She's one!

On February 10th, as you all know, Tahlia turned one. It was a very fun and exciting party. Fortunately, some close friends and family were able to make it to the party; unfortunatlely, some friends and family were not able to make it, and we missed them greatly.

We tried to organize it so that people would have an opportunity to mingle and chat with one another, before we got down to business. The business, of course was showing your knowlege of Tahlia.

That's right, this party is about me!
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

Tahlia showed off with, well, her prettiness :). Although many people know the multiple things Tahlia can do, Kathryn, our neighbor, Nick, Tahlia's uncle, and Curt, one of Tahlia's friends (well maybe more or our friend :)) took away the prizes.

The next part of the party was opening presents.

Hmmmm . . . I wonder what this is for
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

Thanks for opening this Mommy. Good book!
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

Tahlia is really thankful for all of the presents she received, and, while opening them, had a great time playing with the really important gifts -- the wrapping paper, the tissue paper, and the containers in which the presents arrived. We gave Tahlia two gifts. One of the gifts is a picture of her with signatures and well wishes from friends and family. The other gift is a poem her daddy wrote beside a picture of Tahlia at one year.

For your first birthday

When first looking upon her
most see her eyes
“there is something
inherently intelligent
about children who look so long
and deep”
they
the blue sky in fall
crisp, clear
pure
a breeze blown across
still waters
calming and tranquil.
They are deep,
holding wisdom
true to the stone,
once it was believed
upon a sapphire the world
sat
giving clarity to night
blue to day;
and now she sits,
giving clarity,
sight.

But sapphires are not hers.
Into a stone
once more precious than diamonds,
and more true,
to this is she;
for,
as she stumbles past pitfalls
tumbles and crawls,
hands clasped to head
Monkey she calls,
she is and always will be
this perfect fairy
a gift helping
overcome difficulty

And even as
her eyes are
tropical inlets clear and blue,
the Wisdom Stone
hangs better about her

Most fits
when dealing with the Amethyst
most
but one
for she
our plum goblet
from which life and joy splashes
springs, spouts, spills
drunk are we
on the ambrosia of her
five toothed smiles,
long fingers and toes,
wet curled hair,
and finger on her nose
And over indulge we do
So look upon her,
as quickly she grows,
and joy flows forth
to all
upon whom
her knowing eye glows.
(Mark Marini, 2/10/07)

Lauren also received a gift, since February tenth is Tahlia's birthday but also Lauren's "birth" day. After the poem, and the gift, there were a few dry eyes. To make them all dry, we moved on to the cake.

Lauren made a delicious lemon cake that she made decorated herself -- amazingly well! We were all really happy that when the singing began, Tahlia didn't burst out in tears. She happily listened to the singing and accepted the cake. This was her first taste of sugar.

Hmmmm. . . not sure
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

But then, after a little more,

Mommy makes some good lemon cake!
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

She didn't really eat very much, maybe four or five fork fulls, before she was done. We were really happy about this, as we have heard that often, with a ton of sugar in them, babies don't go to sleep for a while. Luckily, this wasn't a problem for Tahlia.

Now that I'm up, I want some things to happen
Originally uploaded by mgm_lnm.

After a little more talking and Tahlia showing off some more of her tricks, the party drew to a close.

It was a great time, and our little girl continues to grow.

We love you all.

Muggsie, Lauren and Tahlia.

First steps

Hi Everyone,

Today was a big day for Tahlia -- she took her first steps. Even while sick, she was able to step out on her own and astound both her mom and her dad.

How it happened:
It was almost 12:00pm and Tahlia was working hard with her physical therapist, Theresa. Dad was there because he stayed home sick today -- he caught Tahlia's cold. We were working on helping Tahlia practice standing by herself, and she was doing quite a good job. One time, while Dad was taping it, she stood on her own for almost 30 seconds. As the moments ticked closer to the end of her session, Theresa was helping Tahlia stand, when all of a sudden, Tahlia took three steps all on her own. Dad started laughing and shouting, Mom shouted "shut up!" You can guess what Tahlia did -- she looked around terrified at all of the people shouting and began to cry unmercifully -- Mom swept her into her arms and gave her a giant hug! Mom made the statement to Theresa that she probably gets to see a lot of baby's first steps, but that wasn't true. This was the first time that she had ever seen one of her clients first steps. We all joked that there wasn't a video tape rolling and Theresa prepared herself to leave. Mom put Tahlia on the floor, standing up, and to everyone's disbelief, Tahlia started out, again, on her own and took another three steps. Of course the shouting and crying started all over again.

Needless to say, we still have not caught it on tape, but we soon will.

We all cried a little and are so happy. Thank you for the prayers and positive thoughts you send -- we know it is helping our little girl.