Weekend Roundup

Afton has graduated from her infant seat to a forward-facing carseat. It's the same as Sam's. She likes it.

 On Sunday she crawled around in the grass. Then got bit by a bug.

 And Sam helped Dan do the dishes.

 Monday Kirk and Gretchen called and invited us to join them at a little local place called "Old Mac Donald's Farm." It's a quaint park with playgrounds, horse rides, animals to pet, a train, a pool, and a giant mountain of sand. We hit up the train first. I'm surprised this pregnant lady didn't notice all of us looking one way and waving. She wouldn't budge.

 Our train ride was fun until the train broke down. They tried to push it and jumpstart it but it didn't work. So we got off and headed over to feed the animals. I was surprised that Sam and Carter were so cool about hand feeding them. They did great!

 Next were the pony rides.

 Desperately hungry.

 Last stop: Giant sand mountain.

 As I am K & G's personal family photographer, here they are.

At this point Sam started throwing a tantrum so we promptly left.

Sam's Camera 2.0

Here are some of his latest pictures, per reader requests. Well, just one request. These are just a few of 800 pictures that were on his camera. Eight hundred! Behold the majesty...

 I can't tell if that's a creepy face down at the bottom.

 I like this next sequence. I call it "View from the backseat."

Sam said

Sam: Mom, I went poo poo! (Flushes the toilet.)
Me: That's great!
Sam: But you didn't see it.
Me: No, I didn't see it, but I can smell it.
Sam: Yeah, it smells like roses.

Our Sweet Afton is One!

Yesterday was Afton's birthday! As a gift to me, she slept in a little later than normal.

 Then we headed off to Walmart because who doesn't love to go to Walmart on their birthday?

Next came snack time: bananas.

 After snack time, we once again set off. This time to the play area in the mall to meet our church's playgroup. Afton had a great time climbing around. If she ever fell or got pushed, I'd hold her for a minute, but then she'd start squirming to be put down again.

After lunch, she and Sam took great naps while I made her cake and a cupcake. I had planned on a nice subtle pink with darker pink stuff around the edges, but I ditzily (I think I made that word up) dumped a whole bunch of red food coloring in. So it's a much more garish pink. Oh, well! Still tasted good.

 We had Kirk, Gretchen, and crew over for California Grilled Veggie Sandwiches. They were a hit! Well, with the adults. Sam and Carter had to scavenge. Bread and cantaloupe.

Next came singing and cake time! Here's the sequence:

First bite.

 "I think I like this!"

 By the end, she was totally covered in frosting and cake. Dan had smartly placed a trash bag underneath her high chair because she has started throwing food lately. Good thing because she started tossing her cupcake all over. It's safe to say that she loved it, though!

After a bath it was present time.

 She got puzzles and a doll from us, a cute quilt board from Gretchen, and some cute clothes and a book from G&G Cheney. By this time, she was pretty tired.

Our guests. Wendy was sleeping.

 The birthday girl, me, and my rat tail.

She is a sweetheart. At 12 months...

She is still toothless.
She crawls like a champ and pulls up on lots of things.
She'll take steps if you hold her hands, but she's not too steady on her feet.
She loves to eat and will eat almost anything. Everything else she throws on the floor.
She likes to take out all the puzzles and remove the puzzle pieces.
She's addicted to her pacifier.
She likes to swim with us and play in the bath tub.
She's gotten tons of hair in the past few months.
She's not too into snuggling anymore and we miss that.
She is sweet and smiley and a really good baby girl.
She has brought lots of joy into our family with her (usually) mild temperment.
Sometimes she can be quite demanding. She has discovered yelling and screaming to get our attention.

We love you, Afton!