Pearl's One Today!

We thought we'd take a look back over the year and marvel in disbelief over how quickly we arrived at One Year when Day One seemed like just yesterday. It has been the most exciting and joy filled year of our lives and we can't wait to see what Pearl has in store for us in her next year.

Pearl wore this same onesie on her birthday today. Amazingly it still fit her!

Some of the first hints at a smile from Pearl

That pacifier is almost as big as her face!

A lot of naps were had in those early days. I miss the naps....

I think this look came in response to the U.S. hockey team scoring a goal against Canada in the Olympic finals during the last few seconds of the game.

These shots were all taken around Pearl's third month. There's a hint of chipmunk cheeks here.

Some shots taken at daycare with her buddy


Around March and April (4 and 5 months old) Pearl became much more interested in the world around her and much more expressive, and with the Wisconsin thaw happening at the same time, it was great timing to get out and about outside more with her so she could explore. She took her first big plane trip to Walla Walla to meet her cousins and aunties. Around this time she also became really vocal.

We went to a Pirate fest in Port Washington in late spring with Pearl and got rained on. She found the whole event peculiar. Lots of fun people watching though.

By May Pearl was sitting up more, though still getting used to balancing her body. Here you can see she is trying really hard to stay upright.

Flying Lessons

June brought warmer weather and a visit from Ken's Parents. We spent a few days in Chicago exploring the city. Pearl met a friendly bird at the Chicago Botanical Gardens.

In June Pearl was 7 months old. She smiled all the time, and was very interested in discovering new things by putting them in her mouth. She started eating solid foods at this time too and was receptive to most anything we fed her.

Summer was hot and sticky in Wisconsin, Pearl and Ilford bonded a bit more and he even let her get close enough to pet him a few times. He was probably too hot and tired to fight back now that I think about it.

Taking a nap on a warm summer afternoon.

At 8 and 9 months Pearl was a lot more confident and could sit up by herself. She could also pull up to stand if holding someone's hands. She was really a social butterfly at this age. Went for visits to Vancouver and Washington State in August and she had more fun with family.

At 10 months Pearl was clapping her hands and laughing a lot. She discovered how to climb stairs and her favorite thing to do was to climb up the loft in her daycare room. Picking leaves, flowers and grass were also favorite activities. At this time she discovered crawling and her world expanded greatly. Her new favorite rooms were the kitchen and bathroom.

And now she's One! We're happy that Pearl has reached this major milestone and we will look back fondly on the first year with her, but look forward to the fun to come. She enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream for her birthday. Not a huge fan of the frosting but she did eat the cake. And definitely enjoyed to the post cupcake bottle!

Happy Birthday Peanut!