{"id":112,"date":"2008-03-17T01:39:00","date_gmt":"2008-03-17T05:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/winklerworldonline.com\/sda2\/index.php\/2008\/03\/17\/going-bananas-for-my-very-first-birthday\/"},"modified":"2011-05-09T22:37:56","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T02:37:56","slug":"going-bananas-for-my-very-first-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/winklerworldonline.com\/sda2\/2008\/03\/going-bananas-for-my-very-first-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Going Bananas for My Very First Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><a onblur=\"try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}\" href=\"http:\/\/www.winklerworldonline.com\/babyblog\/uploaded_images\/book-collage-710535.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"cursor: pointer;\" src=\"http:\/\/www.winklerworldonline.com\/babyblog\/uploaded_images\/book-collage-709596.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">&#8220;Alexander, how old are you?&#8221; asks Papa.<br \/>&#8220;onne!&#8221; says Alexander holding up one finger- or maybe sometimes &#8220;donnne!&#8221;  or &#8220;nonne&#8221;<br \/>No Alexander, you can&#8217;t say &#8216;none&#8217; anymore- and believe us, you&#8217;re only getting started.  Last Sunday we celebrated a most very special birthday in grand festive style.  The theme could only appropriately be a monkey theme.  He shares their passion for bananas, giddiness (and sometimes goofiness) for life, and makes an adorable little imitation monkey sound.  We decorated with greeneries from Nana, little stuffed monkeys collected through the ages, baby bananas, balloons and 1st Birthday danglies and lanters.  Cousin Haley&#8217;s monkey blanket served as tablecloth and backdrop for the beautiful monkey-topped &#8220;hummingbird&#8221; cake made of coconut, bananas, and tropical flavors.<\/p>\n<p>It was an eclectic mix of family and close friends who joined us for afternoon munchies, a few rounds of &#8220;stick the bananas on the monkey,&#8221; and of course (drum roll  please&#8230;.)  <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">the<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;\"> <\/span><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">first cake experience<\/span>.  Alexander and the rest of us snacked on foods made just for him-  vegi-spread sandwich, pita with hummus, alphabet soup, various baby vegetables, and vegi-meatballs and more with help from two grandmas.<\/p>\n<p>We played a jungle version of pin the tail on the donkey by sticking banana stickers in the hand of a very cute monkey (authentic artwork by Papa at 11pm the night before).  Alexander confidently strolled up to the picture with sticker in hand and stuck his bananas on the monkey&#8217;s waist.  We decided it would be in his &#8220;holster&#8221; (if he was wearing one), and he promptly turned around to glow and bask in the applause.  Too too too cute he is  Though maybe we should work on humility with him.  After a blindfolded spin, Mike claimed a flipping wind-up monkey for closest &#8220;stick-&#8221;  bananas directly in the monkey&#8217;s hand.  Must be all that military orienteering training, we said.<br \/><object height=\"200\" width=\"243\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/JikMKNcr1t8\"><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/JikMKNcr1t8\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" height=\"200\" width=\"243\"><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n<p>His cake experience was a cautious one.  Begun with careful finger dips into the frosting, he did eventually move into bites by the handful, followed by big grins and smacking lips. But aside from icing on the sleeves and frosting on the cheeks and ears, he managed to keep quite clean.<\/p>\n<p><object height=\"200\" width=\"243\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/sSnsjzXwKUk\"><embed src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/sSnsjzXwKUk\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" height=\"200\" width=\"243\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We enjoyed some playtime and chat time and finished up by opening some very thoughtful and generous presents.  He was sincerely excited to open every gift and really just had a wonderful little time overall.  He was such a good sport and happy little host.  It was a beautiful celebration for a very special once-in-a-lifetime event.  They say that you never remember your first birthday, but thanks to pictures (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/winklerworld\/sets\/72157604164682687\/\" target=\"new\">see more at flickr<\/a>), blogs, video cameras and delightful memories- this one will be impossible to forget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Alexander, how old are you?&#8221; asks Papa.&#8220;onne!&#8221; says Alexander holding up one finger- or maybe sometimes &#8220;donnne!&#8221; or &#8220;nonne&#8221;No Alexander, you can&#8217;t say &#8216;none&#8217; anymore- and believe us, you&#8217;re only getting started. Last Sunday we celebrated a most very special birthday in grand festive style. 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