Charlotte's Birthday (Part II)

Here are a few pictures from Charlotte's 1st Birthday Party last weekend. We just had a small get together with family at Grandma and Grandpa Cannata's house. Charlotte was a little shy about there being a crowd of people, but she found her groove eventually. She had several "dress changes" throughout the night.. from her party dress to her cake eating outfit to her casual after nap outfit and eventually her jammies, what a diva! She had a great time and really enjoyed opening her very generous presents. The star of the show was her new kitchen that her Great Aunt Colette and Great Aunt Trish got her (Tom and John too). She loves that it has a phone attached. We say to her, "Hello??" and she puts the phone up to her ear....she is one smart cookie! Charlotte was spoiled rotten with new adorable clothes, new swim stuff for the summer, toys, etc. Our guests had a great time enjoying our special drink honoring Charlotte...the Charlottini. It was made out of Mandarin orange vodka since Mandarin oranges are her absolute favorite food. We also found some wine named "Charlotte's Home" that we served as well. Grandma Cannata also ordered her a pink and brown cake, Charlotte's "signature colors." It was delicious...it was yellow cake filled with strawberries (another of Charlotte's favorites). It was a great day, the weather was beautiful. It's hard to imagine that when we celebrate Charlotte's 2nd birthday, there will be a 7 month old sibling there!!

My only challenge with her lately is trying to get her to eat a varitey of "good foods." Since she is on whole milk now and not formula, I want to try to make sure that she is eating a well balanced diet. All she wants is fruit. Today for lunch, I put four "piles" on her tray...peas and carrots, cheese, turkey hot dogs and strawberries. She touched each pile as if to say, "No, No, No....oh, strawberries...." and then she shoved a massive handful of strawberries into her mouth and touched nothing else for lunch. I am going to have to stop offering fruit until she eats something else. Thank God she likes eggs or I am not sure how I would get any protein into her! She's even starting to turn her nose up at grilled cheese and mac and cheese....where has my Charlotte gone??

Until next time...