Betsey is ONE! We had a really small turnout for her big day...just our friends the McDonald's and my parents, but they are all a pretty big deal and Betsey felt plenty special!
We just love our baby. She is full of new understanding and language development every day lately. She knows a few basic signs, "all done" and "more" and she has a super cute wave. She says, "nah nah" for night night and she has her mama and dada down. She claps, waves and initiates peek-a-boo by covering her sweet eyes with her hands. She loves the song, "Here's a Ball for Baby" and "Pat-a-Cake". At bedtime, I used to only read to her before her bedtime at night, but now she has coaxed me into a book before her naps too, and she actually laughs out loud when I reach for the books. It is fun, I sit down in the rocking chair and act like we are just going to rock, and she communicates with her awesome index finger pointing like crazy that she wants a book. I think she loves it when I understand what she wants. It makes her laugh.
She loves giving kisses. She is in that kissing stage where she comes at me with her mouth stretched wide open. My lips literally enter her open mouth and my face is left with a nice circle of saliva around my mouth. GROOOSSSSS. I can't get enough of them. More, more, more! She is becoming so much more social, she is super aware of her siblings and follows them everywhere. If she can tell that she is in trouble (not big trouble, but like if she pulls Ruby's hair and Ruby cries) she will pull out her lower lip and cry. If it's really sad for her she will then, with her body sitting, drop her head to the floor and cry. It is really girly and full of the drama I have come to grips with as a mom of three girls. She has a hard time napping when she can hear the girls having fun or if she just knows that she had to leave the scene of the fun to go be by herself. Ahhhhh...we just love her!
The one thing we don't love is her growling cry. She cries with a growl, so it's not really a cry..it's a really, really, loud offensive sound that you just wish would end. The good news is, she only lets the cry loose when she wakes up. She stands there bellowing until you come to her rescue. Then, in an instant, she is happily in your arms pointing her way out the door and down the hall. Okay, so the party...
Here is the invite that I made real quick. I did not get the invites out with a full two weeks notice, and I didn't have time to really plan a theme or anything more fun, so I went with primary colors and got it emailed to family and a few friends.
Here is the cake I made. I found an organic cake mix at Fred Meyer and some frosting mix that was dairy and egg free or something like that. It is nothing fancy, and if I had been thinking better, I would have gone much gooier with it. It was tasty though! The "B" and "C" are for Betsey Carol.
Here's the set up. Opa decorated the cupcakes with the big sisters, and I wish I had a closer pic of them, because let's just say they were mostly for impressing mouths...not eyes. They were not that pretty to look at. He, he.
Sadly, Betsey was still in a post-sickness funk and was pretty serious at her party. She was confused that we were allowing her to touch the cake, and she kept touching it and looking at us shaking her head "no" because she expected that would be our response.
Playing with fire...thankfully saved at the very last second from finding out what fire feels like!
Lots of cute clapping by our champion one year old...
This is Bee's boyfriend, Sam. Who can resist a bare chested baby wearing a bomber's jacket? Not Bee!
And that hair! What a cutie! He is younger too...by two weeks...younger men are the best, just ask Bee's mom. Sam was trying fresh lime slices for our entertainment and that is why he pulled this face.
Sammers and Betsey negotiating some cake exchanges. (Note: Sam may have eaten his entire cake and forgotten to share his cake with Bee...oh, but Bee was in melt down mode and had to go home for bed before he ate his cake anyway...babies!)
Betsey wasn't aware of what was going on with the presents, but tissue paper is such fun, she was playing some peek-a-boo with it.
She loved the ball that Oma and Opa gave her, and also plays a ton with the great musical stacker from them. She got some cute squeaky shoes from the McDonalds which are super cute and bound to annoy virtually everyone around us when she starts wearing them...yesssss. She got some wonderful outfits from Grandma and Grandpa Pierce, I can't wait for it to warm up a little and dress her up in them. Pam and Sage's families got her some really cute customizable onesies that I get to order. Thanks everyone for the nice gifts!
5. We talked to our neighbors, welcomed them home from work and commented on the blooming trees lining our street. Being a neighbor in the northwest is an obligation only during half of the year. The rest of the year, we just pull into our garages and stay indoors. There's no interaction October through April or so.
