Family Picture Day

Yesterday our sweet friend Amber took some family pictures. She is such a talented photographer, and we are so thankful she was able to take time for us. She is leaving soon to be a missionary in Milan, Italy. Please be praying for her as she is preparing to go and for her time there. We look forward to telling Elizabeth about our missionary heroes like her.

You can see our pictures here on her website.

Happy 1st Birthday, Elizabeth!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to your family from ours.  

Remembering the grace on that night...

Six years ago today was a bittersweet time for Jonathan and I.  Only four short days after our dating bliss had begun, we were involved in a serious car accident--one that forever changed our lives.  

       

On December 18, 2002, Jonathan had just picked me up at my house after his hitting practice.  After bringing me roses we embarked on our journey to pick up his brother and to attend a Sunday School Christmas party.  Jonathan entered into the curve and lost control of his 2000 Trooper.  We flipped four times head-over-end and the car landed on my side (the passenger side).  I remained conscious and the only pain I can remember was my hip.  Jonathan was unconscious.  His head was resting on my shoulder and blood was coming from his nose.  We were rushed to the WakeMed in Raleigh, to discover that Jonathan had two small tears on his brain.  He went to ICU and I went to an ER room where I received 7 staples in my head.  Things with Jonathan were touch and go for a while.  The doctors were not sure what they needed to do, but emergency brain surgery was looking like the only option.  When they reassessed Jonathan, his tears had repaired themselves and the bleeding had stopped.  Only 4 days later he came home with no serious side affects sustaining from such a head injury.  

The providence of the Lord is profound.  (and even that sounds like such an understatement).  I marvel at the grace and mercy that God poured out in our lives both physically and spiritually during this season of our lives.  I had witnessed God's healing power first hand, and saw his transforming power to speak light into our dark hearts.  We will forever be grateful for such a wreck which the Lord purposed for our good and His glory.

Here we are six years later--holding our delightful baby girl and loving marriage.   

What shall we do with her?

...Our little bundle of joy is a huge mess.  The other day I walked into her room while she was napping--this is what I saw:

It is her newest sleeping position.  Since these pictures have been taken, I have found her like this a few times. 

FYI-as seen, no sleeping babies were awaken while taking these pictures.  Sometimes I think elephants could march right through her room and she wouldn't even budge. 

a walk down memory lane

Six years ago today, Jonathan asked me to be his girlfriend. We were both in Myrtle Beach on December 14, 2002. I was on an annual family trip, and Jon was at a baseball showcase. We were completely smitten prior to the trip, which made me even more excited to know that my crush would be in the same "romantic" town as me. He came by and picked me up at my hotel, and we went walking on the beach. On that brisk December night, he sweetly wrote, "Will you be my girlfriend?" in the sand. Who could resist such a guy? Of course, I said yes, and we kissed under that bright, full moon. Even then, barely a junior in high school, I knew I could spend the rest of my life with him. (okay, or maybe i was just being a typical teenage girl!)

It is crazy to think we go back even further than that day (my freshman year). And even more crazy to think I married that charming boy 5 years later. December is special to me because this was the time my husband asked me to be his girlfriend. What happened four days later, makes it even more remarkable...but I'll save that for another post. :) In the meantime, here are some oldie-goldie pictures of us at prom..

another music nostalgia (christmas style)

I'm not a big fan of Christmas music. Don't get me wrong, I love hearing them in worship, but by the time Christmas rolls around, I have heard every song at least 50 million times. Well, at least since it started consuming the radio days after Halloween. I have to admit, though, there is one song that I love to hear. When it plays on our itunes, there is rarely a time that I don't have a sudden urge to start belting out the lyrics. Six years ago, I deemed the song as Jonathan and my "Christmas love song" (don't you just love how you had songs for different seasons of your dating life).

And I hate to admit that its theology is very awful. I know that I don't technically need my husband, but I am so thankful I am graced to spend my Christmases with him. I am also very thankful that I am no longer enslaved to the idolatry of Jonathan like I once was when I deemed this song as ours. I now can't help but to sing it and see the evidence of God's grace in my life...and of course, swoon Jonathan with my, oh, so beautiful singing. (yeah, right!)



So what's your favorite Christmas song?

"Christ was born a martyr"

As a family, we are reading through Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, edited by Nancy Guthrie.

I particularly enjoyed this John Donne quote from The Book of Uncommon Prayers, which was included in Skip Ryan's sermon. I thought I would share.

The whole of Christ's life was a continual passion; others die martyrs, but Christ was born a martyr. He found a Golgotha, where he was crucified, even in Bethlehem, where he was born; for to his tenderness then the straws were almost as sharp as the thorns after, and the manger as uneasy at first as the cross at last. His birth and his death were but one continual act, and his Christmas Day and his Good Friday are but the evening and the morning of one and the same day. From the creche to the cross is an inseparable line. Christmas only points forward to Good Friday and Easter. It can have no meaning apart from that, where the Son of God displayed his glory by his death.

My favorite month

When I breath the cool, crisp air of December, my heart flutters with amazement at the grace of God, and Galatians 4:3-5 floods my mind,

In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (ESV)

December is my favorite month. Not only because it is advent season, but because December entails some of my favorable memories:

• Jonathan and I becoming "official" in high school.
• A life-changing wreck.
• Our first baby is born.

In post to come, I want to share my December memories with you as I reflect on God's grace in our lives.

"Can I come too, daddy?"

The other week Jonathan was leaving to go out of town.  In the midst of trying to help him pack, I noticed that Elizabeth had gotten quiet.  These days her being quiet means she is up to something.  When I went to go check on her I found her in Jon's suitcase playing with his shoes.  She looked so sweet.  Here are a few pictures:

our first MN well check-up

I went ahead and scheduled Elizabeth a 12 month appointment since we would be out of town on her birthday and because we missed her 9 month check-up. We went today and meet her doctor that she will be seeing regularly--I absolutely love her doctor. I mean, not that the one in Wake Forest was bad, but our new doctor is just exceptional! She was so encouraging to me as a mom and very interactive with Elizabeth. She didn't act like she was too busy for us and answered all my questions very thoroughly. She took her time and I didn't feel like we were another check off of her to-do-list. (you know how it is, the doctors rush in and want to rush back out).

So here is Elizabeth's stats:

She weighed 20.05 lbs (29th percentile) and was 29.9 ins (65th percentile) long. She is long and lean and super healthy. She has two top teeth trying to make their way in, and she got the flu shot today and blood drawn (which was awful for me! She, on the other hand, was not one bit bothered by the prick of the needle, just annoyed I was holding her down).

We praise the Lord for a great check-up and for finding such a great doctor.

Update:
Her stats have changed. Not because she has grown more, but because I looked at the growth chart wrong. I found a calculator that would do all the work for me here if anyone is interested.

a walking, talking kind of girl

This past weekend Jonathan's parents and brother came up for a visit.  We enjoyed showing off all of Elizabeth's new tricks.  Elizabeth even took her showing-off a step further.  She impressed them with this:  

  

It didn't surprise me.  She has looked like she wanted to take off running for a while.  Not to mention she took a step at our neighbors house the other week.  Now that I know she is capable of walking, would it make me a bad mom if I pushed her down every time she took a step?!  Babies don't walk--big girls do.  I don't know how much of this growing up I can handle!

11 months old..and I can't believe it!

Today we celebrate Elizabeth turning 11 months.  I cannot believe how fast she has grown.  Here are 11 things I love about her:

1.  She shares her bottle.

2.  She gives the best bear hugs.

3.  She occasionally blows me kisses.

4.  She has the sweetest smile that displays her 2 lower teeth.

5.  She adores her daddy.

6.  She has the cutest little crawl.

7.  She loves to snuggle.

8.  She gets super excited when our neighbors come to the door.

9.  She likes to hold daddy's books.

10.  She is a delightful baby.

11.  The mere fact, I could go on for days listing the things I love about her. 

So what is this 11 month old doing?  Here is a video that captures what she does best...

...makes a mess for mom!

Our little Sock Monkey

I know this post is a little late, but I wanted to share Elizabeth's Halloween costume with you.  We went to Target the day of the 31st and got this one at a lovely discounted price.  I think we have found our tradition.  (I know we are kinda cheap.)

Here is the Sock Monkey and her friend the Dinosaur.

This Sock Monkey really likes the leaves on the ground.

The Dinosaur trying to encourage the Sock Monkey to look up at the camera.

And finally, we broke the Sock Monkey's fascination with the leaves long enough to take a picture.

Commemorating a hero

One of my all-time-favorite authors is C. S. Lewis. Forty-five years ago today, Lewis passed away. To remember him, I wanted to put up two of my favorite stories about Lewis.

Walter Hooper tells this one in his book, C. S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide. Keep in mind, Lewis is only nine in this story.

It was also a young boy that a future C. S. Lewis, champion of Reason,
emerged. Warren Lewis [his brother] has given us an example of that
'dexterity of riposte' for which his brother later became so famous. It
was 1907 and the family was preparing for a holiday in France. Warren
said, 'Entering the study, where my father was poring over his account books,
Jack flung himself into a chair and observed, "I have a prejudice against the
French." My father, interrupted in a long addition sum, said irritably,
"Why?" Jack, crossing his legs and putting his finger tips together,
replied, "If I knew why it would not be a prejudice"' (Hooper Companion & Guide 4)

Again, Walter Hooper tells this one in the introduction of The Weight of Glory. This is one of the stories toward the end of Lewis's life after he had awaken from his coma.

Even before he went into the nursing home I marvelled that Lewis had lived
so long without setting himself ablaze. Except when he dressed for a
special occasion, he wore an old tweed jacket, the right-hand pocket of
which had been patched and re-patched many times. This was because
Lewis, when wearied of his pipe, would drop it into his pocket, with the
results that it would burn its way through. And this happened so often
that there was none of the original material left.

The nurses in the Acland, having found him nodding wtih a cigarette in
his hand, would have none of this. And so it was that, except when I
was with him, they would not allow him to have any matches. What puzzled
Lewis was that after I had left him with a box of matches, a nurse, would,
as soon as I left, rush in and take them away. "How do they know?" he asked me one morning. "Give me a box I can hide under my bedclothes." I had then to confess that while I was the supplier, I was also the informer. "Imformer!" roared Lewis. "I have what no friend ever had before. I have a private traitor, my very own personal Benedict Arnold. Repent before it
is too late!" (Lewis Weight of Glory 5-6)

As much as I like to read stories by Lewis, I love hearing stories about him. Last year, I was able to sit and listen to Walter Hooper tell many stories (these two included) about Lewis. I don't think I will ever forget it. Here's to you, C. S. "Jack" Lewis: November 29, 1898-November 22, 1963.

just one more night

For the past week Jonathan has been gone to Providence, RI to attend the ETS conference. Elissa and Josiah planned a trip to keep me company while he was gone. Initially, I thought ETS would only last until Thursday, but then Jonathan told me he would not be home until late Saturday afternoon. (they have a 23 hour bus trip back). Of course, he told me after Elissa had already bought her ticket to come up and boy, was I dreading Thursday to get here.

This morning I woke up with my arm around a box of cereal. Ever creak the house made woke me up last night. At 1:00 am, I laid in bed, hungry and wide awake. After gaining enough courage to escape the security of my cozy room and walk through a dark house, I grabbed a box of cereal and Diet Dr. Pepper. I then proceeded to retreat back to fort (aka my bed) and turn on the TV. I thought for sure Bernie Mac would put me to sleep, but he didn't.

Originally, I thought the only perk of Jonathan not being here was that I was able to watch movies in bed. But I discovered another one: eating in bed. He hates it when I do that. When I was pregnant with Elizabeth I HAD to have a couple of crackers before I got up in the morning. So, there on the night stand, laid my delicious Zesta crackers that I thorough enjoyed as it eased my nauseous stomach. Apparently, I'm a messy eater (but who isn't with crackers? plus I was probably about to pee myself, so I HAD to eat them fast) and I got cracker crumbs all in our sheets. Jonathan would come home after a long day of work, only to hop in to sheets that felt like it had grains of salt in them (truly, it may have been salt. I HAD to brush the salt of the top of the crackers. Do you know was salt does? It swells you up, and that is one thing a pregnant lady does not need--more swelling!). I knew he didn't like it, but he knew the necessity of the whole ordeal.

I miss him. Those two perks aren't enjoyable enough to make me look forward to him leaving. I can't wait until tomorrow night when I can wrap him up in a big hug. I know some people like having there alone time, but I think I'm just too needy. I love it when he is here and I hate it when he is gone. But regardless of where he is, I still feel the closeness of our unity. His absence reminds me of one of my favorite John Donne's poem, "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning"

Tagged

So awhile back Kimberly tagged me with one of these things. Since Jonathan has hijacked our camera and I have no thriving idea for a blog, I thought I would do this. You are supposed to tell 7 things that people probably don't know about you. Then you are supposed to tag seven friends, and I'm totally down with the whole seven theme and all, but I don't think I want to tag any one in particular. So, if you read this, consider yourself tagged. You can leave me seven things I might not know about you in my comments. Then, we will be vulnerable together. :-)



1) I used to want to play in the WNBA (and at one point thought I really could, ha!).

2) I always wanted braces for two reasons: so I could wear the rubber bands and have a retainer. Gosh, how I wished I had the cool "retainer lisp" my friends had at slumber parties.

3) When I was younger I was sometimes afraid of taking baths. For some reason, I thought the tub could morph into a giant witch bowl. And I'm still a little bit scared if I do take a bath. (i'm hoping to grow out of it, honestly).

4) My all-time-favorite childhood TV show was Rescue 911.

5) I'm deathly scared of snakes and fire.

6) My dream car is an Honda Odyssey. (the newer they are, the cooler they are)

7) Lord willing, I want about a 1,000 kids. (okay, I may be exaggerating a bit)

All Natur-ale

I should have known I would never be the natural, organic type. With the first throbbing of a headache, two Tylenol appear on the scene. When I found out I was expecting Elizabeth, I never struggled with "should I get an epidural, should I not?" I knew what I was going to do. In fact, you will rarely hear me say epidural, without a possessive pronoun accompanying it--my epidural.

What inspired this post was an article I saw about not using shampoo (via another blog that gives me a laugh). No "pooing," as they like to call it, sounded very interesting to me. I read that article and even googled other articles obtaining to the same subject. I kept picturing my non-chemical-hair waving in the wind, and the beauty of my skin that didn't guzzle down the hap-hazards of my shampoo--all between the sips of my refreshing diet Mountain Dew. I could tell my interest started to fade, when I would have to make my own shampoo. I hardly like making dinner (and I love food!). So I decided my Herbal Essence is natural enough for me. Sigh.

When I discovered that cloth diapers still existed, I was really into that idea. But, I had changed one too many of Elizabeth's poopy diapers, and I decided that if we were to ever have a child that didn't poop, cloth diapers would be the way to go.

So apparently, I'm into the organic/natural way of life, just not that in to it. As I sit here typing this, I have a splenda-filled coffee sitting beside me. I just have to realize that although some of these things sound so great, I lack money, energy, and motivation to choose this way of life. I'm a helpless cause. Avoiding most processed meats, is about as natural as I get, and for right now, I'm okay with that.

our 10 month wonder

Earlier this week, Elizabeth turned 10 months. So you may be wondering, "what is Elizabeth doing at 10 months?" Well, I'm glad you asked. Here is a list of all the things she likes/does:

• She eats some foods with her fingers.

• She loves to share an empty bottle, her last couple of bites, and fake food.

• She claps her hands when I sing, "If you're happy and you know."

• She sometimes waves bye-bye.

• She says ma-ma, da-da, and ba-ba (sometimes for her bottle and sometimes when people leave).

• She crawls super fast.

• She occasionally bites (and gets spanked).

• She has a really cute dance.

• She loves her baby doll (although, I think it is not attractive).

• She loves her daddy's teddy bears (Brent and Wrinkles, although, she favors Brent more, and it nearly breaks Jon's heart).

• Actually, now that I think about it, she just loves stuff animals.

• She bear hugs our legs.

• She has two teeth (the bottom front) and is currently cutting at least one of the top front.

• She is really accident prone (unfortunately, like her mother).

• Oh, and she loves to play with her daddy.

I cannot wait to see Jon's face when she asks to paint his toenails! I painted my dads' once and swore to him we had fingernail polish removal, only to discover we didn't (oops). My fireman dad wore his fire engine red toenails proudly when he had to do his weekend fire duty. No, I'm pretty sure he never took his socks off (sorry dad).

Here is what playtime with dad looks like...

Fall

Minneapolis is beautiful.  Here are some pictures of our scenery.  

 

ma-ma and da-da are good for now..

Sometimes I'm thankful Elizabeth isn't very verbal yet.  

In the book I'm reading, "Don't Make Me Count to Three" by Ginger Plowman, she shares this story:

(in advance, sorry I don't know the correct way to block quote with the format of the blog.)

    "I learned humility well one Friday afternoon in the Winn Dixie Grocery Store about three years ago.  

Normally, I do my grocery shopping in the morning while the store is not so crowded.  But for whatever reason, I found myself waiting in the checkout line at 6:00 p.m. on Friday with my two children.  The place was packed.  There were cashiers at all 10 registers and six or seven carts in every line.  In the line next to me, the very last line, waited a mother and her two small children.  They were about the same ages as my chidlren, three and five.  Mini refrigerators filled with various drinks were strategically located at the end of each check out counter. 

The five year old began to beg mom for a coke (Let the games begin!).  

Mom gave a firm, "No."  The boy began to walk over to the refrigerator.  

Mom said (loudly), 'You better not open that door!'  The boy opened the door.

'You better not pull a drink out of there, mister!'  The boy grabbed a coke.

'If you open that coke you are going to get it!'  The boy unscrewed the cap, tossed it on the floor, and took a big swig.

Mom was screaming now, having completely lost it.  'You just wait until we get home and your daddy hears about this!  You kids never listen to me.  I've had it up to here with you both!'

No one was able to decipher the exact location of 'here' but we kept listening anyway.  It's not that we were being nosy.  It's just that there is nothing else to do while waiting in line, so this scene had the full attention of every customer.  Now, in order for all these people to watch the scene unfold, they had to look past me and my children, who on this particular day were behaving well.  Enter pride.  Rather than having compassion for this poor mom and the struggles she was having with her children, I smugly thought, 'You won't see my kids acting like that.'

And then it happened.  My three-year-old daughter, Alex, was standing right behind me when all of a sudden she blurted out the most horrible three words imaginable.  It was as if she had grabbed one of the microphones from a checkout counter and yelled into it with all her might.  Waving her hands frantically in front of her face, in a BOOMING voice, she screams, 'Mama!  You pooted!'  My entire body froze.  Time stood still.  To this day, I do not know which was worse--the second she blurted it out or the minute it took for everyone to realize it was true."

Reading this story, reminds me of some of the funniest bathroom experiences I've had.  You know, the ones where you are in the stall beside that brave women who has that little talking toddler in there with her.  The mom, obviously, doing what she came in there to do, when the youngster loudly proclaims, "Ew, mom, what is that?!"  

Although, I laughed out loud with the story Ginger Plowman shared, and quietly tried to hide my snickering during the infamous bathroom times, there is a sense of fear of what might come out of Elizabeth's mouth one day.  

In times like these, I'm thankful my little girl only mutters ma-ma and da-da and hope I can laugh (and be humbled) at whatever will come out of the mouth of my babe.   

And the world's worst mom and wife award goes to...

This morning I awaken to tiny fingers jabbing in my mouth and nose.  Jonathan rarely has the privilege to get Elizabeth up, so any opportunity he has to have a brief but sweet snuggle time with Elizabeth and for her to wake me up, he takes advantage of it.  Apparently, earlier this morning our toilet was clogged.  So it was to my "delightful" surprise, to see the calm, peaceful waterfall flowing onto my newly swept floors.   Of course, I thought, great, now I don't have to mop; the toilet did it for me!  I was pretty upset.  So naturally, I "kindly" said, "Jonathan, you did not fix the toilet from this morning.  Water is going everywhere. This is just great!"  Jonathan comes running into the bathroom to see for himself.  Once he evaluates the scene, he tells me to go watch Elizabeth and that he'll clean and try to fix it.  It was after this we heard the heart-stopping thud.  

I was relieved to hear Elizabeth cry, because I knew at least she wasn't unconscious.  Jonathan beats me to her and calms her down within 5 minutes.  She continues to settle down as he gives her a morning bottle and puts an ice pack on her head.  I, on the other hand, walk around obviously disgruntled.  I kept thinking, "This is not the way our morning routine goes.  She stays in HER crib, while I do everything I need to do in order to feed her."  Clearly, I was trying to push the blame on Jonathan, although I never said a word to him.  

So, how do I wish this morning could have gone differently?  Well, firstly, I wished I would have been more concerned about the well-being of my daughter, rather than how an overflowed toilet resorted to cleaning and even more laundry to do.  And secondly, that I would have been more concerned about how Jonathan was feeling, since he was experiencing the same guilt that I was.  I was so selfish this morning.  

Despite the half-dollar sized bruise on her forehead, Elizabeth seems to be fine.  She managed to sleep her morning nap in between me poking her every five to ten minutes. 

Please pray for me to be a better wife and mom.  Pray that my justice complex would not keep me from being gracious when I need to be.  Pray that I would be more loving and quick to forgive my husband.  Pray that I would live out Philippians 2 in the understanding of what Christ has done on my behalf.  

I'm thankful Elizabeth was not seriously hurt and that Jonathan and I were easily and quickly reconciled.  Hopefully, we have "Baby falls off bed" checked off for good.  

music nostalgia...

The past couple of days, Jonathan has been serving me by doing the dishes.  It is really humbling to find him at the sink after he has put in a full day of work, study, and numerous other things that he does for our family.  I really appreciate his servanthood and example to our family. 

The other day while he was doing the dishes, I was reminded of one (of the many) songs that we claimed as ours in high school (oh, the cheesy-ness I feel just typing that!)  It took me back to many fun memories we had. 

What songs take you on the road of music nostalgia?

A new hair-do

Our sweet girl's hair is growing so long and turning so blonde!  Here are some pictures of her latest hair-do-- a pony-tail. 

Happy Belated Birthday, Uncle Aaron

On September 29, Jon's little brother, Aaron, turned the big 1-9.  I know we are a few days late getting this up here, but we wanted to wish you a happy birthday, uncle Stinkie! :-)

oops

Well, needless to say, I think (but not the natives) that winter is fastly approaching. I was wrapped up all day in the house, and had Elizabeth in a pretty thick sweatshirt. When I finally found the thermostat in our house, it read 60 degrees and it was in the mid to low 50's today. I could not believe it. No wonder we were so cold. Normally we have our setting on atleast 69-70, so being the genius that I am, I bumped the temperature on up. We left to eat dinner out, and then head to small group.

3 hours later, we returned to our house feeling like a sauna! I thought I was going to melt. When we went to see what the thermostat said, it was set on 70ish and but it had heated up to 89 degrees in our house! I loved it (at first) and Jonathan couldn't breathe. Oh well, our heat works very well.

Finally...a video for Jon

Moving-In

We are moving into our apartment today.  When we began the moving process, we moved in with my mom for two reasons: to save money and to avoid having to pay outrageous rent.  So since the end of May, we have lived at her house and stored all our belongs in my dad's barn.  When we moved to Minneapolis, we lived with the Tongs and stored our stuff in their garage.  Although living with my mom and the Tongs has been such huge blessings, we are pretty excited to have a place of our own again.  

I'm so excited to get in there.  The place looks practically brand new.  Most of the hardwood floors have been refinished, a wonderful paint job, and a brand new kitchen (I'm probably most excited about the kitchen).  The Pipers have worked so hard on apartment in the midst of having their second son, Morrow.  We are so grateful to have such great landlords and neighbors.  I cannot wait to put up pictures! :-)

In the meantime..

We have some pictures on our camera that need to be uploaded on the computer.  The only problem--it's pack away in a box somewhere out in the garage (or barn, as I like to call it).   However, we managed to figure out the photobooth on Jon's macbook.  Here is a shot of the girl and me.  I hope this silly picture will suffice until we can get some more pictures uploaded.  

Gearing up for winter

It is already getting mildly cold here (you know, like mid 60's during the day and 48 at night).  We are practically used to that kind of weather back home in December.  So, needless to say, we are preparing for our first real winter.  In preparation, Elizabeth's down winter coat just came in.  It is so adorable that I wanted to post some pictures of it.  

Many thanks for Mimi, Granddaddy, Grandma, Granna, and Poppy for getting Elizabeth some warm clothes to wear.  

A risk-taker

Elizabeth does not have a cautious bone in her body.  She will lunge towards the mouth of a drooling dog.  Dive into a pool (or bathtub) of water.  Crawl to the nearest electrical outlet.  Stick her fingers through the slots of a running fan.  Roll off a bed because she is certain daddy will catch her.  She has no sense of danger.  

My little risk-taker likes to stand all by herself now.  She even lets out a delightful laugh when mommy and daddy sit close to each other, stand her up, and let her fall face down into one of our arms, in hopes she would rather take a step than fall (of course, she really enjoys the latter).  

She is growing up so fast.  I just hope her cautiousness will catch up with her. :-)