The Last First Birthday

Daniel and I flew to Maryland to celebrate my nephew, and Godson, Luke’s 1st Birthday.  It’s a little sad because it’s our family’s last “First Birthday Party,” unless someone surprises us with a new baby.  (And when I say SOMEONE, I definitely do NOT mean me.)

We had such a great time.  The weather was perfect for an outdoor celebration.  It was super cool to watch all the cousins play in the sandbox, ride big wheels, make sidewalk chalk drawings, blow bubbles, and play football and soccer in my sister’s big backyard.  Even Luke got in on the soccer action with the help of his Daddy. 

Luke is such a wonderful, mellow little guy.  He loves to observe and smile at everyone.  But he is minutes away from walking which I’m sure is making my sister a teeny bit nervous. 

He loved all his birthday toys and he especially loved his giant birthday cake.  He dove right in.  It was hilarious.  It was a wonderful last first birthday party celebration for our family. I was so happy Daniel and I were there to be a part of it all.

We’ve always referred to Luke as “Baby Luke.”  But even Daniel said on the airplane flight home, “Mama, we have to call him Big Boy Luke now.” 

Yes, Bean, I guess we do.

Two

Annabel turned two years old yesterday and our house was filled with pink balloons, Hello Kitty cuteness, and a super adorable birthday princess.

It was a blast.  Unlike her first birthday, Annabel totally GOT that it was her very special day.   After breakfast, we watched “Tinkerbell” on DVD and then went to the mall for a birthday train ride.  After naps, it was the official Annabel birthday party.  She SCREAMED as she drifted through her sea of pink balloons and ran directly to the mountain of pink presents.

She got everything she wanted.   She was beyond excited.  And, of course,  Daddy made her the coolest Hello Kitty cake in the whole wide world. 

She went to bed surrounded by all her new gifts.  She is the quintessential “girly” girl.  She loves tutus.  She loves necklaces.  She loves doll babies and stuffed animals.  She loves purses.  She loves everything pink.  She even screams when she can’t hold the pink corner of the parachute at Gymboree class. I can barely take her shopping at Target anymore unless I remember to avoid any aisle that might have a Hello Kitty item.  (And it’s HARD.  Hello Kitty toothbrushes, toasters, blankets, towels.  That cat is EVERYWHERE.)

I don’t mind.  I love Hello Kitty too.  It’s adorable.  It’s awesome to experience all this fun little girl stuff again.  Annabel calls her “Hi-T.”  She is also saying a bazillion other words and it’s surprising sometimes because Daniel was not a talker at this age.  She knows most of her colors and can count to ten.  She sings her “ABC’s” and loves to ask questions, “Where Daddy go, Mama?”  “What Daniel do, Mama?”  She has the sweetest little high pitched voice and she loves to talk to her relatives on the phone.

She’s a great eater and sleeper, just like her brother, but she still has her moody days.  She usually shuns citrus fruits, but sometimes eats a whole bowl of oranges.  One dinner she asked for THIRDS of broccoli and the next time she would not touch it.  She is very opinionated.  We usually have to wait for the calm after the storm if I accidentally try to help put a piece of meat on her fork.  She doesn’t WANT the help although she really NEEDS the help and that begins a tailspin of drama. But she’s cute when she pouts, so we always have to giggle.

Her head of curls is growing longer and longer and it’s so wild to see her after bath time when her hair is wet and it falls down her back.  But after a few seconds it just springs back up into place.  She now loves barrettes and bows and the occasional headband.  She loves to dress up in “pretty” clothes ESPECIALLY anything pink. She wants to wear her tutu to the park.  She will sit on the floor in her room and play with dolls and read books.  She loves her play kitchen.  But she will still play trains and cars with her brother and she LOVES balls.

She also loves to dance and has some very cute little wiggle moves.  She screams with glee and claps her hands when one of her favorite songs comes on (The classic “Hot Cross Buns” or Metro Station’s “Shake It.”  She has very eclectic taste.) She will also go crazy from time to time and fling her body on the floor if she can’t do something JUST RIGHT.  Or if her brother won’t let her set up a board game.  Or if she has to put on a coat. Or if she’s super hungry.  Or if it’s 11 o’clock. 

With her all craziness comes her cuddliness.  She loves to give hugs and kisses and it’s so heartwarming to hear her say “Tank You, Mama” or “I Wuv you, Mama.” 

I love you too, Annabel.  You are my beautiful two year old princess.

Everything Comes in Threes

The past THREE days have consisted of THREE things that I’ve been SO wanting to write about:

A. Our big MOVE
B. The 2010 GRAMMY’s and
C. My BIRTHDAY

Because of THE MOVE, I have not been able to FIND my laptop amdist the sea of boxes and dirty laundry and Sesame Street paper plates.  But now I’m back to a semi-normal state in our brand new digs, so here’s a QUICK update.  (The final season premiere of LOST is tonight, okay?)

THE MOVE:

Our landlady kicked us out so we had to find a new place to live and FAST.  This all happened right after our Christmas vacation (Happy New Year! Yeah, right).  But it’s actually been a great blessing in disguise.  I personally don’t really mind moving because I’ve done it A LOT and it also gets me a chance to dig into my inner Hoarders fantasy of tossing out all this random stuff.  I get such a sweet satisfaction when I throw out bags of old junk and garage pilings.   Not that my house looked like an episode of Hoarders, mind you.  Quite the opposite.  It’s the OCD side of me.  Just ask my husband.

We found a bigger, nicer, and CHEAPER place to live that is close to Bean’s preschool and the mall.  What more could I want?  It was a little sad to move out of the house where Bean grew up and Annabel was born, but we’re excited for our brand new “home sweet home.”

THE 2010 GRAMMY’S:

The 2010 Grammy Awards were really great this year.  Lady Gaga opening the show with Elton John.  Pink continuing to swing around in the air and SING at the SAME TIME.  Taylor Swift looking cute while winning a bunch of gold awards.  But I really want to point out Beyoncé.  She is super talented and classy. I love that she is amazingly successful and married to the also amazingly successful Jay-Z. Yet they have no DRAMA.  No paparazzi scandal photos.  No stories in the entertainment gossip magazines.  They are just a  talented couple.  And Beyoncé had a really strong performance Sunday night.  You go, girl.

MY BIRTHDAY:

I hate surprises and I was totally surprised, BIG TIME, on my birthday.  In a GOOD way.  My hubbie took the day off work and did not tell me.  I woke up at 5:30 AM SCREAMING at him to “Wake UP!  You are SO LATE!  AHHHHHH!” and he just rolled over and said “SURPRISE!”  That was GOOD.  He made an awesome French Toast with Berries breakfast. He took care of the kiddies ALL DAY LONG. He sent me to the spa for a massage and facial. Oh, and he gave me THIS!

Yes, it’s a RECORD PLAYER.  AWESOME.  I have saved all of my albums and 45′s since the 1980′s and it’s been so much fun to unpack all day long while listening to these great songs on a RECORD PLAYER.  Maybe it’s just me, but I love it so.  Oh, and the grand finale to my birthday?  I’m seeing John Mayer in concert Saturday night.  Yep, it was a pretty darn good birthday this year.