Birthday Fun

I can't believe how quickly it's gone by, but Anna's first year has been amazing! I was thinking originally of doing a seperate post when her birthday actually arrived on Wednesday, but then I remembered that I haven't exactly been religious at posting, so I decided on a two birds with one stone kind of thing.
We had Anna's birthday party yesterday, and she was just such a cutie in her little outfit that Grandma Sue gave her! We stripped her down for the cake part though; I wasn't sure a bib would cut it. In this picture, Daddy is standing behind the fantastic photographer (Grandma Birch) making Anna look so incredibly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

Then, she really got down to business when introduced to her slice of the cake. You don't want to mess with this hungry bear.

This was the cake I made for her. I got the box idea from a paper plate, but then pretty much came up with everything else on my own. Anna's all time favorite thing right now is animal noises, so I thought it was very appropriate!

At one year, here are Anna's top favorites in her little life (in no particular order):

1. Daddy wrestling. She actually tackles him and burrows her head into him as if trying to bull doze him over. She usually ends up with beard rash, but I know she thinks it's totally worth it!
2. Farm animals. As mentioned, she loves the animal noises that Meh (that's Mama's name) makes. We read her farm books every night. She also loves "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?", which has mostly farm animals, but a bear and some children, too. (Sounds like a bad combo...)
3. Peaches and Pears. Her favorite food right now - she will eat enough to make her sick.
4. Splash pad. She especially likes the Tempe Beach one; there are little whales there that she stands up to, plays with the water coming out of it's spout, and stands without holding on to anything! Ooooooh...
5. 5 Little Monkeys. This is her favorite song, usually because I substitute it with, "Anna is a monkey, jumpin' on the bed; she fell off and bonked her head!...and the doctor said, 'No more Annas jumpin' on the bed!'" I replaced the real lyrics when she did fall off the bed last week.
6. Outside. Anywhere, anytime. This girl is an outdoor addict just like her Mama, or "Meh".
7. Eyes. She will poke anyone's at any given moment. Poor PJ just doesn't think to walk away, plus his eyes are so round and bulging, it's hard to blame her.
8. Being upside-down. She has a little game where she sits on our laps facing us and holds our hands while bending backwards so she's upside-down. She particularly likes her exposed neck tickled and ending her game with a flip that she always lands!
9. Family. She loves her cousins, aunts and uncles, and especially her grandparents!
10. Taking us for walks. Although not walking on her own yet, she absolutely loves taking our fingers and walking us around to everywhere she wants to check out, which is EVERYWHERE!

That's our little Anna! Happy Birthday; we love you sweetie and can't wait to share this next year with your bright and shining self!