Birthday Cupcake

We bought fancy cupcakes from a bakery in town for Caitlin's birthday, but she fell asleep before she could enjoy her cake. We decided to make birthday cupcakes part of the day two festivities!



"What is this thing?"

"I guess I'll try it if you say so..."

"Time out for a drink!"

"This stuff is messy!"

"Hooray for cake!"

"Can I have some more please?"

"Happy birthday to me!"

Happy Birthday to You, Part Two at the Zoo

Thursday was all about Caitlin! The Irishman and I were both off for the day so we took the birthday girl to the zoo. We had a lazy morning so it was late afternoon when we got there. The weather was lovely and the animals were out and active.



We couldn't get over how close the tiger came to us!



The animals were not the only thing active. Caitlin decided she'd had enough of the baby carrier...and the stroller. She is walking everywhere she can!

On the way home we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. Caitlin ordered her first kid's meal. (Okay so she might have had some help with that, but you know what I mean!)

It was such a treat to have a "family day" in the middle of the week to celebrate...and better yet that we still had a weekend close by so we could recover from all the fun!
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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

I Wanna Hold Your Hand

I snapped this picture this afternoon while running errands. Caitlin is walking more and more...and likes the stroller and the cart less and less. She looks so cute holding his hand as they walk through the store!

I have lots of pictures from Caitlin's birthday celebrations, but we had computer issues again. This time it was the wireless adapter. Thankfully that was a relatively easy and inexpensive fix.

For now though you will have to settle for a cellphone picture while I wait for the clothes in the dryer to finish so that I can go to bed!

Picking Presents

Last weekend the Irishman suggested a family trip to Costco. I knew he had something up his sleeve, and I was right. He'd seen a giant Rudolph and wanted to get it for Caitlin for her birthday.



She wasn't overly impressed with the reindeer, but she did find another bin of animals that caught her attention. Morgan danced in front of the cart, holding each on up to her and trying to judge her reaction. He couldn't decide which she liked best, so he lined them all up...

and let her go. The other shoppers stopped to laugh at us see which one she would pick. It was looking like we would have a pet dog,

but in the end it was the tiger that won her heart! I took her off to the car while Daddy bought the tiger. (Not that should would have known what was going on, but it made the Irishman feel better about it!)

She was all excitement when she saw her tiger on her birthday. In case you were wondering, she it will support her weight. Not that we've tried or anything...

Now we just have to decide what to name her new friend...

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Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Daddy & Daughter Birthday Date

It is official - Caitlin is now 1!

She woke up early yesterday which meant we could open presents before I had to go to work.



The Irishman took the day off, so they sent me pictures of their fun throughout the day. (Every picture in this post is from his phone.) The first stop was the Pancake House for breakfast.

From there they headed to Barnes and Noble to pick out some Christmas books for her birthday. He wants to make this a tradition, so I guess we should be glad she was born in November!

My two favorite people came to have lunch with me yesterday. Caitlin got shy when my class came back in the room after lunch, but she clapped her hands when they sang Happy Birthday to her.

I had to go back to work, but Daddy and Caitlin headed on to the park to ride the carousel.

When they got home, Caitlin decided that she should not have to nap on her birthday. Instead she and Daddy celebrated her birthday via the webcam with the family in Ireland. They had a cupcake and a candle for her there and Daddy gave her some white chocolate buttons here. She wore the birthday bib her Aunties bought her when they were here. (No pictures for this one...I was still at work and the Irishman had to hold Caitlin for the webcam!)

One of Morgan's "mates from uni" and his lovely girlfriend are in town, so they came over after lunch and took a walk with my favorite two. When I got home we ordered pizza and brought it to the beach for a picnic dinner.

(It was getting dark and this was from Morgan's phone...but you can see the bib from Harrod's that they brought for Caitlin.) On the way home we stopped at a fancy cupcake bakery and picked up some mini-cupcakes. We'd planned to let Caitlin eat hers when we got home, but she was WORN OUT from her birthday date.

I've washed her birthday shirt though and we are ready for round two! The Irishman and I are both off work today so we are taking the birthday girl to the zoo and enjoying those left over cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Caitlin!

WW: Shark Attack

We went to a "Living Green Fair" this weekend. There were lots of activities and photo opportunities for the kids.



It was all going well until Caitlin decided to attack the shark...

Funny how she cried when I tried to wipe her nose,

but she had no problem sticking her hand in a shark's mouth!

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For More Wordful Wednesday:

Snacks and a Slide

Sunday was overcast and cool so we decided to stop at the park on our way home from shopping for birthday gifts for a certain little girl.



This same certain little girl decided that she needed a snack as soon as we got to the park. It seems while she was most considerate with sleeping in an extra hour for us despite the time change, she drew the line at waiting for food. After she was fed and watered she ventured over to the playground.

She loved the slide. It was a small slide so I stood at the top and the Irishman stood at the bottom. He would pass her up to me and catch her two feet later at the bottom. She loved it and kept trying to launch herself down before he was there to catch her. The kid has no fear!



And of course we finished our trip to the park with

more snacks!

Family Fun

It was a perfectly lovely weekend. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL and we've made the most of it! I took a ton of pictures (even by my standards) because I know that the cooler weather won't last.

First up we have an early birthday present from Ruth:



How cute is that?

The Irishman was up early on Saturday for the Walmart door-buster deals. He viewed it as going into training. I gave him a hard time about it, but he did get some Christmas gifts at good prices. I snapped this picture while Caitlin and I were waiting in the car when Morgan went back to pick up an item they were holding for him. The skylight was open, the baby was sleeping, the weather was cool. Perfection!

From there we also went to a "Living Green Fair" a friend had told us about. We ran into several people we know and had a great time. There were lots of activities for the kids...

Caitlin stopped to take a picture with the turtle,



but was disappointed that Cookie Monster drove by on his golf cart and didn't stop.

 It was the kind of day that makes you smile

and thank God for the blessings in your life.