Happy First Birthday, Isabella! What a wonderful year it has been, from tiny newborn to our now chattering, toddling, dancing little girl! Our lives are truly blessed and we cherish every moment with our Izzy. Since her actual birthday is today, a Monday, we decided to celebrate yesterday so we could have a full day of birthday festivities. First we went to the Children's Museum which has a "Tot Spot"--a perfect, pint-sized play area filled with toys and games and places to explore. Izzy loved climbing along this path that went up small stairs to a wavy floor then down a ramp. There were buttons to push, balls to bounce, wheels to turn and much fun to be had at the Tot Spot. So after spending much of the morning at the museum, we then had a late lunch at our favorite restaurant, Cafe Express, got home, opened presents and cards. Then it was birthday cake time! Long before her birthday, I was worried over the cake. Should I order a cake? Make it myself? Should there even be a cake? Izzy hasn't had any sweets, yet, which I didn't think was that big of a deal until I realized her birthday cake would be the first time she would ever have sugar! She's had fruit, of course, and loves her veggies, but I never included sweets into her diet. So, after much deliberation, I ended up making her a vegan cake which had a lot less sugar than the traditional cakes you buy or bake. The frosting was made from an organic mix and was not sugar-shock sweet, either. No, it did not taste like card board! Even my highly-trained sweet tooth approved! When we presented Izzy with her cake, she considered it for a bit, but really didn't know what to do with it. We gave her a big chunk to demolish but she ate it quite delicately, in fact, and it was decidedly not the cake diving scene I had envisioned.  An hour later, however, it was a different story. She was flying around the living room in a sugar-induced frenzy. Great. Right before bed-time, too. I shudder to think what she would've been like if we had given her a high octane cake! But we did finally manage to quiet her down and get her ready for bed. Sigh. Though she is only one and not likely to remember it, we'd like to think she had a good birthday filled with fun, wonderful presents and, of course, cake! 

Baby you can drive my car

Alright, mom, pay attention: the right pedal is the gas and the left one is the break. 

Sweets for the sweet

Daddy at Cafe Express

Peek-a-boo!

Having lunch at Whole Foods today.

Happy Birthday!

A happy face

Recently, Izzy has been crawling around with stuff in her mouth. This next picture is her with a corner cushion in her mouth (you put these rubbery dealies on the corner of coffee tables to prevent babies from knocking their noggins on them.) Well, Izzy has learned to take these cushions off and likes to carry them around the house, hide them and generally make a mockery out of our baby-proofing attempts!

Barnes and Noble has a Thomas the Tank Engine play area where I take Izzy every once in awhile. She loves Thomas and friends, but mostly enjoys seeing the other kids there.