We had decided not to have a first birthday party for Lia. She tends to get overwhelmed by a lot of people (or so I thought) and, truth be told, we have a lot of things we need to finish at our house before we're ready to have a big party. So, we were all set. No party. Just a small dinner with family. But then... I changed my mind. And I'm really happy that I did because Lia had the cutest birthday party ever!
We had her party at The Little Gym, and I need to say this, they were awesome! I really didn't have to do a thing. (I did bring my own decorations, even though they provide those - I couldn't help myself.) We've never had a birthday party outside of our home... and I'm thinking that we may never have one in our home again. Seriously, you should have seen our house after Micah's first birthday party. Ah, but it was worth it.
Anyway, on with the adorable! (That's why you're here, right?) Here is Lia in all of her 1st birthday glory...
This one is my favorite. I think.
Lia and Kevin check out the Sing*a*ma*jig (which we LOVE!)
The only picture of her in this adorable hat. She promptly removed it. Little Stinker.
Lia had such a great time at her party. She only broke out the Stink Eye once or twice the whole afternoon! (And that's big news, really.)
Walking with her dad.
Cutie concentrating.
Micah did not want to leave his sister on the parachute alone.
L surprised me here too. They put her in the middle of a parachute and all of the kids shook the sides. She LOVED it. I mean, LOVED it.
Clapping for herself. :)
Puckering up for a smooch.
Okay, maybe this is my favorite.
Waiting for cake!
She did not throw this one on the floor. :)
So there you have it. Fun times. We kept her party small, and it was the perfect amount of kids for Lia to have an amazing time. I know she won't remember it, but I know I'll never forget.
Lia's first birthday was this past weekend, and while her party hasn't happened yet, we definitely celebrated here at home. She had no idea what was going on, but it was pretty cute.
See that adorable hat? The very talented craftymommy made that for us! I love it! The "1" comes off and she included numbers up to 9 so we will be using this adorable birthday hat every year! Is that not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Thank you Autumn!!
I love this girl.
Cutie Birthday Girl
My mom sent these adorable balloons for Lia.
I had to make two cakes. Someone *cough*MICAH*cough* was feeling a little jealous on Lia's first birthday.
And he had to have a candle as well. We are suckers for that face, so we gave in.
Lia wasn't so sure what to do with the cake.
She decided she would see what would happen if she picked it up...
And, yeah, that's what happens. I have to say, this was my favorite moment of her birthday. Throwing your cake on the floor? To me, that is just perfect.
M likes it too.
So, we had fun. I think Lia liked her lasagna better than the cake, but that's okay with me. And, remember when I mentioned that she is loud? Yeah - turn your volume down for this one.
It's that time of year again! My online shopping is in high-gear so I thought I would share a few of my favorite things because I've been meaning to forever and now is a good time.
First on the list - hair and skin products!
Belle Butters! We love Belle Butters - especially for skin, although they can be used in hair as well. The scents are wonderful and they are all hand-made with no icky petroleum by-products in them! My favorite scent is the Chocolate Mint, but I hear the Orange Dream Cream is great too.
Kizzi's Stay Put Pomade from Carol's Daughter. I love CD products, but this is my new favorite for doing styles with Lia's hair. It really helps me keep her parts straight, and keeps her parts in even overnight when I have taken the hair bands out (because I'm scared they'll fall out and she'll eat them and choke and... well, you know how moms worry :). It also makes her curls all springy, which is also great. Here is an example of a recent 'do I did with this pomade. And, yes, I'm still practicing on straight part lines. Don't judge.
Dear Blogger, why did you make this sideways? Why?
And now on to other fun things...
Mimitens! These are THE BEST MITTENS EVER. I got them on babysteals (also love!) a while back and this week Micah got to try them out in the snow. They are fantastic. They could be better - if they had fingers instead of just a thumb thing, but I'll take that for now. These actually stay on (way better than regular mittens) and you don't get that snow bank in between the coat and the mittens. I love them. LOVE.
Mumford and Sons Seriously LOVE THIS BAND. It's not totally safe to listen to in front of the kids who know how to repeat bad words, but I am just loving this CD, so I'm including it.
And, really? I have way more favorites, but naptime is almost over, so I'll leave you with my favorite Santa picture EVER. Also, I'd love to hear your favorite things too - feel free to leave me some more fun shopping links!
I can't even tell you all how happy I am for the Rooney family. They received The Call last week with the referral of their beautiful daughter! Hearing this news from Lori was THE BEST. The best, I tell ya. Okay, all referrals are the best, but this one made me get happy chills and cry happy tears.
I'm lucky enough to call Lori a friend. She regularly cracks my sh*t up (in pieces, Lori), but she is also full of wise words and understanding. She's a good, good person. And? So is Autumn! I adore Autumn's blog, her kids, her dolls, and her! Why am I telling you all of this? Because if you head on over to the Rooney's blog, you can enter a raffle to WIN A DOLL! Honestly, I really want to win, but I'd also like for you to win, so go on over and get yourself a $5 raffle ticket!
My dear friend Courtney told me that she feels like she hardly knows Lia. This made me sad and it's all my fault. I am giant #blogfail lately! So, lets do a Get to Know Lia post, shall we?
First, her name. Let's ignore the fact that I'm JUST NOW getting comfortable with Lia, and focus on her middle name. Apparently Makbe is a very unusual name in Ethiopia. This is how it went in Ethiopia:
Ethiopian (in Addis): What is her name?
Us: Makbe
Them: You mean Mekdes?
Us: No. Mek-a-bee
Them: *confused face* or *"That lady doesn't even know her kid's name" face*
We got used to this conversation over the week we were there. Apparently it means "Be complete," but I'm not even sure where CHI got that information. We were also told that it is a bible name. And, there's a little more to the story of why she was given this name, but that's part of her personal story, so I'll save that for Lia Makbe.
The Makbe song. My child is a fussbucket when it comes to changing clothes. For the first three months she would giggle and coo while her diapers and outfits were changed, but now it tends to look more like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania 3. Need a visual?
Yeah, like that. Anyway, I have a magic song that I like to use when things get a little out-of-control. It's basically me singing her name (Makbe) over and over. I know you all will be clamoring for video now, but give it up. It's not happening. But it is cute the way she instantly calms down and even smiles a little before going back to channeling Andre the Giant.
LIA IS LOOOOUUUUUUUD. I'm talking blood-curdling screams on a constant basis kind of loud. Kevin and I are starting to lose our hearing. It's true. And while she used to be super quiet in public and save the Scream Queen theatrics for home, that's all a-changing too. Just this morning Lia and I went to have breakfast at the local coffee shop and halfway through she began her audition for the next "Jason versus Freddy versus the Predator versus Michael Meyers" movie. (Did you know that they're making that movie? It's true. Okay, not really.) So, our leisurely mornings over coffee and puffs have been put on hold. Indefinitely.
NO MORE!
And? Lia is a lot of fun. She is super-nosy and loves to eat leaves. She has the best belly-laugh ever. She loves cheerios and crackers and yogurt, but turns her nose up at vegetables in any form. (Little does she know that I hide them in the yogurt.) She has been scooting around for months now and is finally starting to crawl on her knees. (This is good news because her belly was constantly covered in dog hair and other such fun.) She has said her first word - "Uh-Oh" (we don't count mama and dada). She "barks" back at the dogs. She adores her brother. She likes to take knives out of the dishwasher. (Don't worry - I've learned my lesson there.) And, she's really, really cute.
"Adoring" her brother.
She is famous for this look...
...but also for this smile.
So, there's some Lia for you. I hope this helps. (Courtney? Yes?)
Tonight Micah and I were lying in bed and I was getting frustrated because he wouldn't calm down. (It's two hours later and HE IS STILL AWAKE...) Anyway, instead of freaking out (or maybe after I freaked out a little), I grabbed him and snuggled close and just started talking. Somehow we ended up talking about when he is "big." He informed me of a few things he has figured out about his future:
1. He is going to play football.
2. He is going to be a teacher.
3. He is going to marry this girl:
4. He is going to have only one baby. And his wife won't have the baby in her belly. Nope. The baby (a boy named Lia, by the way), will grow in his belly. "I eat lots of snacks... drink lots of juice... and *poof* a baby." (And you know I was trying hard to hold it together at this point.)
5. He will have three dogs. Three big dogs. But he will not name them Peter Parker or Spiderman because they cannot wear suits (costumes).
6. He will drive a big red car.
So there you have it. Micah's Life Plan. I like it.
I missed my old blog! I didn't quite feel at home here yet, and not being able to say Micah or Lia just wasn't working for me. So, the old blog has been imported to the new blog. And Mae is now Lia and Yabi is now Micah again.
