"Weeng! Weeng!"

On our way home from Duke Gardens we made a quick pit stop so Zawadi could swing. She LOVES the swings, and runs to them saying "weeng!" It's adorable to watch her kick her feet and throw her head back laughing. It isn't so adorable when we tell her it's time to go home.

Duke Gardens.

It was a beautiful weekend so we decided to get out of the house and take lunch to Duke Gardens. The warm weather gave lots of other people the same idea and Zawadi had a great time waving to picnicers and sunbathers and even played fetch with her new friend Bailey the dog. She enjoyed collecting pine cones in her bucket, walking along the paths, and kept smiling even as she tumbled down the hill (never letting go of her precious sippy cup, lol). It was a great afternoon.

SHOES!

Zawadi is obsessed with shoes. Her shoes, my shoes, Daddy's shoes, you name it. We have some adorable videos of her walking around in some peep toe flats of mine and I was able to snap a few photos of her trying on Daddy's sneakers one night.

Playroom!

All you have to do is say "upstairs" and Zawadi quickly repeats "upise" and heads for the stairs. We are so thankful for her playroom, which continues to fill up with toys and books. Here a few snapshots of some of her favorites!

Windex queen!

Another of Zawadi's favorite pasttimes is pretending to windex things. We keep a bottle filled with water and some napkins under the sink for her and she is constantly taking them out and "cleaning" various things. I was thrilled to see her clean the back door and can't wait for her to really be able to help me with chores :-)

Bon appetite!

One of Zawadi's favorite activites is "cooking." We have a stove in her playroom and a stove downstairs, and she especially enjoys helping Mommy stir things on the real stove. One night I sat watching her go through the motions of cooking and was amazed to see her mimick exactly what she has seen me do. She took the "food" out of the fridge, washed it in her little sink, put it in the microvave and pushed the buttons, put it in the stove and closed it, and then finally took it out and tasted it. She is so smart and continues to amaze me every day.

Our little builder!

One of Zawadi's birthday gifts from my parents was a bookshelf for her playroom. As you can see, she was an essential part of the building team :-) She jumped right in - carrying boxes, unloading pieces, directing Mommy and Daddy, and then taking a break after all of her hard work. She is growing up so fast!

Jada-J's 1st Birthday!

2 weeks after Z's birthday it was time to celebrate Jada's. She looked absolutely adorable in her birthday tutu! The girls were so cute, feeding each other celery and playing in the ball pit. Jada seemed to love her gifts, especially the pink headband we gave her. Gina baked a delicious and beautiful cake and we had a great time with their family and friends.

New hat!

One of the gifts the Nickoloffs gave Zawadi was an adorable matching hat and mittens set. With this cold winter, it definitely came in handy. Zawadi looked so beautiful in it, along with her new pea coat from Auntie Shirley. She LOVES playing outside, no matter the weather, so we were excited to have some new winter clothes.

The Nickoloffs come to visit!

We were so lucky to have the Nickoloffs come to stay with us before they left for Malaysia. W celebrate a late Christmas together and the girls had a great time helping each other open gifts. Then it was NAKED TIME!!!! The girls ran up and down the hallway chasing each other and then slowly derobed before hopping into the wagon. They are so beautiful and it was interesting to watch them switch back and forth between fighting over a toy and playing together cooperatively.

On Saturday Leah introduced us to Marbles, an amazing museum in Raleigh. Zawadi's favorite station was, of course, the water station. It was super crowded but we were able to see how much it has to offer and can't wait to go back again. The girls had fun writing "letters" to be mailed, chased each other around in the money room, drove a mail truck, and even played soccer with a real ball and net.

Clyde drove them to the airport Saturday afternoon. We kept our fingers crossed for safe flights there and back and are excited to have them stay again when they return.

Lovebug turns one!

It is so hard to believe that our beautiful little lovebug is a year old! Christmas quickly turned into New Years, and right behind that was Z's big day. We planned a doggy themed party (Zawadi made the choice in the party store) and invited friends and family over for some snacks and cake and ice cream. We found a woman to make us an amazing 3-D dog cake, and couldn't have been happier with how the party turned out.

We had around 30 people in our house, including Heather and Kenyon from Philly! We were so glad they could make the trip. The food was delicious, thanks to my mom and Shirley and Achieng, and the kids played while the adults ate. Then it was time for presents and the real fun began. Zawadi was the biggest ham you could possibly imagine, tearing paper off and clapping for herself the whole time. She appropriately held all of her new clothes up to herself to model them for us and LOVED each and every thing she received.

She was starting to get sleeping so we knew cake needed to come next. After singing to her and helping her blow out her candle, we gave her her very own specially made smash cake and let her have at it. Needless to say, she was covered in cake and frosting and Grandma-Nana had to give her a quick bath.

It was a wonderful afternoon and we appreciate all of the people who came and all they did to help make our baby girl's birthday a memorable one.

Merry Christmas!

December flew by and before we knew it, it was time for Zawadi's first Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at my parents house, where Zawadi opened enough presents for ten children. She got a new bike, a wagon, and a shopping cart among many other things. We couldn't even fit it all in our car and had to have my brother bring gifts to his house for Clyde to pick up later in the week.

Then Christmas morning we celebrated with another round of gifts at home, just the three of us, followed by a big Christmas breakfast. My favorite moment is when Zawadi sat down to open her first gift. It was a toy phone and when she squeezed it and it rang, she said "OOOOHHHH!" I was so excited I was able to capture it on camera.

Later Christmas night Shirley and Achieng came over with MORE gifts and we all had dinner together. We are so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing family to celebrate these special moments with.