Birthday Boy

We celebrated Aidan's first birthday today - cousins, aunts and uncles came for the pizza and cake and gave the little guy lots of presents. The highlight, of course, was the cake - which he enjoyed eating without having to worry about getting any on his face, chair and clothes. He still looks cute all covered in chocolate.

Carrots and Peas

Eloise is starting to eat baby food and seems to like it. Have you ever tasted baby food? Except for the applesauce and strained peaches, it's quite disgusting. Nevertheless, little Ellie is developing a taste for vegetables and really wanted to feed herself. I didn't let her, of course, but when we were done, I have her the spoon and empty jar and she tried her hand at pretending to feed herself. It's impossible to feed a baby without making a mess. Luckily, they clean up easily.

Bridal Shower

On Saturday Sara and Jenny hosted a bridal shower for their sister Emily. The August 23 wedding is fast approaching and it's fun events like this that make it seem more real. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Scrapbooking

After a busy two days I decided that today would be a stay at home quiet day - and that's just what it has been. I've only had one phone call all day, and haven't seen a soul. So I finally got a start on my reunion scrapbook album. I spent all night at a crop a couple weeks ago and got one page finished (which I couldn't photograph tonight without having a flash glare). Today I got two pages completed and one just about done. The pages here are the first page which is the invitation and explanation page, and the whole group page. Although it doesn't show up in the photo, the first arm of the "U" has "all of" written on it, as in All of US.

Whooo

When I was 19 I bought the first of my collection of owls. It was about 2.5 ft. tall and beautiful. I knocked his head off bringing him home from the store but was able to glue it back on so that you'd never notice it was broken. I gave him the creative name of "Hoot". He was quickly followed by a smaller "Screech", and then by a number of others in all shapes and sizes. I have no idea where they all are now. We moved so much over the years that I guess they fell victim of purging and breaks. I still love owls though and am really glad that they're a prominent scrapbooking embellishment this year. The beauty pictured here was one of half a dozen or so that I saw at the Valley Zoo today where I went with Sara and the kids. I took pictures of them all, but this was the only one that wasn't ruined by the cage bars.

Busy Day, Busy Kids

Charlie's getting outfitted for a summer holiday in the Phoenix area - she says going to the desert - and needed funky sunglasses and a sun visor. She was picture perfect cute. Later in the day she got out all her Barbie jewellery and put it all on - another photo op. Meanwhile, Max fell asleep on the couch and Charlie had to take a picture of him (she took many pictures - not all were keepable). When he woke up, Max wanted to take some pictures too so I have him my small Fujifilm Finepix to use. Ellie did her baby stuff all day - she loves oranges. Somewhere amid all that, we went to the mall so Charlie and Max could have their passport photos taken (Ellie already has her passport).

Popsicle

I discovered today that Eloise loves popsicles...I don't know if this was the first one she's ever had but, boy, did she love it. It was mine to begin with but when I picked her up she grabbed it and didn't let go. She made short work of it - notice the red juice streaming down her arm and onto my shirt. I think she must have got brain freeze toward the end though because she suddenly started screaming and crying. We all know how that feels - poor little girl. It probably won't stop her from wolfing down another one next time she can though. The pictures were taken by Elly's 4-year old sister Charlie with my Canon Rebel. She's a pretty good little photographer.