The Banana: Zero No More

Our favorite resident fruit turned one on Saturday! The celebration has been a bit of a drawn out affair because Dr. Peds was in Boston for a sedation conference, so we waiting until tonight to have cake and presents.

The events started out with our favorite tradition, breakfast in the bathtub at the crack of dawn on Saturday. The Banana had Cheerios, while her siblings munched on toast with peanut butter and jelly.

Following that, we turned the carseat forward facing and drove off to take her big sister to the university health center for swimming lessons, which went remarkably smoothly given that we had to negotiate parking far away, walking to the building, and finding the cleverly hidden swimming pool in the most obscure corner of the basement that could be possible.

After a quick bite of lunch, I packed up the car and took all three munchkins hiking at Cascade State Park, about a 2 hour drive northeast. It was beautiful, and we did a nice long hike (2.5 miles up a gigantic hill and back 2.5 miles back down, and a little loop around some gorgeous thunderous waterfalls). The Banana was so happy and content in the backpack in her little knitted sweater, and Mr. Sneaky Pants was one amazing hiker! His big sister, on the other hand, was a complete grouch. But we still had a super time. We had snacks on a big rock next to the lake where enormous waves were splashing 15 feet or more into the air. Lovely. I was so excited. (I did, however, unfortunately, fall down a couple of stone steps with the backpack on my back going down toward a waterfall, and scraped all the skin off .75 of my shin bones on both legs, which was and still is quite painful. The Banana was fine, and things are healing up nicely. It was the kind of pain that seriously takes your breath away. I managed not to cry because I didn’t want to scare the other two kids, but WOW, it hurt!)

Yesterday the big brother and sister drew special birthday posters to help The Banana celebrate. Mr. Sneaky Pants drew a rocket ship flying with 230 eyeballs.

Sarah spent over an hour working at the easal to complete this detailed masterpiece. I love it! I was especially excited about all the labeling she did on the picture.

Today I finished sewing the birthday tablecloth (each child has a special birthday table cloth that everyone who celebrates the birthday party signs each year). I spent a couple of hours searching for The Banana’s birthday present, a squishy bunny rabbit with a music box inside that I bought last Christmas and have been saving for her birthday. I finally found it in the cedar chest. Why it was there, I do not know! My guess is that I stuck it inside during the move and didn’t think of it again because it is truly a ridiculous place to keep a birthday present.

This evening we ate cake! MMMMMMNNNNNN! For as much as Mr. Sneaky Pants disliked his birthday cake and cried about frosting on his fingers at his first birthday party (he’s seriously gotten over that, by the way . . . his cake was gone in five seconds flat) this young lady adored her birthday cake. She was just so pleased, tickled pink to have a slice of her very own in front of her. And having tasted it, she spent the next fifteen minutes devouring it and making the sweetest little happy noises because it tasted delicious.