Winter Wonderland!

I woke up yesterday morning to almost a FOOT of snow! It hadn't stopped by the time I went to bed last night and we have over 2 feet by now :) Even though I'm not feeling too well, mom and dad let me go out for a little while in it. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but ended up having fun :) The photos of me in the snow are on the other camera, so we'll try to get those posted later.

This photo is from about noon yesterday. The snow was piled up against the front door!


This was the view out on the deck.


Lots has happened in the past month, but mom and dad have been too busy with work and getting ready for the holidays that they just haven't sat down with me to update the blog! They tell me that I will get a visit from Santa next week - I don't know quite what to think of that either, but I think he'll be good to me since I've been a good girl this year. There is a big tree in the living room that has lots of pretty lights and ornaments that I would *love* to play with. Mom and dad tell me I can't play with them, but I do like to point and say "tree."

Will write more later - I want to go play for a while before lunch time!

WE ARE...

PENN STATE!!! I had much more fun at the Penn State football game today than I did at the last one. Perhaps it was because it wasn't raining today or perhaps it was because the game didn't start after my bedtime - regardless, the outcome was just as miserable!

Mom got me up super early yesterday, fed me breakfast, then strapped me in the car. Even though I *really* dislike being tied down for any length of time, it worked out ok - I slept the first half of the trip, then mom sat in the back with me and read books to me and played with me to keep me occupied. Traffic wasn't bad at all and we made it to the parking lot in just over 3 hours. It was an absolutely gorgeous day for a tailgate. With a blanket on the ground, I was able to crawl around a little and made mom and dad take turns walking around with me. I ate a huge turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch :)



After lunch we met up with one of dad's colleagues - the one who was kind enough to get the tickets for us! They had a great tailgate and we walked around a lot there before walking in to the game. I took a quick nap on the way in to the game, but woke up promptly when we got to our seats. There were over 110,000 people there and it was LOUD! This was the 300th game played at Beaver Stadium! Mom and dad also told me that they were there for Joe Pa's 300th game as well when they were in school. Here is the view from our seats.





Mom and dad pointed out Joe Pa to me.



It wasn't a great game, so we left about half way through the 4th quarter. I got changed into my jammies and we got out of the parking lot in about 10 minutes, so it wasn't too bad.

Poor Razzy had to go to the vet last week and has been isolated since Tuesday in a room by herself :( She started limping, but we don't know what happened to her. The vet (Dr. Katz, ha ha) gave her 3 days worth of pain medication - apparently the only pain medication that won't kill a cat and told us to have her "rest" for a week. So she's in the guest room just chilling on the bed. If she's not better by Monday, we have to have her sedated and x-rayed, so we're all hoping it's better by then.

I learned how to say "bye bye" and say it all the time now while waving. That's about all that's new from here. Happy Football day everyone!

Happy Halloween!

I enjoyed my costume much more this year than I did last year :) While I didn't go trick or treating, I got to participate in the Halloween Festival at school. They had a petting zoo, pumpkin patch and a costume parade. I had a blast and even got to take my pumpkin home!

The cow tried to lick me!



I got to pet the goat.



I stood in the "pumpkin patch" for a while, but didn't want to actually pick up a pumpkin.



Later, I got to wear my lion costume and go for a buggy ride around the playground. All the other kids from my room fell asleep, but I powered through.



I love to climb on EVERYTHING these days - couches, stairs, tables, buggy's...



Mom and dad took me to a real pumpkin patch yesterday and I had a really great time. We'll post those pictures shortly, but I told them next year I want to spend more time there - they had a big slide that looked like fun, a pumpkin cannon (dad wanted to try that one), a rubber ducky derby and much more. We were only there long enough to go on the hayride and walk through the pumpkin fields. It was a nice day, though and we all had fun. We stopped and got some pear cider on the way out and I LOVED it. I think it gave me a sugar high, though, because I was up almost 3 hours past my bedtime last night!!!

I'm learning new things all the time and mom and dad can't keep up with me anymore :) I can now feed myself with a fork! I kept grabbing at mom and dad's fork, so they gave me my own to hold and wouldn't you know, I figured out how to stab the food and put it in my mouth. I now eat an entire meal with a fork by myself. I also say kitty very well now, but a lot of other things are still "b." At least I say "mom" now. I walk all over the place now. My new thing is to grab mom or dad's finger and make them walk around with me - I don't *really* need to hold on, but I like to have the company. I have at least 12 teeth now - I won't let mom open my mouth to count exactly how many, but there are definitely at least 5 on the bottom and 7 on the top. That's probably why I've been so cranky lately.

What else? Mom, dad, Jay and Steve all ran the Wolftrap 5K a few weeks ago. It was mom's first 5K and she finished without walking which was her goal. Steve was kind enough to slow down and stick with her, so that kept her going, despite the nasty and unanticipated hills. Dad far exceeded his goal in terms of time - I'm so proud of him! I cheered for all of the runners and got my picture taken with the "Wolfman." The next day, we watched Molly run the Marine Corps Marathon. I was a bit cranky, but I clapped for her every time we saw her (that I wasn't sleeping, at least). She did a great job and we were able to see her 3 times along the way.

Mom made Aunt Terry's macaroni and cheese today and I loved it as much as I did at my birthday party - thanks for the recipe Ter!

I'm sure there's more, but that's all the energy I have for the evening. Take care!

Proof that I can walk :)

Assuming mom taught me how to upload the video correctly (just kidding - assuming she actually figured out how to upload it), here's a short clip of me walking to the kitty (also affectionately known as "b"). Everything is "b" lately.



Mom thinks I need a haircut soon - what do you think? She says it looks like I have a mullet, but I don't know what that is :(

Mom and dad (and Uncle Jay and Uncle Steve) are running a 5K on Saturday, so I get to play with Aunt Molly while they run - huzzah! Then on Sunday, we get to go watch Molly run in the Marine Corps Marathon. Go Molly!!!

I'm officially a walker!

That's right! I've been taking a few steps here and there for well over a month, but when mom picked me up from school on Thursday, I walked from the toy area the whole way across the room to meet her! It's all over now - they won't be able to keep up with me. I already climb up the stairs quite well and am super fast at crawling. I've also learned to say (or imitate as the case may be) "Thank You," "ball" and "Pooh" as in Pooh Bear. I point to the Pooh Bears on my wall and get excited.

It's been really cold and rainy here this week, so mom's been making me wear my new coat and hat. I think it's a little ridiculous, but I guess it's cute enough.



My new favorite toys are a stack of red plastic Solo cups - they keep me entertained for a really long time. That and a pan and spoon - makes so much noise and lets mom make dinner while I bang away. I also love to pull all of the newly folded clothes out of the laundry baskets, which mom says isn't such a big help.

Breakfast time for me! Happy Saturday...

Ready for the White Out!

Even though it was pouring, we were committed to being part of the White Out for the Penn State - Iowa game last weekend. Mom and dad found me a white PSU shirt that was big enough to go over my sweatshirt. Not the greatest photo because we were either in the car or in the rain ALL day, but you get the idea.

I'm a whole year old!

I can't believe mommy hasn't let me update my blog in over a month! We've just been so busy that we haven't had a chance to sit down and update. I'll try to fill in the details of the last month, but of course the most important detail is that my FIRST birthday was last Monday!!! I had a very nice birthday weekend and got to visit with almost all of my family and friends. Aunt Terry came to visit me on Thursday and she got to stay until Sunday. I *almost* said TerTer - she kept telling me that TerTer was easier to say than Laurie. Then Laurie, Dan, Courtney and Kaylee came on Friday after I was in bed. Not long after I got up on Saturday, Grammy and Grampy Clements and Grandma and Grandpa Coble came! My Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Coble and Great Great Aunt Faye came later in the day on Saturday, as did a lot of mommy and daddy's friends. Daddy was kind enough to smoke another couple of pork shoulders for my party and mom made a bunch of cupcakes (yum). Thank you Aunt Terry for suggesting your mac and cheese recipe - even I could eat that (and LOVED it!)

My party was a blast and I hope everyone else had a great time too! Mom and Terry put together these photos to hang on the wall for everyone to see (OK, Terry did all the work, mom just picked out the photos). Eventually, mom will put the pages into a book, but for now they're still hanging up.



My party had a cupcake theme, so mom made a giant cupcake for me and "regular" cupcakes for everyone else. I even had a cupcake dress.



Thank you everyone!!! Everyone was so generous and thoughtful - I think I'm loved :) I was a little overwhelmed opening my gifts, look at this whole table! There's more hiding in the wagon behind mom.



Mommy and daddy got me a wagon - dad had "fun" putting it together for me :)



There was a slight icing malfunction and the icing on the pink cupcakes melted the night before the party, and the icing on my cake started to drip as well. Everyone said it made it look like a Dr. Seuss cake. I wasn't quite sure what to do with the giant cupcake...



I finally decided that picking the pieces of candy out of the icing would be a good idea. Daddy really wanted me to just dig into it, so he showed me how.




I still wasn't so sure about that, so mom cut a piece of the cake off for me to eat. That made it a little more manageable - it reminded me of the Pound Cake that Uncle Jay gave me at Wolftrap! After I had eaten my fill of cake and icing, mom took me straight to the bath tub.




In other news, I had my 12 month well baby visit last week. I'm 19lbs, 15oz and 28.75 inches. Everything is going well and I'm 25%-50% across the board which is consistent (and therefore good). I'm still on track or ahead developmentally. I am almost walking - I've taken 2 steps several times over the past few weeks and can stand up from a sitting position without holding on. I have 8 teeth and 2 more on the way in. I say "daddy," "kitty," "uh-oh," and "dog." I babble "mom" but don't use it consistently. I recognize a few other words, but don't consistently say them. If you ask me where the dog is, I can point to a picture in a book. I'm very vocal now and have a personality all my own.

I also had my follow up appointment with the orthopedist. I had another x-ray and my hips look perfect. He usually follows up at 18 and 24 months, but my hips look so good that he said we could skip the 18 month check and just come back at 24 months if mom is still concerned. I guess that made the 14 weeks of having to wear the harness all worthwhile.

Unfortunately I had the experience of my first Penn State game :( I say unfortunately because they lost miserably to Iowa. It rained the entire day, it was cold, it was an awful football game, and it started at 8pm which is already past my bedtime. Mom ended up sitting with me in the concourse for all but 5 minutes of the game so I didn't get completely soaked. I was so unhappy and just wanted to get down, but mom said she couldn't let me get down and crawl, so I had to say in the carrier. Eventually I fell asleep. I slept until we got back to our hotel, then I woke up and wanted to party for the next hour - I don't think mom and dad were too amused at 2:30 in the morning. On the bright side, our seats are AWESOME! Hopefully I'll get to see more of the Ohio State game in a few weeks. Mom and dad got me a really cute Nittany Lion hat and put a Lion Logo on my cheek - I'll post pictures when we get them off of the camera.

I also want to welcome my new friend to the world!!! Mom's friend Kim had her baby a little early...Daniel Reilly Caughey was born the day after my birthday - he was 6 weeks early, but it sounds like he is doing well. I can't wait to meet Kim, Mike and Daniel!

Bye for now - hope everyone is doing well!