Sweet Treat

I can't resist typing out a little post on a much-loved snack I recently discovered. They're called "Bunchkins"- tiny grapes that Evelyn loves. I can only give her about ten at a time because she shoves them all in her mouth before bothering to swallow.

A box of grapes cost $2.99 at Meijer. They're sweet, not at all tart. Just rinse and pluck them off the stem. The most tedious aspect of eating them is making sure you don't feed a teeny tiny stem to your baby. 

To give you an idea of their size, you can see that an entire bunch fits in the palm of my hand. I'm glad we decided to try these.

The Birthday Season

Last Thursday, July 5, was Evelyn's first birthday. I had mentally prepared myself for the tornado of cake, party planning and presents that would engulf my entire life. Over a week later, I feel as if we've finally recovered.

My present to Evie was this circus tent from Ikea. She loves it, and even though it's larger than I anticipated, that just means we'll get more use out of it! It also folds up to a manageable size.

On the Fourth of July, we attended a big family party at Evelyn's paternal grandparents' house in Lawrenceburg, Ky. Though I don't think I could ever bring myself to live in such a tiny town, I love visiting the tranquil, slower-paced atmosphere. "Lburg" is much quiter and easier to navigate than our hometown of "Lville." I felt I was right at home, however, when twenty-something people began filtering through the door on that sweltering afternoon.

After Evie "opened" her presents and pooped in the middle of that process, we enjoyed the feast. Naturally, the child would only eat watermelon. On a normal day, I would have kept her in the high chair until she ate something a little more substantial, but birthday week was proving to bend the rules.

The next day, her actual birthday, we returned home for a quiet night of spaghetti and beer cake with my dad, stepmom and siblings. Evie seemed happy to return to the more mellow pace that is home. I don't know if I've ever seen her so happy as she was just playing with toys in the cold, silent basement we live in affectionately dubbed the "Girl-Cave."

                                                      Evie, happily relaxing while she reads a new book.

Friday brought with it a trip to my mom's house where we ate way too much and laughed hysterically as Evelyn submerged herself in a tiny cake and then danced around the room wearing her pajamas, a tutu, a birthday hat and a flower lei as the sugar high overcame her.

Finally, we treked to Lexington on Saturday to prepare for a party with my and Roy's friends on Sunday. From this experiene I learned that if you're just having friends over, don't worry about decorations or keeping to a schedule. Just make sure the food is delicious.

Part of me can't believe I have a 1-year-old. I know this is cliche, but it seems like just yesterday I had a helpless newborn swaddled up in my arms. Now she's talking, attempting to walk and asserting her rebellious side every time I tell her not to do something by obnoxiously snapping back at me in defiance.

Now that we've survived the week-long birthday festival, I'm pouring myself into our next big project: MOVING. On the 20th, Evie and I will be relocating to our new apartment in Lexington. I couldn't be more excited to indulge my creative side in my very own space. True, the apartment is about the size of a shoebox, but that will just make the process even more interesting.