My First Birthday Party

I had such a great birthday! I have learned so much in the past year. Gramma and Grampa Lepard came to visit and so did Aunt Hannah, Uncle Craig and Greta. I got to hang out with Uncle Brad and Aunt Kristin too. We went to the Nature Center and saw wild turkeys, lots of birds (I love birds), an owl, and of course some hungry squirrels. We came back to the house and openned presents and ate birthday cake. The candles were really neat, but I am not so sure about the frosting though. It's kinda sticky in my fingers. The presents were fun to unwrap too. I got some cool new stuff. You should come play with me sometime.




I have learned so much this past year. I am crawling all over the place, wishing I could walk on my own. I love to walk around holding onto Mom or Dad. I can walk behind my red wagon outside pretty well. I guess when the weather wams up, I will get even more practice. I know a little bit of sign language and can sign "please" and "more" and "play". I can say "Dada" and "Hi". I am still working a little on "Mommy." I love to be silly and to have my parents chase me, to play ball with them, wrestle with Lucy and watch them play catch with Lucy. My cousin, Greta, and I can make each other laugh. And of course, I just love music! I play a mean harmonica and whistle. You should see the dance moves I have to the radio. I am a real dancing machine.

Macabe the Babe

Wow! We can hardly believe it has been 11 months already. Where does the time go? We have had such fun times together. Aunt Hannah and cousin Greta came up to visit us last week and we had a grand 'ole time giggling and playing together. She can sit up on her own now too. And I promised not to steal the pacifier right out of her mouth this time, so she was a little happier with me. We're going to be such good buds. Most of our pictures together were taken with Aunt Hannah's fancy camera, so you'll have to wait to see some of those.

This week I have learned a bit about medical procedures and spent plenty of time just cuddling with Mom and Dad. I had surgery to open my tear duct and then came down with the flu the next day. Mom and Dad felt oh so sad for me. I bounced back pretty quickly from the anesthesia, even though I wasn't very happy at first. But then again, who likes it when they wake up from that stuff!?! I will give you three guesses which eye they fixed! I bet you only need one though (and you better not need three because I only have two eyes, silly).

Jumping Bean

Whew! This Johnny Jump-Up sure wears me out! I just bounce and bounce until my legs won't bounce anymore. Mom wasn't quite quick enough this morning to catch me before I fell asleep. I guess it's just been a busy and exhausting week. I have been busy cheering on Hope College basketball to beat Calvin, learning to drink from a straw and even learning to play my new harmonica. No wonder I was sleepy. But, as usual, I woke up ready to move and immediately began jumping again. Look out, because I am always on the move!

Snow Motion

I woke up to find we had lots of snow while I was sleeping last night. It was the big fluffy kind that sticks to the trees and was soo pretty. Mom rigged up the sled just for me. She bundled me in one of the sweaters Gramma Lepard made for me then put me in my coat and plopped me in the clothes basket with a blanket. The basket was tied onto the old track sled from Gramma and Grampa. I love being pulled around outside, no matter the season.

A New Year and New Adventures

Christmas was such a fun day as a family. It was full of family, laughing, wrapping paper to crinkle and new toys. Did I mention the fun of wrapping paper? Santa even found all of us while we were down in Atlanta, visiting Grammy and GrampS. It was a long drive down, but everyone did really well. (Well, the Suburban didn't do as well, but we found a new one to take home!) Then we made a long trek back to Michigan to see Gramma and Grampa Lepard and the gang. Those cousins are so crazy.

Now I am busy working on pulling myself up. I have finally mastered the "Army Crawl" and I am quite proficient at it. Stay tuned for more updates!

Ho Ho Ho!

What a fun day at the Santa House! Midland has such a great place to visit Santa. It's like a great toy land with a dozen trains going around. There was so much to see, and it even snowed inside.

The Farmer in the Dell

I love playing with my new farm! My friend Mitch gave it to me because he doesn't use it anymore. My favorite part is to play with the windows that open and close. I also like to try and pull the fences off because they make a cool sound when I knock them together. Once in a while I get so into it that I tip over and pull the whole barn over top of me like a blanket. Wanna come over and play farm with me? I also have a farmer and tractor, some sheep, horses, cows and piggies!