Gloria is One Cool Cat

There she is! G is one cool cat.

Whatever her brothers do she will get in on that.

Of course, she can also hold her own.

Playing, painting or pounding an ice cream cone.

The Cake

"Um. Hello. Isn't that cake for me?"

"Dad! What do you mean I took too long to blow out the candles?"

"Pretty good. I hope there is more coming. I heard something about 'smashing' cake."

"Excellent! My own slice. But, what's up with the plate? I don't need that. 

Off you go, creamy, strawberry cakie-poo."

"Oh, yeah! That's good."

"Mess? What mess? New clothes? Really?...Oh, well. It was worth it."

1 Year Old Daughter

Gloria! Happy Birthday, sweet girl. Today you are one. Already. Your dad and I can hardly believe it. A year. Three hundred and sixty-five days old.

What a beautiful, joyful girl you are, Gloria. We are thankful for your frequent snuggles, the way your smile and your giggles warm our hearts, and your all-around enthusiasm for fun. You make us all laugh, especially when you dish up your big-mouth-bass kisses or you interrupt conversations with your screams, making sure you get your view across as well. 

Today you have mastered the speed crawl – especially when the dishwasher is open or you hear the shower running – and you stand without assistance for several seconds before sitting down and clapping for yourself. You climb up stairs with gusto, yet down is still a mystery yet solved.

Your favorite games are Hide and Seek with your brothers, Peek-a-Boo, passing the ball back and forth, putting items into containers and taking them out again, and playing in dirt. You also love your swing in the front yard.

Your dancing legs get moving when the slightest melody arises, and the other day I caught you in the midst of a zurburt war with yourself in the mirror. 

Your first word was “bye-bye,” and you can communicate “done," “down” and “ball.” You wave goodbye and blow kisses, and squeal with excitement when you see dogs.

We love all of this about you and more, little girl. What a gift you are to me, to all of us. We can’t wait to see what else God has in store for you and the gifts you will develop to share with the world.

Love you.

Mom

Happy Birthday, Gloria!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Gloria!

Happy Birthday to you!

Gloria plays hide-and-seek with Chase

Irish Jig

Gloria danced an Irish Jig for her first St. Patrick's Day.

Her Happy Place

If the dishwasher is open for any given period of time Gloria will find her way to it, and into it, grab dishes out of it, put things into it, slide racks forward and back. 

At 10 months old, this is her happy place. Enjoy, pumpkin.

9 Months

And right in the mix of things!

Height: 26 inches (4th%)

Weight: 16 pounds (14th%)

Head: 17 inches (56th%)

Gloria! 

You are ... you are a gift. You are a beautiful child of God! You are adventurous. You are a treasure. You are so loved. You are adorable in pigtails. You sleep through the night. You love to eat - everything. You love to empty boxes and drawers. You pull yourself up onto everything you can reach. You love to help unload the dishwasher - clean or dirty. You dance. You make a joyful noise with your voice. You cuddle when you are tired. You giggle with your brothers. You LOVE the bath. You crawl everywhere, into the bathroom whenever we are not looking. You light up at the site of Daddy. You reach for Mommy. You rock your brother's old pjs. You yearn for Legos and Monopoly pieces. You have eyes that are steel blue (for now). You really enjoy playing in the grass and dirt. You play with a particular airplane all the time. You chew on a particular shark every bath. You are just about to figure out the stairs. You have had enough of your car seat. You bring so much joy to our home. You are growing up so quickly. You are ... something!

We love you, sweetie!

That Laugh

Gloria loves her binkie before bedtime. As we learned today, she enjoys it during the day time, too. Check it out.

Cousins

Gloria and her cousin Addie

Gloria and her cousin Jeremy

A shout out to my cousins in WY: "I can't wait to play with you and all your toys, too!"

Monopoly Moves

You know when you find glitter in your daughter's poop that you have a mover on your hands. Gloria got a hold of jingle bells made of glittered pipe cleaners and bells yesterday. The day before it was Legos - Hello, re-org.  Although Gloria hasn't perfected the crawling position on her two hands and knees, she can really get places, especially if those places have small pieces, tissues or crumbs. Her fastest times are when board games are on the floor. Try and play a game of Monopoly and watch her go!

Lucky Girl

Gloria wins her first wish-bone pull. The future looks bright for our little girl. 

The M&M

Gloria is six months old and learning new tricks every day. She is sitting up on her own, enjoying the feel, sounds and tastes of toys, and she is loving the world of food. Gloria's interests in food have quickly jumped from mushy veggies and fruits to whatever she sees on our plates. We realize she isn't ready for solids - aside from the occasional pizza crust for gnawing purposes - but that doesn't stop her from trying to secure these items. We recently learned she will eat through packaging to get what she wants. 

The other day I gave Gloria a small bag of M&Ms to busy herself with for the few hundred yards to the grocery store. I parked the car and opened the side door to take out Gloria. There she sat with blue and brown colors creeping slowly to her chin, a victorious smile on her face. Somehow she had opened the bag, and from the looks of the mix of colors inside and on her face, she had eaten her very first chocolate confection. 

Fortunately, she hasn't been asking for chocolate syrup while nursing, but the boys don't trust her alone with their Halloween candy stashes. 

Gloria 6 1/2 Months

Need I say anything? Just plain cute!

Not All Girls Like Glitz

Gloria made it clear today that she has her own opinion about the clothes she wears.

After mom dressed her to the nines before church today (note the expression on her face).

After Gloria blew out her diaper minutes later (we believe in protest).

10 Weeks - A Happy Girl

Not A Doll

Since Gloria's neck muscles have strengthened and the boys have been given more freedom to carry her and care for her, I can't tell you how many times I have heard myself say, "she is not a doll" - because of excessive trips from couch to swing, or because they grab her legs and pretend to run a race, or they flip her from back to front for tummy time, then front to back and back to front again.

Today Gloria was my doll.

Gloria: Week 5

What's in a Wardrobe?

Between all the hand-me-downs, our own bins of clothes, and the mass of pink garments from all those people who "couldn't help themselves" when they found out we had a new girl in the family, I have done lots of sorting through clothes to organize Gloria's closet.

Here is a look into the wardrobe of a girl named Gloria.

The View From Here

With Daniel at Kindergarten every morning,
Chase has had some extra bonding time with Gloria.

... and I think he likes it.