Watch McKinley Grow - 1st Year - February 2014

I may not have been good at posting McKinley's Duck pictures as I took them, but at least I took them! :) Since I didn't manage to post these monthly I thought I'd start by sharing her 1 year picture and then going through all of them. Looking at these pictures you can see what a sweet and happy baby Miss McKinley was during her first year. I sure love my smallest munchkin! :)

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February 2013 - 1 year old

February 2013 - 9 days old

 March 2013 - 1 month old

 April 2013 - 2 months old

 May 2013 - 3 months old

 June 2013 - 4 months old

 July 2013 - 5 months old

 August 2013 - 6 months old

 September 2013 - 7 months old

 October 2013 - 8 months old

 November 2013 - 9 months old

 December 2013 - 10 months old

 January 2014 - 11 months old

 February 2014 - 1 year old

McKinley Grace has been such a blessing to our family! She is adored by all of us and has received more hugs and kisses during her first year than are possible to count. Her three big siblings could not possibly adore her more (sometimes to her great frustration and in her opinion loved a little too much or at least too hard)! :)

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At a year old McKinley is a pretty funny little girl and appears to be taking the position as our family clown. She loves to be the center of attention, entertaining us and making everyone laugh. Her jokes can be as simple as stopping in the middle of whatever she is doing pointing at you and yelling "Mommy" or "Daddy" followed by the sweetest little giggle as if she's just told the funniest joke ever. Of course from everyone's reaction you would think she had in fact told the funniest joke ever. :) She also enjoys animal sounds, especially the spitting camel. Her favorite joke is when you ask her where someone is that is clearly nearby and she responds with "Gaw gone" (all gone) with her hands raised and a puzzled expression which quickly turns to a huge smile and giggle.
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McKinley has the sweetest giggle and also one of the best belly laughs I've ever heard a baby use. It is priceless! She loves to be tickled and she is just so easy to make smile or laugh. One thing I especially love is that instead of saying yes (she does say no and/or shake her head) she breaks out in the biggest grin and laughs if you offer her something she would like. There was never a clearer yes in the world than Miss McKinley's! :)

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Having said that McKinley is usually a very happy baby, she is also showing signs of having a temper just like Reagan and Jackson. She has one serious scowl when she disapproves of something or someone. She looks and acts so much like Reagan that one of her nicknames is Reagan 2.0. All I can say is if we are right and we do have a couple of years of tantrums coming up, thank goodness this is our last round!!! :)

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There is no doubt we have another talker on our hands! Miss McKinley has never been quiet, but she has been picking up words left and right since turning one. She is much more on track to be an early talker like her big sisters vs Jackson. How early boys vs girls talk is certainly a stereotype that has held true in our house.

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McKinley took her first steps her birthday weekend, which Kelly caught on video for us, but she didn't really begin to truly walk until she was about 15 months old. Her favorite way to walk was with the top half of the Bitty Baby highchair being pushed in front of her. I really hope I can find the picture because she looks just like a little old lady with her walker whipping around the house. She was too funny (which I'm sure she realized)! lol :) Beyond walking, McKinley has been much more interested and determined to do forward rolls on our gymnastics mat than in learning how to walk. I wonder why that is???

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 We can also safely say we have another little bookworm in our family. :) McKinley LOVES to look at books and read. It is such a part of her naptime and bedtime routines that she basically refuses to go to sleep without reading. The first book she showed a clear preference for was Sandra Boynton's "Moo, Baa, La la la." Our family has spent hours laughing over this book as McKinley giggled and giggled at the silly pigs. Other favorites have included Brown Bear, Brown Bear, I Love You Every Little Bit, Skippy John Jones, several ABC books including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and Chick Chicka 1, 2, 3.

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Most of all, as I said before, Miss McKinley is one loved baby! We thank God for such a beautiful blessing and addition to our lives. She has most definitely and perfectly completed our family. We are looking forward to "Watching MicKinley Grow" and seeing how her personality continues to develop for many years to come. :) Happy Birthday baby girl! :)