Need. . . Energy. . .

OOF, took me a while to wake up this morning... too many late nights and last night a bit of wine, and that's all it took.

Maddy's papa (my brother) and her maternal grandparents in Maine sent comments on the videoclip, so I watched it again. Even after many viewings, it still makes me laugh:

Cheryl was having problems getting the candle to light, and Maddy kept looking over at her with a look of "Now what?" Also, after we lit the sparkler, Maddy had no idea why we were looking so expectantly at her -- everyone was shuffled to one end of the table and she was left by herself at the other end. It must be so bewildering to be one year old. People staring and flashes popping left and right... And the singing! What a bunch of goofy adults!

Then Maddy does this funny little swaying motion, and I don't think we were playing any music. Watching babies dance demonstrates that dancing is natural -- we're all wired for it, but if our culture doesn't nurture this natural sense of movement, we become inhibited. Take a look at a nightclub dancefloor, and you'll see what I mean.

When Maddy slaps her hand down on the cake surface and feels the gooey texture of the icing, she shrinks back in apprehension. She's got that "uh oh" look on her little baby face. Maybe it's a girl thing -- Melissa didn't like getting her hands gunked up, either. When Michael had his first birthday cake, he ate part of it with great relish and dumped the rest of it over his own head! He didn't understand why we were laughing so hard -- instead, without missing a beat, Michael picked cake off his face and hair and ate it. Who needs a bowl? Or even cutlery, for that matter? Need a place for your food -- just put it on your head! The stickier, the better!

Maddy has so many allergies: the poor child can't eat beef, fish, nuts, oranges, soy, egg, or sesame. (Also, she's allergic to bees and dogs.) She is also lactose intolerant, so she had to drink rice milk. So then what kind of birthday cake do you get? One that the average person would never eat, that's what. No wonder she got the shivers once she put some in her mouth!