Marin's First Birthday!

March 13, 2009 was Marin's first birthday. Patrick and I drove to Cincinnati that day, and had a little party for her the following day. We went to Johnny Rockets with both sets of grandparents and Michelle. Marin did really well and ate her first chicken fingers. She fell asleep in the car back to Patrick's parents house, so we let her nap for a while before we started the party. When she woke up and saw everyone, she got a little shy and upset but eventually warmed up. She received lots of beautiful gifts and really enjoyed playing with her new doggie from Geri and Joyce, her stroller from Granny and Pappy and her drum from Grandma and Grandpa. She also enjoyed eating her cupcake that I made for her out of babyfood. Marin had a wonderful first birthday and we look forward to celebrating many more!

In November, Patrick and I took Marin to London to visit her Uncle Adam and Aunt Meredith for the first time! We loved seeing the city and spending time with Adam and Meredith. Marin ate up a storm as usual and was such a good baby on the long plane rides there and back. Adam and Meredith babysat her all day one day so Patrick and I could visit the Tower of London. She certainly enjoyed her day without mom and dad!

This past week, Marin has started eating 3 meals a day...just at daycare! She is eating up a storm...she must be going through a growth spurt. I also am starting to think that her appetite might be one thing she got from me! I guess I better start budgeting a higher grocery bill :) She also started eating more finger type foods. She loves "puffs", although you have to place them in her mouth for her. She is very prissy about how she eats. She won't actually pick the morsels up herself and stick them in her mouth - yet. She also loves tasting anything and everything we give her, including guacamole. Yup, that's our kid!

Marin's first bite of squash! Yummm!

We took Marin to Sunset Beach, NC with my parents at the end of August. She loved the ocean and sleeping on the beach! She did really well. We bought her a little tent for the beach and she would sleep for hours...I guess all that fresh air and the soothing sound of the waves knocked her out. She also started her first solid foods that week. We started giving her squash, which she loved! We had a really nice trip and look forward to taking her to the beach again next year!

Marin and her dad spent some quality time together today. Here is a short video of Marin talking to her dad!

A lot has happened in the past two months, and I apologize for not keeping this site updated. Marin has been growing like a weed and has started to become much more active. In the past two weeks, she has started rolling from her back to her tummy. She hasn't figured out how to roll back onto her back, which upsets her as she doesn't particularly like being on her belly. She continues to sleep REALLY well at night. Typically she gets about 10 hours of straight sleep, which is wonderful for Patrick and I. She also takes nice long naps during the day which gives me a little time to get things done around the house and also get some work done as I am still working one day a week from home.

Marin most recently got to meet her great Aunt Patty and Uncle Jimmie and also got to spend some time with her Great Grandmother. I also took her on a trip to Cincinnati for a long weekend. It was just me, Marin and the two dogs and she did really well in the car for the four hour drive.

Marin has been much less fussy these past weeks and has been such a joy to have around. I think Patrick and I take it for granted how good a baby she really is.