Liberty's Birthday

I can not believe Liberty's birthday has already come and gone. It really snuck up on me this year. Overall I think it was a rather joyous event - at least she doesn't seem to feel traumatized by the lack of a birthday cake.

One of her gifts was this 'band in a bucket' which has quite naturally been a huge hit as far as she is concerned. She and Emmuska love playing the various instruments which are all quite perfect for her as far as durability and skill go. (Okay I'll admit it...there are a few times I have to retreat to a different corner of the house and this is one toy that does have a 'bed time' for the sake of my sanity.)

She loved what Mycal surprised her (and me) with...here she is giving Tigger a piggy back ride. (Which was after she gave him many kisses...) As you saw in the first picture she loves to dress him up. I'm not sure what it is about his size and shape but he apparently does clothes better than her other stuffed toys as none have received the amount of attention on that front that this guy has. (Yeah there are some other pictures I'll have to upload later...)

I thought that we weren't doing presents for her this year so I didn't do any shopping for her at all. That evening I was trying to make cupcakes (before I realized I didn't have enough sugar...) when Mycal walks in with Candy Land and this Tigger stuffed animal. They have both been huge hits. I'm slightly jealous that Mycal got to do the shopping but at least Liberty was satisfied with the results. (And I got to do a little later on so it was okay.) Liberty hasn't quite mastered the concepts behind Candy Land but she loves to play it with us still (in her own way). It has been a fun addition to the activities of the house (and a little more quiet than the bucket o' band).

Here she is giving Tigger some love. I'm impressed with how much she likes this animal...she just never struck me as a Tigger sort of gal.

And playing Candy Land with Tigger. (Her preferred non-parental game partner as he doesn't try to dominate the game...) She also got a lovely pair of sneakers that Emmuska calls her 'Care Bear sneakers' because the hearts on them look a lot like the Care Bear hearts. (My children might be too exposed to commercialized products...) I was actually quite impressed with the connection as she's right they really do look like Care Bear hearts but there isn't any other Care Bear-ish image anywhere near them so it's pretty good on her to remember the image and make that connection. She also got new jammies and a fun Mickey Mouse bib (yeah she picked it out but I'm thrilled about it too...hopefully we save some shirts and I'm saved from spending my entire meal retying the kitchen towel around her neck.) She will be getting a couple more presents on Emmuska's birthday, saved so that 1) Emmuska doesn't make off with them before she gets her own and 2) Liberty has something to open and doesn't get upset and or try to steal Emmuska's new things. Yeah it's a delicate balance with these two but generally we make it work. ;)