My First Birthday Picnic!

So just a friendly reminder, my birthday is coming up on Thursday! Today (Saturday) I had a party with some of my friends -- it was a picnic at the park. Dad helped me blow out a candle on a yummy fruit tower that Mom stuck together with toothpicks. The adults ate cupcakes, but for some reason I was not allowed to have one...
When we thought everyone had arrived, Mom said, "Hey, let's get a group photo," and we all rushed to the blue blanket -- even my friend who was sleeping on her dad's back. (Of course, one family showed up after the photo anyway.)
My party was actually a joint birthday party with Tayla (far left, standing) and Noah (far right, sitting), who are about one week older than me and one week younger than me, respectively. Their moms and my mom said this event was so successful -- and so easy to put on -- that we're going to have joint birthday parties at the park every year from now on. That's cool. House parties are overrated.
The best thing about having a party at the park is the swings! (P.S. The PT on my shirt stands for my home town, Port Townsend.)
And did I mention that my grandparents are visiting? That makes this an extra special weekend. Here's me and Dad and Grandpa Jim.

OK, Happy Unbirthday to everyone out there, and Happy Birthday to me!!!

My First Big-Boy Shoes

A video is worth a thousand pictures at this point in my life.

Here I am last week (Aug. 12), clumping around in my first pair of hard-soled shoes. Up until then I'd worn nothing but flexible leather slippers (Robeez, made in Vancouver, BC, are my favorite brand), but we had some rain last week and discovered they don't keep out the wet at all. So Mom unearthed a pair of Merrells that Grannie found at a yard sale a while back (they look just like the slip-on shoes Dad keeps by the door, so of course I like them). Mom thought were too big for me, but they fit, in a fashion.

Here's 12 seconds of sheer momentum, carrying me across the floor. Now I can go off-road!

Walking at 11 Months

Well, I'm walking, and the world is a much more accessible place. I can see why humans invented bipedalism.

I have to explain that it's been awhile since either of my parents have been available for me to channel into this blog. My one-year-old birthday is a mere 9 days away at this point, but I've been walking since I was 11 months old. Yep, Mom recorded in my baby book on that day that I took a record eight steps unassisted, and a couple of days after that, I was off and running, as they say.

This little video (25 seconds long) shows my capabilities the day after my 11-mo. birthday. I'm drawn to Dad's guitar-playing out on our deck. It's summer, as you can tell by my minimal attire. Don't miss my guitar solo at the end!