Etta's 12 month stats

Height: 28 1/4 (25%)
Weight: 19lb 7oz (25%)
Head: 18 (74%)

Small body, big brains :)

And here is adorable Etta feeding her sweet sister some birthday brownie!

Happy 1st Birthday Etta Rose!

Today Addie's co-op class got to do a fun field trip.
We walked to a local nursery where we planted pansies in pumpkins, explored a hay maze,
said hello to some chickens, and let the koy fish try to eat our fingers.
Meanwhile, where was the birthday girl?

We left her behind at school & her & the boys tried to break free. 

I don't know if you can tell, but it is not a happy look on her face. 

She is making it clear she wanted me to set the camera down & pick her up. 

But I could not resist a quick photo-op.

Let's see, how about a quick update on 12 month old Etta...
Etta does not show much interest in walking, all her attention is going into climbing.
She is slowly getting better at safely getting down the things she climbed up.
She has recently learned about a few favorite buttons on toys she can push to make music.
So these get pushed again, and again, and again.
I remember Addie going through that stage too.

Birthday celebration #2: her actual day of birth

 Addie helped pick out the presents for her at the store.
The pop-its toys were chosen I think because Addie really wanted to play with them :)

 We tried a mini-brownie cupcake with Halloween colored frosting thinking that it was smaller so would be less messy and she would be getting cake over the weekend.

Etta was not very interested in eating it, but she had great fun sharing bites with her sister. 

Addie was happy to comply.

Etta's first birthday celebration

Etta turns one this Wednesday. But she is having a multi-day celebration: first with Matts family over the weekend, then with us on Wed, and last at my parents house Haloween weekend.

We celebrated Ellie's first birthday too!

The tissue paper was a classic hit.

Etta loves the balls she got.

Ellie enjoyed the walker toy Etta was given. Addie really enjoys it too (i.e. has to be reminded that it is not hers & Etta gets priority with it).

Etta has fun with it, but not usually in the way intended. She stands at it backwards & puts one foot in it scooter-style. Or she plops her entire body in it & looks around for someone willing to give her a push. She has tried walking with it too. But she currently seems much more intersted in climbng than walking.

Baby Shower

Over the weekend we had a baby shower for my sister-in-law Lori
(she & Matt's brother Myron are expecting their first: a boy) and Matt's cousin Janelle
(she & her husbdand have 3 boys & are expecting a girl).
Mike, Becka & Ellie came from Boise and the cousins got some time together.

Both Ellie & Etta are turning one!

Addie with her second-cousins Kendra & Serena. They loved doting on her since she is slightly younger & she loves the attention. I know they will have many wonderful years of play at family reunions and holidays.

Of course the big kids also enjoyed a little baby time.

I did not get any great pictures of the pregnant bellies, but this is pretty great. Addie decided to try out being pregnant!

So cute in a hat

Despite her unwillingness to wear the hood part of her costume, Etta decided she will wear winter hats inside the house.

I was pulling out winter clothes & things she will growing into and tried the hat on her. She left it on. 20 minutes later it was still on. I thought she might be getting hot so took it off, but she immedietely tried to put it back on her head. I hope she does that good at keeping it on when we are outside this winter.

Costumes in Class

Etta's co-op class wore their costumes today. So cute! We had two little ladybugs, a ballerina, a pirate, a flower,a dinosaur, a clown, an alpine skier (ok his mom did not have him in costume but we decided his sweater made him look like he was ready to hit the slopes) & Etta the monkey. Of course getting them to sit for a picture was impossible. Also impossible was trying to get Etta to leave her monkey hood on, the others did really well but she would have none of it.

Etta also enjoyed showing her independent, climbing spirit by getting in the oatmeal. It is intended for hands to play with but she wanted a full-body experience!

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we went to Biringer Farm & Pumpkin Patch. It was perfect weather for it - clear & cool yet sunny. There was so much fun stuff to do but we ran out of time due to two sleepy girls. Both of them are fighting colds so were not at 100% energy. We did not get to do the corn maze or little kids hay maze which is too bad since Addie has been curious about maps & mazes lately.
But here are some of the fun things we did do: 

We had Etta in a monkey costume that I bought her for Halloween because it is so cute & cozy and because when Addie was 10 months old she wore a monkey costume at the pumpkin patch

Here is a pic of monkey Addie at 10 months so you can compare :)

ok, back to the present day & monkey Etta

We took a tractor ride out to the pumpkin patch. Addie did not like the bumpy warts on the pumpkins so she chose a smooth one, but Matt & I like the character the warts give.

 We devoured fresh made donuts. Etta literally tried to grab them out of our hands she liked them so much.

She ate more than Addie did. 

Then she was disappointed to find that the bag was already empty.

 Lots of fun stuff for Addie to do including trying to drive a tractor (her feet did not reach the pedals well)

driving the cool bus

riding these cool horseys made of old tires

 but best of all riding a pony!

Our happy little equestrian :)