Lena Grace is One. Can you believe it?

Yesterday was Lena Grace's first birthday. Daddy is going to be our guest author for this special occasion. Here's Daddy....

Wow, my little girl is one. I can hardly believe it. A few thoughts on this past year, which I have described as the "fastest and most exhausting year of my life:"

My memories have to start with the fact that I almost missed her birth. Shay was visiting her mom and dad across town after a "false alarm" labor and they rushed her to the hospital and then came over to tell me -- I got to the office 15 minutes before Lena Grace was born.

Graham Henry was a great and easy sleeper. Let's just say that Lena Grace is "sensitive" and "hears everything." She is not a very good sleeper, and as a result Mommy and Daddy have been largely sleep deprived for the last 12 months

Lena Grace has the biggest and prettiest smile in the whole world.

Lena Grace's nickname is "Sissie." Graham Henry came up wih the nickname on his own. Sissie recognizes that name easier than she does Lena Grace.

Like her big brother, Lena Grace doesn't crawl. But unlike Graham Henry, she also does not scoot. Instead, she bounces anywhere she wants to go like she is a bunny rabbit.

Lena Grace likes baths. She really likes baths. And when you pour water over her head, she starts shaking while smiling. It is really cute.

Lena Grace loves her big brother. And she will follow him anywhere if he will let her.

While Graham Henry has always liked slides, Lena Grace loves the baby swings.

Lena Grace is very little, but for a very little girl (for her age) she is a voracious eater. She is also a slow eater. She really enjoys a "five course" meal that she can eat over a 45 minute period...

There is nothing better than a sloppy "kiss" from your little girl.

Here are a few pictures from Lena Grace's special day. We started with a nice brunch with Granddad and Doll and finished with an afternoon in Phelps Grove Park. It was a beautiful day and a great way to kick off spring.

Happy Birthday Lena Grace!

Ode to Lena Grace

Today was Sissie's (Lena Grace) birthday. Can you believe it? She is my favorite. I love her. Very much.

We had a lot of fun today celebrating Sissie's bithday. We went to brunch with Doll and Granddad and Aunt T and Cousin Nate. I ate lots of fun things, but the best part was that I got to have birthday cake (ooey gooey cake). And the very best part was that we didn't even have Sissie's birthday PARTY today. We're going to have the party next weekend when PaPa and Mimi are in town. So I get cake on two weekends!!!!! And I guess that means that it is Sissie's birthday all week long....

To celebrate Sissie's birthday, I wanted to share a few more of my favorite pictures of Lena Grace. The bottle pictures are from our visit to GiGi's.

Hope you have a great week!

Snow at Gigi's

Daddy asked me to apologize to everyone because we haven't posted for a little while. It has been a crazy few weeks. Three weeks ago, Daddy went skiing with his friends in Colorado. I tried to hide in his suitcase, but he wouldn't let me go. He said that because I am 2, I am too little to go skiing. I don't really know what skiing is, but I know that I am a Big Boy, so I bet I could do it. Don't you think I would be a good skiier?

Then when daddy got home, he found out that GiGi was in a hospital in South Carolina. And then she was moved to a nursing home for a little while.

Daddy decided that we should go visit Gigi because we have a lot going on between now and the summer and we might not have another weekend. So Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Rachel, and Sissie (and me of course) drove to St. Louis and stayed in a hotel. Then we flew to Greenville, South Carolina. I have only been to South Carolina one other time and I don't remember it at all. And Daddy told me that I have flown in a plane, but I don't remember that either. This time, I got my own seat. I had so much fun. I watched other planes take off and I said whooosh when our plane took off.

When we got to Spartanburg, Aunt Sandy and Uncle David were at the airport. They let us drive GiGi's car. I wanted to drive, but Daddy said I was too little. What is with all this "too little" stuff? Like I said earlier, I am a Big Boy. I know I am big enough to drive. I drive my car at home...

After we dropped our stuff off at GiGi's house, we went for a special meal at the Beacon. We had hamburgers, french fries, and onion rings. AND THEN, as a SPECIAL TREAT, Uncle David and Aunt Sandy's friend Mr. Kenny gave us two really big banana splits. I have never seen so much ice cream. I called it birthday cake and started to sing happy birthday (cause I only get ice cream on people's birthdays). It was so yummy.

After we went to the Beacon, we went to GiGi's special apartment (the nursing home). We played with GiGi and I showed her how I make pictures with markers. I also sang my ABCs and Jesus Loves Me for GiGi. Then we went back to GiGi's house and went to sleep.

I think GiGi was really happy to see us. And we were happy to see her too. Especially Auntie Rachel.

I was wearing my PaPa hat. I call it my PaPa hat because it is like the hats my PaPa wears. GiGi told me that Great-Grandpa Satterwhite (I call him "Great-Pa") used to wear PaPa hats too. That's pretty cool.

GiGi said she liked watching me draw and color with markers. I am happy she liked it.

No, Daddy. Not another picture. Take pictures of Lena Grace, please...

So Daddy listened and he took a few pictures of GiGi with Lena Grace. Lena smiled and so did GiGi!

On Sunday night, it started snowing. We drove through the snow to say goodbye to GiGi at her special apartment. GiGi read her book to me and Sissie and I helped her read it too (Daddy reads it to me at home a lot and I know some parts of the book, like I know that Great-Pa's name is Norman and I love the pictures of Aunt Barbara. I also usually call pictures of Uncle Ron when he was little "Dean."). I really liked it when GiGi read the book to us.

On Monday morning, we got up early to go to the airport. There was lots of snow on the ground. I went outside with Daddy while he was loading the car at GiGi's house. He wouldn't let me play in the snow, but he did make me a mini-snowman. We had lots of fun at GiGi's. GiGi -- thanks for letting us stay at your house!

Oh yeah, I just heard that GiGi is getting to go home from her special apartment. We are praying for you GiGi and we hope you feel better soon. And we hope you get to play lots of dominoes...

LG's First Day of "School"

Today was an exciting day. It was Lena Grace's first day of school. She was very excited. Since she has started her own brand of scooting (hopping on her bottom) around, she was "bouncing" all over the house. Then, when she got to school, she immediately took a nap. Way to go Sissie.