Cake Yummy Cake

Who are you? What are you going to do when you grow up?

You can tell it all at one-year-old by how they eat their cake.

Okay, perhaps not that much, but it was so much fun to watch Naomi eat her cake and compare her to her brother on his first birthday. Ben didn't (and still doesn't) like to get dirty. Naomi is all about dirt and getting messy. Here is some proof. :)

Naomi's dairy and wheat free Spelt Carrot Cake!

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"This purple stuff looks interesting..."

"It is more than interesting, it tastes awesome!"

"Now what do I do?"

"Stick my fingers in and wiggle them around? Okay!!"

"Oh man, this stuff is good!!"

"Mom, can I lick the plate?"

A job well done.

A sweet sweet mess.

"Just in case I didn't get in EVERY crevice." Clean up. :)

Naomi: ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!

My baby is One year old today. I can't believe that a year ago we had never met her. This blonde, spunky ball of energy. We had a little birthday party with family and had a great time celebrating this little girl. :)

ONE!

Should I like her?

Kisses.

Happy Birthday Dear Naomi!!

Some of our party guests...

Some of our more normal party guests...

Naomi with her new toy from Uncle Ryan & Auntie Mers. It is blurry because of her speed.

I pray this is the first of many many many cakes I can make her. This year has gone so fast... despite that fact that I have missed a lot of sleep! :) This little girl has gone from 8lb 14oz to over 24lbs. From 0-3mo clothes to 18-24mo. From zero to two teeth... with another about to pop. From lying down to running, crys to laughter and "gaga" to "daddy." She is precious and we are so thankful for the ray of Sunshine she is in our lives! We love you baby girl!

Easter!!

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Here are a few pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes... not one good picture but a number of mediocre ones. :) At least we documented the day, right??

Our Trip to VA/MD/DC :)

We took a bit of a whirlwind trip up to DC a couple weeks ago, as I mentioned before. We had a great time seeing friends and family and helping my brother settle into a new apartment, since he is now stationed at Walter Reed (YAY for him being driving distance away). Although my pictures are by no means complete here are a few from our visit:

How do you keep an almost-1-year-old from screaming on the Metro??

Metroing was not the highlight of the trip...

Cherry Blossoms! We got engaged 9 years ago this weekend... now look at us. :-P

Ben & Naomi LOVED the attention. Here Ben is with our friend Julia!

Naomi was SO proud of herself for climbing up on the rock bench... as you can see. :)

Water!

Uncle Micah was a HUGE hit despite this facial expression by Naomi. :-P

Muscles with Auntie Sarah!

Hide and Seek with Sarah at the FDR memorial. :)

Hiding with Julia!


We wish Sarah lived closer!

Ben checking out FDR.

Uncle Micah all dressed up from a day at work! What a drag to have to dress like this to be a nurse in the army! No Scrubs! (Which I think would be the BEST part about being a nurse. :)

A few highlights not pictured:

• Finding Micah a perfect apartment the first day
• Buying him a queen mattress and strapping it to the top of my honda accord
• Catching up with LOTS of college friends at a baby shower and alumni event
• Introducing Ben & Naomi to Mike & Sarah's dog Maggie
• Playing Angry Birds while waiting for the movers to show up (4 hours late)
  

McKenna's Birthday!

We were able to celebrate with Ben's friend McKenna for her birthday! Here is a picture of the birthday girl with her mama Tonia and Tonia's fiance Rick!!! Such a sweet family!!!

Ben enjoying the cake.

Naomi loved the cake too!

Siblings

Bumpersticker of the Day

THE MORE CORRUPT THE STATE
THE MORE IT LEGISLATES

Where do they get this stuff?

A couple weeks ago Andrew was working in the yard when he heard Naomi start to cry. Andrew started to walk toward her when Ben ran up:

B: Dad, did YOU hit Naomi in the face with a stick?

A: No, Ben did you?

B: No, but did yooouu daddy???

Bumpersticker of the Day

COOL! They are making
our country a dictatorship!

She May Look Sweet...

But Looks Can Be Deceiving!!

In the past 5 days this little girl has:

• Licked an electrical outlet - that right folks, just looked at it for about 1 second then stuck out her tongue and gave it a good bath from bottom to top
• Played in 3 toilets (none of them mine and one of them in a public restroom)
• Found a pacifier buried in the dirt at a rest stop and sucked on it
• Licked a DC Metro pole (We are having her tested for hepatitis :-P)
  
• And - FINALLY HAS A TOOTH (I desperately want to believe that this final point justifies the last four... but I think it may be a stretch)
  

Bumpersticker of the Day

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS
FEEL FREE TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM

Firetrucks

Is there anything cooler than firetrucks?

I don't think so! A friend in our playgroup's husband is a firefighter so we got to go on a little tour, the kids had a great time seeing the fireman suits, and trucks and where they sleep... although I do think Ben's favorite part was the fireman sticker at the end. :)

The group.

Friends... Ezra, Ben, McKenna and Gabriel.

The and the firetruck.

Learning about what is inside...

The geeky mom picture. :)