Party Time

We didn't quite make it to a certain fire-marshal-defying white elephant party on Friday, but we've still managed to have a pretty wild weekend. Or at least, wild by Hendrickson standards. :)

Saturday evening, a friend held an "Alice In Wonderland" themed birthday party, and asked everyone to either wear creative headgear or consult their local mad hatter about procuring some.

We also played "Pin the Ears on the Cheshire Cat" and sampled cupcakes with "Eat Me" written on them in pink and purple icing. When a dessert demands to be consumed, I'm certainly not going to be the one to disappoint it.

Sunday night we had relatives over for Joy's family birthday party. (Hey, Joy--the party's THAT way.)

We ate a lot, talked a lot, sang the super-extended Sorenson birthday song, then Joy got to celebrate her first year on earth by . . .

. . . finally tasting some chocolate! Woo hoo! Hey--since she's now got the green light to eat peanut butter as well, maybe we'll have to share a Reese's tomorrow, too . . .

Baby, This Is Your Life!

It's hard to believe our little girl is already a year old. It's been so fun to watch her grow . . .

Day 1

Month 1

Month 2 - Baby props herself up; parents go nuts.

Month 3 - First roll (and the last until 3 months later).

Month 4

Month 5 - I call this the "Lemme tell'ya" picture.

Month 6 - If you look close you can see those first two teeth.

Month 7 - Baby meets rice cereal.

Month 8

Month 9 - Can you tell Mama likes that purple shirt?

Month 10 - Remember that "tongue out the side of the mouth" phase?

Month 11

Month 12 - Ah, the supernal bliss of cheese!

Happy Birthday, Joy!

Happy First Birthday, Joy

Joy is officially one year old today.* That means she has the green light for cow's milk, peanut butter, chocolate, and . . .

Presents! Mom and Dad gave her clothes (might as well be practical while she's too young to be bummed out by them), but Joy's play group buddies gave her some pretty cool stuff.

At this tender age, Baby found herself confronted by one of those deep questions that has dogged humanity since the beginning of time: Soccer ball or Disney Princess book?

And the winner is . . . the soccer ball! At least for now . . .

*Yes, I post-dated this post, and no, I don't feel guilty about that.

Birthdays Are Just Ducky

It's Joy's first birthday next week, but since many of her playgroup buddies will be out of town, we decided to host a playgroup/party at our place yesterday.

Here Baby plays with the balloons as she eagerly awaits the arrival of guests. "No way, Mom! Will these things REALLY make me talk funny?"

Here's the party. Again, nothing captivates toddlers like balloons.

And for the adults, here's the birthday spread (to which Jessica generously added a tasty, cream cheesy appetizer). I found some fun, holiday rubber duckies as favors, then kind of built the theme from there. You know - ducks, and yellow, and . . . er . . . Christmas.

OK, so I'm no Martha Stewart, but you have to admit the duckies are cute.

Sugarplum Meets Tree

Here's Baby checking out the new, green addition to our household.

I bet she'll think it's even cooler when we actually get around to decorating it.

Temple Lights

This evening our youth group drove into LA to see the lights on the temple grounds.

This picture is admittedly a bit blurry, but I think it still looks lovely enough to include.

It was fun to walk the grounds and enjoy each other's company.

Q: "How many youth can you fit in the Muhlesteins' van?"
A: "Lots."

Happy December!

I don't think Joy yet grasps who the guy in the red suit is, nor why it's important to stay on his good side.

Frankly, when we placed her on his lap at the ward party and started madly snapping photos, she gave the impression that her personal space was being invaded. At least she didn't cry. We'll see if our luck holds next year.
After the party we brought home this year's Christmas tree (Phillip snapped this picture of it strapped to our silver bullet out front). We've had amazingly bad luck with trees throughout our marriage - the first dried out long before Christmas Eve, and the next one developed a singularly unpleasant odor. Third time's a charm, they say.