Cheese, Spills, and Birthday Parties

Sydney seems to be growing with every blink of my eyes. That's WAY too fast if you ask me. It hit me today that her first birthday is only three months away. Instead of getting teary-eyed, I decided I would get excited. I began my search for her birthday party theme and instantly fell in love with the Baby Einstein idea. I know it's not original, but I have many years ahead of me filled with pink princesses and pretty fairies. Maybe next year she'll want Micky Mouse. Maybe in five years she'll want G.I. Joe. Right now she likes Baby Einstein, and besides, how awesome will it be to make a bright and complicated caterpillar cake? Pretty freakin awesome. I'm going to make a huge caterpillar cake, for three people. Anything for THIS baby!

Now for some parenting woes. I'm having an interesting challenge drawing the line between letting Sydney become independent and being cautious. I allow her to stand against the couch because she likes it. You've seen the pictures. I'm always in an arms reach and she is never interested in trying to take any nose dives. Duh. Of course that would change. Silly me. I look down at my camera for one second today and she goes head first into her METAL jumper. Two minutes of screaming and a fashionable bruise later, I feel like a bad mom. I know it won't be the last bruise she gets, but I hope at least the next one isn't from my stupidity. Mental note: one second is all it takes.

So after Sydney's nap this afternoon, I decided some cheese and bread would be a nice surprise snack for her, especially since I failed to catch her earlier. She loved it of course. I'm beginning to wonder if there is any food this kid DOESN'T like? Since she's doing so well with table foods, I think tomorrow we'll try a steamed medley of carrots, peas, and corn. Cooked pasta sounds like a winner too. We shall see!