What a Party!

Mom, I'll play with the toy once I've read the directions. You can't rush these things.

Looks fun, Dad, but how does it taste?

I must say, I never thought I would have so much fun planning and hosting a baby's birthday party. But it was a blast! We had a farm-themed birthday party, due to Ildri's love of the song "Old MacDonald". The attendees dressed up (Uncles Khyle and Erik, Aunt Kirstin, cousin Matthew, Grandma Barb, Grandpa Bill, and Great-Grandma Jane) in their best farm fashions (they even came up with new names on the drive out), including both babies in their Osh Kosh overalls.

We played games (matching sets of pictures to Ildri's age at the time, and recalling details of her birth), opened gifts and had cake. The adults had a barn cake (butter cake with lemon buttercream), and Ildri had her own low-sugar, healthy cake. She really enjoyed it. She ended up with enough toys to keep her playthings different every day of the week. My two favorite gifts: The Happy Birthday Book by Dr. Seuss (because it makes me think of my Grandpa) and a little smock that my own sister used to wear when she was a toddler.

The best part of the day is that it was simple, and revolved around family. Ildri's schedule stayed intact, which made her time with visitors short, but sweet. She had fun and didn't get overwhelmed, which was my main focus. And since Kirstin, Khyle and Matthew came in the night before, so we got lots of time with a "little" baby! All in all, it was a joyous occasion. I can't wait for her 2nd birthday!

After she opened the Little People farm, she climbed on top of the box and stood up. What a silly girl!

And just for fun, I thought I'd include her first picture ever. I can't believe it's been a year since this magical moment.

Happy Birthday, Little Lady!

My pudding pop is now a year old. I can hardly believe it. It seems that she turned into a little girl almost overnight. She was this little bundle of kicking arms and legs that took in the world with great wonder, and now she's a jabbering, headstrong toddler who can't seem to stop exploring. I could go on and on about what the first anniversary of the birth of my daughter means to me, but I'll spare you the overly sentimental diatribe.

I will share pictures of her birthday party shortly, but for now, just a few recent images of my one-year-old ball of fire.

Rainbows

David dubbed the events of this evening as "one very magical hour". Ildri decided to take a long nap this afternoon, and woke up happy and focused. Due to the rain, we skipped her usual post-nap walk and stayed inside. She sat on the floor, playing with a set of soft blocks. Most of the time we set up the blocks and she knocks them down and then chews on them, but this time she starting stacking her blocks! She had never done this before, and it was no fluke, she kept it up for quite a while. The applause from her Dad and I probably helped spur her along :)

Then one of those precious session of baby laughter. This time, it was spurred by my sneezing. She found it hilarious, so I just kept on doing it until it didn't cause crazy laughter any longer.

After a while, we realized that the sun was out, and David decided to take Ildri outside so she could toddle around. Outside, he spied Ildri's first rainbow - a full arch with all the colors visible, including a second, lighter rainbow above it.

No longer stir-crazy

I can't help but be thrilled everyday that it is warm enough to venture out daily with Ildri. Since we're at one car right now, I don't know how we'd be surviving without our explorations of Coralville. Soon we're getting a lightweight umbrella stroller so we can get on the bus and add to our possibilities, but for now we're enjoying where we can get to on foot.

We tried out the carousel at the mall (they have free rides on Friday), and she hated it. She didn't like sitting on the horse and seemed a little overwhelmed by all the yelling kids, lights and movement. I guess we'll try that one again after a few more months. Or a year.

Next week, Ildri and I are going to try something completely new: we are going swimming! We both have suits, I got swim diapers and a floaty for Ildri, and we're going to give it a shot. There's an indoor pool that's about a ten-minute walk away from our place. I will definitely let you know how she likes it. She loves the tub, so hopefully that will translate to the pool. Wish us luck!

Hooray for spring and babies!

New Cake Pans

For my birthday I received two baking gifts: new bundt pans from my Mom, and "The Cake Bible" cookbook from my sister. Well, it wasn't too long before I had to try them both out. Below you'll see the result - little lemon cakes with a buttermilk lemon glaze.

On a similar note, I think it's time for me to start a separate blog for my adventures in homemade goods (quilts, cleaners, food, toys, etc.). I'll post the address once I get it started.

New Adventures in Food

Ildri is eating more foods now. She still loves apples and avocado puree and prune puree with oatmeal, but we've been experimenting with more solid foods. She loves to share bananas with Mom and Dad, and recently she tried banana pancakes with blueberries and yogurt, and pasta with pureed peas.

For the pancakes, I used a mashed banana to replace the egg, since it's still a little early to start incorporating eggs into her diet. I made a batch of about twelve pancakes and froze most of them. That way I can just pop one in the toaster when she's ready for breakfast. Yum!

Oh, and we gave her a pickle to see what she'd think about it. Well, we didn't get the sour-faced reaction we thought we would. She loved it! When we took it from her she cried until we gave her another one. So funny.