Ivan ate some of his cupcake, but he did not smash it or make it a mess. He just poked at it and had a little bit. He watched his sister have some before he did. If Ezri eats it, it must be all right.
The cupcake really had nothing on the Chinese takeout sole fish dish with ginger and scallions. Ivan was all about eating that fish. Here he is having some leftovers. He does not have a happy face, this is because I am messing around with a camera when my prime parenting directive should be getting the fish into his mouth more quickly.
This is a poor photo of Ivan doing “cheers.” Ivan loves clinking his sippy cup or baby bottle against your wine glass. He even makes a “Cha” sound when you say cheers. The only trouble is he can be a little rough on the banging leading to blurry photography and fear of broken glassware.
What did Ivan get for his birthday?
I bought him a clearance rack dog toy. It came with three squeaky balls and a frisbee. He loves it. He may have a future as a juggler.
Grandma Liz decorated an empty tissue box and filled it with interesting fabric scraps. He loves emptying it and, occasionally, refilling it and exploring the textures.
Ezri gave him hugs (and tackles) – similar actions in her world.
Eric bought him a bus and airplane for his “Little People” superheroes at the Salvation Army. The “Little People” toys have the major advantage that Ezri really likes to play with them too and Ivan likes whatever big sister is playing with and “Little People” are not breakable or choking hazards like so many of Ezri’s current favorite toys. So, the siblings can happily play together. Nice that since Ezri wants to play with these things that belong to Ivan – it makes her understand that they share with each other it isn’t just her who gets asked to do the sharing.
Ivan squeaking his new squeaky eggs.
As a family we took a trip to get him a birthday balloon. Ezri wanted to get the 3 foot tall balloon shaped like the number one. I convinced her that it’d be easier for Ivan to play with a balloon that was not bigger than him. After careful consideration of a pink, sparkly balloon with the breast cancer ribbon logo on it – we went for a Sesame Street themed balloon that said Happy 1st Birthday. Ezri accepted that the pink sparkly balloon was not for birthdays – though I am not sure my explanation of cancer was adequate.
It’s been a busy year. Ivan has done a lot of growing and I must say he has my favorite laugh in all the world. Happy birthday, Ivan.
