family time

penny and zack had a wonderful thanksgiving week, with a very special visit from "grandpa abba-dabba", as he's now affectionately called by them. turkey day was spent at nonnie and grampy's with aunt pat, beth, conrad, matt, & uncle john. then, on saturday, we had a small gathering of family and friends from ct over to officially celebrate the big O-N-E.

zack show's grandpa abba dabba a photo of mom and him in the hospital

getting ready for the party: penny and zack work together to stock the waters

penny's cake (egg, soy and nut-free!)

time for the big girl to blow out her candle!

the men discuss the cake: was it great or just "not terrible"?

the party-goers

such fun gifts!

what a great time, thanks for coming, everyone!

"big girl"

penny sure enjoyed her first week being 1 year old. she enjoyed her first-ever cupcake, got a special doll (which she calls "dolly" that dad picked out and bought for her --too cute) and even showed some of her all-too-common stunts for the camera.

one is the luckiest number

we're thrilled to celebrate this milestone with you, penny sue. happy first birthday to our gorgeous daughter.

.

spoon man

zack has become an expert at using a spoon (finally?). oatmeal? no problem. cereal? easy. you name, he can spoon it. (ignore wet marks on shirt...)

daredevil

as penny approaches her first birthday this week, she's been testing the waters with all sorts of dangerous stunts. most of them involve standing on something completely unstable (a toy truck, a rocking horse, an old chair) and bouncing up and down.

calling meme

today, zack made about a hundred calls on his play phone. Each time, of course, he called meme. This call turned out to be cute because, not wanting to be outdone, penny says "meme" from behind the scenes...which i didn't realize until zack reported "penny says meme."

hello?

penny has been enjoying "answering" her play phone when it rings. we call the game "hello?"

one more...

couldn't resist posting this pic of penny trick or treating over at our neighbors' house...so excited to be there!