a modern vintage tea party birthday

It was a tea party as sophisticated as a tea party for toddlers can be.

She is three. Already. What happened? Where did my baby girl go?

We decided to forgo a birthday cake in lieu of petit fours.  

And lots of other goodies.

Of course.

The guests were as sweet as the cake.

Each little girl received an apron made from a hankie with treats in the pocket.

Daddy lit the candle.

Frankie "helped" blow it out.

Yummy gooey cakes! 

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl. 

first birthday

You fluttered into our life one year ago and things have never been the same.
We love you.

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Regarding your questions about this post:

I made the chandelier and no, I don't sell them. Only made one. I won't be posting a tutorial because, quite frankly, I didn't photograph the process and it is a long process. If you really want to make one, drop me an email and I'll send you my phone number. I'll give you the specs.

I got the glass bottled soda at Von's Supermarket- not glamorous but true. If you live in the L.A. area, check out Galco's. You can also shop from them online. We make a trek up to L.A. about once a year to go to Galco's. It's great if you are into soda pop.

The little butterflies atop the cupcakes are just buttercream sugar cookies.

I bought the paper straws online at Hey Yo Yo. Love that shop!

I'd like to thank the good people at Martha Stewart Crafts for supplying me with two different butterfly punches, gift bags and cupcake flags. If only you had sent them to me for free...whatever, I'll give you credit anyway.

And I'd like to thank the Good Lord for supplying me with the gorgeous little girl in the photos, (yes, she's mine). She also didn't come free.

she's one!

Today my little girl turned one. ONE! I simply can't believe it.

We sang Happy Birthday to her after dinner and she opened a few gifts that came in the mail, but the real shindig is planned for Saturday.

Stay tuned.

hey there silly girl

Did you know that you are the pink icing on the cupcake of life?

Did you know every little thing you do is magic?

I love you so much I get butterflies and goose bumps when you smile.

the blessing

For years I have dreamed about my daughter's christening dress. That's the kind of girl I am. I started shopping when we were waiting to adopt even before Thom was born.

Sugar Daddy knows me well and he knows that there was no stopping me when it came time to finally, actually, buy the dress. He gave me his blessing and his Amex.


I had dreamed up an extra long silk number with pearls and lace. A veritable poof extravaganza. A miniature wedding dress.

But I fell in love with a simple cotton frock with hand stitching. To me it looked like it was straight out of the turn of the century.

My Birdie looked like a angel on her blessing day. It was nothing like I had imagined, but all that I had hoped for.




And we served macarons at the party which made the day dreamy.


This daughter of mine, (and she is all mine now) is temperamental and cuddly and smart and demanding and funny and a lot like a macaron. Crusty on the outside, but oh so sweet on the inside.

Sometimes I love her so much I lick her cheek or nibble her ear. And sometimes in the middle of the night I tip toe into her room and lean over her crib and breath deep her delicious baby smell.

Talk about blessings.

and she's ours.....

photo by little ol' moi, "Sweet Amelie"( more on this tomorrow)

Today is the big day.

Today the courts stamp the papers.

Today we become legally responsible for our daughter. Heaven help us. Seriously. Heaven, please help us be the best parents possible.

We are to be at the court at 8:30. Eight-thirty a.m. That's what you get when you let Sugar Daddy arrange things. He's an early riser, that one.

Me, not so much.

But maybe it's a good thing because as of late our sweet little bird has been cutting teeth, and folks, it's been ugly.

I'm starting to wonder if she might be cutting fangs.

If we can catch her after her breakfast and Tylenol and before her morning nap we may have a fair chance of getting some semi-decent photos.

But I'm not holding my breath.

No, today is a day to exhale. No more papers. No more social worker visits. No more interferences with the Lord's grand plan.

Ahhhhhhhh...........................................

finally

We would like to interrupt this blog to make the following announcement:

You see this baby? Yes, the little cherub in the above pic. That's the one.

As of 8:30 on February 24th the State of California will declare that she is all ours.

(Not that we needed them to tell us that.)

Please stay tuned for a ridiculous amount of pictures following this event.

amelie

This is what I know about her so far:



she hates getting dressed
she loves bananas
she hates her car seat
she loves her brother
she hates having her nose wiped
she loves to watch people in public
she hates being put to bed without being rocked
she loves to cuddle
she hates to hold still for a diaper change
she loves to get in the bath
apricots give her diaper rash
her eyes are bluer than anyone I've ever known
she is shy and afraid of strangers
she says "mama"
she makes me so happy my heart feels too big for my body.

curl girl

There was a little girl...

who had a little curl...

right in the middle of her forehead.

And when she was good,
she was very, very good.
And when she was bad,
well, she could pitch a fit the likes of which you have never seen.

hello dolly

After all these years, I still can't resist a doll.

This is "Stroll" our, I mean Amelie's, first kokeshi.

I guess it's a good thing that I have a doll of my own.

six months?

Where has the time gone? When did she get so big?

I'm thinking of either, a: contacting Guiness and entering her as the most kissed baby of all time or b: opening up a kissing booth where for a buck people can plant a kiss on her cheek ($2 for a raspberry). We'll make a mint. She's irresistible.

la petit sabatour

If Birdie had it her way I would:

• never work out and remain nice and plump and cuddly
• never do house work
• stop going to church
• give up all arts and crafts
• give up personal hygiene
• bounce her until my arms fell off
• wear my hair down every day for her pulling pleasure
• talk like Minny Mouse all the time
• never carry on a conversation with anyone
• never sit down
  

It's hard to be a responsible, sane, productive human being with a little one around. I may just become a bag lady.

song bird

I think I might have eaten a booger this morning, but I can't be sure.

Birdie has taken a hard stand against morning naps and so we wrestle it out in the rocking chair. She slaps me in the face with her flailing free hand and works up a froth of spit and boogers to try to repulse me. To any regular person it would be a great defense. But I'm a mother, and it takes more than snot to send me packing.

It's our morning smack down. I hold her close to me and I make sure to never ever lose.

And I sing. Sometimes hymns, but mostly I sing Native American chants that I make up while I pat her bottom to the beat.

We sing a lot in this house. Not well. But we do sing.

Birdie Sings a Ballad from April Meeker on Vimeo.

I thought I had a hang nail this morning and I went to bite it off with my teeth but it wasn't a hang nail. It was salty.

I went ahead and swallowed anyway, because after all, I am a mother. These things don't phase me anymore.

she sleeps

And a peace fell over the land.

And the people were happy.

the thinker

This one's a thinker.

She takes her job as littlest Meeker very seriously.

She's working diligently at being extraordinarily cute and lovable.

She's pooping and sleeping and eating.

A lot.

Especially the eating part.

She's starting to reach for things and talk to us in baby babble. I so wish I spoke goo fluently. I'd love to know what it is she has to say.

She only graces the most fortunate with a smile, however, when she finds you deserving, she smiles with her whole body, arms and legs jut out into starfish formation, toes point, fingers stretch, eyebrows raise. It's quite a sight to behold.

I think this little girl of ours, this little pontificator, is brewing up some mischief in that brain of hers. She's just biding her time until her body catches up.

Heaven help us.