Alivia's Birthday Party Day! - October 30, 2010

On the day of Alivia's actual birthday party we made sure to start the day off right! Pancakes from McDonald's were an easy choice because they're quick...and we still had so much else to do to get ready for the party. After we picked up the big cake and the baby cake and all of the food we had ordered, we also needed balloons. Its great that Giant carries the Disney Princess Mylar balloons - they were a nice added touch. I ended up ordering all of the matching supplies online, and because Disney products are made by Hallmark, everything came out looking great! Very professional (and you know that is what you are aiming for at a one year old's party :) ) Alivia ran around all day in a dress which looked to be a combination princess / ballerina costume. There was one cupcake on the top of the dress, and even though she was overwhelmed by all the people and activities, she looked absolutely adorable. All biased aside! She even had matching ballet slippers and a tiara. Like I said, her dress was half-ballet and half-princess. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and luckily we all survived the almost-two-hours that it took to open all of her presents! Alivia was definitely a trooper that day, and she barely seemed tired at 11pm when all of the guests left and started their journeys back up to Pennsylvania.   On the day of Alivia's actual birthday party we made sure to start the day off right! Pancakes from McDonald's were an easy choice because they're quick...and we still had so much else to do to get ready for the party. After we picked up the big cake and the baby cake and all of the food we had ordered, we also needed balloons. Its great that Giant carries the Disney Princess Mylar balloons - they were a nice added touch. I ended up ordering all of the matching supplies online, and because Disney products are made by Hallmark, everything came out looking great! Very professional (and you know that is what you are aiming for at a one year old's party :) ) Alivia ran around all day in a dress which looked to be a combination princess / ballerina costume. There was one cupcake on the top of the dress, and even though she was overwhelmed by all the people and activities, she looked absolutely adorable. All biased aside! She even had matching ballet slippers and a tiara. Like I said, her dress was half-ballet and half-princess. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and luckily we all survived the almost-two-hours that it took to open all of her presents! Alivia was definitely a trooper that day, and she barely seemed tired at 11pm when all of the guests left and started their journeys back up to Pennsylvania.

Let's get this party started!!!

Whew! Opening presents is a lot of work!!!

Alivia's 1st Birthday! - October 29, 2010

Hello again! We have been so busy recently, that I have not had time to post any new entries to Alivia's blog. But, a lot has happened while we were away! First, Alivia had a very special birthday breakfast on Friday, October 29th. Not only did she have her usual three silver dollar pancakes, but we were surprised to find out that the pancakes were completely covered with fresh strawberries! Alivia was literally sooo happy that she jumped out of her car seat, as to allow herself full access to all of the beautiful & delicious strawberries covering her pancakes. My mom (her Grammy) met us at the Cafe to celebrate, and she brought Alivia her first birthday present ever; a ducky stuffed animal which sings ducky songs and says the alphabet. Alivia was barely impressed. She dropped the duck right onto the floor after holding it for two minutes, tops. She wanted to dive back into those bright red strawberries! And who can blame her? After she snatched up each one, she showed little interest in the actual pancakes. So my mom - wanting to please Alivia on her birthday - ordered her a big bowl of just strawberries. Once they were delivered to us, she ate maybe two or three more, and then she starting "feeding the floor." You know - the floor does get hungry sometimes, too. I suppose its just a coincidence that it usually tends to occur right about the same time as when Alivia's tummy gets filled. Our next adventure took us to the store Tuesday Morning, but we came out very disappointed, carrying only Christmas wrapping paper. (I also found a maid costume, for umm, Halloween.) We said good bye to Grammy, and after many kisses we headed to Target where I went on a mad search for 12 Month girls' clothing. Leggings are definitely the "in" thing this year, but one would think that other options would have been available, as well. No such luck. I found tables full of leggings! And shirts connected to leggings! And leggings hanging up! And leggings laying down! Target was being taken over by leggings. So now, Alivia owns about ten pairs of leggings!!! I also picked out sleepers, and sweaters, and socks, and I found many cute pairs of jeans. And finally, when I was at my whit's end, I called Bob. "Come help me put back some of the clothes before I buy everything in Target that comes in a size 12 Months!" He drove right over. I expected him to stop the insanity I was creating! But, instead, he fell prey to the fact that it was our only baby's birthday. "Buy her whatever she wants," was followed by trips up and down every toy aisle in the store. At least her clothes were priced reasonably! Any toy Alivia touched, Bob put in the cart. I must have been dreaming. Not my Bob. My Bob says things like "Carrie, she'll never even remember her first birthday," or "I'm sure your mom will buy her plenty of presents from Nordstrom." But not today! Today, Alivia got whatever she touched...a cart completely packed full of clothes and toys. For a one year old. Too bad she will never even recall truly being a princess for the day.