Anna is… get this… hungry! Finally! I’ve been waiting for this for months. She’s starting to eat a pretty good variety of things and eat pretty well. I think her recent encounter with barbecue clued her in to the fact that there’s some really tasty food out there to be had.

I’m realizing I’m going to have to change the way I plan our meals. Up until now, I’ve fixed Anna a bowl of yogurt/cereal for dinner, then just offered her a few bites of whatever we’re having, knowing she probably wouldn’t have much to do with it. But now she’s eating our dinner! I’ll have to shift my thinking a bit and actually prepare enough for her too. No more cooking a casserole that serves six and eating it for three nights; it will probably only last two now, with a little leftover.

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Wow, Anna’s having a big weekend of outdoor activity! Today we went to the Soaring Wings Ranch appreciation day. They had lunch, tours of the campus, and stuff for the kids like pony rides and one of those big bouncy things. We took Anna over so she could watch the ponies and pat one, and the owner offered to let me ride on one with her! She liked it!

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We took Anna to Laurel Park this afternoon to play. She’s been there before, but she was too little to do anything but sit in her stroller. This time was the first time we took her just for her, so she could play and have fun. And she did! She was all smiles the whole time! First we put her in the swing, then we let her climb around on the equipment and go down the slides with us, then back to the swing, then all the after-school kids showed up and Anna just watched everybody for a few minutes, then we headed home for a nap.

Every stage of this kid thing is fun—I loved the baby stage and I’ll miss it, but we’re going to have a blast playing at the park and doing all the new fun things she’s old enough to do now!

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I know most of you don’t know this child, but this is my niece singing and playing the guitar mandolin with her daddy and it is sooooo precious and I just had to share. :)

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Happy Easter from the Felios! Unfortunately it was not a day to take pictures outside, but we still got some cute ones I think. The dress is cousin Addie’s, as are the shoes, and sweater… I think at least the socks are ours…

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Goodness, I’ve really slowed down on the picture-taking; it’s been almost 2 weeks. So here’s one. Isn’t she cute?

Yep, she is.

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Anna isn’t quite walking, but she’s close! The past couple of days, she has dared to stand unassisted for several seconds, and this morning she actually took two or three quick steps before tumbling over. The look on her face is priceless—she’s so proud of herself! Isn’t it funny how babies just know when they’ve done something great?

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This is just too cute! Anna loves her bongo drums on loan from cousin Addie! (You may have to turn your volume up a little bit to hear it.)

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Well, this is it… the last in the series of month-birthday photo shoots and blog posts. Anna is 1 whole year old today! What a year it’s been. Yes, it has gone by just as fast as everybody said it would. From the moment we brought her home, I had this sense that “the clock is ticking” and her little baby stage was disappearing before my eyes. But even though the time has flown by, I can honestly say I have no regrets. I am incredibly blessed to be able to stay home with her and have spent most of my time with her. I’ve taken lots of pictures and have recorded her milestones and notable moments on my blog. We’ve gone on outings, read books, sung songs, played games, snuggled sweetly… and you know what? It still went by fast! There’s nothing you can do to stop the clock, so you just have to soak up as much as you can.

I think one of the most enjoyable things about Anna has been her wonderful smile. She smiled early, and from the time she was just a few weeks old, everyone said she was the smiliest (is that a word?) baby they’d ever seen. She would flash smiles at friends and strangers alike—anyone who would make eye contact with her. She’s such a joy!

Here are a few pictures from today. The first few are from the library, where we went this morning for story time and play time.

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My baby girl is turning 1! We had her birthday party yesterday out at my parents’ house. My parents, David’s parents, my brother and his family, and Anna’s godparents and god-grandmother were all there. Anna was in a great mood and had plenty of those wonderful Anna-smiles to go around.

And thank you, Jenny, for letting us borrow your DSLR camera for the day!

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