Leif's first birthday (early)

Today we had a very small celebration for Leif's first birthday - just the four of us and our neighbors. We ate, drank champagne, opened presents, chased bubbles, and played outside - I think it was perfect for Leif.

Agneta made the (ice cream) cake, a hedgehog in a forest scene with (marzipan) mushrooms, berries, snails, slugs, and green frogs. It was beautiful, and I'm afraid Leif is going to be disappointed for the rest of his life when he sees what I make.

An egg shaker! A perfect gift:

August looking at his new book with Hanna:

The birthday king, wearing the crown his brother wore on his first birthday (here too, and see James donning the crown here):

Playing outside:

Augie's birthday weekend

I'm a bit sheepish to report that I don't really have good pictures from our party yesterday, or from much that we did this weekend. Leif barely napped all day yesterday, and when the party came around he was overtired and upset, so I wore him in the carrier all evening - which meant that I was a bit reserved from the action and wasn't able to move around and take pictures as I would have liked. Alas. It's also difficult as there's only enough natural light to take pictures for about 3 hours each day, and the lighting in this apartment is pretty bad (I'd guess the fixtures haven't been updated in fifty years - but that's just a guess).

But, I did get some pictures, so here they are.

Our big gift to Augie was a play kitchen. He loves it. All he wants to do now is cook and wash the dishes. He puts most of his toys in the oven and in the cupboard under the sink.

Shortly after opening his present, Augie decided his bedroom - on top of the bed - was the best place for his kitchen.

I love this (it was printed on the box):

Poring over the book our friend Julie gave him:

Cake! I made a pumpkin cake with maple cream cheese frosting - it was delicious. I'm eating a piece now as I write this post.

It took him forever to go to sleep last night after the party, and he's taking a while again tonight. One day we won't be so exhausted, right?

Exploring Easton

The wedding we attended was on Maryland's eastern shore. We spent the day of the wedding exploring the area, seeing the sights and playing on the playgrounds.

 Dancing on the stage at the rehearsal dinner:

Keeping busy at 8am:

Exploring the docks and cannons of St. Michael's (James saved a dog while we were in St. Michael's: the dog arrived on a boat with his owners, and as they were pulling up to dock the dog tried to jump onto land but missed. James ran to the water, laid on his stomach, and reached down and yanked the dog out of the water. A hero! You'd think the owners would have at least offered him a drink!):

 

The reception was held at the groom's parents' house, a beautiful home on the water in Easton.

Asking for more grapes:

Climbing in the fire pit (good thing his pants were ash gray!):

Augie found a partner-in-crime at the wedding, a slightly older woman named Sierra. Pictures of some of their shenanigans to come tomorrow (and yes, Sierra's mom is pregnant, too):

1 year - Augie's third 1st birthday, continued

Sunday morning we had one last birthday party for Augie here in Princeton - we wanted to celebrate with the friends who helped us all survive the first year. We had brunch and cake (spice cake with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, which in all honesty I found disappointing, but Augie loved), opened a couple presents, and all the babies played so well together. Sad that we'll be leaving this wonderful group of folks so soon, but so glad that we've been able to share the triumphs and travails of the first year with them all.

I had a hard time narrowing down which pictures to post, as you can tell.

Esther is about two months older than Augie - she was the first in our little group of friends to meet the outside world:

 Linden, about a month older than Augie, sporting (and sharing!) the birthday crown:

Rina, who lives in our apartment community. She was the youngest baby in attendance and was just meeting the other babies for the first time, but she did so well:

 

 One last go at the birthday song and blowing out the candle:

 

This is how Augie eats cake:

Linden's approach is much more civilized:

Dinesh, Deepa and baby Rina:

Getting ready to pose the babies for a picture. Rina loves this stuff:

Babies posing for a picture. I don't know why there's a soccer ball in there:

Augie's relaxing end-of-day spa treatment, assisted by Uncle Robert: