Standing Alone

You will notice a change in one of the pictures from this posting. That's right, folks... Melanie is standing without hanging onto anything! In fact, we captured a picture of her doing this while holding one of her favorite toys... a kid's version of a gardening tool. She is so close to walking. There are times when she starts to move around and we half expect her to take a couple steps away from wherever she is. Any day now that will happen.

Melanie is eating more "big people" food nowadays. She loves diced up grapes, crackers, and yogurt. Tonight she even experienced her first New Orleans cuisine by having some bites of my crawfish etouffe from a local authentic Louisiana-food restaurant.

We have stopped giving Melanie formula. She is now "upgraded" to toddler formula and juices. (I just had to get a programming reference in there somehow... tee hee!) She does not seem to notice any difference. A seamless change is always a good thing.

Melanie continues to be a joy of new experiences for us. Her laugh is becoming even more guttural, which is amazing to hear and causes much laughter on our end. The other day she found Matt's bellybutton and surprised him with a quick tickle. I don't think I've seen her laugh so hard before. It was the most adorable bonding moment between the two of them.

It is only 1 week until her 1st birthday. Mommy and daddy are excited. I am so excited to have both grandparents coming into town. In addition, both of my sisters and their family are coming, too. It will be great to see little Melanie get all messy with her first piece of cake.

Until the next posting, enjoy this week's pictures.
Melanie was "dancing" to the music coming from the toy you see her supporting herself on. No... that is not a barrett in her hair. She had left some of her supper in her hair for a snack later on. :o)
There she goes again! Melanie loves to walk behind her little beetle car that converts into a toy to walk behind. Your eyes are not deceiving you on this one... that is a toy hammer in her right hand. She loves to pound on things with it.
Remember that hammer from the previous picture? That's right.... here she was captured hitting the TV with it. No, No, Baby!
Free standing moment holding her garden hoe. We were so proud to finally capture this on camera.
And to finish it off we have a close-up picture.... her eyes are greenish-brown. We'll call them hazel for now. You can't completely tell, but her outfit is an adorable pink and white Tony Stewart outfit. One of my teammates purchased it for us. Go Tony!