Why do we make them do this!?

I'm going to quit apologizing for not EVER being on time in my posts! I'm not sure it really matters! The important thing, and the reason I started blogging, is that I have it recorded for my kids to look back at and enjoy! So...one month later...here is what I took (and there aren't that many) of Allison's birthday! Our family traditions are simple -for their first birthday they can play with, poke at, lick, stab, or just look at their own special cake - that's it! Afterall, they really don't have a clue what's going on and most of the time, the whole thing is just overwhelming and frustrating! In the past, I have decorated very elaborate cakes for the kids to destroy, but this year, I decided to keep it really simple and make 2 easy cakes (both dairy-free) that were cute, but simple! And of course, this is the child I COULD have made a beautiful cake for! She didn't even touch the darn thing! Allison had fun looking at her cake, but she just didn't really understand WHY we would want her to eat that nasty, sticky, thing! She kept looking at us like we were crazy! She did finally touch it a little with a spoon! The fun part about Allison's birthday was watching the older kids enjoy it! They were so excited and just kept trying to get her to eat and touch and do anything other than STARE at it! She opened a few presents, scratch that, watched Kaitlin open a few of her presents, but then had a blast with them. We bought her a cute, sturdy stroller that I thought would help her get around the house a little, and she LOVED it! She was walking about 5 days before her 1 year old birthday which is so unusual for my kids! Now, one month later, she is everywhere and walking like a pro! I love this little girl so much and am so grateful she stuck through an awful pregnancy and made it here with us! I love the spunk she has and they way she can put any one of us in our place by one simple sound! She is a smart little girl! She loves to go to sleep and will say, "Ni-ni" when she gets tired! She also knows the signs for "milk," "more," "yummy," "please," and "enough - or all done!" I love when she signs all done! I was at the dentist yesterday and we had been there for a while. When I was checking out, she held her hands out to the side and started shaking them. The receptionist thought is was cute, but wondered what she was doing. I told her that is the sign for "all done!'' As I said it, Allison said , "Done!" It was cute! I can't believe she can catch on to so many things so quickly! Right now, her favorite toys are still Kaitlin's old twin dolls! Kaitlin got them when she was 2 and they are still the favorite around here! She loves stick pretzels and rice cereal with bananas. She also loves Cheerios and freeze-dried apples. She mainly survives on soy milk and starches! Someday I'll introduce other foods, but for now, it's working! She is healthy as a horse! She has only been sick once in the past year, and that was an ear infection 4 days after her first and only vaccination. Coincidence? I don't think so! She is delightfully happy and loves her family! I can only imagine the coming years with this little crew we have! Happy Birthday, Allison! You are loved!

Brandon gladly obliged with showing Allison how to eat the cake and how "YUMMY" it was!

"Here, you have some!"

"Are you SURE I am supposed to eat this?"

There is that darn football again! Most of the pictures I have of her have that Nike football in it! That was her favorite thing all night!

This is the cake we actually ate! It was so easy to make and was YUMMY! The pink frosting was strawberry, and the cake was strawberry and cream! So good!

Allison's cake. The smiley face just looked so much like her, I couldn't resist adding it! Look at me trying to make the cake look better by putting it on a blanket! Okay, so I am clearly not a photographer or a cake decorator!

These are a few of the videos I took during the birthday party! I have also decided that I'm not a videographer either! I never have video camera nearby and my camera just doens't cut it! I was so much better at being on the ball with my other kids!