Well, these pictures and videos are all out of order. But, Malaya's birthday was a big success! She had a ton of fun and I feel like the day had a very nice "flow". The kids were kept busy with driving cars (thanks to PaPa), riding ponies, shooting bubble guns, and chasing eachother with squirt guns. It was sunny and warm, but VERY windy.
Malaya's birthday started out in the morning. We let her open some presents because we knew she would be distracted and overwhelmed once the party started. All she wanted was a new baby, of course.

other stuff

May 2, 2010

Who knew that it would be 92 degrees on May 2? Last year when I was in the hospital having Jolie, it was rainy and cold. Lucky for Jolie, she was able to have her first pool experience on her birthday.

Birthday

Jolie's first birthday!! The year has gone by so quickly! Jolie loved looking at the balloons. She loved when we were singing to her. And she loved the cake!! First she licked off all of the icing. Then she picked up the cake and started eating it. Unfortunately it was actually a meal time for her, so I had to take it away after a few bites (so she could eat some real food). She was not happy about that! We had practiced blowing out candles earlier in the day, and she was able to do it. When it came time to blow the candle out for real, she froze. (The video is too long to post). Oh well, there's always next year.

Presents

Malaya helped Jolie open all of her presents. Jolie didn't quite understand that they were for her and it was her birthday, but she had a good day anyway. Jolie is checking herself out in the mirror. Cutie!

Jolie's 1st birthday video

It's toad time! Malaya found a toad that lives in our drain spout and of course, she adopted it for the day. The toad took a ride in the stroller, went down the slide, and hung out in Malaya's hands. Malaya decided to dig a home for the toad in the mulch, so she put it down on a rock. All of a sudden I hear her sobbing! Well, the smart toad saw his escape opportunity and took it. As I was giving her hugs and kisses, I noticed that the toad had hopped under a bush and was quickly digging itself down into the mulch to hide. I was relieved that it was safe and decided that Malaya had enough toad time for the day.

Jolie started saying "Malaya". Of course she won't say mama or dada, but she is Malaya's biggest fan. I first noticed it after Malaya woke up from a nap. Jolie went right over to her and smothered her with kisses and started saying "Alaya". It took me a few minutes to realize what she was saying. Now I hear it so clearly. The video isn't very good because Jolie has the hiccups, but if you listen carefully, you'll hear it too.

And what does Malaya want for her birthday...a baby doll of course! Because, clearly, she doesn't have enough :)

Easter

Last year, we had just moved into our neighborhood, and we had a community Easter egg hunt. Malaya was not yet 2 and had certainly never had candy. I thought (since the egg hunt was broken up into age groups) that I would put "baby" treats into the eggs. Well, I was the neighborhood dud. Everyone else put candy in the eggs. Malaya found 1 egg and was happy to open it and eat it. That was Malaya's first experience with candy. Since then, she has called all small pieces of candy "jelly beans".
So this year, we had a neighborhood egg hunt again. Malaya and I were both wiser. I put candy in the eggs, and Malaya collected as many as she could as fast as she could. Jolie, on the other hand, was just happy to shake the eggs and hear the rattle.