My Birthday- By Carolyn

My first clue that birthdays are a pretty cool thing came the night before my birthday when Mommy made my cake and she let me have a tiny bit of cake batter- it was sooo yummy!
Birthday breakfast was great. Mommy made me a blueberry pancake "cake" and I got to smear blueberries everywhere. I was pretty tired after the excitement of my birthday balloons (previous post) and this special breakfast, so I decided to take a quick snooze.
When I woke up, I was thrilled to find that Grammy and Papa had arrived while I slept! Mommy said that since it was my birthday, I could have just about anything I wanted except dangerous stuff, so she let Grammy give me a whole bowl of goldfish crackers to do what I liked with! I made a big mess.
One of the best things about my party was the ice keeping Cokes cold in this trash can-turned ice chest. My friend Caimon thought it was really fun to throw toys in the trash can.
My buddy Aidan wanted to give his mommy a hint that he'd like a cold drink. She didn't pick up on it, though.
I thought the ice was really tasty and so nice and cold on my poor, sore gums. My Mommy thinks I'm getting molars. I don't think I want molars. They hurt!
Presents were really fun. There was a lot of wrapping paper all around.
After presents, we had cake. My mommy made me a cake shaped like a fish (since we were having a fish party) and Papa Craig decorated it so it looked cute.
Cake was SO great! I started with the icing and ate that a little bit at a time, but then since no one seemed ready to stop me, I decided I'd just grab big handfuls of cake and smear it all over the place.
I discovered that cake is pretty squishy. It also makes great face paint, and I think when I grow up I will market a haircare product with icing as a main ingredient. It really did something for my "do," I think.
Since I was covered with Cake and it was sunny outside, we decided to take the party outdoors to the pools. I got this really fun pool from my cousin Peyton (and his mom and dad Mark and Erica). It sprinkles water from the sides and has all kinds of fun toys inside. It's a lot of fun to crawl around in. The only problem is that the water that comes from the hose is so, so cold! My friend Aidan didn't care, but I am a little lady with very sensitive skin and I decided it was too cold for the weather. So we'll try again a different day when it's hotter (or we'll hook it up to the laundry room sink like we usually do :))
I went to tell my mommy how cold the water was and she suggested I try the smaller pool that had been warming up all day.
I found the temperature much more to my liking in this pool.
I got right in and had a great time splashing and shouting.
My friends Aidan and Rachel came swimming with me, too!
I also thought it was great fun to crawl OUT of the pool. Just check out my sweet thighs! My mommy says there's a tickle spot right between the rolls. :)
Aidan found another tickle spot on my back. His new skill is tickling people- especially when you least expect it!
I was pretty pooped out after the party, so I took another little nap, but woke up in time for the mother lode of presents! Most of my family had saved their presents for after the party and I had a great time opening more presents the second time around. :)
Mommy and Daddy got me these fun first blocks- but I haven't gotten to play with them much since I got so much other stuff and they put these down in the basement for later...
Our neighbors Jim and Lynne got me this sweet dolly. I love that she has a pink headband on her head just like I used to wear all the time.
See, here I am when I was about the same size as my dolly!
My Grammy made me this special story book with pictures of all my favorite things and people. I love it! I especially like the curly binding! Great for chewing.
I got a lot of puzzles for my birthday. I have a feeling I am really going to like puzzles as I grow bigger. I especially like the furry animals on this one. And I can even say some of the animal sounds now- like baaa ("aaah"), moo, and cockadoodledoo ("oodloodloo").
Here I am with my Daddy on my birthday. Every year we will take a special picture together so that we can look back and see how tall I grow!
I thought the birthday was over yesterday- but Mommy surprised me today with my favorite spaghetti meal and the last piece of cake, saved just for me!

I hope you've enjoyed my birthday story! I can't wait until next year (but my Mommy says not to grow up too quickly- One is a great age to be)! :)