Inside the ball castle at her pal Hailey's first birthday bash.

Supersonic

Last weekend we went to Seattle for my cousin Meg's wedding. Meg helped me get a handle on family tree nomenclature (at least a better handle than I had before), and so I can say with some certainty that she is Roxi's first cousin once removed.

After a sleepless but happy flight (Roxi flirted with everyone on the plane) and an uneventful cab ride, we were greeted by a mass of relatives at the hotel. Wackiness ensued for the rest of the weekend. Roxi got to see her Nanna, Uncle Lee, Gigi, Poppop, Great Aunt Pat, Great Uncle Bill, Great Aunt Suzanne, cousins Meg, Nathan, Bill, Angi, Billy and Joe, and many more ... in fact, more relatives than anyone could shake a stick at (even a whompin big stick). Our sweet girl took to everyone, smiling and laughing and giving leg bear hugs to whomever would stand still long enough.

Roxi had a big time. Not much napping. Lots of being chased around and held by giggling family members. Ample hotel bed jumping. A healthy dose of crackers. It was her kind of weekend.

Uncle Lee helps Roxi accessorize.

On Saturday, we took a tour of Seattle's newest library, which can only be described as amazing. Here Roxi is enjoying one of the many puzzles in the gigantic children's section.

All dressed up at the wedding and having fun with her Great Great Aunt Betty.

This was the part of the evening when we were giving Roxi anything and everything on the dinner table to keep her occupied (Note that the cute little bow in her hair is LONG gone.). After quickly chucking spoons, napkins and wedding favors out of her field of vision, she settled happily on this lemon.

Hey, wait a minute ... this actually tastes a lot like yuck.

Happy family.

Daddy head bongo playing NEVER gets old.

Here's Roxi sporting her shiny new bike helmet. Stylish!

Chart Buster

Roxi had her one-year checkup this afternoon. She got another glowing report from Dr. P, with gold stars in the areas of growth, development and cuteness. She's doing magnificently ... even if she won't eat any vegetables. Rob and I knew this already, but it was pretty swell to hear it from the doc himself.

Roxi had a good time - waving and smiling at everyone, playing with the spiffy bead table, discovering the air conditioning vent, untying Dr. P's shoes, exploring every nook and cranny of the examining room - until her 2 shots were administered. Even then she was a trooper; she was grinning at nurse Rhonda mere moments after the second needle left her skin.

So, without further ado, here are Roxi's latest stats:

• 21 pounds, 5 ounces - in the 60th percentile
• 30.75 inches tall - in the 90th percentile
• 18.75 inches head circumference - in the 99th percentile

We had a small party to celebrate Roxi's birthday last night. Jen, Mike, Tori and Chris (some of her Colorado "aunts" and "uncles") were on hand to witness the obligatory cake demolition that should accompany every first birthday. As you can see from her expression, Roxi wasn't quite sure what to make of her cupcake.

But she figured it out pretty quickly.

And soon realized that it was not only edible, but downright tasty.

I am Roxi, Queen of All Cupcakes!

Feeling a little sheepish about making such a big mess?

No way!

Since today was officially Roxi's big day, we celebrated by going out to lunch, visiting two parks, eating dinner outside and opening presents. Not to mention the usual cat tackling, cracker requesting and dirt smearing.

Being one rules!

Sporting fancy ribbons after opening her birthday presents.

One

Our baby isn't a baby anymore. She's a full-fledged toddler, and she's one whole year old. Holy smokes, did that ever go FAST. Here are a few of Roxi's latest cute new skills:

• Recognizing Rob's voice on the phone and answering machine, and saying "Da Da!" when she hears him.
• Activating her toy that plays "Oh Susanna", waiting for us to start singing and clapping, and then performing a magnificent arm flapping, body swaying dance.
• Patty cake marathons.
• Wanting to go on the slide at the playground over and over.
• Asking to take a bath every time she's naked. "Baaa?"
• Waving at everyone who will give her the time of day (and many who won't). We get all kinds of special treatment at the grocery store.
• Chasing us around the house and laughing big belly guffaws when she's being chased.
• Visual memory: She'll point out balloons, kitties, bees, butterflies and ducks in her books, among other things.
• Picking out a book, bringing it to one of us and sitting in our lap so we'll read it to her.
• Following basic commands: bring me your shoes, put your bear in your toy box, have a seat, etc.
• Kicking and throwing balls - by herself and on command.
• Sporting more teeth. Roxi's fifth tooth, another right lower incisor, made its debut on Memorial Day.

Less cute has been her waking time for the past week - between 4 and 5 a.m. But hey, I can almost forget it's still dark outside when I walk into her room and see that smiling face waiting for me. We're a bit on the sleep-deprived side, but we couldn't be happier with our big one-year-old girl. Happy birthday Roxi!!!

Faces and Rainy Spaces

I've been remiss about sharing the faces in Roxi's life lately. In March, she was treated to a visit from her Aunt Christa, Aunt Bean (who is technically her second cousin Joy, aka Joybean) and Aunt Bean's beau Shawn. We had a big ol' time, including lots of watching Roxi be Roxi and a party to celebrate her momentously cool relatives.

Then Gamma Rose visited over Memorial Day weekend. It rained mercilessly and we couldn't have cared less. We explored the playroom at the local mall (mayhem, total mayhem). We stomped and played and screamed and laughed and cavorted around the house. We ate out a lot. That part of the weekend led us to this discovery: Roxi will eat much more at a restaurant than she will at home, particularly if there are aquariums full of fish and/or small children sitting nearby. The girl who will often turn her nose up at everything non-cracker was suddenly eating shrimp scampi (Red Lobster, dinner) and Vietnamese chicken (Young's, lunch). Maybe she was trying to impress her Gamma. Methinks it worked.

Another new face in Roxi's life is her regular babysitter. Melissa is a student at Colorado State University, full of energy (which Roxi loves) and very responsible (which Rob and I love). Plus, she's a lot of fun. She's been coming once a week - 3 to 10 p.m. - for the past couple of months. I generally catch up on freelance projects or run errands for the first few hours and then Rob and I have date night. Everybody's happy :)