I can do it myself!

Lately, Helena has been very interested in trying to do everything herself.  She especially likes to do this after her bath.  She likes to clean her own ears:

And comb her own hair:

Helena also likes to try to put on her own shoes:

Then, she even helps us clean up:

We couldn't ask for a better baby!

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy, Part 2

This past week, Sophie lost her second tooth!  She was very excited about the tooth fairy coming to visit again so soon.  Sophie also has four more that are loose and her first permanent tooth is already coming in.

We're pretty sure that at this rate, she'll be looking like a Jack-O-Lantern in plenty of time for Halloween:

A few days earlier, we were afraid that the tooth fairy might be visiting Helena as well.  She took a pretty bad spill while walking, and one of her bottom teeth twisted and pushed through the front of her gum:

Her mouth was very sore the first few days, which kept her from eating much, and we were afraid that it might have to be pulled.  Fortunately, after a visit to our physician, a visit to our dentist, and a visit to the pediatric dentist, it was determined that her tooth was healing and she could keep it.  Although her tooth is no longer in quite the right spot, she's able to eat well again, which makes Helena very happy.

The Tiny Tornado

Helena's nickname is the Tiny Tornado.  Why?  Because everywhere she goes she leaves behind a path of death and destruction (okay, not really death, but definitely destruction).  Here's a sample:

She may look sweet and innocent, but it's all a ruse.  I'm pretty sure that her greatest joy in life comes from removing every item we own from its proper storage place.

Helena's First Birthday!

Today, our baby turned one.  It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed already!  We had Helena's one-year checkup this morning and everything looked great.  Here are her current stats: Height - 30 inches (75th percentile); Weight - 19 pounds, 10 ounces (25th percentile - it's also 2 pounds more than Sophie weighed on her first birthday!)  Helena's pretty much given up crawling and prefers to walk everywhere now.  She's also been sleeping through the night for seven months now, she's totally done with bottles, and she's almost weaned. 

We were fortunate enough to have family in town to help us celebrate this huge milestone, so it's been a busy and fun-filled past few days.  Last weekend, Sophia and Helena got to spend some time playing in their pool and we also paid a visit to the zoo: 

On the day of Helena's party, she happily posed for photos (doesn't she look like such a big girl?):

Although she received lots of wonderful gifts, I think Helena's favorite part of the day may very well have been her first taste of cake.  Once she got started, she dug in with both hands and there was no stopping her:

After the party, Helena enjoyed time with some of her birthday presents:

It seems that the past year has just flown by.  Although it's bittersweet watching Helena grow up so fast, we're so proud of her accomplishments and so excited to see what the future holds for her.

A Visit from the Tooth Fairy

It's been a very eventful weekend. We have family in town to celebrate Helena's first birthday this week and yesterday we also got to experience another important event:  Sophie lost her first baby tooth!

Sophie was so excited!  Because she was fortunate enough to lose her first tooth while we had visitors, the tooth fairy was especially generous with her.  She was so happy about finding the tooth fairy's surprise the next morning that she asked her Grandma to pull another one of her teeth out so she could make some more money.  Unfortunately, none of the others are loose enough to come out yet, so it looks like she'll have to wait a little longer.

Helena's Baby

Until recently, Helena has shown absolutely no interest in her baby dolls.  Everytime she picked one up, she would throw it or bang its head against another toy.  A few days ago, however, she found this baby in her closet: 

She just started carrying it around.  Ever since she discovered this baby, she's been hugging and kissing it and even patting it on the back.  It's really cute!

New Additions

We are pleased to announce that we have two new additions to our family!  Last weekend, while we were running errands, Sophie spotted the fish tanks in the store.  We decided to stop, "just to look", and ended up leaving with two new friends:

This is Sammy:

And this is Sally:

Sophie seems to be pretty attached to them already, so I hope we don't have to make use of that 30-day replacement guarantee.