3 things...

While spending this past rainy Saturday playing indoors, I captured some photos of Kinsley doing three common things these days...

1. Hangin' out with her best bud, Hunter.

2. Letting go of everything...and getting closer to taking her first real steps.

3. Even with her abundance of fun toys, she still loves nothing more than playing with the remote or phone...what can I say, the child just loves pressing buttons!

Blessed to have one happy little girl!

Funny girl

Back when Kinsley was a little over 3 months old, I uploaded a post to our blog called The Many Faces Of Kinsley. It was one of the first times that I really got to capture on camera all of the funny faces that our baby girl was making as her personality really started to emerge.

Well, some things never change. These photos were taken back on her actual birthday, two Friday's ago...all within about a 30-second timeframe. We still laugh about the plethora of expressions that she can give us in such a short period of time...and thankfully, all caught on camera once again.

So here again are a few of The Many Faces of Kinsley...Part II...

"ONE"

This past Friday, March 11th, our little Kinsley turned ONE! A whole year old. It is still hard to believe that 12 months...52 weeks...365 days...have gone by since she let out the most beautiful cry at 5:29pm on 3/11/10. What a year. And for a child who was off to a bit of an unfair start in life, five weeks earlier than expected, she has absolutely blown us away. No more adjusted age for this little girl. No sir. She has 100% "caught-up" in our eyes, and I hope that the doctor tells us that he feels the same way at her 12mo appt tomorrow. So many great things that she is doing these days that keep this house full of laughter and "yay's" from mommy and daddy when she gets-up the courage to try something new, and then succeeds at doing it. These days, it is typical to witness our lil' one doing the following:

• Playing in her new playroom - she is one happy girl when she is playing amongst all of her new toys, in a room designed especially for her and her friends. :)
• Crawling, at what feels like the speed-of-light...one look away, and she is several feet from where we left her.
• Climbing the stairs...with an adult close in tow, of course. Um, baby gate? Yes, please.
• Walking by herself behind her baby-walker, with no assistance needed. I have to admit, I still hold my breathe when she falls, but she gets right back up and keeps on going!
• Clapping her hands when she is happy or excited, and waving both hands to get our attention.
• Talking, in her own language, constantly...we have full-on, long conversations with one another where I am certain that she is trying to tell me a story...and the best is when she is talking loudly - almost shouting - while crawling in her laps around the first floor. Too cute.
• Repeating (usually on-demand) her new favorite saying: "Okay" (which sounds a lot more like "ohh-tay").
• Watching other children...she is so observant of other babies and "big kids"...this child doesn't miss a thing.
• Chewing on anything that she can get her hands on...yes, both top front teeth have officially broken-through!
• Wearing 18-month clothing...this former-preemie that is now 12-months-old barely fits into most of her 12-month clothing. Crazy.
• "Brushing" her own teeth. Well, chewing on the toothbrush is more like it. After mommy scrubs those front 2 1/2 teeth before bathtime, Kinsley gets to take the toothbrush in her hand and have at it. I can already tell that she is going to be one of those children that is going to say, "I can do it myself."
• Grinning from ear-to-ear when we sing her favorite songs: You Are My Sunshine, Good Morning, The Alphabet Song, Splish-Splash, Shall We Dance, I'm a Little Tea Pot, The Hot-Dog Song, and Happy Birthday (we started singing this to her about 2 weeks before her party so she would be familiar with it...but it hasn't let up...I have sung it to her everyday since...)

And speaking of birthdays...Saturday was just the most perfect day, and Kinsley was surrounded by lots of our (and her) local family and friends. There was tons of food and drinks, and the kiddo's got to take full advantage of the new playroom. And God granted me the two things that I prayed for leading up to the weekend: 1. warm, sunny weather in mid-March and 2. that Kinsley wouldn't be sick and/or have an ear infection. Perfect. And everything else was just icing on the cake...and speaking of cake, Kinsley was not a fan...as seen below.

Here are some photos of Kinsley's "Cookout & Cupcakes" 1st Birthday!

******

The "smashcake"...that would somehow escape un-smashed...

********

Her "party outfit"!

********

Playtime with her friends!!!

Kinsley and Leighton - who's also turning 1 in two weeks!

Ahh, brotherly love from Brooks and Carson.

Grabbing a picture during playtime with mommy!

So mischievous...

A visit from her newest friend, Weaver.

Kinsley and Eloise - who's also turning 1 next weekend!

********

Time for cake!

I'm not too sure about this...

Ok, I am NOT loving it...

Aaaand, we're done...

********

The presents!

********

Her keepsake frame of the invitation, signed by everyone (or almost everyone) that attended...it's now hanging in her playroom...a great memory of her 1st birthday.

Happy birthday to you,

Happy birthday to you,

Happy 1st birthday dear Kinsley,

Happy birthday to you!

And many more......

It is officially PLAYTIME!

Over the past couple of weeks, Philip and I have been working diligently on the completion of Kinsley's playroom in the basement as part of our gift to her for her BIG 1st birthday this weekend!!!


For the few years that we have lived in this house, this particular room has sat bare, unused, except for the small rare special occasions where it was converted to a seaside dining area for a dear friend's baby shower, and where it barely fit a huge ping-pong table for our Pool Party Luau two summers ago.


This room has been patiently awaiting its sole purpose in this home...and this weekend, it finally all came together. Welcome to Kinsley's Playroom! A fully functional, child-proof (well, as much as one can be) room that is perfect for family fun, baby's laughter, taking first steps, and lots of memories. The plethora of fun toys that have been arriving in the mail and consuming the trunk of my SUV finally have a permanent place to call home!

These letters were hand-painted and hung in a straight line (thanks to my laser level) by yours truly.

I was so unbelievably happy with how they turned out...and considering how much Kinsley already loves The Alphabet Song, I think she will grow up enjoying them as well! :)

*******

Now, if I could only finalize the remainder of the 1st birthday celebration preparations......