One Year!!

Teddy had a grand celebration of his first birthday last Saturday and even Aunt Anne came all the way from FL for the event.
Here's the sweet birthday boy, beginning his day with some Cheerios, while entertaining his Mom, Aunt Anne and Nana.
After breakfast, we all began cooking for the lunch/birthday party which would begin just after noontime. Meanwhile, Teddy helped by dragging out pans and chewing on them in between making lots of noise. He is so happy with such a simple "toy."
Anne made a wonderful hearty rendition of her famous Italian meatball soup, Alison made a delicious macaroni and cheese casserole with buttered panko crumbs on the top, and I made a sheet of pizza with polenta crust topped with spinach, mushrooms, roma tomatoes and a combination of fontina, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. There were also some delicious cranberry chicken salad finger rolls among many other treats. We tried to make food to appeal to the many children and it was all a hit!
Kristi arrived with LM and was so happy to see Anne again.
The very proud parents with the birthday boy.
Opening presents amidst a sea of little cousins who loved helping. Alison's Dad, Alan's gift of maracas helped up the decibel level, and brought sheer glee to Teddy's day.Samantha and Nana had a ring side seat to watch Teddy with his presents.
All three of my children in one photo....a rare occurrance which made for one happy Mama.
L is Sara, then Anne, and Jason is 3rd from R.Alison created this beautiful Teddy bear cake all on her own by following a photo. She did a beautiful job! By the time Teddy was finished opening his presents he was getting pretty sleepy so he was hustled to the kitchen and he had barely finished his first piece of birthday cake, when he began to fall asleep.
It was a really big day, surrounded by loving family and friends and bringing joy all around.
On Sunday, LM and I had a lovely day at his house. He put lights up outside, I cleaned and put out some Christmas decorations, made a wreath for Kristi's housewith greens from the garden, and then we put up the tree. As you can see, the inspector general was quickly on her job to assure that the tree was thoroughly inspected. So far so good. No ornaments have been destroyed in the inspection process and sleeping under the tree seems to be her favorite place right now.
Oh, and by the way, social phobia and all, I had a nice time at the company party on Friday night!
As we continue to approach Christmas, there is a hurdle to jump on Saturday.....my Mum's birthday and the anniversary of her death. I am honoring her, and distracting myself by planning an early Christmas dinner at LM's house on Saturday night. Our guests will be LM's daughter, Meg and her boyfriend, Hosea.
It seems I am climbing a lot of emotional mountains these days and am promising myself to relax and enjoy this beautiful season.
Wishing you all peace and love!