Evie's wedding...I mean birthday party

Hi everyone! This is Evie! I turned 12 months old last month. Mommy has been very busy, so she asked me to blog. I had my very first birthday party. The theme was Penguin Winter One-derland. Mommy was addicted to something called Etsy and Pinterest on her phone. All I know is that there was a lot of colorful paper around and I was not allowed to play with it!

With Mommy before my party

So many people helped my Mommy with my party. I think she would have gone crazy without the help. She said it was like planning a wedding. I don't know what a wedding is, but I do know that I have a lot of friends! We had a hot cocoa bar, lots of food, and tons of games.

The baker at Stop and Shop went all out in making a penguin winter wonderland cake for me!

Mommy freaked out 2 weeks before the party because almost 40 kids were coming to my party, plus about 50 adults. I don't know why she was scared--something about 40 kids with nothing to do and running around in circles. Auntie Tina came to the rescue and helped us to think of activities. We had Magformers, play dough, a coloring contest, rainbow looms, beads, and toddler bowling. I was too little to play with the big kids, but they said they had fun!

We did not make the awesome coffee filter streamers--that was left over from our church Christmas concert!

I had a nice nap right before the party, and woke up in time to wave hello to everyone. I get many compliments on how I wave. They say that I am graceful. I don't know what that means. I just like to watch my hand wave back and forth in front of me.

In the middle of the party, Mommy and Daddy thanked everyone for supporting our family and loving me, Evie the Extraordinary, in the past year. They all sang a nice song called "Happy Birthday" to me, and I loved it. It was a nice personal concert.

And then about 80 pairs of eyes stared at me while I sat in my high chair. I don't know what they expected me to do. They put a penguin-shaped cake in front of me and just watched me. Auntie Kirsten spent a lot of time on my cake--why would I touch it and ruin it?

So Daddy took my hand and swiped the cake with it. I was angry and didn't know why everyone laughed when I yelled. I put my thumb in my mouth and tasted the frosting, and it WAS intriguing, but I was too angry to try it again. Mommy and Daddy felt sorry for me and picked me up from the high chair. They thought something was very funny.

After all the excitement, it was time for a big nap. Grandpa and Grandma took me to a quiet room to have some sleep. Some nice aunties and uncles helped to clean up. All in all, it was a good day. Mommy said she will never throw a party that big again. But she was happy about how it turned out too!

Thank you, everyone, for celebrating that I finished my first year strong!!

Repost with a giveaway! From Straitjacket to Starfish: A Shark Tank win

Update: Hi all, I am doing my first giveaway! If you read my blog post the other day on the miraculous Zipadee Zip, then you know how this thing has changed our lives as parents. The makers of Zipadee Zip liked my review so much, that they offered to help me do a giveaway. All you have to do is 1) "Like" their Zipadee Zip Facebook page and 2) leave a comment about why you could use a free Zipadee Zip on this post! The contest begins Wednesday, May 27 at 12:00 AM and ends on Sunday, May 31 at 12:00 AM. Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway ------------------------------------------------------------ Original post: There was a point in time when I was just proud I could swaddle teeny tiny Evie with a hospital blanket. Then she came home and started busting out of the blankets, and woke herself up all the time. Her arms flailed and her legs kicked while she was sleeping, which of course woke her up. But then she got bigger and craftier, and I needed to fin

Going public: Down Syndrome Awareness Day and what it means to us.

Starting this blog was a big deal for me. It's hard to throw out there in conversation that my baby girl has Down Syndrome, because that extra chromosome makes people view her differently. But because it is Down Syndrome Awareness Day on 3/21, I'm going public. Do you know why it's on the 21st? Because of the 21st chromosome having an extra copy! So far, Evie has just been our beautiful baby girl who is learning to smile and reach for things. But as she grows older, I want our extended circle of friends to know, so that they can treat her as a typical little girl who may be a little delayed in her development, but will want to be included just like other kids. I want the other kids to play with her and to learn that little girls with disabilities like to have fun too. Our story about our diagnosis is here . Now that we've met Evie and know what we're dealing with, it's not SO scary as it was before. Still overwhelming sometimes , but I wouldn'

Jumping and Friendship Crafts with Evie

This Youtube video was at first made to showcase Evie's first real jump on a trampoline. Then it became a video with a message about making new friends, because I was just so impressed with how Qole gave Evie the space she needed to feel comfortable enough to say yes to getting on the trampoline. And then as we were making a paper craft about friendship, and we were pulling out different pieces of color, I was struck with how it became a teaching moment for my daughter that people of all colors can hold hands and can look out for each other. May it be so. The world needs it now more than ever.

Evie the Extraordinary and Her Mommy: The Journey As We Go

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