Traditions

It has been a tradition in my family since my dad was a kid (eons ago) to have a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve.

String Bean is 25 months old and has adopted "Happy Birthday" as her favorite song. I believe this has something to do with her birthday 6 weeks ago and Daddy's just a week ago. There is nothing quite like explaining to your 2 year-old that we will be singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus and watching the glee on her face as we sing her absolute favorite song.

This is our nativity. String Bean points to it when we refer to Jesus' birthday.

(This is not a photo of OUR specific nativity, just on from the Willow Tree stock photos of their product.)

Merry Christmas, String Bean! May you learn soon the meaning behind the birth of Jesus.

A Perfect Party

As you know, String Bean turned two this week. Today she had her birthday party. Had we invited all her friends and fans our house never would have held everyone, so we had to limit it to family and babysitters.

The morning started out with String Bean taking Pop (grandpa) to her favorite park. With the two distractions gone, Mr. Bean, my mom (Nana) and I were able to set up for the party and cook lunch for everyone. Mr. Bean assembled his famous homemade lasagna the evening before and prepared most of the green bean casserole. Mr. Bean also put together an awesome slide show of String Bean's Second Year. He got the garlic bread ready while my mom and I spot cleaned, moved furniture, set the table, laid out the buffet, and decorated with photos of String Bean.

String Bean and Pop arrived home from the park and while Pop took a bath, String Bean took a (very brief) nap. When she awoke, Nana gave her a bath while Mr. Bean and I took care of last minute details.

Auntie Carolyn showed up early to the party since today was String Bean's fitting for her flower girl dress for the wedding. My mom made the dress and had to do some last minute hemming, but wanted to be sure the length was correct first.

Guests began to arrive at 11:30 and lunch was served at noon. Just prior to eating and saying the blessing, String Bean lead the group in singing the "Choo-Choo Song" which introduces everyone in the room. String Bean was the perfect hostess.

Following lunch, we watched the slide show Mr. Bean had made. It was a hit. By demand of the cousins, presents were opened immediately following. Ama and Grandpa tuned in for the present opening via Skype and enjoyed seeing everyone and everything String Bean got. String Bean enjoyed opening the gifts and loved everything she got (which was evidenced by her playing with every toy this afternoon).

We ate ice cream and cupcakes while String Bean made a mess.

It was the perfect party and we are happy that String Bean is loved by so many!

...Much Crying Ensued

Baby's first lip bite, much crying (and blood) ensued. This was quickly followed by baby's first complete somersault down a (very small) flight of stairs, much crying (sans blood) ensued.

Everyone's shoes were piled by the front door and tried on over and over.

Croutons were the only food consumed by the toddler despite ice cream being one of the choices.

While the boss was carrying on a conversation, String Bean decided it was time to say goodbye. After saying it and waiving 3 times, she yelled, "Bye!" at the top of her lungs. Yeah...that got his attention.

Not sure we'll ever be invited to a work social again and if we are, we might just need a babysitter.

Culinary Tips

I am less than a master in the kitchen. I have few skills. Just ask Mr. Bean or my brother-in-law about "The Great Pancake Incident." Or, ask Mr. Bean how he "enjoyed" my meatloaf this week.

I just cut up a plethora of fruit and vegetables (with Mr. Bean's help) for a welcome home party for my friend Aimee. Here's where I need your tips. The damage is already done, but for future reference, how do you cut cauliflower without mangling it into little bits? I'd be happy to hear your tips on that one.

I put Mr. Bean in charge of the strawberries and oranges. They turned out fine. I've done broccoli and peppers a million times. We bought baby carrots so they required no preparation. (That's my kind of cooking!)

I must say I did a fantastic job on the celery. I think my mom must have made celery a lot as a kid because I had flashbacks to watching her cut celery the whole time I was doing it. I felt completely at ease as I sliced my way through that vegetable.

Share you cauliflower tips. And while you're at it, I'll take your meatloaf and pancake tips, too.

String Bean's Oscar Night

The Oscars started at 7:30 CST. String Bean decided at 6 pm that if she was going to stay up until the end, she needed a quick nap before the party started. Of course, she woke up in time to watch the first award's presentation.

The night went well-without a hitch. String Bean worked the crowd until the party ended around 11:30 pm. She had her little yellow chair which she sat on for the majority of the evening. She found new friends to play with. She showed off her skills with her water bottle (open and close, repeat). She found Aposotlos' hoodie and used it as a pillow. She rolled around on the floor and giggled.

Something tells me she thought the party was for her.

Once the last guest walked out the door, String Bean put her thumb in her mouth and looked up at me with her big brown eyes as if she was saying, "Boy, all that entertaining just wore me out!"

I'm looking forward to next year to see how she changes her entertainment techniques.