First Birthday Fun

Baby Kate's first birthday was a lovely, low key celebration.  We were lucky enough to have one set of her grandparents come down for the weekend, Matt's parents arrived Friday afternoon to help us honor our favorite little lady and we were so happy to have them in town.

Getting tips from a pro on how to brush her teeth

Stories with Grammie

Kate was excited to have extra arms and laps to snuggle especially since she wasn't feeling well this past weekend.  She had a low grade fever, runny nose, and a cough which made a rainy weekend the perfect time to relax, recover, and reminisce on how far we've come in a year.

Matt and Peggy watch basketball "Wheeler Style" - on the floor 

On Sunday when Kate woke up around 5:30 in the morning and Matt and I sang Happy Birthday to her.  After breakfast it was time for presents!  Kate used the skills she mastered at Christmas to rip into her gifts.  My Mom continued her trend of knitting adorable animals by adding an elephant to Kate's collection.  Kate also got some books, cute new outfits, and a farm puzzle with large wooden knobs on the pieces she loves to pull.

She's got the hang of it

Edgar the Elephant- too cute for words

A puzzle with knobs to grab, an instant hit with our curious girl

Saturday was a rainy mess, but Kate's birthday on Sunday was a beautiful sunny day.  We went for a birthday walk, ate birthday barbecue, and at one point in the afternoon all three of us were sound asleep taking birthday naps... probably the exact same thing we were doing on that day last year (only I was much more comfortable).  Kate had an early supper followed by a cupcake she enthusiastically dove into.  Judging by the mess we had to clean afterwards I think all of the cake was crumbled and dispersed across her highchair and kitchen while most of the frosting was on her chin.  I'm not sure how much was actually eaten, but she had fun with it and that's what really counts.

Is there sugar in frosting?  Then, YES!

Cupcake killing led to a soak in the tub and because it was her birthday we let Kate play longer than usual until she was wrinkly and starting to get cold.  We battled her into some pajamas (we think "Baby Pajama Wrestling" should be a timed Olympic pairs sport) and wrapped our one year old in her bathrobe for extra coziness.

By Sunday evening Kate's fever was thankfully gone, but she still was not quite back to her playful self.  Matt took full advantage of this uncommon calmer and clingier version of his daughter and watched football with a snoozing girl on his shoulder.  I hate that Kate did not feel great on her birthday, but we sure did enjoy the extra snuggles she wanted as a result.  It actually was a wonderful birthday weekend- family in town to help it feel special and lots of opportunities to hold and hug little Katherine and tell her how much she means to us.

Quite possibly the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon