Oktoberfest

Then ...

... and now.

It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since we took our tiny, sleepy newborn to Oktoberfest—but then again, look how much that tiny, sleepy newborn has grown up! Last Saturday, we once again made the outing to Glendale's Bavarian Inn for Oktoberfest. This year our group took up practically an entire row of tables—Tom, Tanya, Karina, the Matterns, Quentin and Lisa, and Katie and Nate were all there, among others.


Elsa was dressed in her little lederhosen (the ones that were originally mine, brought back from Austria by Gigi and Great-Grandpa Baldwin), and she was quite a hit! I think she was the youngest person there dressed in authentic Bavarian attire. I had to search almost the entire Bayshore Mall for the perfect shirt, socks, and shoes to complete the outfit, but I think she ended up with quite the ensemble. : ) She got lots of attention and smiles from other partygoers. The only thing she was missing was a hat ... and Opa was nice enough to buy one for her and Karina later in the evening!


There was definitely no sleeping this year! Elsa had her first-ever brat—she actually ate and enjoyed pieces of brat, which amazed me. She liked the big traditional German band, and she did lots of "dancing" (which basically consisted of being held by someone who actually was dancing, or leaning against mommy's legs and bouncing her knees).


Elsa also watched some bubbles with Grandma ...


... and she even made a friend. This little girl loved playing peekaboo with Elsa and feeding her pieces of bread. She also said she particularly liked Elsa's "squishy legs" (they're squishy all right—see the "dancing" photo above!)


We had a really good time at Oktoberfest, as usual. I don't think Elsa will be dressed nearly as adorably in future years, but we're looking forward to next year anyway!

Then ...

... and now.