Not what I pictured...

that's what Larry said about my birthday last night.
You see he has had a cold most of this week and just really hasn't felt good. So, my birthday was pretty lame! I had cold cereal with Maria for breakfast(Larry had to do something with Rotary Club at the middle school at 8), then lunch was leftover birthday party food from Maria's party that I ate with Maria, while Larry napped. Not that Maria isn't good company, just not much in the way of conversation. I spent most of my morning and afternoon getting junk(I mean really nice stuff) ready to sell tomorrow in our garage sale. Dinner was leftovers (yes again, only not from Maria's party!).
At least the best neighbor in the world, Dottie, made me some cheesecake with raspberry topping...and today I think I deserve a treat from DQ. I guess once you grow up birthdays just aren't what they used to be! I don't think having a McDonald's birthday would be acceptable, unless I just told everyone it was really for Maria.
I did get some nice cards, a couple phone calls, even one from Hayden, Lee's son singing me Happy Birthday, although he got a great kick out of "you smell like a monkey, and you look like one too" Ah, a 3 year old's humor! Gotta love it! At least I had one really good laugh for the day!
We have plenty to praise God for; just having another year of life to celebrate!

A "Sunshine" Day...remind you of the Brady Bunch?

Well, the weather didn't exactly cooperate all day on Saturday for Maria's party, but we had a great time anyway. It was rainy in the morning, and then cleared up after lunch just in time for cake and presents. Maria was surprisingly good for most of the day, although she only had a short nap in the morning and a bit longer one later once most of the family had left. She also surprised us all my really walking! She thought she would show off to everyone that was here.
We had both sets of parents, my grandmother, my siblings and a sister in law, Larry's sister and husband, our neighbor, and our two nephews. We were disappointed that my other grandmother and uncle couldn't come due to illness. (Hope you're feeling better Gramma!) Maria got some great gifts and is already enjoying them. We had a yellow sunshine theme since "Sunshine" is her nickname...it was fun to decorate a yellow sunshine cake and try to have as much yellow food as we could think of; mac and cheese, potato salad, cheeseburgers, lemons, grapefruit, apples, pears, popcorn, chips, cornchips, and lemonade.
Enjoy the pictures of our sunshiny day!
We have plenty to praise God for; a wonderful celebration with family.

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You ought to be in pictures...

I hope you enjoy this montage of Maria's first year...

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A year of firsts

At one month I had learned to smile.
At two months I slept the whole night(9 hours).
At three months I learned to laugh.
At four months I learned to roll and slept 12 straight hours.
At five months I had my first babysitter and learned to hold a bottle.
At six months I loved peek-a-boo and figured out rolling can get me just about anywhere.
At seven months I got 2 teeth and could sit well.
At eight months I had mastered crawling, learned to say Dada, and wave.
At nine months I had learned to stand and got two more teeth, learned to clap and say "Yea".
At ten months I loved to give kisses, feed myself all kinds of food, and walk with some help.
At eleven months I learned to say Mama, enjoyed playing peek-a-boo by covering my eyes, practiced dancing when I heard music, and said "uh-oh" a lot.
At twelve months I like to make animal sounds, have 2 more teeth(making 6!), and have really figured out walking(the day before my birthday).

Isn't it amazing what is learned in such a short time period. We have been amazed as each month went by what new and exciting things Maria was learning. It really makes you feel amazed at the miracle a child is.

We have plenty to praise God for; a year of firsts to look back over and remember with joy.
Happy Birthday Sunshine!

Where no man has gone before...

till now! Maria found out that it is pretty fun to climb in the cupboards. We decided to clear out one side in the bathroom and in the kitchen she can't really hurt the bowls, although she does make a BIG mess! She wants to keep mom busy by picking up after her.

We have plenty to praise God for; a daughter who has fun doing just about anything!

Holy Flamingos!

It's not everyday that you get to look out your window and enjoy the breathtaking view of 30 flamingos flapping in the breeze...I better explain. No, they are not real, much to the disappointment of the seagulls that thought they could fly in and make some friends...it was rather amusing watching them! We were endowed with the flamingos due to a fundraiser for the youth group at church. We were the first to get them and in order to get rid of them we pay a fee, but we decide who they get to bless next. If you do not want to receive the beautiful lawn decoration then you have to pay for "flamingo insurance" and you will be safe. We get rid of them today after having them for a week. I must say this is the most I have seen people look at our house and it has made more than a few smile too!

Before

During

We were very excited that the trustees from church decided to put on a new deck surface as the old one was very dried out and it was a splinter danger! My nephew Trey got a huge one a couple years back and it was an ordeal to get it out...we didn't want to experience that again. They tore it off Thursday, came to lay it on Saturday and finished it totally on Monday. It is a cedar colored composite wood...so no worries about splinters...ever! I took advantage of the good weather and the activity to keep Maria busy and raked the leaves that we never got to in the fall. I also got out in the garden and raked out the dead plants(finally). Now I just need to let it dry some more before we can burn it all. Maybe this year we will get the garden planted before Memorial Day...something (or someone) kind of had us distracted last year! We are excited for the new deck as we have a special birthday party coming up. Check back for a post about Maria's first year of life...has it really been a year already!

The finished product!

We have plenty to praise God for; a wonderful house!

"Old" friends...

Last week was Spring Break for most of the school around here, and for my friend from back home, Mindy. She came for an overnight visit, which she usually does during the summer, but she is expecting their first child in July (a boy!) and thought it better to make the trip now. Our friend Lee (who was on maternity leave) also came for a visit and lunch, plus we spent plenty of time talking about kids, pregnancy and anything else we could think of. Lee brought her son Hayden and 4 week old daughter Lauren. It was so good to be with "old" friends who know so much about you, maybe too much. I don't have to explain things from my past. Old friends are definitely the best friends!
We have plenty to praise God for; friends!