Pookie's 1st Birthday



Happy Birthday!





Things have been a little hectic lately.  I've been meaning to post this for almost a week!  Oops.

Pookie's birthday party went well, all things considered!  Surprise, surprise, it was snowing!  Rob had to go out to plow.  Luckily he was able to pit-stop in for a few minutes to see everyone and say hello.  For Pookie's party, I decided to go with bright colors.  I found some fun plates and napkins that just said "Happy Birthday" in bright colors and pulled everything else off of that.  I did get a little creative and made a few banners for around the house and I had way too much fun with crepe paper.

Pookie's highchair.  The hat was not a hit, in Pookie's estimation.

I managed to squeeze slightly over a dozen people in my house!  We had quite the pile of boots going on!  It's a good thing that everyone likes each other.  Pookie had a great time with everyone.  He loves visiting with people. 

When it came time for cake, Pookie had no idea what to do with it.  He kept sticking his finger in the blue gel and smearing it around.  Finally I broke off a piece and gave it to him.  He did start to dig in, but I switched it out for a banana muffin because it was lunch time.  Poor kid.  I took away his cake.  His grandparents fed Pookie cupcakes after he was done with the muffin.  So, I don't feel to bad about taking the cake away.

Pookie got a lot of fun toys, but I think the tent that my mom sent him, might take the cake.  It's not that big, but Rob, Pookie and I can fit in it.  It's a bit of a squish, but we can fit!

Pookie having a ton of fun with a balloon

Pookie peeking out of the tent

One

My baby has turned one today.  I can't believe that it has been one whole year already.  You know the old saying, the days are long, but the nights are short.  Well, some nights didn't feel so short, but time really flew!  Pookie has gone from being this little baby to becoming a toddler.  Some things haven't changed one bit.  He is constantly hungry.  I can't say that I blame him.  He's constantly on the move.  He burns off a lot of calories!  Pookie has gone from not being able to do anything to feeding himself, talking (well, at least getting his point across) and trying to walk.  All in the span of one year.  It is astounding how much he has grown.  There are some days that I feel that I can literally see him growing.  Pookie is my funny, happy little boy.  May he grow up to be a funny, happy, caring man.

Click

Pookie has a love affair with all things electrical.  He loves lights, ceiling fans, outlets and switches.  One thing that always calms him down is to stand under a ceiling fan.  Better yet, turn on a fan and he is enthralled.  Pookie has recently found the light switches.  He will go to great lengths to turn switches on and off.  Our house is inundated with light switches.  Rob feels that you should be able to turn on a light from multiple points.  This is useful in someways.  However when you're trying to turn on the light in the hallway and you end up turning the light in the living room off, that creates a few problems.  Either way, our house does not lack in light switches.

In Pookie's room there is a switch that goes to an outlet on the wall.  This particular switch is on the wall that his crib is on.  In fact, it is within reaching distance of the crib.  The other night, I had put Pookie to bed and all of a sudden I heard click....click....click.  Rob and I looked at each other and started laughing.  Our little Pookie had found the switch and decided to start turning it on and off.  Luckily there is nothing plugged into that outlet and Pookie always remembers to turn the switch to 'off' before stopping.  I am convinced that he is actually sending a morse code signal.  Something to the effect of 'stuck in my crib, need to be rescued'.  At the very least, he's keeping himself entertained.

Birthday Battle Plan (or lack thereof)

Pookie will be turning 1 next week.  I am woefully unprepared.  I kept thinking to myself that I would deal with Pookie's birthday after Christmas.  Well, now it's after Christmas and I need to pull a rabbit out of thin air.  Good thing I work well under pressure.  The problem really boils down to, where to put people.  We have a small ranch style house.  I can only fit so many people in it.  It doesn't help that there are a lot of people that I would like to invite.  Now, some would say, just stick to immediate family.  Slight problem though.  My family is in Michigan.  I have grown very close to two of my aunts and their families, and they have filled in the gaps missing from having my family far away.  Even if we are talking about close family, that's still a lot of people.  Where am I going to stick them?  My original thought was the garage.  After all, it is almost the same size as the house, with an open floor plan to boot!  Rob vetoed that idea very quickly.  Back to square one.

In addition to my housing dilemma, I need decorations.  This is, after all, a first birthday.  First birthdays are a special event.  Pookie has made it one whole year!  Yay!  This is a reason to celebrate!  I would also like it to look good!  Yes, I fully realize that Pookie will never remember this.  But I still want it to be special.  I googled 1st birthday parties.  Some people really go all out.  I really felt like a slacker.  After a little bit of sticker shock with a few of the parties tid-bits to fancy them up, I realized that I didn't have to be fancy to create a good day for Pookie.  Followed by the realization that next year I really need to be on my A-game to do some DIY to make things look good.  I get a little irked when I look at something and think, "Oh ya, I can make that!", followed by "Do I have the time and inclination to pull it off?"  I have a few things bouncing around in my head for Pookie's birthday.  Now to form a battle plan!

Our little helper

Pookie loves to help.  Or at least get into the middle of something in an attempt to keep an eye on everything.  I am really looking forward to when I can pull up a kitchen chair and have him help me out.  Over the past few weeks Rob and I have been busy getting things together.  I got a Wii Fit for my birthday.  (which is in April)  I finally pulled it out of the box and got it synced with my Wii.  Rob was teasing that he was getting ready to put it on eBay.  Of course Pookie need to help with the proceedings. 


that would be Pookie's in between Rob's feet

Let me tell you, it adds to the difficulty when you have two people on the balance board. 

In addition to setting up the Wii Fit, we have also been busy putting locks on some of the cabinets in the kitchen.  

Pookie had a lot of fun "helping" Daddy with the locks.  Pookie got a real chuckle out of Rob's cordless drill.  

Little old lady coming through!

I was in dire need for a new pair of slippers.  Mine had seen much better days.  Rob had purchased them last Christmas.  Back when my feet were swollen due to pregnancy.  I could barely fit my feet into those slippers at first.  It was a sad, sad sight.  Those poor slippers got so stretched out.  It's a little ridiculous.  This year I asked my mom for a new pair.  No problem, she said.  Maybe something cute and fuzzy.  I got the most interesting pair of Betsey Johnson slippers.  The slippers were cute, just not me.  There was a face embroidered on one of the slippers, and I just wasn't up to having someone looking back at me.  I decided to exchange them for something else.

I had the bright idea of running all my returns the day after New Years.  I worked in retail, I really should have know better.  I braved the crowds and off I went.  My first two stops went well.  Then came time to go to the mall.  Ugh.  It wasn't too bad getting in.  It was kind of crazy inside though.  I made it into Macy's and I was on my mission.  Find new slippers.  I found the Betsey Johnson display, but nothing caught my eye.  I hacked my way through accessories and shoes before deciding to head to sleepwear.  Once in sleepwear I found the stash of slippers.  As I was sorting through, I think I found the most ugly footwear ever to be created.  It looked like a dead rodent attached to slippers.  On closer inspection I realized that it was supposed to be dog head's on the tops of the slippers.  Ugly is ugly no matter how you slice it.  After taking stock of the slippers that were left, I found a pair of baby blue old lady slippers.  I was in love.  I made my exchange and away I went.  As a side note, I sat in traffic for over a half hour trying to get out of the mall.  That was a little beyond me. 



my snazzy new slippers



I finally made it back home and proudly showed Rob my new purchase.  I cut off the tags and slipped them on my feet.  I've been shuffling around in them ever sense.  I have started down the slippery slope of middle age.  I still have a ways to get to middle age, but I seem to be making a nose dive for it.  To add to my sexy old lady slippers.  Tonight we got home from going out to dinner.  As soon as I got home I got into my pj's.  I figured I wanted to be in comfy cloths, might as well just hop into my pj's all call it good.  Just as long as I have my old lady slippers to top off the ensemble.