Gwen's 1st Birthday Party

Gwen's first birthday party was a cake-smashing success!

It's almost as if Gwen knew today was a symbolic turning point between being a baby and being a toddler. When she woke up on the morning of the party, she started "officially" walking (15-20+ steps at a time, stop and go, changing directions, etc.). We guess that's her way of saying, "Hey, look! I'm a big girl now!" Great timing, Gwen!

For the big birthday event, Ariella came up with an old-time, ice cream "Sweet Shoppe" theme -- complete with retro pink and white decorations and a classic Soda Jerk menu (burgers, hot dogs, waffle fries, onion rings and root beer floats) and, of course, ice cream (sort of).

For the "sweet" part of the ice cream Sweet Shoppe theme, Ariella (with the help of Lindsay and Jenny) disguised all the birthday cupcakes as soft-serve ice cream cones and ice cream sundaes.

Those weren't all the sweets, though. Ariella also made chocolate-covered Oreos, Oreo truffles, and Red Velvet Cake Pops. (Unfortunately, we forgot to take photos of those goodies before everyone scarfed them down. They were tasty, though. Trust us.)

When she woke up from her nap, Gwen was mesmerized by the balloons. All that was left to do was put on her party dress, pose for some quick photos with Morgan -- and then it was party time.

While Gwen welcomed her party guests inside, Morgan took the party into the back yard and splashed around in the kiddie pool with Andrew and Katie.

Eventually, Gwen made her way outside, too. She put on her bathing suit, but she was more interested in checking on her grill and playing in the house with Cooper than swimming.

Order up! Burgers, dogs, and a whole bunch of fried stuff! Dig in!

We even had old-time baskets for the food and soda jerk hats, to cap off the classic theme.

Next, we opened presents. Gwen got a caterpillar crawling tunnel, magna-doodle, Fisher-Price zoo, a talking picnic basket, talking telephone, drums to bang on, and more! Fun, fun, fun!

Gwen gave a big hug to her new "Dora" doll (or, as Gwen calls it, "D-d-d-d".)

Finally, it was time for the main event: singing "Happy Birthday" and smashing the cake.

Gwen was a little unsure at first. ("Really? It's okay if I smash this? Really?!?") But as you'll see, she got into it... big time.

After that massive sugar rush, Gwen burned off some excess energy zipping through her caterpillar tunnel. Zoom!

Thanks to everyone for making the trip down to South Jersey for the party. Gwen obviously had a fantastic first day as a toddler.

Making Strides

As Gwen inches closer and closer to her first birthday, she's also making strides toward walking full-time. (Puns intended.)

As you'll see in the video below, she takes 7-8 steps at a time now. It won't be too long before she is officially off and running.

4th of July at the Lake

Our 5-day mini-vacation to the Lake reached its grand finale on Monday, July 4th.

Our Independence Day started off just like the founding fathers' did 135 years ago... by putting their kids in front of an iPad to watch Sesame Street. (Right? Am I messing up historical facts again?)

Andy's parents hosted a 4th of July Picnic at the Lake. The get-together also gave the extended family a chance to finally meet Gwen for the first time. Gwen was a very gracious guest-of-honor, smiled for everyone, showed off her crawling and cruising skills, and even modeled Dad's Sox hat.

The weather on the 4th was absolutely perfect, which made for a great afternoon of swimming, food and laughs. We're not sure what Andy's Mom and (long-time blog follower and first time blog guest star) Ruth were laughing at. But apparently it was really funny.

Morgan and Gwen both enjoyed a heavy dose of "Truax Time" during the party -- whether it was swimming with Aunt Linda and cousins Mandy, Sarah and Steven, or coloring at the picnic table with Andy's crafty clan.

This year, we promised Morgan that if she took a good nap on the 4th of July, she could stay up late and watch the fireworks over the lake.

Morgan was impressed with the bright lights and booming explosions. But she was even more impressed with the glow sticks that Ariella bought for the occasion. She quickly decided she would create a light show of her own.

Mini-Vacation at the Lake

The last time we were able to make a trip to Connecticut, Morgan had just turned two and Gwen was still a big lump inside Ariella's belly. So we were very excited to pile into the car on Thursday night and get away for an extended 4th of July holiday at the Lake.

Friday morning started off with the girls playing in the sand. But, to no one's surprise, neither of the girls were content to sit on the beach where there was a big, crystal clear lake just steps away. So after a quick change into their swimsuits, we hit the water.

Morgan had a good time splashing in the water. But her biggest splash came later when she accidentally tripped on her towel and -- SPLOOSH! -- went head-first into the Lake. She came up scared, and cried that she wanted to go home. But after a nice long nap Friday afternoon, she got over her fear and was back in the water as if it never happened. (That-a-girl, Morgan.)

After a good night's rest on Friday, the girls were up and ready to go early Saturday morning. The fun started with Morgan giving Gwen a lesson in how to draw with sidewalk chalk. (Lately, Gwen has been very interested in coloring with Morgan.)

Later Saturday morning, we headed over to the playground at Owen Bell Park. Gwen had a good time crawling through the tunnels, while Morgan took advantage of the swings, slides and scaling the climbing walls.

While Gwen took a morning nap, Ariella and Andy took Morgan for her first ride in the canoe. Morgan seemed to enjoy being out on the lake, but confessed to Ariella later that she was "a little afraid."

After lunch (yes, we did all that stuff above BEFORE lunch) the girls went swimming. Gwen was a little unsure of herself, but eventually got the hang of floating.

After dinner on Saturday, we told the girls that we were going out to get ice cream at We-Li-Kit. It's still not clear who was more excited: Morgan or Ariella.

Ariella and Gwen split a big scoop of Ape's Delight (banana ice cream with chocolate chips and walnuts), while Morgan opted for straight-up chocolate.

Can "Yum!" count as a baby's first word? If so, Gwen's first word was "Yum!" She said it clear as a bell when she tasted her first bite of ice cream.

After slurping every last drop of ice cream, Morgan headed over to the chicken coop to see the chickens -- and a rabbit???

Morgan: "Mayie, P-Pa... there's a rabbit living with the chickens!"

After such a jam-packed Saturday, it was a relief that the weather was crummy on Sunday, so the girls could rest-up for Independence Day on Monday.

Once again, the girls spent the morning drawing with their sidewalk chalk. (Have we mentioned that Gwen really likes to color?) Meanwhile, Morgan discovered that it's fun to climb on the security fence.