Olivia's 1st Birthday!

AJ and I began the festivities early on Friday. We drove up to Karma and Steve's and visited over dinner. I borrowed the next dvd of Planet Earth that Steve got from his sister Sandy for Christmas. Then AJ and I headed off to the Erika's. Erika and I ran off to the airport to pick up my mom. We found her stiffly waddling toward the car in the frigid cold, her jacket pulled up tightly around her neck. Grandma Laurie flew in for Livvy's 1st birthday.

Saturday January 26th, 2008 was a party day! The weather favored us with crisp blue skies and warm sunshine. It was unusually warm for being cloudless. After Olivia's nap we began the official party. Erika and Marcus had a full apartment with Uncle AJ, Aunt Jessi, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Monica, Grandma Laurie, Special Grandma Karma and Special Grandpa Steve. (Special = Adopted) First we ate Olivia's favorite lunch: pasta wheels with tomatoe sauce. After luch we opened presents and sang the birthday song and ate some cake and ice cream. I think Olivia liked the frosting better than the actual cake. She made a funny face when she put the cold ice cream in her mouth.

AJ and I gave Olivia a quiet or soft book of fasteners. She is always playing with shoe laces, buttons, belts, and zippers so I wanted to get her a book that she could play with all those things in. I could not find one to buy. But I didn't look very hard because my Mom suggested I make one. That got the gears in my head turning too quickly. I made concept sketches of the pages I wanted. I found pictures online and drew more concrete concepts. I went to JoAnn's Fabric and bought the needed materials. I cut all the pieces out. Then I sewed all the pieces together. It was a fun project. Next time I will give myself more time to complete it. (I did this one in 2 weeks.)

Saturday night we went to Iggy's at Jordan Landing. It is a great restaraunt. A big variety of menu options. On Sunday after church we met at our place in Orem. Erika made a spiral ham and an apple pie, Monica made roasted potatoes, and AJ made mashed potatoes. We played a few rounds of Catch Phrase and each time the game ended right before it was my turn! I hate that! About 9pm that night Johnny got a text message saying our dear Prophet Gordon B Hinckley passed on. We were sad, but it was nice to be sad together.

You may think that the fun ended with Sunday. But it did not. Monday I got work off and I got to hang out one more day with my Mom, Erika, and Olivia. Snow was in the forecast and I didn't want to believe it. I drove all the way to Taylorsville with no problems. But about 10:30am the snow started and fell hard until 1pm. We got about 5 inches of snow, but we are die-hard La Puente fans. That is my Mom's favorite Mexican restaraunt in Utah and I really wanted to go. So we -- well, Erika, braved the wild wintery roads and we made it to La Puenta in one piece. Then we stopped by the Post Office and while waiting for Erika to return to the car, Livvy and I blew kisses to each other. Livvy laughed and laughed. Grandma Laurie took video of it for Grandpa Rob.

All in all it was a great weekend and birthday celebration.