Let the Birthday Celebrations Begin!

We spent the last few days celebrating the Beanie's upcoming first birthday.  With her big cousin Kai still on the west coast for a few more days, it was the perfect time to throw a joint birthday party for these adorable kiddos.  Family came down from Canada and we even got to meet a brand new second cousin!

My sister Erin felted the babies some birthday crowns, which they proudly wore.  They had cake and ice cream, (coconut ice cream for my food-sensitive girlie) opened presents, and enjoyed tons of attention.

"What?  Is there something on my face?"

 I almost posted the video of the Happy Birthday song, but then I realized how absolutely horrible it sounded.  We discovered the day before while singing to a far-away aunt over the phone that our family's typical birthday singing made Cora cry.  And it's not hard to understand why.  Well, maybe it's hard unless you actually HEAR us sing Happy Birthday.  You see, I come from a very musically challenged family.  There are a few of us who can carry a tune (me included) but the rest... nope.  But on birthdays, we hold nothing back.  In fact, even if you CAN sing, it's expected that you will forget how and join in the cacophony.  The lucky recipient gets to bask in the LOUD, off-key, off-rhythm shouted singing of the group of us.

I guess we just decided that it wasn't a good idea to make Cora cry during her own birthday celebration, so we toned it down and tried to sing nicely.  At least that's what I thought until I listened to the video.  Ouch...  The babies are both just staring open-mouthed at the candles and looking around all confused, so it's not THAT entertaining anyway. Hmmm... maybe that is entertaining.

Cora LOVES Favorite Aunt Mira!

Mmm.  The birthday wand seemed quite yummy.

Cora's awesome new hand-knit leg warmers, courtesy of Aunt Mira!

It was a blast to see how loved these two little members of our family have become in such a short amount of time.  We all were wowed by Mr. Kai, who has during this visit, added a number of words to his vocabulary, started to take independent steps when he thinks nobody is looking, climb stairs, enjoy reading, and point to colors.  The accomplishments this cutie makes daily are enough to startle and amaze this mama, who is used to a whole different and slower pace.

And we were no less impressed by Miss Cora, even though often her antics included simply sitting on the floor, waving her arms and smiling up a storm.  But there is something so absolutely captivating about this girlie's smile.  It doesn't take long for her to wrap even the non-baby-lovers around her pudgy little fingers.  So then when she starts to do something truly exciting, the number of people standing around cheering are enough to make any mama proud.  (I'll wait until the end of the post to share her newest milestone with you all.)

The birthday pair!

Cousin Kai rocking his B-day crown with Mommy!

More books for my favorite little book-loving girl!

Cora is awesome at opening presents!

And Cora's big news:  She has started doing her own version of an army crawl!  She started experimenting with moving around a little while ago, but it was pretty inconsistent, so I was hesitant to brag.  But now she's full-on mobile, although it's still hard work and she has some interesting techniques!  Here's the smile you can see after she reaches one of her favorite toys and is rewarded by a roomful of cheering. (Photo courtesy of Uncle Shon)



Stay tuned for more birthday related posting until the big day on Friday!