Leif turns 1!

On the day after Leif's first birthday, we had a delightful family party at our house with all four of Leif's grandparents, his Auntie Ooh-ooh Ah-Ah (a.k.a. Sarah), and Great-Aunt Mirja. Leif was not so sure at first about whether he really wanted to open all those presents -- he seemed to be finding it to be more of a chore than a pleasure in the beginning -- but after a while he started to catch on that there might actually be some fun stuff hidden inside the paper, so all that hard work ripping open packages was not for naught. He also enjoyed an early dinner with us all, featuring a variety of foods I was pretty sure he would like: turkey lasagna, green beans, peas, and a spiced prune cake for dessert. (Yes, I know, prune cake sounds really unappetizing, but trust me, it's good!) Below are some highlights from the party.

Aaron reads Leif one of his birthday cards


Leif opens a present with a little help from his dad


The Birthday King! (We tried again to get a picture of him wearing his birthday crown -- a gift from Great-Aunt Mirja -- while actually smiling the next day, but no dice; we just ended up with a series of pictures of him in the process of taking the crown off his head.)


Leif really did enjoy his birthday dinner more than it looks like he is in this photo....


I figured Leif and I could share a piece of cake -- he could have a few little bites and then I would eat the rest. Well, Leif had other ideas! He quickly grabbed the entire slice of cake out of my hand and proceeded to eat most of it. Guess he liked it :-).




Leif tries out some of his nifty new toys






HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, LEIFY LEIFSTER! We love you very much. What a great year it has been!