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Toys and food have changed her life

Willow loves her water table.
Two major events have happened to Willow in the past few weeks coinciding with her first birthday: the swift and large expansion of her toy universe and the growth in independence of her dining habits. These two events have truly changed her life.
The fact that she's growing is obvious and unavoidable, and we can't do anything about it.

First the toys, my God, the toys!

In the past few weeks, Willow has obtained the following:
  • A Cozy Coupe. This little doozy of a car has her zipping all over the house, with me pushing!
  • A super-duper wagon. When I'm not pushing Willow in her Coupe, I'm pulling her all over her world in this souped-up wagon, complete with an umbrella to keep the sun off and a cooler to keep the drinks cold.
  • A water table. Willow especially loves the lifeguard who came with this genius idea for a toy. She likes splashing the water and dipping her tiny lifeguard in the water (I think she's trying to drown her, oh, the irony!). This table is really nice when it's too hot to go to the park.
  • A gigantic swingset. This slide and swing and sandbox and teeter-totter combo of a playset isn't put together yet (more mechanically savvy folks than me are needed for the job), but I don't doubt she'll spend hours a day on this thing.
  • A bike rack. Now Willow, Che and I can get to the park more easily to go bike-riding!
  • The hand-me-downs. Willow has gotten bags and bags and bags of toys from her older cousins Rett and Bristol. Her favorite toys from the latest booty are the mailbox and the steering-wheel dashboard. She's mailed more letters in the past few days than I have in my lifetime!

 

And now for the grub!

Willow fed herself cereal this morning.
In the past few days, Willow has been practicing taking a spoon filled with food from Cherish and me and feeding herself. This morning she took the next step, filling her spoon with cereal and feeding herself.
She did really well for her first time. I think four or five Apple Jacks actually made it to her mouth! The rest, of course, ended up in her highchair and on the floor.

But she had a blast!

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