The Quest for Cuddles

About a week ago I realized that Cuddles (Anna's little duck she got as a gift from Marion) was gone. It seemed like I had just set him somewhere else ... or did I?? Or did I bring him along in the car and let Anna have him out of the car then lose him? So, I've spent the last week searching every nook and cranny in the house, and calling (or going in person) to various stores and places I've been in the last week to see if they'd found a cute little duckie.

Finally a couple days ago I gave up and bought Anna a new Cuddles from Target. She was so excited when she saw him, he's been her constant companion since I put him in her little arms. I'm guessing the original Cuddles was lost somewhere and whoever found him kept him because he was so cute. He's your typical cute duckie, but Cuddles is special because he also wears a little white bathrobe and duckie slippers. I hope he has a new child to love him.

Trying to find Cuddles made me remember that when I was little I thought all my stuffed animals and dolls had feelings. I'd feel bad if I played with one more than the others, I tried to equal out the attention. When it came to throwing one out I just couldn't do it, how could I throw one away when those loving, loyal eyes were watching me?? I don't know at what age I got over this. Maybe I haven't completely.

I just signed up for a Christmas cookie exchange at work. My deadline is December 18. So far, there are 14 of us signed up. Fourteen dozen cookies--what am I thinking? So I just keep reminding myself I will also get a great variety of cookies, which pushed me enough to sign up. I would like to make frosted sugar cookies, but will have to find a smaller cookie cutters than what I have, I think.

Tonight I will start putting plastic on some of our windows, now that the temperatures have dropped. I didn't want to do it too soon, last weekend I still was opening windows in the house to let in some fresh air. The first to get covered are the lovely built-in air conditioners we have in our kitchen and family room. I can't wait to get rid of those things, hopefully next spring!

That is all.

Thanksgiving, Etc.

Another Thanksgiving has passed. Diane and Tony came through for us and were able to provide the chairs that we needed for everyone--yay! It was a tight fit around the table but we survived ... one more person and I would have moved the kitchen table nearby as a spinoff table.

I happened to miss the green beans, but other than that I can attest that it was a delicious meal. I tend to like all the side dishes best, and this year was no different. Edwin is very proud to have pulled it off, and Saskia was a good hostess to the other kids there. Anna missed out, she seemed tired all of a sudden and I ended up putting her to bed just after the salad. She'd already taken a record-breaking nap earlier in the day--2 1/2 hours! She must have had a growing day.

During the weekend I noticed that Anna seems to have lost her baby look and now distinctly looks like a toddler, a little girl. Saskia and I were playing around with her hair a little bit and were able to get a barrette to stay in place for a while, sweeping her bangs out of her eyes. We can't wait to play with her hair, hopefully she'll let us! She's pretty cute in her pink footie pajamas.

I did make good progress on my scrapbooking, but didn't finish. I want Anna's first album to be perfect, so I'm almost afraid to work on it. It will have a lot of pictures, and I want to write a lot in the open space. We'll see. I need to be able to stay up at night to work on it, though, which seems to be a problem when my free time is mostly taken up with cleaning and laundry and I go to bed so early. I bought more pages at Archivers, so I should have plenty now.

My quest for a Christmas tree has ended--I found a three-foot, pre-lit tree at Michaels which is close to what I had in mind. It's silver. I'd also found a white one, with thicker branches at JoAnn's but opted for the thinner-branch look instead. I suppose there are more technical terms than that, but I don't know what they are so hopefully that makes some sense. Anyway, my intention was to have something very different from our regular tree, so this works. I already have it up on a table and now just need to decorate it. Wednesday may be the day, depending on how much homework Saskia has that night.

On Friday we all ventured to the Midtown Global Market contained in the renovated Sears Building off Lake Street. I think it is so cool that Allina chose to renovate this building for its headquarters, rather than building new. We enjoyed walking around the market, Anna especially enjoyed the live jazzy music being played as we were eating our lunch. She and another little girl a few months older got close to the musicians and swayed and clapped their hands to the music. It was really sweet. Anna is such a social girl with other kids her age, is she spots another child nearby she'll wave her hand as if to say hi and start babbling. She might even offer her pacifier, or whatever snack she might have. Sweet girl!

On Saturday and Sunday I ran a few errands, with and without Anna along. On Thursday before our guests arrived, Friday and Saturday we found time to take Anna on a walk and/or to the park, but on Sunday it was cloudier and not as nice. It's lovely to be out and about in the cool, sunny weather.

Here's a recent picture of Miss Boo. I love putting her in her little denim overalls.

Almost there!

I cannot believe after today I will have four days off from work in a row! Yay! Maybe I will actually get to my scrapbooks somewhere during that time. My new vacation time (four weeks!) kicks in January 1. I look forward to taking a day here, a day there to get things accomplished around the house instead of trying to squeeze it all into a weekend. Repainting the downstairs bathroom, and painting the trim in our bedroom is high on the list. And scrapbooking, of course!

Since the last post, Saskia got sick. Now everyone in the house has gotten the bug except for me. My friend Jamie says I may not get sick, that there's a kind of mommy immunity I have which may protect me. I think if it were to happen it would have by now, it's been a week since I tended to Anna.

I just realized yesterday that we don't have enough chairs in our house for Thanksgiving. It was on my mind at one time to look for some additional, nicer chairs to use in the dining room for when we have company but I just didn't get around to looking for some. Yesterday I quickly ran some searches on craigslist to see what I could find, and I did find some that would work perfectly. So, hopefully I can work things out with the seller.

A few months ago I found our dining room hutch on craigslist. It's a black, distressed-look glass doored cabinet which holds all of our wedding dishes, our knick knacks that had been boxed for lack of a place to be displayed, and then some. If I can work out getting these chairs, I would love to go back and repaint the hutch ... it's currently has a distressed look to it which I would make a more modern-looking black. Yet another project!

I don't mind checking out craigslist from time to time. These chairs I'm hoping to buy are from Room and Board, which is definitely high quality but of course expensive. If I could get those chairs for half of what they cost in the store, barely used, I would be thrilled! I guess I'm always trying to get a deal, and willing to take the time and energy to find it.

Now Anna says "uh oh" when she drops things or while we are playing with her. Sometimes she says "uh uh oh", either way it's pretty cute. I've been trying to pay more attention to her babbles, since Marion mentioned that she thinks Anna has been trying to use distinct words for things. I think Anna has been saying "Sas" for Saskia, "du" for duck and she says "hi" and "hey" a lot.

It is true that time flies, it flies for everyone. I look at Anna and sometimes it just hits me "wow, I'm her mommy!". I have told Saskia that it is something I've wanted all of my life, to be a mommmy. Saskia has said some surprisingly mature things on the topic, I've been honest with her about how being a mommy takes time away from things I want to do, how some of my clothes still don't fit, how I don't get to see my friends as much as I'd like to, etc., but that it was a decision I made knowing this in advance, that many of these sacrifices are temporary, and it has all been worthwhile. Saskia agrees! :)

Optimism Defined

Optimism is nothing more than a conscious choice to embrace hope rather than doubt and courage rather than fear.

The Sickness Continues ...

Anna mostly got over her illness on Wednesday, by the next day she was ready to go back to Marion's house and me back to work but then Marion got sick. So, I ended up being home with Anna both Wednesday and Thursday. Edwin was out of town, so there wasn't even the option of tag-teaming the day, or my going in at night. I felt I had jinxed the whole situation by pledging all my time to do testing at work, I guess I've learned my lesson!

I felt a little off Friday morning, but it was nothing major. I think I was just tired from the long week. However, tonight Edwin is not feeling well. It may be another long night. I'm almost afraid to go to bed! But there have been other times that he's been sick and I've not caught it, so we'll see.

Anna, Edwin and I have all gotten the flu shot this year. I even got it last year when I was still pregnant, which seemed a strange thing to do. I did still get sick, but those 2-3 times whatever I had passed within a day. As you can imagine, it was just horrible. There I was home, sick and trying to care for Anna. As long as she didn't get sick, too, I knew I could deal with it and I did.

So, colds and flu and nasty bugs have been on my mind as of late. Sigh!

We have started to prepare for Thanksgiving. I have ironed the new, forest green tablecloth and napkins, and Saskia and I finished the placecards tonight. I've typed up the menu, and just have to print it off in the smaller print. I'm going to wait to do most of the cleaning the night before or that day. Edwin, Saskia and Anna :) did the grocery shopping today, Edwin and I will get our free turkeys from work on Tuesday. Somehow it all comes together just fine in the end.

Edwin's car has not been totalled, but is now getting fixed. We don't know how long it's all going to take, as there is both body work and repairs to be done under the hood. He's got a couple of work commitments which make it impossible to carpool this week, so he'll be renting a car for a few days.

I was so bummed this weekend--a couple movies I took out from the library didn't work out. I thought I'd taken out Girl With a Pearl Earring, but when I took out the videotape I found it had the wrong movie inside! So, I figured I'd watch Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? instead but the tracking was all screwed up and I couldn't get it adjusted. Grr! I was really looking forward to those movies, I've seen them before and was hoping to watch them again. Oh well! If you haven't seen either, I strongly recommend them.

The movie which did work was Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. I am generally not a GP fan, not at all. But I like this movie a lot. It has always made me think--there are so many seemingly little things in life which can really change its course. Meeting or not meeting certain people, jobs you did or didn't get, accidents which occured just after you've passed through. So much we have no idea.

Anna Karenina is going incredibly well, I'm greatly enjoying the book. Anna has just confessed to her husband about the affair with Vronsky, and Levin has just caught a glimpse of Kitty on her way to visit her sister. I'm about a third of the way through and finding this book a far easier read than I had anticipated. Edwin doesn't remember the details (??), but he does remember considering AK one of the best books he's ever read. I know we have the book in Dutch packed away somewhere in the basement. It is definitely a treat for me to find a few minutes to read this book.

Life goes on.

My Current Favorite Picture of Anna, on her Birthday













There are more pictures on her blog.

Dreary, Dreary

I'm home today. Anna was sick last night, and is now taking a nap. I was up at least half the night--we went through one set of sheets and two sets of pajamas, eventually Anna and I ended up downstairs on the living room sofa. Anna slept on my chest, and I slept at an incline in hope that would stop her vomiting. It mostly worked. Poor girl was scared by the whole ordeal, but now seems to be okay. We made a quick stop at Walgreens this morning to buy Pedialyte, and to Caribou to get a latte and muffins. So far Anna has been able to keep down the Pedialyte and her part of the muffin we shared. If she has a good appetite for lunch, I think we'll go out for a little bit this afternoon.

We're still waiting to get news about Edwin's car, so the last couple days have resulted in us juggling our appointments and schedules to be able to get by on just using my car. It's possible that the damage will be great enough for it to be totalled, which would actually be okay with us. We've talked about replacing Edwin's vehicle in 2007 anyway, this would just speed that up. We'll see.

Monday night I went to the movie Sweet Land, which has now widened its release and is playing at the Edina theater. It was filmed outside Montevideo, and a few big names in the movie are John Heard, Alex Kingston, and Alan Cumming. I think the woman who played the main character was nominated for an Oscar last year for Phantom of the Opera, but I don't recall her name. I would recommend this movie, definitely. It's a simple, sweet movie about a woman who comes to America in the early 1900s to marry a Norwegian farmer she has never met, and their struggles to marry and keep their farm going. I'm sure I was biased going in to the movie, knowing it was filmed here and the storyline in advance. I love this kind of historical romance, immigrant story. I can imagine those marriages happened a lot back in the day.

I love TJ Maxx!! Recently I checked out the sweater event at TJ Maxx. Funny, Anna was with me and I only had about 15-20 minutes to quickly shop and grab a few things to throw into my cart. Overall I was successful, though I need to go back to look for some different sizes. I found four work-quality sweaters for Edwin and a couple for me. I decided we needed to upgrade our sweaters, so the timing was perfect. A couple days before I did a rush shopping trip for Saskia at Kohl's, which was mostly successful as well. Yay!

Anna is crazy for the phone! Anna loves the phone. Loves it. Her favorite toy. She will get her hands on it, push a few buttons, then hold it to her ear and start babbling. The other day when I wouldn't let her have it (I was listening to messages) she scrambled, climbed up on me, lunged, cried, threw a fit when I wouldn't give it to her. Oh so dramatic, and funny. She does have a play phone but it is just not the same. The play keys are just not the same, either. Only the real thing for Miss Boo.

So, keep your fingers crossed that Anna's sickness has passed. It's hard to see my sweet girl so tired and sad.

Just an Inconvenience

Edwin was in a car accident yesterday, Anna was with him at the time. I was busy having my hair cut and colored, while he and Anna were on their way to Edinburough Park. Everyone involved in the accident is okay. He rear-ended an SUV in front of him, which was in the middle of making a right hand turn and then unexpectedly stopped. It was all at low-speed, yet enough to significantly crumple (? is that a word) the hood of the car and cause damage under the hood. I came home just as he and Anna were arriving home via the tow truck.

Edwin feels bad, as the accident was his fault and we're going to try to get by on one car until we figure out what to do. It's too early to know the extent of the damage and what estimate we'll get for repairs. But who hasn't had a similar thing happen to them, when either they've been the one to bump someone else, or be bumped? I've had both. That's what bumpers are for, in my opinion. It was just that in this instance, the difference in height in the vehicles resulted in damage. If he had hit another car rather than an SUV, my bet is the impact would have been bumper to bumper and both cars could have gone on their merry ways.

Regardless, it's added an inconvenience to our week. And an event which helps to keep life in perspective, because when it comes down to it NO ONE WAS HURT. Things like this happen, and you deal with them and move on. A car is just a car and can be repaired or replaced. It could have been a lot worse.

Edwin said Anna was a trooper the entire time. I guess she had a lot to say while she and Edwin were in the police car, filling out the accident report. That's my girl! :)

In other news, my hair is freshly cut and colored to a deep red. I have found a stylist that I like at the JCPenney salon, of all places, and this is the second time she's colored my hair. I like Carla a lot and have always been happy with the results of her work. I haven't always had a lot of loyalty to hairstylists (with the exception of Dana!) so for me to have gone back to the same person 5-6 times in the row is a big deal. The sign for me to stick with Carla became obvious during my maternity leave. Just a week or two before having Anna she had given me a haircut, which ended up holding for the six months until I was able to schedule another. Of course my hair grew a lot during that time, but it held its shape and still looked great.

On Friday I picked up Anna's latest professional pictures, which I will try to post out here soon. Many have been sent out, and the new 8x10 is in its frame in the living room. From now on I've decided to bring her in for pictures every six months. We'll see if I can stick to this goal!

Pictures from Anna's birthday party


Here comes the cake! Anna can't wait to get her hands on those duckies!













Here's the birthday girl, enjoying her cake.


















Saskia helps Anna enjoy the frosting properly.













More pictures are on Anna's blog.

A Little Here, a Little There

Well, I've set the appointment for my first platelet donation. I'll be going to the St. Paul Red Cross location, which seemed to have more times to fit my schedule. I'm a little nervous though I know it will all be okay, the procedure takes between 2-3 hours. My concerns are mostly for the goofy stuff--what if I have to use the bathroom? What if my nose itches? What if I don't feel up to driving afterward? Should I watch a movie, or try to read Anna Karenina (a real page-turner) while I'm there??

Last week I donated my old bike to the Sibley Bike Depot in downtown St. Paul. Bye bye Huffy! The organization refurbishes bikes, and then sells them at low cost. I feel good about this donation, the guy I talked to on the phone mentioned that most bikes go to international students attending the U of M. Isn't that nice? Here is their website:

http://www.bikeped.org/

Excellent news--Jim Webb (Virginia) and Jon Tester (Montana) have been officially declared the winners in their senate races. Claire McCaskill (Missouri) also won. So, the Democrats will hold the majority in the Senate as well as the House. Please, please, please people, don't f*ck it up!

I had a good laugh last week when Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser), came out. Duh! I have no gaydar, but somehow even I knew that one.

There was a big accident on my way to work this morning which required me to alter my route a bit. It was on 35E, just south of 494. By the time I got close the ramp to 35E was closed off, and as I drove over the bridge I could see that it looked major, affecting all the lanes and possibly having semis involved. Whoa! I racked my brains to think of who I could call to warn, all I could think of were Shannon and Ken, as they live in St. Paul and also work at West. But I didn't have their phone number anyway. I did call Edwin to tell him about it, though it's not his usual route. I also wanted him to know I was not involved and not stuck in the gridlock behind it.

Recently, the site of my car accident from years ago has had new traffic lights installed. Now there's a flashing yellow arrow as part of the lights, and an additional sign reminding north/south traffic on 149 that they must yield to oncoming traffic. Hmm. Makes me wonder how many other accidents like mine occured at that intersection (149 and 110).

I Can Live With This One

So, it's the day after an election and I'm doing okay this time around. Nothing can beat the sick drama of the 2000 or 2004 presidential elections, it helped knowing that no matter what happened yesterday it couldn't be worse than what happened in 2000 or 2004.

I am so disappointed that Michele Bachman beat Patty Wetterling in their Congressional race. She is just disgusting. I hope she does or says something so utterly stupid that by the time her two years are up it's obvious she won't be going back to Washington or any other elected position. It is this race that causes me the most despair. Whatever.

I'm not too thrilled about Pawlenty remaining as governor, either, but he had that incumbent edge. I can't imagine there are any fees remaining that can be raised that haven't been raised yet, just how is he going to cover the budgets for the next four years without raising taxes??

It's almost 10 a.m.--I wonder if Mark Kennedy has conceded his race yet? LOL! That's nice that his family doesn't think he's an asshole, they're probably the only ones.

As for some of the national races, this is not the place. I defer to DailyKos, or better yet Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart.

In other news, I had my appointment at the Tria clinic yesterday. I was referred there by my doctor for my hip pain. It's the large, very obvious building at 494 and France. Modern, very slick, with local sports teams posters and sports memorabilia on all the walls. Maybe all the pros go there? If not, they are really trying to make you believe that they do.

Good news--as my primary doctor predicted, the specialist agreed that my pain is most likely due to bursitis, something I can deal with either by taking over the counter anti-inflammatory medicine, special stretches, or occasional cortisone shots. Easy! I had been concerned that my pain had something to do with the weird bone growth I have on that hip and might require surgery to have it removed but that was not the case. What a relief! So, I just need to consider how I might want to fit the PT into my schedule, and decide whether I want to go in for another cortisone shot. Peace of mind is always a good thing.

I went to the Y last night, it's been weeks since I've been there. I was just exhausted by the time I was done, I'm just not in the shape I used to be. If I can keep myself in passable shape, when Anna is a bit older I know I can bring myself back. Maybe I can make it to that triple threat class on Saturday, if it's still offered. That would help.

All for now.

Monday, Monday

Here I am, starting another work week. I am hopeful to make some progress with the current issues I've been facing with my data. Everyone keep their fingers crossed!

November 11 is my official ten-year anniversary date at work. I got my employee appreciation gift last week, a Marquis Waterford (crystal) vase. I'm already using it for flowers we got over the weekend, and it coordinates with the other Waterford vase I bought for myself years ago while a sales associate at Daytons. Nice!

I started working here part time as a third-year law student. A friend brought the job opening to my attention, we no longer keep in touch but I am forever grateful to her as I don't know if I would have seen the job opening otherwise. It's strange to think of all that has changed in my life since I started working here.

That's all I'll say, going back to my earlier pledge to not discuss work here.

I got a decent nights' sleep last night, so I'm doing pretty well today. I just can't come off a weekend being exhausted, I just can't. I hope to get caught up on correspondence this week, cards, thank you notes from Anna's party, etc.

We ended up having friends over both Friday and Saturday nights. It works well this way, so that Anna can still go to bed at her usual time and in her own crib. After one notably bad evening, Saskia has been much better about keeping her noise levels down once Anna's bedtime rolls around. Funny how quickly that behavior improved with the hope for having her ears pierced hanging over her head!

Since the weather was glorious again I made sure to bring Anna to the park yesterday, Edwin and Saskia brought her to the park on Saturday. I try to take the fullest advantage of the nice weather, I'd also hoped to squeeze in a walk around Lake Harriet but Anna fell asleep on the drive there so I just let her sleep. Anna falls asleep in the car quite a bit, and rather than moving her I just leave her be so she can nap. I even try to keep reading material in the car for when this happens, which is usually on the way home from daycare.

New Passion: Though I still prefer tea, I've started to order lattes on my trips to Caribou. This is a big deal for me, as I'm generally not a coffee drinker. But I'm finding that on my worst days that tea is just not cutting it for me, I need something stronger to get me through the day. I realize that most of the rest of the world has caught on to this, but for me this switch in drink loyalties is worth noting.

I've been trying to keep my Caribou trips to a minimum, lately as a way of making up for the money I overspent on pictures at Target last week. Like a penance for not having been more careful. I'd like to add another money-saving penance but am not sure what else that could be yet. Any ideas? Let me know!

Hmmm.

Today's date in history, from Writer's Almanac:

It was on this day in 1948 that Harry S. Truman (books by this author) accomplished one of the greatest upsets in an American election by beating the governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey, for the presidency ... Truman was not all that popular. Republicans had retaken control of the Congress in the midterm elections in 1946, and there was a sense in the country that the New Deal was dead ... Two months before the election, the pollster Elmo Roper announced that he was going to stop surveying voters, because Dewey was so far ahead. He said, "[I've decided to] devote my time and efforts to other things." The most recent poll had shown Dewey leading Truman by 44 to 31 percent.
But Truman set out on one of the most ambitious campaigns in American history. He had a private railroad car outfitted for a cross-country journey that became known as the "whistle-stop tour." He would pull into a train station in a small town and give a speech directly from the train, which was equipped with a sound system. That fall of 1948, he covered 21,928 miles, and he managed to deliver more than 300 speeches around the country ... All the major newspapers in the country still predicted his defeat, but Truman privately estimated that he would win about 340 electoral votes, and Dewey would get about 108 ... It turned out that Truman had won 303 electoral votes to Dewey's 189. Of the popular vote, he won 24 million to Dewey's 22 million. Not one news organization in the country had predicted the election correctly.
It was two days after the election that Truman was making an appearance in St. Louis and somebody handed him a copy of the Chicago Daily Tribune that had run the day before with the headline, "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN." Truman held the paper up over his head for the photographers in attendance, and that picture became the most famous picture of Truman ever taken.

I am a fan of Truman for many reasons, and this is one of them. (I've shortened the original post)

From John Kerry, in response to his flubbed joke:

"If anyone thinks a veteran would criticize the more than 140,000 heroes serving in Iraq and not the president who got us stuck there, they're crazy. This is the classic G.O.P. playbook. I'm sick and tired of these despicable Republican attacks that always seem to come from those who never can be found to serve in war, but love to attack those who did.
I'm not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq . It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.
The people who owe our troops an apology are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney who misled America into war and have given us a Katrina foreign policy that has betrayed our ideals, killed and maimed our soldiers, and widened the terrorist threat instead of defeating it. These Republicans are afraid to debate veterans who live and breathe the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor.
Bottom line, these Republicans want to debate straw men because they're afraid to debate real men. And this time it won't work because we're going to stay in their face with the truth and deny them even a sliver of light for their distortions. No Democrat will be bullied by an administration that has a cut and run policy in Afghanistan and a stand still and lose strategy in Iraq ."

It is still unbelievable to me how Republicans ripped apart John Kerry's military service in the last presidential election, ripped apart the service of a man who could have dodged Vietnam due to his family connections but instead actually served in the war and received a Purple Heart. Quite unlike our current president, who not only dodged Vietnam but couldn't even be bothered to show up to his cushy Air National Guard duties while all his peers were in the war. Funny how those are the men so gung ho for war. No shame, no shame at all. I guess I am unable to understand, my not being a real American and having no moral values and all.

http://www.dailykos.com/

Party Party Party!!!

Anna's birthday party was on Sunday (the 29th) from 11 to 1. For the last few weeks I've been trying to pull things together to make it special--from ordering the special first birthday cake with the duckies from Lunds, finding cute duckie favors, buying balloons and even decorating the dining room with streamers. All my family from the metro area came to the party--aunts and uncles Mary, Cheryl, Diane, Tony, Paul, and Charlie, cousins Claire, Austin and Drew, and Charlie's girlfriend Sharon, who I had not met yet. Edwin made homemade pizzas and salad for everyone, along with the cake.

Anna was a little dazed by all the company at first. She was still napping when most of our guests arrived, so she awoke to find about a dozen new people in the house watching her every move. We quickly fed her some snacks while she warmed up to the crowd and once she had something in her tummy she was her usual smiley self. She LOVED the cake! It had two duckies on the top, and she found the frosting especially delicious. Saskia was a great helper and stayed close to Anna so she wouldn't get scared of all the hustle and bustle around her.

Anna got some very generous gifts--money to go into her savings account, and a funny Curious George from Uncle Paul who makes noises and vibrates when you squeeze his hands and feet. From Auntie Cheryl she got a new Baby Einstein CD to play while she falls asleep at night--a collection of classical music. Gracie, Anna's friend from daycare, gave her a cute outfit. From Mommy and Papa she got the Amazing Animal Choo Choo, which was a big hit with both Anna and Saskia. Anna promises she will share it with everyone who would like to play with her. ;)

The only thing I wish I would have changed was to have taken more pictures!!

Frustration--With all the work I had done to decorate the dining room and get the cake from Lunds, did I take pictures of it all? Of course not! I got to busy caring for Anna and getting beverages for everyone. It especially pains me that I didn't get better pictures of the cake, it was so cute and Anna was so excited the first time she saw it. Sigh! Hopefully some of the guests will have pictures to share.

Later I will amend this post to add some of the pictures we did take, so far we haven't had the time to load and edit them. But soon!

Edwin and I both took Anna's birthday off work. We scheduled Anna's one-year checkup in the morning, and by the time we finished the appointment, had her blood taken for a iron/hemoglobin check, and she had a long nap to sleep it off it was early afternoon. Later in the afternoon I brought her in for one-year pictures at Target, then we made a trip to Linden Hills Park to play on the swings. It's funny--Anna recognizes when we're at a park and now gets all excited, shrieking and kicking her legs when she sees the playground equipment and kids running around. So far all we do is play on the swings and maybe go down the baby slide a couple times, there's so much more to do that she's not even aware of yet!

Frustration--I have been bringing Anna to the Target Portrait Studio for pictures every three months, since she's been born. I've been happy with them and have always been able to find a time and the location is very convenient. But, I forgot to print the coupons to bring along! Grr. With a coupon I could have gotten 40% off the photo sheets, and an 8x10 for free. I am so mad at myself because I have done this before. I can't adjust the price because the coupons needed to have been presented at the time of the session. There were a few cute poses to choose from and I'm sure I'll be happy with the photos but it just bothers me that I could have saved around $30 and didn't, due to my own forgetfulness. Then of course I think of that money and realize that could have bought a toy for Anna, or a new DVD I would have liked to own, etc. Sigh. Oh well.

Later that evening of her birthday Saskia joined us and we all went to Anna's favorite restaurant, Noodles. How do we know it's Anna's favorite? This girl is crazy for noodles! She'd love almost everything on the menu! At home she had more of her birthday cake for dessert, and the day came to an end. It was all a whirlwind, but lots of fun and a fitting way of celebrating our special girl!