Wow, Dalia is one!

It's hard to believe a whole year has past. Our little girl is one today. Mark took the day off and we went to the zoo. Well, you all know that she loves frogs and dogs, but many of you don't know how much she likes elephants. Probably a lot of you also don't know that the Oregon Zoo was blessed with a baby elephant last month. Oh, man, did Dalia FREAK out when she saw the elephants. We weren't sure how great of a time she'd have, but we certainly didn't expect she'd have as much fun as she did. Unfortunately, it was FREEZING (wtf). But, she managed to sport a really cute girly outfit to boot. I think Mom was way colder than Dalia was. She was far too busy being excited about the animals and charming the pants off of all the other zoo visitors.

In addition to the zoo, Dalia had her first real experience with presents today. As usual we didn't get any photos of Dalia with Pops and Grammy before she melted down. She went to sleep at 6pm tonight - a record. On top of everything, she is almost taking her first steps and stood up unassisted while dancing to some music today. BTW, she can now stand up on her own as long as she is lifting something - don't ask us. Clearly she can stand and walk, she just doesn't really realize it yet.




We are so proud of our little miracle. She is such a lightbeam, filled with humor, silly faces, hugs and kisses. She is both an independent firecracker and a sweet baby who needs her mama and dada. She says so many words both verbally and in signing, it's relatively easy to communicate with her. She is quite the animal lover and is an avid reader. Thanks to all of you who shared our family vacation, she is also now less shy and uncomfortable around others, which makes her that much more of a little star. We are so thankful for this gift, this beautiful child.