Additional birthday photos

Here are some additional photos from Alice's party...
Snuggling with MaMa


Hanging out with Granny Leigh

Piggy back ride with PaPa

Our "Little Bug" turns ONE!

Alice had a big time at her birthday party! She did a fantastic job at smashing that cake. Grandma put together a lovely angel food cake garnished with strawberries and cool whip. Alice picked her way around the cake eating the strawberries first and then diving into the center for the whipped topping. Her onesie was a green handprint of hers with a little lady bug on it...a darling little memento.

I have to preface all of the food photos with the statement that I always think that my friend Lauren is so funny for posting pictures of the food whenever they have a party or gathering...So Lauren, this is for you,take a gander of KK's yummy salsa! Oh and also take a look at the adorable ladybug strawberries Cassy put together for the party!

Alice was getting full towards the end and began sharing her cake with Daddy and Eva (my friend Cassy's oldest). We stripped Alice down and bathed her in the sink after cake, the bottom right hand photo is the remnants of her cake.

All of the kids had fun playing out back in the playhouse. Pictured are 2 of Cassy's girls Eva (the oldest) and I think that is Mya in the window (one of the twins), Holly (Ashley's) is holding onto the shutters.
Here is Alice playing with the Andrus girls.
We had a great turnout...All of the grandparents, Aunt Ashley with Cousin Holly, Uncle Michael Taylor, Ida and Kara Leeth, the Andruses, the Nixons, along with Finn, Ellis Anne, Peyton, Neve and Michael all from Alice's playgroup (with their awesome parents too, of course).
This is Alice on her new wheelybug. If you hadn't noticed, we had a bug themed party...

Happy Birthday Alice

On September 8 Alice turned 1!

MaMa came to visit and give some birthday hugs.

She is such a beautiful girl and I just love that everyday I get to look forward to watching her learn, discover, and do new things.

When asked "what are some cute things that Alice does?" Dad replies without hesitation "Everything Alice does is cute, babe." I think that says it all....

Alice 1 year updates:

Alice has started a little vocabulary...she says Mama, occaisionally will say Dada, as clear as a bell said duck and ball the other day. Says the Uh part of Uh Oh (always right before she drops something). Her favorite expression is "OOhhh!" while pointing. She can identify her own nose (she usually wrinkles it when you say nose) and point to mommy's nose and eyes. She knows foot, shoes (good girl!) and pats her belly when asked to. She loves hiding, peek a boo, and being chased. She can high-five. She gives great hugs and hums when she does (I guess that's what I do!). And of course the open mouth kiss. She does a pretty good air kiss too! She waves at everyone, especially dogs.

Alice is getting closer to walking...she cruises and pulls up on any object-even the walls, and she is FAST. She still does the "Cayman Crab" a single hand crawl with the left leg pulling out in front and the right leg and bummy schootching on the floor. She loves to climb.

Alice is a dainty girl for her age...while she continues to be a tall girl at 28 1/2 inches, she doesn't pack many pounds at 16 lb 8 oz. She eats everything in site...I'm not sure where she puts it sometimes. She is such a busy girl, she never stops! She has 2 lower and 2 upper teeth, she still loves broccoli, cheese and yougurt above all else but likes just about everything we have ever given her.

Alice loves her dogs...Zeke and Zeus are instant entertainment and a cure for any cranky pants. They chase her and she chases them.

We just love her so much and are so thankful to have such a precious child!

Labor Day

On Labor Day we were able to go up to Pawleys Island and visit with our good friends Candi and Jim Wilson and their daughter Laura who is about 5 months older than Alice. The Wilsons live in Macon, GA and it was so good to be able to spend the day with them...we wish they were closer! The boys played some Bocci ball while the tots chased the balls down the beach and the moms sat and chatted.

Robert took Alice on a couple of wagon rides...which she loved, that is until the 4th or 5th ride that she objected to heartily. We later found the reason why...she had a bruised bummy from a quarter-sized raised spot in the bottom of the wagon! The bruise was a perfectly round spot and had us baffled for a couple of hours. Laura (as you can see by the 2 middle/right photos) did not want anything to do with being inside the wagon. I can't say that I blame her after seeing Alice's bum.

Bluegrass and BBQ festival

August 31st we went to Boone Hall Plantation to listen to some good music and have some good eats. We met up with several of our good friends and enjoyed a beautiful, although a little hot, Charleston day picnicing and playing.

Alice had fun drenching herself with the waterbottle, she actually did a pretty good job drinking from it...but I think it was more fun for her to spill it.

Playgroup at the Beach

One of the biggest perks of living in Charleston is that we get to have playgroup at the beach. We met out at Folly Beach and it was so much fun to see all of the little ones doing their thing. It is so cute to see all of their little personalities come out...some of them are timid, some throw caution to the wind, some love the sand and being dirty, some avoiding the sand and water completely. I particularly love the photos of Alice and Neve sitting facing away from each other doing the exact same thing...playing with beach debris. We are going to miss the beach as the weather cools off.

College Football Season Begins

Alice and I surprised Daddy with her Gamecocks t-shirt the Thursday college football football kicked off with USC vs NC State. We went to Granddaddy's house to watch the game (Granddaddy is a Wolfpack alumni). Poor kid hasn't got a chance to pull for a winning team between Clemson and Carolina!

Dresser Drawers

Not quite sure what the allure of the dresser drawers is, but Alice sure does love opening and closing them as well as pulling all of their contents out on the floor. The other week I heard her in her room opening the drawers and went to peek in and see what she was up to...
I found her here grinning at me and scaling the dresser, what a clever little girl!

Granny visits

Granny, Aunt Tootsie and Uncle Hubert came from Lumberton to visit Aug 24th for Cousin Nik's 16th birthday. We got to spend some time with them on the Yemaya. I thought this photo was special: 4 generations of Taylors beginning and ending with Alice and 2 Roberts in the middle!

Ravenel Bridge Picnic

Okay, way back in August we went for a "hike" to the highest point in Charleston...the top of the Ravenel Bridge and had a picnic. Poor Alice had a small reaction to the sunscreen...you'd think that after spending 2 weeks drenched in it in Cayman that we would be in the clear.

It was a beautiful day and I must say that it was probably the coolest place in the city.