Spongebob

When Cadence was only a few weeks old, I'd laugh about her George Lopez show fascination. A lot of that had to do with our nightly routine at the time, that included us cuddling and watching the 9pm episodes on Nick and Nite. She'd get good and quiet and watch the bright colors flashing on the TV screen more intently than any other show I might flip to.

For the most part, she's outgrown George Lopez. Another show has taken that spot in her little heart. If you flip the channel to Nickelodeon around 11am, she goes wide-eyed and quiet and will sit and watch Spongebob for an unprecedented 10+ minutes.

Today, I tested her devotion. We went to Target to wander around, since she tends to get bored if we stay home all day. In the video aisle, I held up 2 DVDs, one of Dora the Explorer and the other of Spongebob. Dora came into her view first, so she saw it and reached for it, but then she caught sight of the Spongebob DVD. Her eyes went wide and she had a huge grin on her face and very determindedly reached for it. And threw a sufficient fit when I put both DVDs away and out of reach.

She calmed down only because she caught sight of a Spongebob coloring book that was on the other side of the aisle and eagerly began reaching for that, even trying to climb out of the cart to get to it. We quickly left that aisle and I gave her keys to distract her.

So, I'm thinking we might have to go for a Spongebob themed first birthday party, or at least birthday cake. Which brings to mind a totally different problem: what in the world am I supposed to do for her first birthday? I want to do something, but to invite both sides of her extended family I'd want to do it somewhere neutral (as in not my family's house, not James's family's house, no church property, and preferably in the SW). I did consider a park, but it'll be mid-November... Then I debated just having a big family dinner somewhere, but James and I cant' really afford to pay for everyone at a restaurant (hosting a big BBQ=affordable, hosting a dinner at a restaurant=expensive) and I think that would be our obligation as the hosts. It has been suggested to just have two seperate parties, one at each family's house, but... it just doesn't feel the same. I'd rather just have one big get together. After all, in Cadence's case, they are just one big family, there's no "my family" and "James's family" in her little world.

Of course, if we could come up with a guest list that's more than just our family, I might consider James's suggestion of a church rec room his grandparents are affiliated with (the reason no LDS church property is because of James's grandparents). But, so far that guest list is... pretty puny, as I hesitate to add a bunch of my friends who I haven't hung out with in awhile. I'd want to have more than 15 people invited if we were to use the rec room. Of course, having a big guest list would allow me to go all out and not feel silly. Which is really what I want to do. I need friends pronto!

ETA: And Cadence's two top teeth decided to play peekaboo, so we're dealing with a very fussy, very clingy, very sore little girl right now...