nursery" at church. She is ready to move up to the 1 year old room...a month early - (tear from Mom).

We are excited to celebrate her 1st birthday next month. We are so proud of her and can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us.

Beach Trip

2 weeks ago, we headed to Topsail Beach for vacation with our friends, Andy, Lisa and their 2 month old baby Andrew. We had such a great time. The weather was awesome and we got to enjoy just hanging out with the kids. Henley was fascinated with Andrew and wanted to be involved in everything he was doing. They were so sweet together. We are already joking that they are boyfriend and girlfriend.

Henley loved the water especially the pool. It took her a bit to warm up to the ocean. But after a while she enjoyed playing in both. She was so cute in her little swimsuits. It was a perfect week and we look forward to many trips back.

Walking around

10 Months

We have been on the move the past few weeks! Last weekend we visited Georgia and got to spend time with Gigi, Papa, Auntie A and Uncle J. We had a great time and the girls were able to attend Amanda and baby Kate's shower. We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet our little niece.

Henley is now 10 months old and growing like crazy. She weighs 22 lbs and is more observant than ever. Her favorite toys are books and she will entertain herself by flipping through the pages all on her own. She has also learned to point at what she wants which is both good and bad. :-) She can pretty much eat anything we eat now and is drinking very well out of a sippy cup. She has actually started wanting/trying to drink out of a real cup which often ends up being a mess. She is now walking everywhere and is into everything. It is amazing how quickly she went from stumbling around to walking without any help in just a matter of days.

We love you Henley so much and are so proud of you.

Shoes and Steps

At 10 months, Henley is now officially taking steps on her own. Two Saturdays ago, she took her first steps, just a couple of shuffles. Now she is taking 3, 4, 5 steps at once, all on her own. Such a big girl! So of course, to go with all that walking Mommy had to buy her some stylish shoes! :-)

And she is now officially into everything. She loves to open the kitchen cabinets and pull everything out. Once she empties one cabinet, she moves on to the next. I guess the game is to empty it out, not to play with the stuff.

She is now eating more finger foods like cooked apples, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes and squash. She always wants to feed herself and does not need help -- or so she tells us!

My baby is growing up so fast. The highlight of my day is when I come home from work, she will immediately look at me, get a big grin on her face, start to wave and say da-da. And then just laugh. Oh...it doesn't get any better than that!