LL's Birthday Celebration

On Saturday the lane was abuzz with activity. It was LL's 2nd birthday celebration with family. Everyone arrived at 1:00 pm. She had no idea what the word party was all about at first. But I'm quite sure she got the idea as the day went on. Particularly when the presents were all for her. Then when I said ice cream she was all smiles. It is so joyful to share all of these firsts with her. Each day that passes I wonder how we ever lived without her.

The meal I planned was a success, but I noticed the snacks I selected for our Chinese New Year theme went mostly untouched. Oh well, at least the kids were adventurous in trying them. In time we'll figure out our favorite items and leave the odd ones on the shelf at the store. For example I chose a lychee fruit that one person explained looked like an eyeball or another said a cyst! YIKES!! No matter LL liked them all, that's what really matters most.

After our meal it was time for presents. LL's Aunts and Uncles really know how to make a little one smile with their gift choices. From Auntie Twin and Uncle Coach she got the cutest ladybug pillow. Many times she has curled up and snuggled into its softness. They also gave her a baby bangle and her first earrings. Soon, she'll be going to get her ears pierced. I'm saving that trip exclusively for Baba and Auntie Twin. Auntie Junebug and Uncle RX got her the sweetest girlie outfits, I'm so excited for her to wear them. Especially the one that has a matching dress for dollie or kitty to wear; along with a sweet white purse. Auntie Ess and Uncle Fixit picked out a perfect doll house that is just her size to play with. Already she has had many hours of pretend play with it. I'm so glad to see her occupying herself more and more everyday. The Higgly Cuzins's picked a sweet sundress with, you guessed it, ladybugs on it! And it matches her squeaky shoes from China. Cuzin' Astro got LL a favorite book that she herself loved as a toddler called, "Going on a Bear Hunt". Slowly LL is learning the hand motions that go with it. Swishy swashy is her favorite so far. Auntie Ke-Ke helped LL get a nice start to her college savings with her generous gift. We cannot wait for Sunday when we all go to the Chinese Spectacular Show and dinner together.

Speaking of Auntie Ke-Ke, my post would not be complete if I didn't mention a classic ML/Auntie Ke-Ke moment that happened. It seems whenever the two of us are together there is generally a moment or two where we end up laughing so hard we just about cry. Well this time it involved the Nian Gao (New Years Rice Cake). Not ever having had this before, we were having a hard time removing it from the plastic container it was served in. The texture of it is similar to that of rubber, really. As I was holding the cake Ke-Ke ran a knife around the edge of it and it slithered right out and fell to the floor. Upon hitting the floor, it bounced up at least 6 inches! There were several of us in the kitchen at the time and we all laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. Naturally this drew the rest of the family out there to witness what had caused this uproar. So we each decided to give it a try, three second rule, no germs got on it. Each concluded that it was basically a non-issue kind of food. The taste is very bland and rather bouncy on the teeth. Even LL didn't care for it either. Guess this is one item we'll rule out of next years menu, LOL!

At the end of the day we settled in and curled up to watch a DVD that Uncle Fix-It and Snapshot made for us of our homecoming from China. This was truly a labor of love from each of them to LL. Years from now this will be priceless to her and it is to us now. We will never be able to thank them enough for this account of her HUGE airport arrival, first hours with her Ge-ge's and exploring her new home. After that it was lights out for all of us. What a delightful day on the lane, precious memories to treasure for a lifetime.