Happy Birthday!

365 days ago Matt and I were sitting in the recovery room totally exhausted but with a lovely little Squish in our arms. Today our big girl turns 1 and we are so excited to watch her grow! She's not walking yet but it could be any day now, and she's got 8 teeth with molars on their way (as confirmed at her first dentist visit this morning). She's got her 1 year appointment on Wednesday so I'll have to wait for the height and weight update, but generally speaking she is a happy, healthy, busy little girl.

9/25 Update: Genevieve came in at 22 pounds and 30.5 inches, which is the 70th and 90th percentile, respectively. Can you imagine nearly tripling your weight in one year? Yikes!

Our little princess had a jammed packed schedule leading up to her first birthday festivities. Grandma Martin came into town last Tuesday afternoon and spent the week helping get ready for the party. Her timing was perfect because we have swimming on Tuesday nights so she got to check out G and her dad at the Y. We spent Wednesday at the zoo, and squeezed in a few 1-year old photos in the park. Thursday was spent shopping for decorations, prepping food, and somehow managed to find time to add to Miss G's fall wardrobe. Fear not, she will now be sporting the season's latest styles at all of her social appointments.

Riding the carousel at the zoo. Not sure who had more fun...


The stroller's for the birds. Hoist me up, mama!


At the park








Ha ha, I choke Grandma. What fun!


And now a display of how we catch our kids' colds

Grandpa Pete and Uncle Grant both showed up on Friday night for the big par-tay on Saturday afternoon. We ran around all day including a stop at the party store for balloon centerpieces for the tables. In my infinite wisdom I decided it would be easier to walk the two blocks home than try to stuff 30 balloons into my car, which was already packed with groceries. Alas I misjudged the wind so by the time I got to the house the balloons were tied in knots which took about thirty minutes to untangle. Plus I'm sure the sight of me walking down the street with 30 balloons spinning behind me gave the drivers a good chuckle. Matt busted his chops getting the backyard ready and it looked great for party time. Streamers, balloons, games, and food as far as the eye can see. The sleeper hit of the party was the sangria. Yeah that's right, sangria at a child's birthday party. What about it?

The rat's nest

G slept for a total of about 25 minutes the day of her party, but despite the lack of sleep she was an angel the entire night. She was passed around and around and I didn't hear her peep once. We thought she might get a little freaked out when the entire crowd faced her to sing happy birthday, but the exact opposite happened and she sat there like a little queen on her throne, allowing her adoring people to serenade her. She didn't go nuts with her smash cake but she made a good dent. Mmmmmm, cake.

Happy birthday baby girl!


Dang this is tasty!


I shall share with you, papa


Having her cake and eating it too


Flying is fun when covered in frosting!

Busted.

The rest of the night got away from us and we were not planning on opening presents, but we got a request from Matt's cousin Andi to open theirs. Of course not wanting to offend anyone we opened just one and I'm so glad we did. You see Andi just purchased a hot new Harley from my place of employment, and so imagine our delight when G opened up her very own Harley-Davidson bike. And to our surprise she completely knew how to ride it. Just hopped right on and waited for dad to drive her around. The bike also came with some flower stickers so we can customize it. Excellent touch.

Yessssssssss!


Faster daddy, faster!


Yeah, I roll on my Hog.

We opened the rest of the gifts on Sunday - what a haul this kid made! We are enormously grateful that Genevieve has so many people who love her, and moderately grateful to the people who gave her super loud, highly irritating toys. You know who you are. More photos from the big party!

So many grandparents, so little closet space


Hey you guys are smooooooooooshing me!


The year-at-a-glance, and the smash cake


Hooray for a "1" of cupcakes!

How did this....


...fit in here??


Sisters Lilah and Reese. Could they be cuter?


And their lovely mama, Heidi


The dashing Ford classes up the joint




The Maio boys


Proof that the Martins can actually all be in one place at one time


From biker to ballerina

Babies and Baseball

I had to work all Labor Day weekend which meant we were sticking around time for the first time in years. With that in mind we took off to the cottage for the last weekend in August. Ahh summer in the midwest: warm days of swimming, crisp nights with campfires. Scratch that. This weekend it was a fire going 24/7 indoors and many layers when going outside. The total times we swam in the lake this summer equals zero. Sad. We still had fun though, taking a few walks through the woods and spending time hanging out and - what else? - eating.

Let's go, daddy-o!


Can you spot the heron in the dam?


So THIS is what these teeth are good for

Another plus to staying in town for the holiday weekend was catching my husband the All Star in action. That's right, 33 was nominated by his team, the Orioles, to represent them in the All Star game. He has been catching and pitching this year, along with being a go-to guy at the plate. The first playoff game is this Sunday. Go Orioles!

Daddy's #1 fan


Clapping for....probably herself

Matt's trunk doubles as the Maio Athletic Storage Facility


Calling the shots


Matt's stand up double in the third inning

Meanwhile G has had a few big girl adventures of her own. We wrapped up music class a few weeks ago and last week started swimming lessons (in the event that we ever do make it into the lake). She hasn't had a bottle in almost four weeks and we're all transitioned from formula to milk. She also started in the 1-year old room at daycare yesterday. She was a little out of sorts when she got home so we're going to have to spend a little time adjusting. But they must have worn her out because she slept until 9:15 this morning. This must be what heaven feels like. And last but not least she is starting to stand on her own for long stretches, making me think that the first steps are mere days away. Better load up the camcorder.

Ta ta, ba ba


There's a silly baby in the mirror


Walking to the bathroom to brush her teeth