A green birthday

If you follow my blog, you know my granddaughter, the lovely little Lady Laura, celebrated her first birthday on Saturday. It was a lovely party, complete with Laura's first taste of.... gasp....sugar! My daughter, Jess, cleverly arranged cupcakes in the shape of Eric Carle's Hungry Little Caterpillar and made Laura a "smash" cake in the shape of an apple. Very cute. (Pictures by my daughter, Bethany Schad)

When I started thinking about what to buy Laura for her birthday, I realized I had little choice but to buy her green products. After all, that's the proper thing for the Green Grandma to do. In case you're looking for ideas for gifts of your own, here's what I bought:

• 6 AIO diapers from Bottombumpers (http://www.bottombumpers.com/)
• a pair of ScooterBees eco-friendly infant/toddler shoes (http://www.scooterbees.com/)
• a 10 pack of BabyKicks Baby Wipes -- natural hemp wipes to use in place of disposable ones (http://www.babykicks.com/)
• a 2 pack of Kushies "On the Go" Wet Bags -- perfect for toting wet cloth diapers around (http://www.kushiesonline.com/)
• a Thirsties Diaper Duffel -- this is perfect for long days away from home as it holds up to 6 cloth diapers and can be tossed directly in the washing machine when it's time to wash them (http://www.thirstiesstore.com/)

Of course, these gifts were appreciated more by Mommy than by the active one-year-old. So I had to have something else for Laura to get excited about. Sandra Boynton to the rescue! When it comes to toddlers, no one beats Boynton, in my opinion. Her books are the perfect combination of zaniness, education, and creative illustration, as well as being appealing to both parents and children alike. My grown daughters can still recite from memory, But Not the Hippopatamus, The Going to Bed Book, and Red Shirt, Blue Shirt. So, Laura got 3 new Boynton books in addition to the eco-friendly selection of gifts geared toward making life easier and greener for her mother. Plus the books were "wrapped" in her own cloth bookbag.

Oh, and I gave her one more thing...a small picture of a train I cross-stitched for her mommy in 1989 with the saying, "I think I can..." It brought tears to Jess's eyes. I hope someday it's as meaningful to the lovely little Lady Laura.

All in all, it was a fun day and Laura was both delighted and delightful. How blessed I am to have such a sweet little one in my life.

Keeping it green,

Hana