Thirteen Months Old! (February 21, 2011)

Scarlett's lucky 13th month has come and gone! The biggest change in Scarlett this month has been in the communication department. She now very clearly says "hi" and "bye" (and at the appropriate time; she was saying "bye" before for both greetings and goodbyes). In the morning when we go to get her out of her crib or when we open the back door to get her out of the car she greets us with a chipper "Hiiiiiiiii!" as if seeing us is the best thing ever.

She also now says "Dada" as well as "Mama," although she occasionally calls Chris "Mama." I could be imagining it, but I think she says "baby" when she sees another baby, or even when she sees a picture of a baby or looks at herself in the mirror (admiring herself in the mirror is a favorite pastime). She says "ba" for bath and is working on saying "Winnie," which sounds more like "Wuh" for now. (And the torment of poor Winnie continues; tonight she ate some raisins Scarlett threw on the ground, and the 24 hour vet told me give her hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting (raisins are highly poisonous to dogs in case you didn't know). Poor, poor Winnie.)

Scarlett is all about kisses and hugs these days, and she even gives them out unsolicited now. Sometimes she likes to mix things up and give you a surprise kiss on your leg or arm. She loves to dance and bounce to the beat of music (and it looks like she inherited her Daddy's dance moves).

Two more top teeth made their appearance this month, so she now has four on top and two on bottom for a grand total of six. Her hair is filling in more and more and I can finally get bows in her hair without them sliding out (of course, her leaving them in is another story). She likes to wrestle with her Daddy and plays a mean game of peek-a-boo.

And without further ado, here is Miss Scarlett on her 13-month birthday.

Scarlett Hits the Slopes

We took our first ski trip to Taos as a family of three earlier this month along with the Jones/Boyd family. Here's a shot out the window of our room at the Hotel St. Bernard at the base of the ski mountain. We were right at a ski lift and could ski-in and ski-out, which was super convenient.



What wasn't quite so convenient was the daycare where Scarlett hung out while we were skiing. Don't get me wrong -- the fact that there was a daycare was convenient. The fact that it was a hike downhill in the snow across a ski run and then back uphill to the St. Bernard was the not-so-convenient part. Chris dubbed it "The Trail of Tears," and poor Scarlett lost one of her new snow boots on the way back on the first day. When I suggested he retrace his steps to try to find it ... well, let's just say he declined.

Scarlett and Campbell getting ready for daycare and ski school. Scarlett looks skeptical (maybe she'd been tipped off by one of the other babies about the Trail of Tears.)



Chris and the girls gearing up for the trek over. (Note Scarlett sporting her pink snow boots for the first and last time.)



Traipsing through the snow.



Once everyone got their skis, the rest of the week Dana (who is an expert skier) graciously agreed to ski Scarlett down to daycare while she escorted Harper and Campbell to ski school. So we only had to get Scarlett back to the St. Bernard at the end of the day, much to Chris's relief. Scarlett will get to go to ski school in two years when she's three. It's amazing to watch all the little kids flying down the mountain ... Scarlett will no doubt be better than us in no time!



Scarlett gets some tips from Dana as they ski to daycare.



Mid-week, the huge weather system that dumped snow all across the country (including back home in Dallas) hit Taos. We got nearly a foot of snow -- and insane sub-zero temperatures -- which made for some amazing (but reaaaaly cold!!) skiing. Scarlett and Clementine the orange monkey enjoyed watching the snow fall from the comfort of our toasty warm room.



Here are Chris and I enjoying the great snow after the storm.



One of the best things about staying at the St. Bernard is the amazing gourmet meals they serve three times a day. The meals are served by French-born Jean Meyer, the seventy-something owner of the St. Bernard, head of the ski school, and all around incredible guy.

Here we are keeping warm by the fire in the St. Bernard dining room, where we could be found every night before dinner.



On the last night of our week in Taos, the kids dressed up after dinner and paraded around the dining room, which was capped off by Jean serenading the guests with a rendition of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls." This shot is grainy because the lighting was so dim, but you can see the kids lined up on the bar in the back of the dining room. Jean is singing on the left, and Scarlett is being held by Scarlett Sr. on the far right. (Coincidentally, the woman who works at the front desk at the St. Bernard is named Scarlett too, so we called them Scarlett Sr. and Scarlett Jr.)



We had a great time on our vacation, although Scarlett Jr. did have a touch of the Taos Crazies. We don't know if it was the high altitude, the drastic change in her routine, or the two new teeth that erupted the day after we got back to Dallas, but Scarlett was quite a bit feistier than usual while we were on our trip. On our way back to Albuquerque to catch our flight home, she slept hard but then woke up with a big smile and quite the hair-do. This look pretty much captures her Taos personality (which went back to good-old Scarlett as soon as we got home).

Will you be my Valentine?

Scarlett patiently waits for her Valentine.



He's not here yet. Where is he???



Here he is -- all better now!



Happy Valentine's Day from Scarlett! xoxo

Scarlett the Starlet's First Birthday Bash!

I had tons of fun planning Scarlett's first birthday party (nearly as much fun as Scarlett had devouring her cake!). The theme was -- what else? -- "Scarlett the Starlet." Here's the invite, which was designed to look like a movie poster.



It's hard to see the details of the poster on a computer screen, but the comments from the "movie critics" say: "This party can't be missed! -- Scarlett's Daddy", "Scarlett is a true starlet! -- Scarlett's Mommy", and "Frankly my dear, I don't give a ... wait, will there be cake? -- Scarlett's dog Winnie." (You should be able to see the poster as a larger image if you click on it.)

We asked the party guests to bring mementos and write notes to Scarlett for a time capsule that she'll open on her 18th birthday. It makes me smile to think how cool it will be for her to open it up and see not only what was going on in the world and in her life during her first year, but also how much her family and friends love her and the hopes they have for her.

Allison Lezon took some great photos for us. Click here to go to her blog where you can see a selection of pictures from the party. (Let me know if you'd like to see all of Allison's photos, and I'll give you the password to access the complete set.) Below are some photos that I took.

Scarlett having lunch before the party with her BB and Grandma.





Some of the Hollywood-themed decorations.





Check out the amazing cake Penny's cousin Prea made for us -- it had cake movie reels complete with film strips, a clapboard, and even tiny little spotlights that actually lit up!



The Hollywood-inspired menu.



We were blessed with a beautiful day, so the kids were able to play and do crafts outside.



Scarlett started off slowly with her smash cake (a little cake that was just for her) until she realized there was delicious chocolate cake beneath the pink icing, and the rest was history. I'm surprised she was willing to share with her Grandpa!







Posing for the paparazzi (there are at least five cameras aimed at her in this picture) and opening presents.





That night Scarlett got a good long scrub down (had to get all that frosting out of her hair), and then it was off to bed. She was one tired starlet ... turning one is exhausting!





Happy Birthday, sweet girl!