At 16 Months, Mollie:

• Is still gaining new words all the time. One of her favorites lately is "ball". See video here. 
• Is becoming quite helpful--she is getting good at "cleaning up", but still would rather pull all of her toys out and get inside her toy bins rather than put them away. 
• Puts her milk cup in the fridge after each meal--a skill she picked up at school.
• Can sometimes identify family members in pictures. She loves to "read" the photo book documenting her first few weeks of life and will point to the family members on the page when we ask where they are. 
• Is a little obsessed with opening and closing doors. So far this has only resulted in one incident of finger smashing. 
• Had a great Hannukah visit with her Nashville cousins

Happy Hannukah!

Thanksgiving and a Visit to the Farm

Mollie's Thanksgiving kicked off with a performance at school where she and her classmates dressed up like turkeys and sang a song for all the parents (or really they stood there and looked adorable while the teachers sang)

Then Mollie got to visit a farm near Memphis where she got to meet lots of goats, chickens, ducks, horses, and one giant pig. 

She also got to spend lots of time with all of her grandparents and Aunt Shana, Uncle Justin, and Uncle Chris. 

15 Months

 at 15 Months, Mollie:

• Can use a spoon by herself, though its quite messy
• is picking up more and more words and phrases
• loves to dance. if you say sing "go Mollie, go Mollie, go Mollie", she'll bop up and down
• Will show you how to brush your teeth. If you ask her how she brushes her teeth, she will put her finger on her teeth and move her head from side to side
• Runs all over the place and is really starting to get into everything
• Has been sleeping in lately. we've had 8 AM wake up calls the past few weeks, though I'm sure as I type this she is probably planning an early morning for tomorrow

Surprise Visit to Florida

Mollie had a very nice visit with her Great-Grandpa Eddie at his house in Florida. 

We were last-minute surprise  guests (Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Ron were already there). 

Mollie loved spending time with her Great-Grandpa and meeting her Great-Uncle Howie and Great-Aunt Lois for the first time. 

Halloween Fashion Show at School

Mollie's school had a fashion show today so all the toddlers could show off their costumes to their families. Mollie was one of three lady bugs, and she did a great job walking down the red carpet!

14 Months

At 14 Months, Mollie:

• Is walking pretty much full-time. She is getting better and better on her feet and is starting to move pretty fast. She still falls a lot though.
• Can point out her nose and show you her teeth when asked (if she feels like it). 
• Knows that her shoes and socks belong on her feet. The other day, she was carrying her shoes around the house and I said "Mollie, where are you going with those shoes?" and she sat down and put one shoe next to her foot. I think she thought I meant "where do your shoes go? " Close enough.
• Loves to give "kisses" by putting her forehead on your forehead. She tries to do it to Dylan too, who doesn't like it quite as much as mommy and daddy do. 
• Told Dylan she was a "goo guh" (good girl) the other day while petting her. 
• Can identify birds when we see them. To clarify she says "buh" when we see a bird, not "oh that's a crested woodpecker". She also  learned the word goat ("goh") when we visited a new baby goat at our neighborhood chicken coop last week (see picture below)
'

A walk in the park

Up until now, Mollie has taken a step or two here or there, but today, 

she really put it all together. Here's some video of her new skills:

Pumpkin Patch

Today Mollie visited a pumpkin patch with her friends Jessel and Colin.

 Seeing her in the pumpkins brought back some memories from my own childhood:

(Mommy, age 1, with her Mommy, Grandma Arlene)

13 Months

At 13 Months, the picture-taking has slowed down considerably! And also, Mollie is: 

• A little obsessed with books (wonder where she gets that?). First thing in the morning, every day, all she wants to do is "read" her books, and be read to.
• Adjusted to her new classroom at daycare. She takes a nap on a mat and eats lunch sitting at a table with the other kids  (still not sure how they manage to get her, and 12 other kids, to do either of those things all at the same time!)
• Is picking up new words all the time and loves to "talk" in a very animated way, even if the she doesn't always use actual words.
• Has 5 teeth. She finally got the top two to come in, and she gets really excited when its time to brush them. 
• Is still cruising, and has tried to take a step here or there, but is really still crawling and cruising to get around. 
• Spent two weekends home alone with Daddy while Mommy was traveling. They did great, as expected!

Mollie's First Birthday Party

Mollie had a blast at her first birthday party! She ate her cupcake very carefully and didn't miss a single bite (video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FISnJgOld4w)
 She had so much fun playing with her family and friends.

Happy Birthday Mollie!

At 1 Year, Mollie:

• Understands a lot of words. For example, if you ask her if she wants to drink some water (without looking or pointing to her cup), she'll pick up her cup and take a drink
• Claps her hands as soon as you start singing "If you are happy and you know it clap your hands"
• Shakes her head no in response to questions such as"Mollie, do you want to drink some milk?" 
• Is continuing expanding her vocabulary, but her favorite thing to say is a very enthusiastic and southern-sounding "Hiiiiiiiii!"
• Has started drinking whole milk and is still getting used to it
• Is still cruising around holding on to furniture, push toys, and our hands, but hasn't taken those first steps just yet
• Has one more tooth poking out on the bottom, but still waiting on the top teeth to show up
• Loves to point at everything in sight

A Good Laugh

Vacationing

We've just returned from a really wonderful vacation  in Grand Cayman to celebrate Grandpa Ron's 60th birthday. And in other news, Uncle Justin proposed while we were on the trip, so Mollie officially has a new Aunt Shana!

11 Months

At 11 Months, Mollie:

• tries really hard to repeat words that we say and has gotten pretty close with words like "ear" and "duck"
• loves to wave hello
• likes to sleep with her tush in the air
• celebrates a big portion of her daily activities by clapping about them
• has begun to really love swimming in the pool. she kicks her legs when you hold her tummy down in the water 
• had a great trip to Sea Island, GA with her friends from Atlanta
• still has a seemingly insatiable appetite

At 10 months, Mollie:

• gives (open mouth, very wet) kisses
• pulls up on everything and spends a lot of time playing while standing up, but still holding on to something
• stands very briefly ( a second or two) on her own 
• can take a few steps while holding on to our hands, but not on her own yet
• waves hello and goodbye, mostly to the dog
• claps her hands
• is crawling faster and faster
• has just begun to say a few words including: "bye bye", "mama" and "banana" (which sounds more like ba-ba)

Happy Father's Day

Mollie was lucky enough to spend the day with her Daddy AND Grandpa Jeff

She also got to spend time in the park with some of her friends and their dads:

and of course Mama too:

Miss M was thinking about Grandpa Ron, Papa D and Great Grandpa Eddie and wishing them a Happy Father's Day!

9 Months

From Mollie Month 9

At 9 Months, Mollie:

• Started crawling! 
• Eats three solid meals a day. She loves to feed herself and try new foods. 
• Is very vocal and has been practicing all kinds of sounds (video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGTYPowqsbU)
• Likes to stand holding on to things
• Is super wiggly during diaper changes and we keep her changing pad on the floor so it doesn't hurt when she rolls off

Mother's Day

What a wonderful holiday!  We celebrated with a family picnic brunch in the park by our house followed by the arrival of a babysitter,and a night out eating sushi, drinking Sapporo, and enjoying the beautiful Atlanta weather.

  

8 Months

At 8 Months, Mollie:

• Has two teeth, bottom center
• Can feed herself Cheerios and some other soft foods, and is getting better at actually getting more in her mouth than on the floor (or in Dylan's mouth)
• Rocks on her hands and knees and scoots herself backwards and around in a circle, but no forward crawling yet
• Can pull up from sitting to standing, and stand briefly while holding on to furniture or someone's hands
• Can finally reach the floor while sitting in her jumperoo and has figured out that jumping is a lot more fun than just dangling (video evidence here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN1RRwQ4mD8)

First Tooth

If you look very closely in this picture, you can see Mollie's first tooth which arrived

 last week accompanied by a fever and a serious case of crabbiness. 

Here's hoping that its companions will arrive in a gentler fashion!

7 Months

From Mollie Month 7

This past month has really flown by! This month, Mollie:

• Visited New Orleans for the first time and met her friends Lilly, Mia, Jonah & Tess
• Is still a great (albeit wiggly) airplane passenger
• Eats 1-2 meals a day of solids and has expanded her repertoire to include yogurt, applesauce, carrots, and several other fruits and vegetables. She also is getting better at drinking water from a cup.
• Seems to understand certain things we say. For example if you ask her "Where is Dylan?", she immediately looks at the dog and smiles. Or if I say "Give Mommy your hands", and hold my palms out,she'll put her little hands in mine. It could be a coincidence, but for now we'll just assume she is a genius:)
• Has been doing a lot of squealing when she gets excited, which is often.
• Started babbling again, adding new sounds like "yayayaya"

6 months

From Mollie month 6

This month Mollie:

• Discovered how much fun it is to splash in the bath (video evidence here: http://tinyurl.com/6fmdj6j)
• Sits up on her own 
• Has become much more dexterous and can pick up toys and move them from hand to hand
• Grabs at everything in sight, this includes hair (mom's), fur (Dylan's), food, and anything else within reach
• Drinks sips of water out of our cups, seemingly because she likes the cold water on her sore gums
• Has finally come around to taking 2 solid naps every day (instead of several mini naps)
• Spent a full week babbling words like "dadadada", sensed that she mastered that skill and has been stricly giggling since then
• Figured out how to get her feet in her mouth, which is now a favorite pastime

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love, Mollie

5 Months

From mollie month 5

This month Mollie:

• Took her first plane ride and got her wings--she did great on the plane and we hope to fly with her more in the coming months! 
• Laughs on a daily basis, but not always at the same thing--it's the best sound!
• Notices Dylan more and more--she stops to look at her tail swishing and reaches out for her when she is nearby
• Has developed a very strong interest in her feet
• Eats from a spoon, that is if she can keep her hands out of her mouth long enough!
• Went to Sullian's Island for the first time, but unfortunately couldn't get out on the beach--hopefully she'll be back soon when its warmer. 

If you have trouble with this album, you can also see it here: http://picasaweb.google.com/melissabloomfield/MollieMonth5?authkey=Gv1sRgCPKHw4r_5dqbDA&feat=directlink

First Food

Today, Mollie had her first taste of real food. 

She took to the spoon very easily and seemed to like the taste of the cereal.

Happiness...

...is a warm couch.