First Bday Party at School

Shara brought in chocolate cupcakes to share with all her friends at school. Thank you Ms. Donna for taking the pictures!

Visit to the Aquarium

Shara had her first visit to the NE aquarium today, thanks to our nice neighbor Lisa. Alan snow blows out the bottom of their driveway and she gave us passes! We had to use them by the end of this month, and we wanted Shara to be big enough to enjoy it, so we waited to the last minute. It was such a hot day but that added to the adventure. We went in the afternoon, after lunch, and brought in the stroller. Next time we'd definitely use the Bjorn, but this was fine. Here's Shara & her dad watching the penguin show.


We spent a lot of time looking at the big fish in the center tank. We also saw the huge sea tortoises. The fish were a little scarry at first, since they were just as big as Shara and right near her face, but she got used to them. No tears or anything like that. Just a little wariness. After having a nice snack, we took a walk to the North End and had a little ice cream from Mike's Pastry.

That night we had a quick dinner at Maquires. Shara had chicken fingers and french fries. She didn't like the cole slaw, but enjoyed the chicken.

Pictures - Birthday & a Bath

Several Pictures. We don't have so many of the birthday party, so please feel free to add a link to your pictures, if you have them available online. If not, we'd love for you to email them to us!

1st Birthday!

Yesterday was Shara's first birthday. We celebrated on Sunday with family and friends. It was a great party and so good to see everyone. Shara wasn't feeling her best - was sent home Friday with a fever, but she still had a good time. The first time having cake and ice cream was a little anti-climatic. I still have to look at the video, but she wasn't that into it. I'm not complaining. She liked the ladybug balloon much more.

She got some wonderful toys and we spent some time on Monday playing together. We also went to visit SAILS and to Barnes and Nobel, but she just wasn't herself. I thought it was teething, but at her 1 year physical we found out she was actually quite sick. Monday night she broke out in a rash, which I thought was an alergic reaction to the hummus - sesame seed paste & lemon juice. They kicked her out of daycare so luckily Auntie Chris came to mommy's rescue. It turns out it was roseola. So by the time the rash came out, she was no longer contageous. We have to let the Slaters & Senays know to look out for high fever in Katie & Hannah and not to be worried if they get a rash.

I spent some time yesterday looking at pictures and remembering what things were like a year ago and am much happier now! It's nicer having a person to play with and take care of, rather than a lump! Next year she'll be more aware of her "birthday" and it won't be just another day. Bubbe did call with the required singing of "Happy Birthday", so it was an official occasion, even if Shara didn't seem to notice.

Notes on physical - she has low iron. We try to give her cereal and broccoli, meat, etc. but I think this began when we stopped with the cereal 2x a day - when she started refusing to eat it. So we're giving floride drops with iron. Not a lot, since we're still doing things with her diet to get her iron. We have to go back in 6 weeks for another iron test and her shots. She couldn't have them because of the rash. She's a little below the 50 %tile, but if I did the math correctly, she's has tripled her birth weight, which is what should have happened. She weighs just under 20 lbs., so the cats still weigh more than her.

Happy First Father's Day!

A special message to daddy, from Shara (with a little help from mommy).
Thank you so much for all you do for me. You make me laugh when you tickle my belly or when you dance with me and mommy. You make me cry when you try to wipe my face after a meal or when you change my diaper or dress me in unmatching outfits. You make me happy just by spending time with me and helping mommy in so many ways. I'm really glad you stayed with me all by yourself when mommy went away for work. It was great we had that special time together.

I know this is all new for you, but I love you even more because you try. Don't worry about mommy and her "looks". That's just her and she thinks your really terrific and highly capable and that I'm a very lucky girl for having a daddy who loves me as much as you do. Well I love you too, and the love grows as I do. Imagine how much I'll love you next year? And the year after that, and so on and so on!

P.S. Thanks for cuddling me when I cry. Although it may not always sound like it, it really does make me feel better. And you're much better at "gelling" me than mommy.

Love from your little girl Shara.

New Pictures - Finally

These are pictures from May 26th - June 3rd. The newest are at the top.
Click here for pictures

Small update - Shara and I had a great day yesterday. I took a 1/2 day and we went shopping at the outlets. We got lots of cute clothes for summer and got Shara's feet measured at StrideRite. She thought it was funny when the man measured her. She's a 3 1/2 W or E. She's actually a 3, but he recommended getting a 1/2 size larger. We're going to wait until she's really walking to get a new pair of shoes though. Who knows what size her feet will be then!

Cruisin'

Yesterday at school I spent some extra time just watching Shara stand at the toy shelves and play with the toys on the top. She's now able to pull herself up very easily and really get around either crawling or cruising. I let her sit on the kitchen floor and she loved being in a new place. I've been reluctant, since we have tile, but she's pretty steady. She was really tired so I cheated and put down the quilt. Good thing because she did topple over, from a sitting position, and cried. She couldn't have hurt herself, she toppled very slowly, but she was so tired after school that everything was making her cry.
We went for a walk around the neighborhood, hoping to relax her before trying to get her to eat - teething again and not very into food. She's also been sleeping poorly. She had a great time on the walk but daddy pointed out the nice doggie, sitting so quietly in his yard, and he scared the dog and then Shara - big woof! She was much happier with the little yippy dog we came across next. The kids playing in the street were a big hit too.
Last weekend Shara was able to spend some awake time with her Oma & Jador. Usually when they babysit she's asleep within 1/2 hour of their getting here. They had fun. On Sunday we went to Peaceful Meadows and saw cows. Shara got a big kick out of them and was less reluctant to drink her moo juice - big girl! She getting to like it and has it at school now.