The smartest baby in the world

Mark and I should have known we were destined to have the smartest baby in the world but who would have guessed our little girl would want to walk this early - seven months! She isn't actually walking yet, but she is standing on her own just about anywhere that she can get a handhold. I'm going to continue gloating about my daughter and share some of the other amazing things she is doing - like feeding herself cheerios (and not missing her mouth). Despite Mark's blog photo of her with a messy mouth, she is a very neat eater. When she is at play she is very interested in the details of her toys.

This last weekend my sister came to visit because my mother was having a birthday and airfare was reasonable. It was fun to hang out with her and I think she really enjoyed seeing the baby. We went to a warehouse sale featuring products from local Seattle companies like Babylegs and See Kai Run. We bought two pairs of Babylegs which are basically leg warmers for babies with really cute designs, such as strawberries or little dogs. Grandma S. also bought her first pair of shoes for walking, which are very cute. They are "mary jane" style made of pink and tan leather.

At work things have been really busy. I haven't been able to go and visit her at daycare as often, but I feel ok about it. She has such fun with her friends and I know the daycare workers really care about all the kids.

As for things at the house, we still don't have any ceiling fixtures or overhead lights upstairs or in the laundry room, but Mark thinks he will be ready to call the inspector next week. I am hoping we will have lights by March 1st. It is especially dark in the stairwell leading upstairs, so it is a good thing that we both have good balance and dexterity.

Mark continues to be the best husband and friend in the world. I am so happy I met him and can't believe our wedding anniversary is right around the corner. We decided to give each other a new mattress as our wedding/valentine's day present. The mattress we were sleeping on was 15 years old but now we are sleeping on a top of the line mattress by Beautyrest with independent coil springs, memory foam and a pillow top. If one of us gets up in the night or tosses in our sleep the other person doesn't even feel the mattress move. It is heavenly.