Little Mouse's First Birthday!

Also, while Mom, Dad, & Grandma were here; Little Mouse and I had our birthdays!  Mine's not a big deal, but Little Mouse's first birthday is!  

 We all enjoyed some yummy frostingless cake and sang to the birthday girl.

 I didn't have any normal candles, just a "7". So I just broke the top off to make a "1".

 Four Generations in this photo!  Gotta love it.

Cameraman and his little 1 year old. 

The first year baby cake isn't nearly so messy when there's no icing.  Bummer!

Like I did for the other girls, I'd like to take a moment to record some observations on Little Mouse on this, her 1st birthday.  At this point in her life, these are her favorites:

Favorite Color: Whatever crayon is in her hand (and thus in her mouth) at the time.

Favorite Toy: Whatever toy Banana Girl is currently playing with; or whatever electric device that Mommy or Daddy have forgotten and left within her reach.

Favorite Foods: Ice cream, chocolate, cream of wheat with blueberries, Doritos, & Momma's milk.

Favorite Movies: She really likes watching the slideshow of pictures of herself and her sisters.

Favorite Music: Momma's lullabies.

Favorite TV show: none

Favorite Activities: getting into the cupboards and drawers and pulling everything out; pulling all the movie boxes off of the shelf; playing with her sisters; getting thrown in the air by Daddy; getting tickled by Mommy;   Being held by anyone; taking a bath; and climbing, climbing, climbing (esp on the dishwasher door and the computer table.)

Favorite Clothes: her birthday suit.
What I Want to Be When I Grow Up: Bigger.

Little Mouse is a big people person.  She is happiest in life when being held; most preferably with Mom, otherwise Dad is great, and if neither of us are available then by anyone else who will pick her up.  She also loves to be anywhere her sisters are; especially if they will pay attention to her and try to make her laugh.  Outside the family though, she may take a little warming up, as she's a little shy around strangers.

She's also got a very healthy appetite.  Ever since she discovered that there was more than just milk in the world, she's been wanting to try anything she can get her hands on.  (That includes crayons, marker tips, and erasers.)  And she likes most everything.  I just caught her in the fridge, gnawing on a piece of kale.  If you want to break the ice and get in her good graces, just feed her something.  

Being a third child though, I'm afraid that too often she doesn't get responded to as soon as she would like, and as a result has developed quite the harpy screech that she uses whenever she's not getting enough attention.  We've been trying to train her out of it; and it's not as much as it used to be; but I'll sure be glad when that phase is over! 

She's learned how to really cover some ground when crawling, and at the time of her birthday she is experimenting a little with walking.  I should say, she can do it just fine, but she won't; not without something to hold on to.  She's just being super careful, and doesn't want to fall.  But you could tell that the balance and ability to do it were there all the same.  I wonder if that carefulness is going to carry over into other aspects of her life as well.  She just doesn't seem to be as adventurous as I remember her older sisters being.  

Overall, Little mouse is a pure joy to have in our family.  We all just adore her, and you can tell that she loves us all right back.  It's so fun watching her grow and learn and discover this new world around her.  

Happy Birthday Little Mouse!!! I love you very very much!!!