Just 10 days until Christmas and just 15 days until Madeleine's first birthday.

Madeleine has been getting more and more mobile.  She likes to walk all around the house now, picking things up and carrying them to new locations.

Madeleine at play group, carrying stuff around.  This is her new hobby.

Interacting in play group.

Madeleine wearing a dirndl, a traditional German costume, that Nancy also wore in her youth.

  Madeleine playing while wearing the dirndl.

Then, all tired out in mommy's lap!

Madeleine, taking after daddy a little too much, sitting on the couch with the remote control in her hands.

We tried to discourage Madeleine from climbing on the end table by putting her old infant car seat on top of it.  So she climbed on in with her bottle.

What's the problem? I'm just enjoying a nice drink in my chair!

Madeleine playing with her toys, including my Apple ADB extended keyboard from 1987.

We went shopping for a Christmas tree with Madeleine.

Madeleine, a bit shy at first, started running all over the tree lot.

Madeleine had a good time in the tree lot.

But when she found the empty field at one end of the tree lot, she tore out into it.  So did every other little kid who saw it.  Some innate child desire, to run free in green fields.

Out in the fields.

The allure of the wide open spaces.  A number of other parents had to chase their kids all the way to the sunflowers at the edge of the field.

Madeleine just got out in the open field and wanted to play in the grass.

We had a big rainstorm recently, and it was the first time Madeleine had seen rain coming down in anything bigger than a sprinkle.

She was quite fascinated by the rain and spent a good deal of time watching, trying to touch it through the glass, and trying to blow on it.