Here is a post from Holly telling us all about her Party.
Decorations:
During the week while Oma was visiting we spent time shopping for decorations and preparing for the party. On Sunday Morning all of my Grandma's got to help blow up Balloons and hand streamers.
On The Spur of the Moment Mom decided to do an Underwater theme, She has always called me her little fishy, and I am a Pisces. But really when she picked my cake, she decided to theme the party around it. You'll see it later, but it is all under water.
This is the cool table cloth that my mom found, I think it really helped brighten up the room. When I woke up from my nap, just before the party the first thing I did was pull on it, it just looked like so much fun.
Oma thought it would be fun to get little presents for all of my friends, it was a lot of fun to pick them out. I loved these rattles, they were good to chew on and made lots of noise. I also found cute little books. In the bag we themed it for Under Water, I found rubber duckies, and fish bath toys, and Mom thought it would be cool to give everyone a swim Diaper so I could invite them to Friday swim class and they would be prepared to try it out once and see if they like it. We also got some cool water colored teethers and bubbles.
I really liked the streamers, these ones are little sea horses, there are other ones that are blue and pink and I liked to chew on them when they fell. They made cool crinkly sounds. I liked the Balloons, and we found these clear ones that had fish on them at the party store.
I think this is my Favorite Balloon, it reminds me of Mack, my Tanta Kat's Turtle. But I especially liked the ribbon tied to it. I also had a cool Balloon that had fish floating inside.
Food:
Oma, me, and Mommy went shopping at Costco on Saturday morning. It was a very long day but I had fun. Mom wanted to buy a cheese and meat platter but they had run out of them, she was so excited to find this cheese tray and improvised with some crackers, she also had some left over sour dough bread and Oma cut it up to snack on with the cheese. Mom let me taste test the cheese Saturday night before the party. I liked Swiss and Cheddar best.
Some of my friends parents are vegetarians, so we wanted to make sure there were yummy veggies for them to eat. I wasn't allowed to have any of the carrots, but there was a bunch left over and Daddy is going to steam them up and make me some purees.
Mommy really liked the Fruit bowl, there was yummy mango and strawberry inside.
The main course was going to be Hamburgers from the grill. So when Granny and Daddy went to the store they made sure to get lots of fixings to put on top of them. Since Mommy only eats plain turkey burgers, she totally didn't think to get this, and thought it was great for Granny to remember. They got Onions and Avocado (which I don't like) and tomatoes and lettuce.
This is my favorite part. Its the baby Buffet and I stocked it full with all my favorite treats. We had yummy yogurt juices, and puffs and teething biscuits and yogurt drops and even some new Banana cookies that Oma found for me when we were shopping.
We had a bunch of other Gerber Organic foods out that people could try if they wanted, and sippy cups, and even string cheese, I like that a lot.
Outside:
We set up a fun play area outside for the older kids. The fun play mat was from Oma at Christmas and it helped make the ground softer, there was also some turf under the teepee. I didn't get much of a chance to play outside but I am looking forward to having Daddy set this up for me again in the summer, he even said he might set it up in the kitchen so I can get around the whole house using the tunnels and tents.
These are some flowers that my Nanna picked from the garden to set up outside. I think they are pretty.
This is the grill daddy used to make food for all the parents. They had Burgers, veggie, beef, and turkey, and some garlic cheese sausage. Daddy spent a lot of time outside cooking and the parents went to visit him and chatted, I think he had fun.
The Guests Arrive:
Here are some of the Dads hanging out in the kitchen. It was sorta crowded with my friends and their moms in the living room, and I think the dads had fun talking about computers and games and stuff.
This is me showing Cole the Leapfrog Table that Mommy got for me on Craigslist. Cole is 10 and 1/2 months and he just starting pulling himself up. That's his Mommy Melissa, and his other Mommy Aleutia is from Gainseville. My mom met her at the pool one day when Granny was visiting, it was so cool because she knew my Daddy and my Uncle Alan when they were in High School, and recognized my Granny. It has been so fun knowing Cole and his Mommies.
We had lots of fun playing music and hanging out. There is me in my Pink Party Dress. Mommy made this for me when I was in her belly. I wore it once just after I was born, and she used it in my birth announcements. She thought it would be cool to wear it for the party, its like a top now, I have gotten so big.
This is my friend Sarah. Mommy met her Mom Isabel at her Mom's group when I was just a little baby, she started going when I was about 9 weeks old, and a few month later she met Sarah and Isabel. They both stopped going now that we are older but they stayed friends and we see each other all the time now at the pool. I hope Sarah will come over again for a Play date soon. Sarah is 9 months old, but she is much bigger then me. Sarah is fun to play with because she is so easy going and like me she is very social.
Here is a picture of Sarah playing with Cole.
This is Miriam. She is a lot of fun. She is over two years old. I hope that I will be able to run and play just like her soon. Daddy said she had so much fun crawling through the tent and playing in the back yard. She even pushed my ball all the way into the tent through the tunnel.
This is Issac Miriam's little brother. He is about 10 months old. He was shy when he first arrived at my party, I think its because he just woke up from a nap, but after hanging out with his parents for a while he was ready to come and play with us.
Sarah decided to try out my bouncer. She isn't pulling up or cruising yet, and her mommy thought that she might like bouncing. I think she had fun, but she was also very popular, we all wanted to come and hang out with her once she started bouncing.
There is Issac, he also is just learning to pull himself up and My mommy even saw him stand all on his own for a few seconds.
This is Lucian and I have know him since we were both in our Mommies Bellies. Lucian was my very first friend and he is just like my big soft cuddly Teddy bear. We play together a lot.
His parents live in the city though so sometimes we don't get to see each other as often as we like. He was a Preemie when he was first born so I didn't get to play with him for a while but now he is so big. He is just over 8 months old.
This is Lucian's Mommy Tracey. She is making sure I don't hurt myself, she doesn't realize that my new trick is pushing the chair across the room. It makes it easier then having to crawl from place to place, I was showing the other babies how I do it so they could try it too.
The Cake:
This is me. I am getting ready to get my cake. Mommy put this silly hat on me to take pictures. I didn't much like it and tried to take it off, but then I saw how much Oma wanted me to wear it and figured I could leave it on for a few minutes, it wasn't like they were making me wear it for the whole party or anything.
This was the very special cake my Mommy got just for me to eat. When My Granny and Daddy went to the store to pick it up the store didn't make it right and when they got home my Mommy wasn't happy. My granny was so wonderful because she took it back to the store and had them fix it. They added the cool corner decorations and fixed the letters. Those are my initials on the side of the cake and a big 1 for me, my 1st birthday.
This is the cake we got for the parents. I liked the Nemo fish and after the cake was all gone I was able to keep them and play with them. There are colorful candles on the cake that spell my name and after everyone sang Happy Birthday to me, my mommy helped me blow them out. This cake was vanilla and it had banana inside it.
This is me eating my cake. Mommy says I have never had sugar before, but daddy says that there is sugar in formula and baby food. The frosting was squishy and fun to play with, Oma says it was butter cream and she splurged and had a bite with me. I tried to have the cake with my spoon, but it was much easier to eat with my fingers. It was so messy though.
I ended up getting it all over my face, and not enough of it in my mouth.
The Presents:
After my mommy cleaned me all up it was time to open presents. Miriam, Issac, and Sarah had to go home before I got a chance to open them. There parents said they were ready to take a nap. I loved the shiny red paper on this one.
It was these really cool nesting cups that not only do they go inside each other but can also stack on top of each other and make a tower even taller then I am. Also the container that they come in is also a shape sorter. and it has a cool handle.
I had lots of fun playing with them. It is fun to dump them out and take them apart. There wasn't a label on them though, so I am not sure who got it for me, but Thank You! Hopefully you can come over and play with it and me soon.
This present is from Lucian. We had lots of fun unwrapping it together, the paper was really pretty and easy to get out of the bag. Mommy said the cool paper wasn't the present though.
Inside was blocks, and Mommy helped me open them. These were so many cool colors and they are so fun to chew on. Not only are they wood, but one of the sides has a cool pattern and it is textured. There are letters and even animals on one side. When I am older I can learn my ABC's and right now I am starting to learn to stack them up.
Lucian also got me a very cool Dragon. His Mommy said it just fit my family. My mom and dad have lots of dragons, and now I have my own. He even has wings.
This present is from my Mommy and Daddy. I am not sure what to do with them yet. they don't really stay on top of each other, Mommy says you have to push them together and build things. My granny says that they are called lego's and when my daddy was a little boy these were his favorite toys. he helped pick them out, but my mom picked the color. I like pink and purple.
This is me and my granny and a cool Dolly that she got me. When I am a little older I can play with her and learn all of body parts. She is anatomically correct. But I am not sure what that means, thats just what I heard her say to my mommy.
Granny also got me this cool bus. It is a leapfrog toy. The frogs inside sing songs and it helps me learn my letters. It is fun to push the buttons and hear the songs and I get to hear what sounds all the letters make.
These are blocks from my Oma. They are squishy and soft. They are a little bigger then the wooden ones, and a bit easier to stack, but they don't make loud sounds when I bang them together. I do like chewing on them though.
This is me and Cole playing with them. You can see that I was able to put one on top of the other. I am just learning how to do that, but its more fun to knock them down and chew on them
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This is another present from my Mommy and Daddy, and I heard them say I am not ready for it yet. I don't know what they are talking about though, cuz it is so much fun pulling every one of those round things off and throwing them on the floor. I can even collect them and hold 4 in my hand at once. They also clink when you bang them together and they are fun to bite.
Mommy had to help me unwrap it. I liked the colors and it lights up and spins too, but I am not sure how to make it do that yet. But my Mommy can make it go.
I am not so good at putting the peices on yet. I think thats why mommy said its a little old for me. Shhh don't tell her, but I have already lost one of those round things. I like taking them with me after playing in my room, and now I forgot where I left it.
This is a cool hat that I got from Grandpa Jeff and Grandma Cynde. They weren't at my party but the box came in the mail and it had presents inside. My mom was excited because she likes to dress me up in new cloths. Good Grief! It came with this hat, and a warm sweater and cool leggings. I like those.
I also got this cool book from Grandpa and Grandma. When you turn the pages the picture moves back and forth.
There are animals that run and leap and play and shapes too. I love turning pages and this is a fun book I can play with all by myself.
This is a big box from my Oma. It was fun to unwrap and pull off the red paper.
Inside though was something even more fun then the paper. It was this cool box with build in toys.
I wanted to share it with all my friends and show them how it works. Here is Lucian pushing the animals around on top.
One of my favorite parts of this toy is that I can use it to cruise. Mommy left it in the middle of the room so I can walk around it and play.
The sides have really cool doors that I can open and close with animals behind them. And on another side there are all of the letters and they spin round and round.
All of my friends liked playing with the Busy Zoo too, even Otter came over with his Daddy's help. He was the littlest baby at our party. He is only 4 months old, but I met him the first time when he was an even littler baby, and his Mommy says he weights 16 pounds now, that is almost as big as me. But he is a boy, so thats probably why.
Ding Dong goes the door bell, and there is a package to be signed for. No I am not Holly, but she isn't quite able to sign for herself yet I laugh as she tries to peak out the door at the mail man.
She is happy to get her box and plays with it until her visiting Great Uncle Ty offers to help her open it. She is eager to find out what is inside.
Woo Hoo she exclaims what are these colorful things inside this fun plastic container and how do I get them out. They look tasty.
I think you are supposed to do something over here with this zipper, maybe if I pull on it, it will open, or maybe if I smile real cute Mommy will open it for me.
Hmm.. What are these? They look interesting, I can carry them around and they are soft and very pretty and they do taste good.
Perhaps I should take them over here and play with them and hide them in my toy box, oh wait mommy is calling me over, and wants me to sit on her lap.
Hmm... These things fit on my feet, they look pretty good and they are pretty comfy too, they fit just right.
Look at these pink circles and the green ones too, can I pull those off and chew on them? These are pretty soft, and they make my feet all cosy.
Ack! Mommy expects me to walk in these, is she crazy, I can barely get to where I am going. If I am not careful I might fall right over, I think I need to hold on.
This past week Ty, Joel's uncle has been visiting us from Gainesville Florida. He was here in town for a demonstration / protest.
It went quite well and he was able to visit with many friends who were in town also. While here he also had time for a lot of site seeing, and got a little too much sun.
He spent most of his days out in San Francisco, went to the MOMA and the DeYoung, the Embarcadero, and the Warf, among other things.
On this particular evening he was home earlier enough to visit us for dinner. Joel reintroduced Holly, to him, they met months ago in Charlottesville, but it has been a while.
She warmed up to him pretty quickly (no beard helps) and of course he was willing to read her favorite book to her which certainly earned him a lot of points.
While we were waiting for the food to cook we put on John Stewart. Joel was making some Barb-be-que sausages on the grill and rice-a-roni. Yum
John Steward only distracted Holly for so long though, before she was eager to be the center of attention. Look at me, play with me, Roar!
Ok, maybe a more direct tactic, you are all looking in the direction, so let me get in your line of site, so you are sure to notice me!
Ty was a champion and offered to read to her some more, and that distracted her for a bit longer. This is one of her favorite books.
This mini Cinderella was a gift from Granny. She sent a package earlier in the week with some cloths and little books. Holly was very excited to be in the spotlight again.
After dinner we had some ice cream, and Holly had warmed up to Ty so much that she was eager to stalk him and try to get his ice cream from him.
He of course didn't share, but over all his visit was a big hit, and Holly was happy to have the company. Ty is back home now, off safe and sound.
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