Winnie and I road tripped on Tuesday to visit my Aunt Patsy and Uncle Chuck. They are my favorite relatives! (I don't have that many that I know) My Aunt Patsy is hilarious and smart and an amazing cook.  She is a retired English teacher and knows every detail about our family history. I wish I could be just like her some day. My Uncle Chuck is equally funny and so thoughtful and caring and has tons of great stories. I want Winnie to grow up being close to them. So we made the 3 hour drive to their beautiful home in Willow Springs. We had lunch upon arrival, then headed out to see Patsy's chicks, hens, and the evil rooster.

We were so lucky to have Mark and Kara here for the weekend! Winnie really likes them, which is good, because Andy and I are quite fond of the soon-to-be Poshaks. This is such a great picture--Andy and I don't fancy ourselves photogenic, and we always joke that other couples look way better with Winnie (they can rival her cuteness). We'll just add this one to the pile. Thanks for the visit Kara and Mark!

We REALLY want Winnie walking before her little brother comes. So, she's been in rigorous training these past couple weeks. It's funny, because she can stand alone, she just rarely chooses to. She and Andy have this game where she stands in front of him, then collapses onto him. I think it's hindering her desire to walk, but really furthering her desire to play with Daddy. I am enjoying watching her crawl around (while she still does it!) but am looking forward to seeing her tooting around on those legs! Everyone keeps saying that we will not want her walking once she starts, but people said that about crawling, too. The crawling really helped Winnie be a lot happier and in control of her surroundings, which we love. So I say, "Bring it on!" This picture is her walking with Aaron in the famous "I'm only holding on with one hand" move that we are phasing into. So cute!

Andy came home early on Thursday as a surprise so that we could all go to the Zoo. Unfortunately, the Zoo closes at 5:00, which is when we arrived. So we went to Art Hill instead, and had a photo shoot. Winnie hasn't had much experience with grass. At first, she held her arms up in this pained way, like the grass was too scratchy (second photo). But once she figured out that it was okay, she was crawling all over the place!

/am

You can't imagine how happy I was to witness what happened a couple days ago. I'm all about Winnie being independent and being in charge of little aspects of her world. I heard some rustling around her snack/food cabinet and went to check it out. (Puddy, of course, did as well...he's always hoping for a handout) Winnie found her container of Puffs, opened them up, used her chubby little hands to get a handfull, ate them, put the lid back on, put the container back in the cabinet, and shut the door. That makes Mommy very happy! I caught a photo of the middle of the process...I wish I'd made a video!

This girl is all about playing.  She loves Gymboree class, being tossed around by Daddy, swinging, chasing Puddy with Daddy...anything active and wild causes squeals of delight.  She and I went to Lafayette Park yesterday while we were waiting to pick Puddy up from the groomer.  We were swinging, climbing, sliding, crawling, jumping...even pregnant Mommy was in on the action.  She threw a fit when it was time to get back into the stroller and was inconsolable when I was putting her into her car seat.  I am so excited for summer when we will be able to stay outside more!  These are just all my favorite pictures from the afternoon.

Here are some shots of Winnie in her Easter dress. The Easter Bunny brought her a xylophone (Plan Toys...we are huge fans of this amazing company) that was perfect for our little drummer who has made a musical instrument of most things in our home. And the picture with Daddy is taken in front of one of Grandpa's beautiful trees in their backyard.

Now that Winnie is a year old, and now that she is old enough to keep up with a purse and its contents, I figured she's old enough to start feeding herself (Jaimie would be so proud). We are working on a lot of big girl stuff lately. She's finally gotten the whole sippy cup business, she's eating more foods, and this morning...she fed herself applesauce for breakfast. I, of course, was so proud of her skills and couldn't care less about the mess she was making on an already rushed Easter morning Sunday. Having a baby has worked wonders on my clean-freak tendencies and compulsive needs for cleanliness.

Winnie got this purse for her birthday from the Reinbergs, and she is not letting it leave her shoulder.  I was just telling Aaron how I don't even understand how she knows that a purse even goes on her shoulder!  It's hilarious to watch it all: when the cell phone falls out, she stops to put it in...if it slides off her shoulder, she stops to readjust.  Well, this morning, she needed to move TWO barstools at a time, but obviously couldn't perform the task without her purse with her.  Be patient watching the video...it's long, but it's cute.  And I wish that it were not of the back of her head, but she will not let me film her lately. 

Winifred Gray is now a year old. I can't believe it. I keep tearing up when I think about how fast the time has flown by. Andy made up this ridiculous song on Sunday... the lyrics were "one down, 17 more to go." I hate that! It's going by at a rate that I do not approve of. I can't believe that 365 days ago, she came bursting forth, helpless from my belly, and right now, she is trying to cram her cell phone and puzzle pieces into her new purse Al got her for her birthday. I want to keep her a baby forever. We think that Winnie is just terrific and amazing and hilarious and beautiful, and we are so thankful that God gave us THIS little girl. She is perfect for us. I love her so much!

Winnie turned one on Sunday, and we celebrated the landmark with a little party.  During the day before the party, she "helped" Daddy put together her red wagon, so she got her present from us a little early.