Happy Halloween!

Lily had a great time on Halloween dressed up as a cute little ladybug!

We headed down to Old Town on Saturday afternoon for trick or treating at the stores on King Street. Then, we went to our neighborhood Halloween party and parade. Lily and our neighbor, Will, shared a wagon ride to the parade. They were both too cute!

Lily somehow managed to get by on only one 30-minute nap AND stay up until 8 p.m. Halloween makes a girl too excited to sleep!

A Girl on the Go

Lily loves to walk using her walker. She has about three different ones to choose from, so there's no shortage of opportunities for her to practice! When we get home in the afternoons, we usually take a few minutes to walk on our sidewalk outside. She's really good at it and it's only a matter of time before she's walking all on her own!

No No No and 12 Month Doctor Visit

Lily definitely has an opinion on most things and is learning how to express it. Of course, the usual way is to arch her back and scream her head off when we try to get her to do something that she doesn't want to do. Lately, she has started to tell us in a more calm, civilized manner when she doesn't want something: with a vigorous headshake. It's really cute, if not dizzying (for her.)

We also took Lily today for her 12-month check-up. It was not the most fun trip she's had to the doctor--she got FOUR shots plus a finger stick to test her iron and lead levels (since we live in a 60-year-old house). The test results were both good _ normal and low, respectively. As for her growth, we were not surprised to find that she's a big, big girl (this explains why she wears 18-month clothes!):

Height: 30 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 22 lbs, 8 oz (75th percentile)

To put things in perspective, one year ago, when she was born, she weighed 7 lbs, 7 oz and was 21 inches long.

ONE!

One year ago today, our wonderful Lily made her entrance into the world and life has not been the same since. Being parents has been the most challenging and rewarding experience of our lives and we would not trade a single moment of it with anyone.

Lily, we love you so very much and and so excited about all the things that you will learn and do in the NEXT 12 months of your life. We can't wait!

Beach Baby

We spent the last week at Topsail Beach, NC, with my family. October at the beach is a grab bag of weather. We had 80 degree days and 50 degree days, but overall, a fun time was had by all. Lily got to visit the beach for the first time on a cold, windy day but she still had fun investigating (that means EATING) the sand and picking up shells.

On warmer days, we got to get into the pool and spend some time on the swings.

Since her first birthday is coming up next week, my family threw Lily an early first birthday party complete with balloons, her own cake and lots of presents.

Lily (and her parents) had a great time with the whole family! Here are more pictures from the trip.

Love the Baby

Lily is full of hugs these days, which is the sweetest thing ever. One thing she really loves to hug is her doll, who doesn't really have a name so we just call her Dolly. She'll pick up Dolly and give her a big squeeze. I can hand her any of her other stuffed animals and say, "Love the monkey/bear/Tigger/bunny/baby," and she'll hug them too.

Of course, my favorite is when she hugs me. She is such a sweet girl. We are so lucky!