We celebrated Lizzie's first birthday on the 18th with cake, birthday pesto, and lots of presents! The big gift of the day was a new push wagon that Eric made. It sports hand turned wheels, an ergonomic handle, custom height fitting, and shiny colors with several coats of shellac (which we hope will reduce paint transfer from wagon to everything Lizzie's bound to hit...) As soon as we made it to birthday central (the living room play mat), Lizzie went straight for the wagon filled with presents, and started pushing it around the house immediately. It doesn't have much of a turning radius (none, in fact... or is that infinite? Well, you can't turn it in any event), so the run-ins with walls and furniture began immediately.
Lizzie loved the pretty boxes and packages, but didn't make much of a move to open them. Without ample encouragement and help, I suspect they'd still be sitting unopened now. We opened gifts gradually through the day. There were a couple of fantastic puzzles from cousins Livvie and Maddie (which she loves!), books from mommy and grandma and grandpa, and plenty of clothes from all. O'Ma and O'pa gave Lizzie a swing, which we can't wait to set up as soon as this rain goes away. Second only to the wagon was a three little pigs play set with velcro houses and squeaky pigs; Lizzie carries the big bad wolf around in her mouth. ("Take that you naughty puppy!")
The wagon did it's job: late that afternoon, Lizzie took her first unambiguously unassisted non-luching steps. Starting from the wagon, she walked 5 or 6 steps toward the book bin, before squatting down for a toy. She has a flair for the poetic, saving her first steps for her birthday!
We enjoyed a family dinner (still an event around here, as Lizzie goes to bed so early) of Lizzie's favorite pesto, and had cake for dessert. Lizzie reached for the cake when we brought it near for her to try to blow out the candles (there might have been some help), and immediately thereafter decided she likes frosting (very much). I made a simple buttermilk cake, which was just "eh" according to Lizzie, but it seems I'm welcome to make the chocolate mousse frosting anytime.
The only downside to the day was after the morning nap, when Lizzie went to the doc. SIX shots! Poor little thing. (4 regular shots, a follow up on the seasonal flu, and her first H1N1) She did not approve, and really lost it, but recovered in a few minutes. After a bottle, she was right as rain. Her stats are impressive. Still at 90th percentile across the board -- actually up a little from last time -- 24lbs, 30 5/8", and a big head. No hair to speak of, though. Her bald-Gerber-ness makes her seem so much younger, and yet she's much larger than other babies her age. In fact, she's just over the median for an 18th month old...
More photos are on Picassa. Enjoy!
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