officially a toddler

Oh, our sweet one-year-old!  A year and six days!  

We spent her birthday relatively simply.  I’d read somewhere on a blog about the tradition to have one friend over when you turn one, two friends at two, and so-on.  I like that idea; keeps things grounded (because even 12 kids at 12 doesn’t sound too extravagant).  So we suckered our friends Sam, Jill, and little Charlotte over for dinner–we may have even forgotten to mention that it was a birthday, whoops!

I couldn’t help but wrap as many things as I could: new clothes from her grandparents and great-grandparents; a toolbox (a purple and green one!) from her Popop; little Hedwig from Kathleen; a funky singing flashlight-y thing from Doria; a magic wand from Stephanie.  She made out like a bandit!  And she, not surprisingly, took much delight in destroying the wrapping paper.

I have been a little nostalgic recently, thinking about my own mother and how special birthdays were to her.  She used to make the best chocolate cupcakes with white icing that she let us bring to school.  I wish I knew the recipe.  But I do have her old recipe box (one of those old wooden ones that was probably in every kitchen in the 1950s, stuffed to the brim with different cards labeled “from Marcine’s kitchen,” for example).  There are six different recipes for chocolate cake/cupcakes.  I took my chances and tried one that had a few of my mother’s scrawls on it.  Of course, since I can’t eat gluten, I couldn’t even tell you if I got it right.  Instead of bothering with the homemade icing, I just went ahead with funfetti (what could be better really? my mother probably rolled over in her grave!).  Ultimately, I think the birthday girl approved:

Now she’s back to contemplating the great questions of life: Phillips or flat?