Wombat's first birthday

Lol... since Wombat's birthday was now nearly 5 months ago, and I haven't written an update since then, I figured it was time to take advantage of a rainy day and catch up.

Wombat's first birthday was a quiet day at home with the everyday family - just the birthday boy, Mummy, Daddy and Nana.

We enjoyed yummy salmon and cottage cheese sandwiches for lunch, with pineapple & coconut juice...
and saved the birthday cake for afternoon tea. I made a simple carrot cake, with very minimal decoration (it had to be made during naptime, as I wanted it to be nice and fresh.)

Wombat didn't seem to mind, though. The candle was fun to blow out, and the cake tasted really delicious with a little fresh cream. (Whoa Mum - what was that bright light for???)

Then Wombat opened some of his presents - a Tonka truck with sandpit tools from Daddy
(the sandpit is on its way, as soon as we decide on the best place to build it!)
(the helmet only stayed on for 3 seconds - I had to put it on with one hand and grab the photo with the other!)
and some books from Mummy
Then he played with his piano for a while (an earlier present from Nana and favourite toy - I'll edit and upload a video later, so you can hear the budding maistro!)
Later that afternoon, the postman delivered another present from Mummy and Daddy - a tent and tunnel set.
He had great fun crawling through the tunnels and playing peek-a-boo
with a short break to take Nana for a walk.
The day after Wombat's birthday was the Camden show, so we took him for an outing. The highlight of the day for him was this windmill - and it is still a favourite toy.

The only time he really cried at the show was in the chicken pavilion - we had been admiring all the bantams, which he really liked, but then we walked past the big white chooks - and one PECKED AT HIS WINDMILL! That made him scream :P He only cheered up when a duck splashed him with water from her waterbowl (it was a really hot day, with a thunderstorm starting just as we left to come home).

He was also very pleased with his first taste of sugary doughnut.

The Ferris Wheel was fun, especially waving to Daddy,
but it was a bit disconcerting when the ride across from us started up - he didn't like the way everyone on it was screaming!
Among the sidestalls, we found a very nice man who offered Wombat a go at the basketball toss.

He let Wombat come right up to the basket, and Daddy helped to pop the ball into the net. The nice man then chose a very cute bear for Wombat's prize. At first, Wombat looked upset, but it was more the fact that a stranger came close to him & gave him something! When the man offered him a few alternative prizes, he grabbed hold of his bear as if afraid it was going to be taken off him!
Finally, Wombat and I went on the merry-go-round. He was a bit worried by this, but he liked it when I pointed out where Daddy was, and when I showed him the other horses around us and he realised he was riding on one.

It wasn't ideal, as the merry-go-round was stuck behind a lot of other rides, so it went past all their machinery which was very noisy, and the view for most of the ride was very ugly and industrial - hardly riding through lovely country meadows!

Over the next week or two, more presents arrived.

There were books from Papa...

and more books from Mummy...
(This is "All Things Bright and Beautiful" - I really recommend the illustrator - Anna Vojtech - it is one of the prettiest books I have ever seen!)

A clucking banjo-playing tractor from Auntie Steff, Uncle Warwick and Kaelyn...

(and a pile of clothes, which are getting a lot of use)

The box they came in has become a 'parking garage'. Wombat likes to set the chicken tractor going into the box, then run to the other side of the playpen (looking like he's just set off a car bomb!) to watch the lights flash in the box ;D

And finally, a wooden Noah's Ark set from his godmother, Saira and her family...

This is an all-time winner of a toy and is still played with every day!!!