1 year

sweet gemma bean turned 1 on sat. she woke up a little early so we let her play in our bed till we managed to drag ourselves out. then she opened her presents: a bear-in-a-box, a play cell phone, and a sit'n'spin. then breakfast of waffles and blueberries (her favorite). then we all took a nap to rest up for the big day ahead.

we headed over to the phoenix zoo. it was a first for everyone. gemma loves people watching and animals so we thought this would be a nice treat. her favorite part? the ducks in the lake by the chimps and chasing the nasty pigeons by the food court. i think that was lincoln's favorite part too.

me, i loved seeing the koala bears, the lions, and meerkats. after 2 hours, gem had had enough. we didn't quite see everything but i was getting tired too. it was on the warm side and pushing the stroller up some of those inclines was pretty tough.

then we went over to our favorite restaurant casa reynoso. uncle brian, aunt judy, and cousin vivia met us there. gem scarfed her beans and rice. she even tried some chips and salsa (it was hot that day).

back at home, gemma got to visit with grandma susan and uncle taylor. then we sang her happy birthday and she had her first official taste of chocolate cake with icing and sprinkles. i think she smeared most of it on herself and her tray.

after she was all clean, she ran around the house with her push-walker for probably 20 minutes straight. all that sugar.

then off to bed she went. sweet girl.

*official 12 month stats - 25lbs14oz, 32.25in (over 95% for both)*