Birthday Girl

Well, Abby ended up having a birthday party after all. My family had already given Abby her presents, but Kevin's family hadn't and they were still itching for a party, so we had a last minute Marks family party for Abby this past Saturday. I'd really wanted to make Abby a cake with teddy bears on it (one of her nicknames is "Little Bear" and she really likes teddy bears), but hadn't given much thought as to the specific design. Since I'd had a rough morning with the pregnancy sickness, decorating the cake got put off to the last thing. With less than an hour before family was to arrive, I tried to make up a design. As I began frosting the cake, I realized the frosting was too stiff but pushed ahead anyway not wanting to take the time to remix it....not a smart move and I learned my lesson. I wasted much time (not too mention a lot of frustration!) trying to get the cake totally covered while the too stiff frosting kept pulling off bits of cake which ended up spreading around. I ended up having to remix it anyway, plus put a second layer of frosting on to cover up the cake crumbs. Like I said, lesson learned. =) Anyway, it's not the greatest cake I've ever made, but it wasn't too shabby for doing it at the last minute either. Plus, the cake passed the real test: Abby loved it and recognized that my decorations were teddy bears! When we showed her the cake, she said right away and excitedly, "Bbbb, bbbb, bbbb!" for "Bear." I was so pleased. She also poked a teddy bear right in the nose when I got it too close to her. =)

The actual eating of the cake was not really a surprise. I'd made a separate cupcake just for Abby. She wouldn't try the frosting (I don't think she even realized it was food). And she waited until I broke the cake part into pieces so she could pick each one up to eat. No messy cake and frosting all over the face and hair for this girl! And although she enjoyed this one-time sugary splurge for her birthday, it's back to healthy foods now!

"Bear!"

Abby had a great time opening her presents (how is it that they learn these things at such a young age?). She acted like a pro - opening the wrapping paper, taking items out of gift bags, trying on a dress and a bracelet, playing with her new toy, listening to her new books, etc. You'd think she'd done this a hundred times before!

Abby being a good sport and letting Daddy and Grandma try her new dress on her.

But as mundane, everyday things are often the biggest hit with babies, probably the best thing Abby enjoyed about her party was checking out everyone's buttons! Yep, you read that right - buttons. Abby loves buttons right now. She especially liked Aunt Melissa's large buttons on her sweater.

Oh, look! Uncle Gene has a button on his shirt too!