Happy Birthday, Baby Girl

Semira celebrated her first birthday over the weekend. She discovered that birthdays are fun. People sing and clap, Mom gives you a special new food called cake, and you get to rip paper without being told NO. She got beautiful clothes and new sippy cups from my friends.

I made Semira a Winnie the Pooh cake and discovered something for myself. Decorating cakes is nowhere near as easy as the people on TV make it look. I don't think it turned out too horrible for my first attempt at cake decorating, but he was kind of a neon orange Pooh. In any case, all but the red shirt part tasted good. I need to throw out my red food coloring and try the no-taste red when I do this cake again. I don't understand how such a small amount of food coloring can turn frosting, which is mostly sugar, into a bitter atrocity.

Semira's Aunt Merritt has told me multiple times that she needs a tiara (and baby nail polish and pierced ears...). I have a very different view of what she needs at this age. But her grandma and I gave in on the least intrusive of these "needs" and found her a Birthday Girl tiara by accident one day when we were out shopping. She left it on long enough (while distracted with a big strawberry) for a couple of photos.

Posing in her new Princess Pajamas, a birthday gift from her buddy Carol.

She's standing so well now. It takes her no time at all to pull herself up to standing. Here, she's watching her doggie sisters play in the back yard during her party. It's so neat to watch her learn new things every day. Who knew a little girl could be so fascinating? Her newfound mobility is making time in the kitchen much more challenging though. She either scoots around in her walker running over my feet or tripping me, or she pulls herself up by hanging onto the back of my pants so I can't move and I can't reach her to pick her up.

The birthday girl is working on her bigger teeth now so she's been a bit cranky and clingy. I can feel bumps on her gums all the way back to where her molars are, so it's likely to be a few weeks before those pesky gums stop hurting her. It appears that after waiting until she was 11 months old to start teething, she's going to continue non-stop until all of her teeth are in. Poor kid. I think I need to buy stock in Infant Tylenol and Baby Orajel.