Anna's First Birthday

What a bad Mommy. It's been almost a week since my baby turned one and I haven't posted about her birthday. I've been so tired that I can hardly do my normal chores and this is the first day I haven't felt exhausted by evening. And that's with napping!

Anyway, Anna did turn one on Saturday. We went down to Illinois to celebrate the occasion with family. Rob is finished with his hardest class so he knew he could take the time out. We left on Friday when Rob came home from work and had a fairly uneventful trip down...well, except for the four busloads of high school students that unloaded at the rest area and commandeered the vending machines. The boys always look forward to a treat from the machines and we had to skip it this time. Thankfully, I did have snacks in the car. We first stopped at my parents' home for a yummy supper and then went on to Normal after a bit.

The kids settled down pretty quickly for bed and we crashed after awhile. I was pretty tired and sore since I did most of the driving. Rob's glasses snapped right as we left home and his work glasses were driving him nuts, so I took over. (Driving, not driving him nuts....) My wonderful mommy the optician fixed them for him so they work now, but we'll need to get them replaced soon.

Saturday was a very busy day for us. I sang to Anna when she woke up, although she was fairly groggy and not too happy to hear me singing. After breakfast we took the kids to the Children's Museum (remember that reciprocal membership we bought on Ben's birthday?) and met Jamie and Melissa there. Anna remembered her cousin and got real excited when she saw him. Unfortunately, an excited Anna means she says hello and then tries to push over the little person her size. The kids had a great time and we walked over a block to say a brief hello to their Uncle Andy, then we went across town to the Mennonite Relief Sale, sponsored by the Mennonite Relief Society. Rob and I really wanted some jams and jellies, but they were practically sold out. We did get a coffee cake and ate lunch there (thank you, GG!!) and then I looked over the Discovery Toy booth and found a cheap (as in retired and on clearance) science set and a shape toy for Ben to use when I teach Matthew. Then it was home for a nap for the birthday girl and her mommy. :)

That evening, we had a great party for Miss Anna. Many relatives were there and she got all kinds of clothes and toys, including a stroller, a talking purse, the Little People house in pink, and a dolly. We had given her a pink horse that she can ride on earlier in the week. She then smooshed a cake (I THINK she ate some icing) and had enough attention. We visited with relatives into the night and had a wonderful time.

The next day we went to church. Ben surprised us by willingly going to Sunday school in a new class. Anna went into the nursery no problem as usual, but Mr. Matthew refused to go to his class. Not really a problem b/c he always does well in the service with us. After the service we visited GG, who is rehabilitating from a fractured hip. We had a good visit then went out to a Chinese restaurant for lunch (the boys' choice...they love Chinese food!) We lingered through the afternoon and headed home around three. The kids napped most of the way and we stopped in Janesville to eat at the Cracker Barrel, one of our favorite restaurants. Matthew was wishing he had ordered the chicken and dumplings like I did. He liked his meal, but one taste of mine and he has a new favorite. We headed for Watertown in high spirits to end our weekend.

So, happy birthday (belated) to Anna. Can't believe she's already one year old!! She's such a little dolly with curly hair and a beautiful smile. Her current favorite pasttimes include hiding in the side of the entertainment center to play peek-a-boo and walking! She's finally decided it's worth the effort and she walks from object to object, even across the room. Guess she felt she needed to be one first. That's my girl!