1st Thanksgiving...well 1st one home

This was Inara's 1st Thanksgiving with us at home. It was super fun too! We woke up and had a lazy morning. We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and just chilled. Inara took a 3 hour nap (wowza) which was perfect for a few reasons. It allowed us to get ready for the day, and I was able to make my portion of the meal (sweet potato casserole).  We went to my parents house and had such a great time. We were there until around 7:30 and then came home. What a difference a year makes huh? Last Thanksgiving we spent on a little bit with my family and the rest with Inara at the hospital. I made cookies for the staff because they work so hard, even on the holidays. And they took such wonderful care of our daughter. Weird that happened.

Two days later was Inara's 1st birthday party. It was so fun. There were a lot of little kiddos and tons of family and friends. It was so fun to see all the little kids playing and Inara just dove right in...literally. She dove into a wagon after a toy...it was hilarious. She was really great the whole time. It was kind of noisy and lots of people and she didn't really care. She was SUPER excited about the cake and ice cream though. After she ate some of hers, she played for a bit, then went over to Auntie Katie's plate and begged like a dog for more. And who wouldn't right? I mean cake and ice cream is delish!

I feel like its so hard to keep up with all the things she is learning and doing. It's insane! She is learning how to press buttons to works toys and recognizing lots of items. At this point I am pretty sure she knows what the following are and points to them when I ask her "where is ____": trees, cars, dog, duck, baby (of course), maw-maw, paw-paw, Aunt Katie, Dad, and book. I am trying to work on signing with her. We are trying now to teach her : thank you, please, and help. I sometimes sign: drink and book. Oh and she also gives kisses which is the sweetest thing ever!

Today I "put up" our Christmas tree. We bought a little guy because this year with all the baby stuff we don't have room for a real one, and I really don't feel like telling her "no" all day long to keep her from climbing it. My parents bought it for us which is super nice. So Inara was playing in the living room, and I was keeping an eye on her and putting up our tree. I plugged it in and as soon as it was lit up, Inara crawls in the room, gets huge eyes, has mouth open (like oooo), and then starts giggling at the lights. It was quite possibly the sweetest thing ever. I wish I could have gotten it on video. But instead I'll leave you with this little picture of our little Christmas :)