August 21, 2009

First Birthday Adventures, Part III

After a much-needed rest, the four of us headed over to Lynzee's house. I made Thai turkey lettuce wraps for dinner, and we enjoyed some fruit pizza for dessert.

I just had to buy this giant cupcake for Little A to get her hands in:



We sang happy birthday, and Daddy helped her blow out the candle:



At first, she just tested the frosting out with her fingers:



Before long, the scene looked more like this:




Once we returned home, we had a few gifts to bestow upon Little A:



First, Sassy wanted me to take a picture of the two of them with their new guys... always a challenge:



Daddy helped Little A tear through those wrappings:



Little A is starting to be very interested in baby dolls. Sassy is such a sweet big sister. Dolls are one of her favorite things, and she wanted to get Little A one of her very own. We found a cute little bath baby, and Sassy just had to get it for Little A. She told me that Little A likes to play with hers "evewy day" and needed one of her own. I think it looks a little bit like Little A:



We also got Little A her own Baby Alive doll. She loves to feed the baby her bottle and give the baby kisses licks.



I'd say she did very well for her first birthday! Oh, and she still has 2 birthday parties coming!

August 20, 2009

First Birthday Adventures, Part II



Baby girl woke up on Tuesday, and she just knew it was her special day! She had smiles for miles, I tell you...



We woke up early, and our birthday plans were soon dashed by the gloomy, rainy weather outside. A zoo trip and picnic lunch were not in the cards. With a little planning on the fly, were were able to come up with a new adventure!

We headed up to Wichita and had Little A's picture taken, which we did with Sassy on her first birthday, as well. We picked up a few groceries for her birthday dinner at Target, also.

Since there was a small break in the weather, we decided to head to our favorite park so that mommy could take some pictures of her own. It was too wet to play at the park, so Sassy sat in the car and watched Sleeping Beauty for the 18 gazillionth time while we had our little photo shoot. Little A was not the most cooperative when it came to looking at me, but this is what I mustered up:









After the photo shoot, it was off to the mall. We had a pretzel snack, and Sassy was elated:



The girls climbed like monkeys on the cars and boats and caterpillars at the play place. Little A thought it was the greatest:



Next, we trekked down to Build-A-Bear. Our intention was this- Little A was to pick out a guy for her birthday and Sassy was to choose a new outfit for her kitty, which she brought along. Monetary damage- so-so.

Instead, Build-A-Bear sucked us in to this whirlwind sale... choose any animal, any hanging outfit, and any pair of shoes for $29.99. Yes, because our stuffed animals just wouldn't be complete without shoes. So, 2 animals, 2 outfits, and 2 pair of shoes later... well, you can do the math. I just keep telling myself the sum of this equation was 2 happy, happy kiddos!

Little A choosing her animal:



Sassy making her choice. See her kitty? I maintain that my intentions were pure!



The stuffed animal-stuffing assembly line:



Little A wasn't strong enough to push the stuffing pedal with her foot, so we improvised:



Little A had to give her heart a kiss, too:



The bathing station:



Sassy decided that her unicorn should have a Sleeping Beauty costume. Have I mentioned the fact that Sassy is currently obsessed with Sleeping Beauty? Her unicorn's name... Aurora. Yeah.



At the birth certificate station, Little A spent her time cuddling with Ella the owl and fighting sleep:



Sleep won:



But that's all right, because she is the birthday bear:



We left the mall and headed to HuHot for lunch. After our delicious stir-fry, we used Little A's postcard for free S'mores for her birthday! Sassy was mesmerized:



Little A was cool with just a graham cracker:



We ventured home after our long, busy morning so the girls could rest. More birthday fun to come...

August 19, 2009

First Birthday Adventures...

Have I ever told you guys that we at the sweet peas household celebrate never-ending birthdays? Our birthday festivities usually span several days, a week, sometimes more...

Oh, I have? OK, good.

So, the night before Little A's birthday, we went up to Wichita and took the girls to Toys 'R' Us. We let Sassy help us pick out a few gifts for Little A. Of course, we notified them of her birthday so she could do this:



She was fascinated by the balloon string:



Sassy had a blast riding the "Bob the Builder" ride:



We let her ride it because she just survived a trip through TRU shopping for gifts for her sister. Oh, and because you're only three once, right?

Little A was o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with this little giraffe toy, so we just had to buy it for her. On a side note, isn't she just the prettiest thing you've ever seen? Well, she's the prettiest thing I've ever seen!



Afterwards, we went to Red Robin for dinner. Little A got an email for a free kids meal (you know, in her personal account) and so we thought we'd take advantage. I think it was family night or something. The place was packed and there was a guy going from table to table doing balloon animals. Score!

Except, it took a while.

A loooooooong while.

Little A just wanted her grilled cheese. Why can't anyone understand?



And then... it arrived. The coveted birthday sundae. Mmmm...



The staff sand happy birthday as Little A took it all in:



Then, baby girl had herself some ice cream!



Brace yourselves... this was merely our pre-birthday celebration!

August 18, 2009

525,600 Minutes...

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear.
525,600 minutes - how do you measure, measure a year?


Birthday 2008



August



September



October



November



December



January



February



March



April



May



June



July



August



Birthday 2009




Little A, Little A... I sit down to write this post, and I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that you are a whole year old. I tend to be verbose and I can usually articulate my thoughts well, but not so today. Today, my words fail me. The way I feel about you, the love that I have, the absolute joy you bring into our lives... these things are beyond explanation. Happy birthday, sweet girl!