Birthday Backdrops

We have had a few 

first birthdays 

around here. 

I may or may not

have gone a little overboard with

 Maddie's.

But I'm her grandma.

She's our first. 

And her mother said I could.

Something I have noticed in checking out all the 

fun party ideas on line is the use of 

backdrops.

I think they really help to set a

table off and make a fun

focal point for the festivities.

For Maddies' party I hung

streamers from a curtain rod.

I helped Viki out for 

Eliana's birthday with this:

That is just two colors of table coverings

 that I stapled

 (one on top of the other)

to thin latice strips.

I cut them into strips

and then knotted the two colors together at the top.

Here Viki tacked balloons to the wall:

This was in the garage which is probably the 

only place you could do this. 

That would be a lot of holes in your

dining room wall.

Sharing Babies

I was looking through old photos of

Shanna because it's her birthday. 

I came across this one:

 And this one:

Those would be birthdays one and two.

I had the first baby in the family.

That would be my sister holding Shanna

in each photo.

And then it occurred to me,

I had the first grandbaby.

 This is what we do.

We share babies. 

I Like To Put Things On Maddie's Head 5

Nothin' but cheeks.

I Like To Put Things On Maddie's Head 4

Her father did this one. 

Look What We Caught

Turns out the 

Baby Prison/Gated Community

is good for more than just corralling babies.

Gaye can just step right out of it. 

Big not so much. 

We knew where to find her all night.

I Like To Put Things On Maddie's Head 3

Sleep *Patterns*

It's fun to watch babies sleep.

When they're little they sleep where you

lay them down. 

When you can stand to lay them down.

But then they get bigger and are able to move

around the crib.

 I think Maddie fell asleep sitting up. 

That's her foot in her face.

 I think she was trying to make an escape.

If you look closely, there is one leg sticking out.

What you can't see is the other leg sticking out

under the blanket.

So now we have 

"breathable" bumpers. 

Night, night.

I Like To Put Things On Maddie's Head 2

I got a million of these.

That's a swim cap.

I bought it in December.

Wouldn't want to get caught unprepared.

Baby Prison

My niece, Maggie, coined that phrase.

she has one for her twins.

They are boys. 

I think the descriptive title is fitting.

I can't find a photo of hers for the life of me.

But Maddie has one too.

She's reading a book and singing.

One of Shanna's friend coined the term

gated community.

I think we'll go with that.

Grandparent Training 101

If this cake is any indication, 

Mike and I are well on our way to earning our

Grandparent Badge.

I allowed Ava to create it. 

Mike ate it.