my 1 year old daughter has stronger abs than i do

Margot's friend Simon invited her to a play date today at Crown Center. It's basically a mall with an outdoor pavillion where they show movies in the summer and have ice skating in the winter. There's this great fountain in the pavillion that kids are always running around in (even though there are signs posted that say, "Please Don't Play in the Fountain"). Margot would only enter the cascade of water if I was holding onto her hands (which any mother would've done anyway right since wet bricks are very slippery)...she actually spent most of her time practicing her saunter on the outskirts of the fountain.

I'm still getting used to the fact that my daughter looks like an orangutan when she walks right now -- arms always flying overhead.

A shot of her running away from the water:

The funniest part of the day was definitely lunchtime when Margot sat for a full twenty minutes like this:

Look at those thighs (which makes this move all the more amazing..the shear strength it must take to hold those things up for so long)! Friends have always joked that Margot has abs of steel. After she learned to sit up on her own, Margot's standard sitting position was with her legs 3 inches off the ground, twirling her feet continuously. The girl is either destined to be a Pilates instructor, a dancer or a swimmer.

Margot with Simon (still in the Pilates position):

And one more photo of Margot on another outing this week. Monday evening we went to the newly remodeled Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library. It's fantastic. Modern furnishings everywhere -- even in the kids section! John has already begun shaping Margot's taste in good design, so I wasn't surprised when she spent 10 minutes pushing one of the child-sized modern chairs around the kids area (design is great, but durability is a must as well).

(I apologize to the handful of you who read both John's and my blog and already saw this photo over there. We'll try to offer a better variety of shots in the future.)