Mary - Christmas

Charlie received this "push-duck" for his first birthday. Sam opened it again on his first Christmas. Now Mary unwrapped it for the third time this morning~
She likes it!

She really likes it!

Yum~

I think she's going to spare the duckling~

Kissing Cousins (and Aunties and Grandpas...)

Mary stole the show tonight at Grandma's house. She's been giving kisses a lot lately, and with barely any prompting, she made the rounds, kissing everyone she could get her lips on! Starting with Grandma~

Moving on to Grandpa~

And Auntie Darlene~

Jack got more than one kiss~

Later she acted silly while the paparazzi tried to send photos to Uncle Dan at the firehouse~

Wishing Uncle Dan a merry Christmas (Mary loves the telephone!)~

Sniff, and Pop, and Touchdown!

While taking a dinner break from our Christmas card photo shoot, Mary was acting very silly~

(Local) Celebrity Photo-Op

During our trip to the state capital, we ran into a Chicago reporter. Here's Mary with Carol Marin, in front of the governor's office~
Technically, Mary's first celebrity photo was with another hometown hero, Da Coach~

We saw him about two weeks before Mary was born, at his restaurant in Oakbrook.

Wheeee!

Our friends Jennifer and Tom, from Colorado, were in town this weekend. They stopped by for a visit, and brought some souvenirs from their recent trip to Maryland. Mary warmed right up (even though she hadn't seen them since this time last year!) and even let Tom give her a little ride~

The boys spent all day at an indoor waterpark, while I finished making several pounds of candy cane fudge in preparation for tonight's cookie exchange.

Feed Me, Seymour - Feed Me All Night Long

Grandpa came over for Chicken Paprika tonight. Mary ate her dinner, then headed over to Grandpa's lap for a second helping~
Then she ended up there again, for dessert after her bath~

Cantigny

Mary at the Lego exhibit today.

Hat Rack

Mary loves putting things on her head! She likes to put as many articles of clothing over her head as will fit, too. I don't remember either of the boys playing so much with clothes.

READ

One of the benefits of having large spaces between children is that the older ones are so much more capable in many ways. One of my favorite things is seeing the boys read to Mary. There is always a lap available for her :).

My Heart

One year ago, I started this blog as a way to keep people updated on Mary. We knew she was facing more surgery at that point, and I thought it would simplify communicating with all of the concerned family and friends. It has also served as a digital baby book. I've heard there are places to have a blog made into a book - I plan to someday do that as a keepsake for her.

About a week before Mary was born, Emily came and made a cast of my belly. I didn't know it was Mary, yet, or all about the world of online journals.

For Mary's birthday, Emily brought the belly cast - beautifully hand painted. I love it! I hope Mary will cherish it as much as I do.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa

Thanks, Mary :)