Bye-bye, Nana

Well, my mom was supposed to leave on Monday evening. But, due to the snow, she had to stay until Tuesday evening; yay! I'm sad she had to take an unplanned vacation day and cancel Tuesday's lessons, BUT I'm so thrilled she was able to hang out with us for another day!

On Tuesday morning, we went to our music class together, and my mom came along. I'm so glad she got to see it; even though Kate was sick, she still loved it and bounced and "sang" along. Then we went to Kate's doctor's appointment. She had developed a bad cough pretty quickly on Monday, but it turns out that it was an ear infection (the drainage was making her cough). Poor thing; no wonder she was so fussy! (Luckily she seemed fine at her party). We got her some amoxicillan and she perked up literally within a couple hours. We went to lunch at Red Lobster with Tracy (which is where these pictures were taken), and I was so happy to see Kate smiling and chatting with us all, and eating again (she hadn't been eating solid foods well at all for the past couple of days, although she still nursed quite well, which is the most important thing). She sure does love her Nana!


That's a straw she's holding (although I know it looks like an old-fashioned cigarette holder)





And here are a couple close-ups of the main balloons for her party; I wanted to take some pics before they deflated!

Kate at the Piano

Here's a little video of Kate playing with one of her favorite birthday presents; her piano.

More birthday celebrations

The night before Kate's birthday, my mom, me, Dan, Kate and the Hines (plus Kirsti's boyfriend, Colin) went to the Outback, which was really good, as always. We had Kate wear her little crown that Tracy gave her, so the server noticed that it was her birthday and brought her a little sundae with a candle. She didn't quite get the concept of blowing it out, but she sure loved the ice cream!











Then on her actual birthday, we went to Baby & Me at the library in the morning, and they noticed she was wearing her "My 1st Birthday" outfit, so they all sang to her, which she really liked. Then Kate & I went to lunch with Dan in Middleton at one of our favorite places (Sprecher's), and that night, we went to Pedro's along with my mom, Tracy, Kirsti and Rori.



Nana & Kate at Pedro's


Love her birthday onesie!


The morning of her birthday, opening a card and some little gifts from Nana

More of Kate's party

I have more time to post today, so I thought I'd get some more photos up of Kate's birthday party.


My mom bought these roses (and made the delicious pinwheel cookies), which were a beautiful addition to the table




My mom gave her this sleeper that said, "Bearly Sleeping"; how true that is when it comes to Kate!




My mom (who else?) gave her this coat for next year; I can't wait to see her in it!


Rori was such a good help when it came to opening gifts, since I was busy corralling Kate


A UW cheerleading outfit from the Hines; so cute!


With a new hairbow from Rori


Dan & I gave her this learning purse; she always loves taking stuff out of my purse and putting it back in, so I thought this would be the perfect gift for her.


Little Rori and Kate love each other so much!


A close-up of the cake




My aunt Chris, Tracy, Mom & Grandma


Playing with her snug bugs that Kirsti gave her


Rori had a blast playing with the piano, too!


She loves this piano so much!

Kate's Birthday Party

We had a fantastic time at Kate's birthday party. It was an owl theme that said "Look Whoo's Turning 1". The guests were: my mom, Tracy, Kirsti, Rori, Dan Hines, Kirsti's boyfriend Colin, Katrina, her boyfriend Nick, Chris, Grandma and Roberta. Kate was such a trooper; even though she didn't take an afternoon nap because of her excitement, she wasn't too fussy at all.

For refreshments, we had pizza from Pizza Pit, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, pinwheel cookies, citrus punch, and ice cream cake. I thought Kate would be all happy with her cake, since she really only has fruit, veggies and starches as solid foods, so something sweet would be a treat, but she just threw the cake on the floor! Ok, then!

I'll post more later; I just wanted to get some photos up quickly, but more will follow!




The crepe paper ceiling that Dan created




Katrina and Kate




Screw this cake stuff; I'm throwing it off on the floor!


My ice cream cake that I made; it was angel food cake layered with vanilla and strawberry ice cream, with a whipped cream frosting


Silly girl! Tracy gave her this crown


Trying to eat her cup


Four generations






Her little outfit had a cupcake with one candle on it; how cute!


Kate and Nana, with the piano Nana gave her








The theme