One in the Books

It's hard to believe it's been a year already. Seems like just yesterday that the swaddle was in full force and I was sleeping 20 hours a day. Time flies! Now I'm crawling at a hundred miles an hour, pulling up, and talking up a storm (though no one seems to be able to get what I'm trying to say). Mommy and Daddy have been frantically preparing for my party, which I will neither understand nor appreciate, though it will be good to see family and family friends.

So what have I been up to you ask? Let's get started.

Though my massive cheeks are both pinch-able and adorable, I get the feeling their cuteness has a life span; at some point the baby fat will have to go. To that end, I've developed my own patented workout routine. Here you can see I'm working up quite a sweat:

The other part of my in-house gym is the crawling obstacle course:

I'm a mover and a shaker. You might think I'm quietly playing with something in the other room, but don't get too comfortable. I'm like a ninja; when you're not even suspecting it you look down and...BAM! There I am.

Inventing award winning workout routines is just one of my passions. I also enjoy coming up with new games. This one's called, "Spoon Mouth." It's simple to play, and I'm a champ:

When I'm feeling a little more relaxed, sometimes we go to the park and just chill:

Swinging is one of my favorite past times. I've thought about getting into competitive swinging, but right now I'm trying to keep myself free to spend more time with my family.

Since my talking isn't quite where I'd like it to be, I prefer to communicate textually:

In honor of my first birthday, here's a video that shows why the childcare workers at church call me giggles:

And finally, here's a hidden bonus called "guess who's crazy".

--McKinley

8-Month Update

Now that I'm 8 and a half months old, thing are getting pretty darn exciting. It seems every day is filled with new adventures. There are interesting things to grab, chew, bang on, try to fit in my mouth, etcetera. Here are just a few of my recent happenings.

Playing is totally my thing. Toys must be present at all times. Despite my best efforts, I have not yet mastered my fine motor skills, as evidenced by the following:
Perhaps you have noticed that it is winter outside. Since I am totally an outdoor kinda girl, having the proper attire for our excursions is a must. Recently I've been sporting this sweet little getup: Yes, that is awesome. It gets even awesomer when placed against its predecessor, which mommy and daddy naively tried to pull over on me. I call it the pink nightmare: I definitely won that argument. In fact, we all won. Win-win-win. [Apologies to the friend/family member/acquaintance/ex-friend who pawned that disaster off on mommy]. Other things I'm into:

• Chewing on stuff

• Really wanting to crawl but only going backwards

• Bath Time (a.k.a. chewing on stuff when wet)

Before you go, here's a bonus: This is my video Valentine's Day greeting. I was trying to say hello, but got so excited nothing came out: --McKinley

Favorite Toy

I've learned that being born into this family means several things:

• We celebrate Christmas
• We celebrate multiple Christmases
• We celebrate at least two of those Christmases long before actual Christmas

Having now attended two family gift-exchanging festivities, quite the bounty came my way. There were thoughtful gifts that I will value more as I age (grandpa gave me stock...I keep a close watch on the Dow), practical gifts like my new "Crazy About Daddy" shirt, and downright fun gifts like the alphabet block set. But here I am playing with my favorite gift of all: Pretty sweet. --McKinley

Me and Miss Erin

A few weeks ago Mommy and Daddy set up a little six month photo shoot with Miss Erin Duggin (she's an awesome photographer, and we highly recommend her for any photo shoots you might have in mind: www.erinduggin.com). Here's a sampling of the awesomeness that ensued.

I call this one "Dueling Hats." The purple one won. This is the new cover shot on my modeling portfolio: Gratuitous cheek shot: Of course there had to be a few Christmas looks in there: Yes, yes I am... This was a real tease--I thought we were vacation bound. I've only got so much fuel in the tank, and the needle was getting a little low toward the end. --McKinley

New Best Friend

Recently I've met a new best friend. I've named her M'Binley. We're going to be BFF for sure. Here's us playing: --McKinley

Flurry of Updates: Pt. 3: Skills

Recently I've acquired lots of new skills. From most fun to most mundane, here are some videos: #1. Eating (I've got this one down pat) Yup, step 1: laugh or yell; step 2: insert food; step 3: spit it out; step 4: repeat. Done.

#2. Rolling (step 1: throw your head to the side; step 2: let your body fall that way; step 3: get someone to turn you back over) #3. Sitting Up. As you can tell by this picture, this one is my forté: Here's a video from my early training days: #4. Laughing Like a Crazy Person for No Reason at All: --McKinley

Flurry of Updates: Pt. 2: Halloween and Late Fall

Fall may be nearly over, but the leaves just keep on fallin'. I strapped on my work boots and did all I could to help Mommy and Daddy pick up all the leaves. Personally, I think I was a big help. Though it's past Thanksgiving (which was great, by the way--I tried some mashed potatoes and a hint of gravy, which I promptly rejected), I never got to share with you my Halloween outfit: Yep, a Pea in a Pod. Pretty frightening, eh? Needless to say, I was able to scare all the other neighborhood kids with that get-up. For trick-or-treating I also had a joke that went like this: "wanna hear a joke...The Rams." Pretty good. It also works if instead of "Rams" you insert the name of any professional sports team from Kansas City. Recently Mommy and I had the chance to hang out with Ms. Katie and my friend Sophie. Sophie is, like, way older than me, but once I'm able to master my fine motor skills, I'm thinking we'll be able to play like champs. And I can't add anything more to this: I believe it's Peruvian. --McKinley