Rani came out to welcome Papa home from a long day at the hospital. Of course, once the camera came out, Rani's priorities changed immediately.

Another Drinking Problem

Rani shows remorse after a exhibiting her "drinking problem" during a visit from Unca Hatch, Auntie Rissa, and cousin Jacko. Veronica found that babies and Dr Pepper don't go well together.

Rani-2D2...Kenny Baker Eat Yer Heart Out

Ninang Cassondra took Rani for a ride in the R2D2 toybox. Rani LOVED it!

Last weekend, Granny and Grandpa came up to visit Rani, and we all had a good time.

Rani listened attentively to Grandpa's stories, even breaking into applause on occasion.

They even had a face-making competiton. Grandpa's greater experience helped him overcome the novice, though she'll likely demand a rematch.

When Granpa had to give Rani her "goodbye neck sugar", she was sooooo sad to see him and Granny leave.

As part of our Spring cleaning, Rani helped us put away some of her older toys.

After returning home from the Philippines, we had a lot of laundry to do. Rani dug down to the bottom of the hamper to help us out.

Ice Cream.....Ummmmmmm

While we were visiting the Philippines, Rani tried her first ice cream.

The taste, temperature and texture did not please her, at least not initially.

But she did go back for more.

Happy Birthday!!!

Here are the pictures from Rani's birthday party, which was held at a Jollibee restaurant. A great time was had by all, as you will see, below.

While she fought getting into it, Rani really liked her pretty Chinese birthday dress. She wasn't too sure about the shoes, though.

Rani enjoyed Jollibee's performance, and she even tried to steal the buttons off his coat.

Ate Eia was scared of Jollibee, and, deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, she hid under the table.

Daddy and Kuya Matt hanging out at the party.

Tita Kaye has her breath taken away by Rani's birthday festivities.

From atop her throne, Veronica watches the games staged for her pleasure.

Rani enjoyed being the center of attention.

Happy Birthday! The characters on the cake are as popular in the Philppines as Ronald McDonald, the Hamburglar, and Grimace are in the States.

Gwapo!

Kuya Matt, at Rani's party. He's ready for the hills of Tennessee with those overalls.

Nice Hat, Mama!

Hey Mama, love the hat!

Mykah and Che at Rani's Jollibee Birthday party.

Baby Rani with two of Mama's best friends, Neri (holding the birthday girl) and Aileen. Rani is looking forward to seeing Ninang Neri this Summer when she's doing her residency in NYC.

Dr Ninang Neri

Another of Rani with Ninang Neri.

Ate Mykah, aka "The Destructor"

Ate Eia loves Baby Rani.

Ate Eia standing guard over the playpen.

Mommy, Daddy, and Rani in the living room.

Mama, Tita Yeya holding Rani, Tita Kay, and Ate Eia in stripes, all excited to say "Tapus na" about the baptism.

Another picture of the Baptism. As you can see, the February weather is lovely.

Here's Veronica with her Tita Tin-Tin.

Rani Loves Jollibee

Rani Loves Jollibee

Veronica's "official" birthday party yesterday was a huge success. Veronica nearly gave herself neck strain trying to watch everything at once, and she especially had eyes for "Jollibee", the hosting restaurant's mascot. Ate Eia and Ate Mykah, her older cousins were afeared of the monstrous bewinged insect, but not the birthday girl. She did her best to pull the poor guy's head off, but settled for giving him a kiss when her efforts failed.

Future's So Bright...

Future's So Bright...
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

...that she's gotta wear shades. Rani was the life of the party, and she loved dancing with her Lolo (that's grandfather to you 'Canos). Lolo loaned Rani his shades so that she could hide from her fans.

A Cooler Do'

A Cooler Do'
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

Part of Veronica's strategy for coping with the tropical heat has been putting up her hair. With her hair up, she looks even more like her Mama.

Drivin' Is Easy

Drivin' Is Easy
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

Rani may be 15 years from her license, but she showed us that she has this driving thing down pat.

Rani In Holy Rapture

Rani In Holy Rapture
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

You can see that Rani is nearly overwhelmed just after her Baptism. The fact that she screamed every time she was touched with holy water has given us some cause for concern.

Not Amused

Not Amused
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

You can see that Veronica was not amused at having her pre-party hairdressing interrupted. Papa apologizes, most humbly.

Current Events

DSCN1979
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

Even though Veronica is on vacation, she continues to keep up with current events. Here you see her and Cuya Matt working their way through the Philippine Inquirer.

Rani and Ayeng

Rani and Ayeng
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

During our recent visit to The Enchanted Kingdom, Rani listens attentively as Tita Ayend gives her instructions regarding proper behavior for a young lady in an amusement park.

Something's Marbaho!

Something's Marbaho!
Originally uploaded by pclem70.

Rani is having a blast in the Philippines. Here, she shows off her "Popeye" face.

What A Day!

Today is a day that Ferlie and I will always remember.

Veronica is now REALLY talking! Prior to today, she would say "Dad-dah" and wave to me, say "Hi" when she saw someone new, and with some heavy duty prompting she might blurt out a "Mamama". That was about it.

This morning, as a bunch of assorted cousins were brawling about on the floor, Rani looked at me, held up her arms and said "Up Dad-dah". I was amazed. I picked her up, kissed her, and gave her a few quick bounces. I put her back down, called for witnesses, and she repeated her request/command/monologue. Now, she'll hardly stop with it.

A bit later, after she'd mastered the art of turning the lights off and on by wallswitch, she pointed at the fixture and clearly said "light". We forced her to repeat this for a few thousand cousins, aunts, and uncles before our pride was slaked.

To top it all off, Veronica chose today to be her first day to stand up without a handhold. She went from her back, to her butt, to her knees, and then just stood. She maintained her balance with a series of twists and two waving arms. For all of five seconds, my little girl stood tall.

It's still a few days to her first birthday, but my little girl's not a baby any more.

It meant so much to her Mama and I to have been with her for each of these moments.

What a day!

Would you take a bottle from this guy? Unca Rogers came up to visit, and we all had a good time.

No box in the world can hold Veronica!

You can see that Rani gets her good looks from Grandpa.

Staying warm with Granny and Grandpa

Veronica loves the blocks that Ninong Mike and Ninang Cassondra gave her.

Baby's First Christmas!

Here's one of the pretty baby and the pretty Mama.

Peek-A-Boo!

I see you!

Squeaky Clean Baby

Veronica enjoys her new bath tub, though bathing comes in a distant second. Splashing is where the fun is found!

Hey! I said no cameras!

Super Hero Style Onesie!

Veronica reaching for a holiday snack. I should note that her mother is accusing me of putting her "onesie" on over Rani's pants. I happen to think it looks "cuter" this way, giving Rani the "super hero outfit" look.

Mornings Are Tough, When You're a Baby

The grumpy baby doesn't want to wake up and get out of bed....Can she make it?

Peeking Out

Peeking out....

Climbing Up

Reaching Out

Almost there......

Finally awake!

Standing Tall

Veronica stands in her bedchamber as she models the happy green headband her parents won playing stupid carnival games.

Merry Whatever!

We say Merry Christmas! And for the rest of you, we wish you a happy winter solstice celebration, if any, of your choosing.

Happy Festivus Nenong!

As the start of the Christmas season, we went down to visit Ninang and Ninong to celebrate Festivus. They spoiled us all rotten with cool gifts and great company.

Hula, Hula Baby!

Veronica doesn't let the fact that she can't use a hula hoop get her down.

The Crime and the Trial of the Century

BUSTED! An unwitting suspect is caught trying to escape the warm, comfy confines of her house. The look on her face speaks volumes of her surprise at being apprehended. In the background, notice the sporty getaway vehicle, registered in the name of the suspect's infamous cousin "Mad-Dog" Maddie.

Hoping to talk her way out of this, the suspect, whose identity is determined to be Veronica Grace, a.k.a. "Rani the knife", tries her sweet, innocent look on the arresting officer.

The dastardly criminal realizes that "the man" doesn't buy her "I'm just looking out the window, I'm not trying to get out" story. The disappointment at her arrest is evident on her face.

A smile crosses the defendent's face, when she realizes that Johnny Cochran is coming back from the dead to act as her defense attorney.

As the jury files back into the courtroom, the accused does her best to look innocent.

A nervous Veronica awaits the jury's verdict.

And here you see the accused's reaction to the "not guilty" verdict.

Warm, Warm, Winnie!

Veronica is a firm believer in staying warm during the winter. While we realize that she looks 300% bigger than she did yesterday, we assure you, it's all insulation.

Mama helps Veronica stand up to better show off her Arctic-ready Pooh duds.

Here you see Veronica both warm and safe.

Veronica Grace: Milkaholic

The true milkaholic will even try to drink in while sleeping.

A close-up of the unfortunate milk-addict.

And here you see the results of Veronica's Thanksgiving drinking binge.

Keeping Warm!

Veronica refuses to let "Old Man Winter" make her cold.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello Again! It's been too long since the last update, but here's what's new. We hosted our first big family event in celebration of Thanksgiving Day. Veronica loved the company, and here's a picture of her with Grandpa and cousin Maddie. More pictures will follow on Mama and Papa's Blog.

Veronica Chases the Refrigerator

Veronica has deduced that food and MILK are kept in the the big, metal thingy. Here she is, closing in on her quarry. The fridge will not escape.

Gotcha!

Rani catches the fridge, preventing it from running away with all of the food. Thanksgiving Dinner was saved.

Thanks for the Pretty Dress!

Veronica really likes the nice dress that our friends Billy and Vickie Oliver gave her. We think she looks mighty cute. The Olivers have been our friends since Papa was 6 years old, and they are some of our favorite people in the world. We look forward to seeing you guys again soon.

Happy Early Turkey-Day!

As you may have seen on Mama and Papa's Blog, we all went to visit the Mayo family for an early Thanksgiving Dinner. We all had a great time, and Veronica loved all of the attention. She especially liked Molly, the funny brown dog.

Here's a close-up of Veronica with Mrs Eulane Mayo. She's one of Papa's patients, and she and her husband, Ray, have become great friends of our family. Mrs. Mayo is a retired chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author. Boy, does she make a great dinner! We're so happy that she's doing so well, and we look forward to seeing her again soon.

Mr and Mrs Mayo's friends and neighbors helped make the day extra special. Here you see Veronica being held by "Aunt Mary" (everyone in Slayden, TN calls her Aunt Mary).

Rani had a great time, and loved all the attention that was heaped upon her.

Veronica is caught teaching herself how to untie Papa's shoes.

She also knows how to untie scrub-pants.