Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Girl!

I can't believe it's already here!  I can't believe we almost have a real toddler!  Evelynd has been acting less and less like a baby and more like a kid.  She's so amazingly happy and fun.  I love to watch all the things she's learning and the new ways she learns to communicate.

First, a recap of the day.
I first saw Evelynd on her birthday at about 1 a.m.  She was wide awake and wanted to talk to me.  She kept repeating, "Clock."  Followed by multiple tongue clicks.  I finally got her back to sleep around 2:30, but then she was up for good at 6:30.  We had breakfast of banana-mango muffins and then she went to play with Daisy.

Then, we went to the Gilbert House.  Evelynd loved the bubble room the most, but also enjoyed pulling the carrots out of the ground and riding Annabelle, the Milking Cow.  The pictures are from the fish tank in the entrance and the China room.

Around noon, we were going to meet Bridget for lunch, but Evelynd fell asleep on the way there and the restaurant we were going to meet them at has closed.  Bummer!  It was a good one.  At least I was able to clean the floors, make cupcakes, do the dishes, clean up the tables/mail, etc., etc., to prep for the party tomorrow.
When she woke up, we had tuna casserole for lunch and then went for a walk.  I had to teach one lesson this afternoon (a makeup due to all my concerts lately), but that was the only work today.
Around 4:45, we headed down to the Carousel where Evelynd loved patting and kissing the horses, and even wanted to ride them herself rather than sit with me.  Maddy, Isa, and Ally met us there, too.  Evelynd (for the first time ever) reached for Isa and didn't want Dassow Mommy.  Someone must think she's a big girl now that she's 1.

After riding so many times that I got a little dizzy, we went to Konditerei for dinner and met up with Dassow Daddy.  There were multiple people there we knew, and we met many others thanks to Evelynd walking around the restaurant and smiling and talking to everyone.  She ate the mac and cheese and loved it.  Then, she didn't have much room left for dessert, but they brought out a raspberry-lemon mousse torte with a candle and she enjoyed being sung to.

When we got home, the girls played with Evelynd for a while and then helped set up the party.  Isa cleaned and frosted the cupcakes, Maddy set the table, and Ally rolled out the cookies and made the frosting.  Their help saved us so much time and stress -- thank you so much Garcia Girls!

And now, a little of what's new:
Ev is starting to take steps.  She can say a lot of words (dog, cat, cow, duck, uh-oh, blanket, that, right there, clock, Dad, hi).  She's a good pointer.  She winks.  She dances and sings all the time.  She spots ceiling fans from a mile away (they were nice enough at Konditerei tonight to turn them on twice for Ev and she squealed in delight).  We get to turn the car seat around!  Hallelujah!

Next week is her 12-month check, so I'll do more stats and such then, but for now I'll just say that Evelynd is the greatest joy in our lives.  We love her and look forward to continue getting to watch her grow.