It is your birthday.

Our little imp turned 1 last week, and it seemed like a good jumping off point for the backlog of pictures and "what we've been doing this summer" that I need to post about. This post will kick off "Summer Recap" week, wherein I will attempt to review everything we've done since June, or what I can remember, anyway.

I absolutely cannot believe that a year has gone by since our little muffin-puff Antonia Mireille joined our family, but when I think back on life before she arrived, it seems a little less colorful and a little less vibrant. That Antonia is chock-full of something, but I have different names for it, depending on how it exhibits itself. Try "exuberance," or "conviction," or "spirit. " Or, as my dad would say, "active ingredients. " And just when you start to feel that her lively personality is taking years off your life (it's a known fact that her ear-splitting squeals can cause your blood pressure to spike) then you glimpse the indescribable sweetness that tempers her intensity. Without any prompting, she'll lean her head into yours for a little kiss, or she'll tilt her head and smile sweetly, or she'll cradle her dolly next to her face. Throw into the mix a penchant for being dramatic (fake crying; exaggerated frowns when she doesn't get her way) and then add her remarkable natural beauty and--do you see where I'm going with this?-- we have a future that spells trouble, my friends, with a capital T, that rhymes with B that stands for BOYS.
As far as the actual party was concerned, we didn't make a huge deal of the festivities, which in fact did not even take place on her birthday due to scheduling conflicts. (Note to my children: Wednesday is a really busy day for us, your parents. Please arrange to have your birthday fall on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. ) When we finally had an opening in our social calendar, Lori and Sean (sis and bro-in-law) came over for a little cake and present-opening. Antonia was very accommodating and put on a lovely show of being interested and excited about opening presents and pretending to love them. In fact, I think she might have really loved her Dora ride-on contraption and that other button thingy that Charlie picked out. And when it came to the tradition of digging into a birthday cake and making a huge mess, she did not disappoint. I only mention the possibility of disappointment, because when Charlie turned 1, he very much disappointed everyone (me) who expected an entertaining scenario of cake destruction. He ever-so-gently touched the cake with the tip of his finger and then decided that he would have nothing more to do with it. But Antonia, once she got a taste of that frosting, dug right in.
Right after this pictures was taken, the remainder of the cupcake went splat on the floor, which is Antonia's preferred way of letting us know that she is done. Food on the floor= "I will eat no more forever. Or until the next meal."
I should probably make note of a few things about Antonia that I might later regret not making a record of. I mean, of which I might later regret not making a record?

• when she drinks her bottle, she likes to sit upright, all of a sudden, and then throw herself back down and continue drinking the bottle
• as always, if you are not paying attention to her as she expects you should be, she will yell at you
• if given the chance, she will take off my glasses/sunglasses and then try and put them back on again
• if given the chance, she will put her fingers in anyone's mouth: babies, kids, strangers...
  
• even though she has yet to master "cruising," she is always trying to stand from a sitting position, without holding on to anything
  
• she's always trying to feel part of the conversation with her fake 'ha-ha-ha-ha!'
• she loves to dance
• she can be quite gleeful when she deliberately disobeys me or Will; she really loves to tease, and the best way she knows how is to pretend to do the thing that she has just been instructed not to do
  
• she loves cheese, most baby food (especially squash,) any fruit, and those little Gerber yogurt bites are the very thing she lives for
• she IMMEDIATELY cuddle with any stuffed animal or doll that crosses her path
• she adores Charlie, but will not stand for having her toys snatched (her shrieks make it very difficult for him to get away with that, so he's quickly learning that it's not worth the trouble)
• It is absolutely impossible to not fall in love with her over and over again, every single day
  

Finally, enjoy this little video of "The Birthday Song" as performed by me, plus a couple of weak background singers. If you're wondering why the video cuts off before she blows out the candle, it is because she did not blow out the candle. Also, I ran out of space on the camera.