Gwen at 1 year

It's official: Our little baby girl isn't a baby any more. In fact, in the last month, Gwen has done quite a bit to shake-off the final bits of baby-dom and jump into full-fledged toddlerhood.

Gwen took her first few steps in late June (6/25, to be exact). On the morning of her first birthday party, she gave us a special gift by walking for real.

Gwen's little squawks and squeaks are starting to sound more and more like words. "Ma-ma-ma" and "Da-da-da" are pretty common, and sometimes they actually seem like she's trying to say "Mom" and "Dad" (or "Morgan" or "Dora", depending on the situation).

She is eating a lot of table food now. Like her big sister, she loves macaroni and cheese. She's also a big fan of blueberries and yogurt melts. She got her first taste of Sour Cream & Onion potato chips at her birthday party and decided those were pretty tasty, too. She has also started experimenting with using spoons and forks when she eats.

Gwen is also really getting the hang of playtime. Whether it's playing peak-a-boo behind her bib, making her doll dance, banging on her new drums, tapping her games on Mom's iPhone, or coloring (her favorite), Gwen's play seems to gets more and more intricate every day.

Here are some more photos from Gwen's 12th month.

Gwen's class had "Baby Olympics" a few weeks ago. Gwen didn't take home any medals, but according to at least one anonymous teacher, the games may have been rigged. We expected a full investigation from the International Infant Olympic Committee.

We mentioned earlier that Gwen is getting better and better at playtime. The unfortunate downside is that she gets herself into everything now, and can leave a one-baby path of destruction behind her now. Oh well.

Gwen loves to color. Now that she has gotten over trying to eat the crayons, she is starting to work on her technique. First, lefty...

Then righty...

And then both...

Gwen has even tried painting with sidewalk paint!

A few weeks ago, Gwen helped Mom pick out hats and decorations for her birthday party.

When it came time to get the food ready, Gwen really wanted to help. So, after months of watching Morgan help Mom, Gwen finally got her chance. (Like we said, our little baby girl isn't a baby any more.)