It's that time again.

Time for another Boo Boo photo mantage. This photo montage is the beginning of the commemoration of her first birthday, which will occur a week and a half from today. Yes, I know. It caught me by surprise too. So why not wait for her birthday to post pictures, you say? Well, because 40 Days for Life starts this Wednesday (mark your calendars), my parents are coming this weekend for an early celebration, and I just don't know if I'm going to have the change to post again before the big 01. If she keeps growing like she is, though, she might post them for me. It just doesn't seem possible that she's going to be year old, but here she is, nearly walking, nearly talking, nearly a toddler instead of a baby. I know she's growing up because I caught myself wanting another baby the other day. Good grief.

I love the different attitudes represented in these pictures. As my parents would say, she's such a little person. You can tell that there are some very definite thoughts running through her head.

(This one's my favorite.)
Annika is also forging relationships with her toys. Her favorite toy right now is the dolly that Beppe gave her for Christmas. She carries it with her everywhere, often upside down. She rocks it, hugs it, and pats it on the back, and sometimes she even sleeps with it, all snuggled up on the crib.
And it is also Spring! I know this because Friday our weather was so nice that Seth was tempted to . . . yep, to break out the grill. We had brats for dinner, grilled to perfection on Seth's grill. Of course, today it rained, which is the second sign of Spring. The weather around here likes to play with us. It announces the season of torrential downpours with a week of gradually warming sunshine. But hey, brats are brats, especially when grilled, and anyone who wants to live in the most beautiful place on earth has to learn to roll with the punches.