Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a family affair. My sister and her husband flew in from California and a bunch of cousins drove here from New Jersey.

The traditional Thanksgiving meal was good, but being with loved ones is what makes this occasion great.

Molly spent a lot of time with her extended family all week and had a fun time throughout.






Molly got to hang out with her second cousin, AJ. I thought Molly was pretty calm, but AJ is super mellow and not afraid of anyone.






Molly even found time to finish a crossword puzzle.








Later that night, Karen and Ken had us over for more time with grandparents and cousins.

What a fun second Thanksgiving Molly had!

Sweeping

Even a one year old can help out around the house...

Birthday Present

Molly got a birthday present in the mail. The celebration continues...

Thank you Cavallaros!

Happy First Birthday!

Well, it has been quite an adventurous year. The amount of change and new experiences has been staggering. Looking back though this blog shows only the highlights of our time with Molly.

There's always the everyday moments like feedings, naps, and diapers.







There are scary moments like falls and bumps on the head.

Then there are the heartwarming moments that remind us how blessed we are to have her.





There is nothing like what you feel when she runs at you, arms outstretched, or when she learns something new that you taught her.






To everyone that saw us through our first year, thank you. We will be leaning on you for years to come.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Graham Cracker

Watching this came with a realization. This is probably the most boring video ever made - unless you were there when eating a cracker was a near impossibility a few short months ago.

It's funny watching someone grow and develop. The smallest things are great accomplishments.

Outfits

It looks like McKenna and Molly's moms have the same taste in cute outfits.

Don't Wanna Leave

We had a lot of fun at the park. Molly is getting good at going down the slide. She loves to climb and she loves to run around the play area.

She does not like when it's time to go home. Here she is discovering how to "go limp":

Happy Birthday Nancy

Molly's grandma had a birthday party. She received a lot of nice presents, but I think she enjoyed time with the grandchildren even more.

Sleep Eating

After hanging out with Calvin earlier in the day, Molly was pretty tired. It hit her all of a sudden during lunch.

Watching the Kids

I got a chance to watch both Molly and Calvin for a few hours while Kathy and Colleen went out shopping. It was a great time since the kids were in good moods and stayed out of trouble.

Here are the two of them entertaining themselves:



Here are the two of them playing together (sort of):

Smith Halloween

We went over to Kathy and Marc's on Halloween to help pass out candy.






I think Molly was Calvin's first customer.








Calvin was dressed as Chucky from the Child's Play movies, but later changed into a sock monkey.







Molly and Calvin had a lot of fun playing with each other. Especially when we put them on the big chair.







Happy Halloween!

Skull Dress

My cousin Aimee sent Molly this dress which she wore proudly on Halloween.

Zoo Boo

Went to Zoo Boo, the Detroit Zoo's Halloween event. Molly was one of the cutest kids there.










They did a good job at decorating the place. It's not a scary as this picture might suggest.







Molly and Calvin did not like being in their strollers. Calvin made the best of it by offering up some of his Skittles.







Molly finally had some good walking around time.

The sheer number of kids, strollers, and parents was a bit overwhelming, but I guess I'm part of that club now.

We all had a pretty good time and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Frank

She doesn't just dance to rap music:

Playing With Barney

Pumpkins

We picked up a few pumpkins and headed over to Kathy's house to carve them up.







Molly had a great time climbing on the piles of pumpkins.








She finally settled on one that she liked.








She is always interested in what we are doing and decided to help scoop.







Mmm. Squishy pumpkin guts.








This is where we go "Aargh!" and jump to get her hand out of her mouth.







Thanks Kath for letting us make a mess of your dining room. Molly's first pumpkin carving party was super fun!

Blue Jeans

Here's Molly trying out her new dungarees. Walking seems to be a bit of a challenge. I guess even baby jeans need to get broken in.

Don't worry, she didn't hurt herself falling at the end :)

Big Sister

I guess I wasn't being very subtle with that shirt. Yes, Colleen is expecting. The due date is April 29. We are feeling very excited and very terrified.

(Maybe it's just me)




We already know that Molly loves kids. I think she will like having one around.

If she's as good a sister as she is a daughter, the new addition will be well taken care of.

She loves running around the playground:

Yay

Apple Orchard

Kathy, Marc, Calvin, Colleen, Molly, and I went to the Plymouth Orchards for her first cider mill trip. It rained most of the morning, but the sun came out after we got there.






This wasn't the first time she's had apples, but it is her first apple that wasn't a pureed apple-mush.

Molly really enjoys new experiences. There were lots of people to watch, other kids running around, and some farm animals.



Even Calvin wasn't afraid to make new friends.








Those head-hole murals are always fun.

Dancing

Molly dances. She doesn't need music sometimes. She was doing this when I thought it would be fun to grab the video camera and flip on her toy radio (seen in the toy box). The station and song were random. Her reaction was not.

More Walking

I know that this is two "walking" posts in a row, but she's starting to get pretty good at it. She's almost doing more walking than crawling now.

The outfit? Courtesy of yours truly :)

Ten Steps

She has been taking steps pretty regularly now.

Park

Molly loves going to the park. This is proven by the amount of crying that happens when I try to put her back in the stroller.






She's not quite walking, but she is mobile enough to be able to get to the different things to do on this jungle gym.

Play Date

Molly went to hang out with the McDaid and Farah kids. She really likes people her own size. Even if it's just to watch them move around. Of course she will crawl up to them to play as well.

BBQ

The Cognitores had us over for a BBQ. We had a great time and Molly had fun playing with Joseph.






She liked to play with all the toys in the back yard.

Smartie

It is amazing how fast she can figure things out. She knows that the blue button is the secret to opening the baby gate. She will push and pull on the gate and pick at the button to try to get it open.

Zoo

Kathy, Calvin, Colleen, and Molly went to the zoo. They had a pretty good time.






Calvin was able to run around and check out some of the exhibits.







They even ran into a few friends while they were there.








I thought this was a cool pic.