Nearly a Toddler

Well, daddy, today Simone is officially 10 months old. And we are entering a new realm--she is fully mobile, and much more independent, curious, and determined (aka stubborn) than ever before. The past week has seen her first tiny steps--very exciting-- and a whole slew of tantrums. I think she is turning into a toddler faster than we expected.

As I've mentioned, she is completely finished with baby food, and she KNOWS what she likes, what she doesn't, as well as when she wants it and when she doesn't. AND, she always reserves the right to change her mind. Waffles for example...

Also, notice the absolutely crazy little patch of hair. hehehee!!

And here's just a sample of the tantrums I mentioned. This particular one was a result of me telling her she could not eat my magazine. Clearly, she understands, but does not like to hear the word "no."

Aunties Christel and Wendy were here to visit un on Sunday. Let's just say, they're a bad, bad influence... hahahahaa!

I'll Be Walking Soon

Ok, I've told you that it seems like Simone learns so fast--like one minute she can't do something, and then bam, the next she can. Well, last night I took this video of her trying to walk while holding my hand (I know it's hard to watch, I was trying to hold the camera and Simone's hand) . She was very awkward and wobbly.

I come home TODAY and my mom says, "Look what she can do now..."

Literally overnight, such a huge difference...

And then finally, it's not all fun and games, giggles and smiles. We have lots of this too... Here she is "trapped" under the table.

Just A Typical Sunday Night...

As I've told you, Simone pulls herself up on everything these days--stable or not.
Exhibit A (before)...

Exhibit B (after)...

OK... ready for this? I FINALLY captured it. If you can get audio, you will hear her saying "Da da" in this clip of tonight's bath--which she now takes upstairs in the bathroom. She says it ALL the time(much louder and longer than I was able to catch here on camera). Like in the car on the way home today, she sat in her seat repeating da da da da da as we drove...

4th of July

Well, despite our holiday appropriate red, white, and blue attire, Independence Day was a wash out. It rained nearly all day, forcing us to stay on the porch or indoors. When the sun broke for about an hour, we took a quick wagon ride...






















Simone practiced standing up without holding on to anything. She's getting really good at it, see...



































She also discovered swings, and couldn't get enough of it. Too bad we don't have a tree large enough to hang a swing for her at home.

Peterson Wedding

Aaron and Tiffiny's wedding was absolutely beautiful, and Simone was an angel. It was a very busy day. We arrived at Meadowlark Gardens at 3:30 and got Simone dressed in the ladies room--in her frilly pink, white, and green dress--complete with pink hair bow. (Don't tell, I may be biased, but I think she was the best dressed guest there!) She's waving "hi" to you, daddy!





The ceremony began about 4:00, was outside, and lasted about 30 minutes.











Jumping the broom...

Then we headed inside for the cocktail hour and dinner. The food was wonderful.

The tables were gorgeous (as were the bride and groom.) The little gold boxes on the tables were the cookies we made.

The excitement was alot for Simone to handle. She took a nap while we ate dinner, perfect timing!

She wakes up slowly, so she was pretty groggy during her dinner. We're not sure exactly who this lady is, but she liked Simone alot and asked to hold her.





Posing with the groom...

Last, but not least the cake. All three layers were a different flavor. We got the red velvet layer.

I have a few video clips but the connection is too slow right now to upload. I'll add them later. OK, here they are...