One Year of Miss GG

 On June 14th, our happy little Gemma Grace turned 1!  And yes, the year went by much faster than I anticipated or wanted it to & it's amazing to me that she has been with us for a whole year!  She's a very determined little girl who still smiles continually, loves to pose for photos & rarely stops moving.  She is on the go!  Still crawling at this point, but is now standing on her own & beginning to let go & take a few steps).  At her one year Dr. check-up she weighed in at 24 1/2 lbs. & 30 inches.  (She's no longer in the 99th percentile for height or weight, but is for head circumference ;)

On her birthday, we had breakfast & opened presents before heading out for a day at the Sacramento Zoo... a place that Gabe loves & Gem is starting to, as well.

Birthday glasses from Gabe

A ride on the zoo train... Gabe was in heaven!

A rare pose 

We celebrated Gemma with cousins & friends a few days earlier on Sunday evening.  Unfortunately, by the time we got to cake & candles, she wasn't a very happy gal (ie. very tired!).  

Gemma wasn't a fan of the sparkler!

She finally took one bite... but that was it!

With Perry & McKay... our Christensen cousins

After opening a few presents (including a new stroller/shopping cart), Gemma got her second wind & was the life of the party...

Patrick's Aunt Donna & Uncle Jack were visiting from Utah

Gabe & Gemma with our Christensen cousins.  We miss them already!!

A Beginning...

Gabe "driving" a tractor at the Sacramento County Fair

Gemma climbing in the "Big Cheese" at Fairytale Town

I've been promising my family that I had a blog "in the works" for a while now (years)! However, between lack of quality time & my perfectionist tendencies, I just haven't bitten the bullet. When my sister, Mallory, moved east to Ohio this week, I told her if she'd start posting on her blog again, I'd finally get mine up & running. Now it's time to make good on my promise! It isn't that I haven't wanted to do one... the stars just haven't aligned until now. And that alignment has come from my realization that "good enough" is okay & often just as lovely. And certainly much better than nothing at all! So, here begins the journey of sharing in the adventures of the "Sactown Hoggans," starring Gabriel & Gemma Grace, with appearances by Patrick, Kristin & a host of other interesting characters.