Happy 1st Birthday, Cassidy!

I can't believe our little Cassidy is already 1 year old! We had so much fun celebrating her special day yesterday. Grammy and Grandpa Brown, along with Aunt Mel and Uncle Aaron, came over in the morning to play with Cassie and help us prepare for the afternoon party. Cassie has always loved butterflies - she's had them hanging above her crib since she was born - so we decided to have a butterfly-themed party in her honor. While we were decorating, Grammy and Aunt Mel surprised Cassie with a huge butterfly balloon - check out the video:



Next, it was on to the party! We had butterflies hanging in clusters from the ceiling, and every few minutes Cassie would stop whatever she was doing to point up and say "Bah!" - her word for butterfly. We also had a pair of butterfly wings for Cassie to wear (thank you Meg!) - she pulled at them at first, then forgot all about them and crawled all over the place with her wings flapping. Cassie had some very special friends at her party - Luke, Owen, Sofia, Nicholas, Joey and Cole. They all stayed very busy with lots of activities - playing with legos, playing video games, crawling up and down stairs, and for some, attempting to eat bits of wrapping paper. It provided the perfect level of chaos for a 1st birthday party! We were happy to have a great group of adult guests too - friends, neighbors and family - which made the party very special!

I decided I'd try my hand at specialty cake-baking for this event. Because Cassie has a dairy allergy, she can't eat regular cake and frosting - butter and milk are off the list! A butterfly cake was a must, so I made a regular version for the party guests and a miniature soy version for Cassidy to dive into. She had a very calm approach to trying the cake - she slowly dipped her finger into the purple frosting, then squeezed it in her hands for a bit. Eventually a morsel made its way to her mouth, and figuring out this was a yummy treat, she took little bites for a few minutes, kicking her legs as she always does when she is very happy! But in the end, only a little swipe of the washcloth was needed - perhaps we'll have a clean teenager down the road (is that possible?)! To top it all off - we're looking forward to a second birthday celebration at Grandma and Grandpa Reder's house next weekend!

Here are a few photos from Cassie's party:

A Great Playdate

Today we had a fun playdate with Cassie's great little buddy, Owen. And of course I enjoy getting together with Owen's mommy, Holly, who's fantastic! Holly and her husband, Jesse (who also happens to be my sister's husband's brother - always funny trying to explain that chain of connections), moved to Chicago last summer just weeks before Owen arrived, and we were thrilled when they settled on a home that's only a couple miles north of us! We always have so much fun when we all get together. Today, we decided to check out a great park/playground near their home. It's called Margate Park and it's just across the street from Lake Michigan. Cassie and Owen crawled and toddled around the play equipment and spent some time in the swings. However, the heat soared to the upper 80s, and it was a humid day, so the kids' faces were getting flushed in that hot sun. We made our way to the shade for a bit, and then headed home just in time for the kiddies' afternoon naps.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

It's so hard to believe we're coming up on Cassie's 1st birthday. Every parent tells you that time will fly - they're right! It seems like just yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital, maybe because I still remember that day so vividly ("What do we do now???"). It's funny how some things stick in your memory so clearly, yet other things become fuzzy. When friends with younger babies ask me questions about how we approached this or that (How much cereal did you start off with? How many hours did she sleep at 6 months?), I am always a little stunned when I can't exactly remember - wasn't that all I thought about just a few months back? Thank goodness for the baby book and loads of photos to bring the memories right back to me. I guess the brain just has to make room for all the new stuff!

Cassie has become a little mimic these days, just like many babies her age I'm sure. In the past few weeks, she has kicked it into high gear. She will imitate hand motions, sounds, even song tunes to some extent. She is always happy to oblige when someone asks her to point out various body parts - "Where's your nose? Where's Mommy's hair?" and she will dance on command as long as music is playing somewhere in the vicinity. For months now, we've had a nighttime routine where Erik gives her a bath and takes her up to bed. As they walk up the stairs to her room, I stand at the bottom stair and blow her kisses. She usually just giggles, but this past weekend she put her hand up to her mouth and blew kisses back down to me. That made my day and then some!

Here are a couple recent videos of Cassie pointing things out and playing peek-a-boo (still her all-time favorite game):

Father's Day 2008

This past weekend, we celebrated Father's Day by visiting both of our Dads! On Friday, we drove in to Rockford and spent time with my Dad (Mom is down in El Paso this week visiting with Shannon's family). We grilled burgers for dinner and spent time in the pool, one of Cassie's favorite pastimes. We also toggled between the Cubs game and the US Open, both turning out to be pretty exciting TV! The sun was out all day on Saturday, so Dad and Erik played 9 holes in the morning and then we had a nice afternoon outside.
On Saturday afternoon, we drove in to Clarendon Hills for a visit with Erik's family. We strolled downtown to the annual village festival, "Daisy Days." There was a live band, kiddie rides, and lots of booths with activities and food. The weather was perfect! Later that evening, Grammy and Grandpa took care of a sleeping Cassie while Erik and I went to a movie (such a nice treat that we don't get to do very often these days!). We saw the Incredible Hulk - when we go to the theater, we always try and see the movies that are great on a big screen - all the others we can save for Blockbuster!

Sunday morning, we were getting ready to leave for church when a severe storm swept through town - lasted only a couple of minutes, but managed to blow down a huge tree branch from the maple tree in the backyard. Although it was Father's Day and they had every right to be lazy, Erik and his Dad spent the afternoon with the chainsaw and ropes trying to maneuver the tree off the phone wires and turn it into firewood. They succeeded and afterwards enjoyed a cold beer while we caught more of the US Open. Melissa and Aaron arrived later that afternoon and we all had an early dinner together before hitting the road to get back home.

Splish Splash!

The summer weather reached the 90 degree mark (and beyond I believe!) this past week, so we picked up a padded baby pool and put it out on the deck. Cassie tried it out for the first time yesterday with her friend Luke (they're 3 weeks apart and such great buds). They had fun splashing around and squirting each other's toes with squirt toys. And Luke's mom, Chrissy, and I got to enjoy an afternoon outside with adult conversation! I feel so lucky to have found such a great friend right down the street - Chrissy and her husband, Dan, moved to Chicago just over a year ago and we met through a new mom's group. After joining the group, we realized we were practically neighbors! Chrissy took a break from work this year as well, so we keep each other sane with playdates and strolls to Scooter's, our favorite frozen custard shop down the street.

On a separate note, Happy Father's Day to all the dads this Sunday! It's Erik's first Father's Day, and we're looking forward to spending this weekend visiting both of our own dads!

Bring On the Giggles

It's so fun to watch Cassidy's personality start shining through as she gets a little older. She seems to particularly enjoy music (which makes her Daddy proud!), dogs, books, butterflies, and being around people. She giggles about almost anything - she seems so genuinely happy. As parents, that's been wonderful to see. She also happens to hate cuddling - she pushes away like a teenager trying to escape a kiss from mom!

We spend sunny afternoons often chatting with neighbors outside (she loves sitting on the trikes of all the other kids in our complex) or visiting the dog park down the street. It's fun to watch her explore simple things with such amazement since it's her first time experiencing them (wind blowing through trees, a bouncing ball, splashing water in the pool). She's recently figured out that the remote has some sort of control over the TV, so she's trying her hardest to master that mystery!

Grandpa Reder made a quick stop-over at our house last week, as he occasionally does when work brings him to our neighborhood. Cassidy got a case of the giggles as she played "horsey" on Grandpa's knee. Believe it or not, she went up to bed 5 minutes afterwards, and was out like a light.

Navigating Life With Food Allergies

So, we recently learned that Cassie is allergic to milk and nuts. It wasn't a huge surprise, since all sorts of allergies run in our families, but we were certainly hoping that she'd somehow escape it! The doctors say she'll likely outgrow the milk allergy before age 2, and the nut allergy is more mysterious...we'll just have to wait and see. Poor Erik could hardly believe it - a life without peanut butter? HIS daughter??? He could live on the stuff! At least she doesn't know what she's missing, right?!?

For now, though, Cassie is having lots of fun trying out new foods such as soy yogurt, Italian ice from the ice cream shop, avocados, and even soy ice cream sandwiches, as seen in this pic! I've learned to skim every label for the off-limits items of whey, casein, peanuts and tree nuts. It's amazing how many items contain milk and/or nuts! Things I would have never guessed, like toast or toddler chicken sticks. Even a little corner of a baby biscuit will cause Cassie to break out in hives - tiny traces of milk in there. But with the increased focus in recent years on organic foods and using specialty diets to treat certain illnesses (such as avoiding gluten and casein as a way to help treat autism, as Jenny McCarthy's latest book discussed) - there are actually tons of great food options out there now for kids with food restrictions. They make soy-based everything! Who knew? We're hoping this isn't something Cassidy will need to deal with forever, but if her allergies happen to stick around, we're happy to see that it would be very easy for her to manage.

Summer Weather Has Finally Arrrived!

Well, we had to wait a little longer this year, but the sunny, warm days of summer have finally arrived. This past weekend, it seemed that everyone in our neighborhood was taking full advantage. The sidewalks were crowded with strollers and joggers, and many of our neighbors were outside gardening, hosting friends, or supervising kids as they played with tricycles and water hoses. We joined in the fun - we planted flowers (doing my best to learn - never really sure what I'm doing!), strolled over to Roscoe Village for a casual dinner outside at a local pub, and tossed a football (well, that was Erik & our great friend Matt Neal, aka Uncle Matt). It was a wonderful weekend! And to top it all off, the Cubs started the month of June with the best record in baseball - something that has not occurred in 100 years! Can't ask for more than that.