First birthday party.. or... A toy store implosion

My sweet girl turned 1 this past weekend!  She's officially a big girl and is no longer an infant.  A part of me is sad that she's growing up so fast, but I never want to be sad that she's growing because that means that she's healthy and happy and living her life, which is exactly what I want for her!  So, that being said, we celebrated V's big first birthday in style! 

First, on Friday, I made pink cupcakes with purple frosting and we had a little shindig for her and her little friends at school. 

I'm 1! The hat says so!

V set a precedent and wanted nothing to do with her cupcakes.  More to come on this later. 

Then on Saturday, we had the whole family and some friends over for her toy store grand opening birthday party.  Our house looked like it threw up pink, but it was perfect for V!  We got her a bunch of balloons and they were a HUGE hit!  She walked around holding on to one balloon on a string all night - they were inseparable.

 

As I wrote in a previous post it's hard to believe it's been a year and how much a year can change your life.  V and I have come so far together.  We laughed, we cried, we threw up, she blew out of her diapers.. you get the picture.

On that note, here are some pics from the rest of the party.  Good times were had by all, especially V.  Although she wanted NOTHING to do with her cake! 

Um.. Mom??  Fire? In front of a baby?? I know I'm a big girl and all, but come on!

Eh.. not so sure about this thing.  It looks too pretty to eat.

Ok ok..  I'll give it one try.

Um. No!  I don't think so! 

Alright lady!  I don't want this cake!  Get me out of here!  I will call CPS on you woman!

Sweet freedom!

Although V's not looking, good pic of E and I. :)  We never got a got a good shot of the three of us, but it's in our hearts and memories.

V's birthday cake

Dinner time

Which gift should I open next...

I'll just dive in and see where I land.

Thanks for reading the card to me Mommy.

Yay hammers!  (V got 4 hammers from D and family!  V LOVES her hammers!  After she lost one on a walk with Daddy, D let her borrow hers, and now D has replenished V's hammer supply!  Thank you D!!!)

This one next?  It looks big and heavy - Yippee!

V's baby.  It may look like she's trying to give the paci to baby, but in reality, she likes to steal it.

She doesn't look related to me and my dad. Her daddy has some strong German genes!

The damage

All in all, it was a great first year and a great party!  Happy birthday V!  We all love you so so much!

This little light of mine

I'm going to let it shine

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

One Year

Lots can happen in a year.  My life got turned upside down, around and inside out in the course of a split second.  The second I saw "pregnant" on digital little test.  That was well over a year ago.  You didn't feel real to me at all at first.  I knew you were growing inside me, but the reality of you, the living breathing you didn't set in until well after you were born.  I did not know what to think of you at first and I never in a million years would think I would grow so "fond" of you.  And boy have I!  I remember that first night together in the hospital, when Daddy was out for the count as soon as we made it back into our room, and the nurses kept bringing me to you to nurse every three hours.  You were born at 10:28 PM, so that first night, it was just you and me and a snoring daddy.  You were so small - under 7 pounds.  And we just sat there in the night.  You slept and nursed and I didn't know what to think.  I just knew I had just become a mother.  The first few weeks were rough emotionally for me, and then something happened - I fell totally, helplessly, completely head over heels in love with you.

My sweet baby girl.  You have changed my life in ways you will not understand until you hold your own precious baby in your arms.  You are a loving, kind, willful, funny, busy, social, happy little girl!  You have a sparkle that draws people to you.  I pray that the light in your eyes never dims with age and the problems that will come with coming into the teenage years and adulthood.  I pray you are happy and healthy!  I will ALWAYS be here for you.  ALWAYS!  You saved me and brought me closer to God.  Loving you is a glimpse into the love that God has for us.  You are a joy beyond words and I love you more than I can say.  Love is not a good enough word.  You complete me - my sweet little monkey!  Thank you for you!

Happy Birthday!!! We've come a long way!

4 days before birth

Day 1

Day 1

Day 6

Week 2

Week 3

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

Month 12 - Happy 1st Birthday!!!

You bring such joy to our hearts V!  We love you sweet girl!!

All grown up

I've made the plunge into "adulthood" a few weeks ago.  We went swimming at our friend and neighbors and all I had to wear were my two piece suits.  I have a ton of two pieces and for the first time, I just felt uncomfortable.  I thought - I'm a mother now, and I really don't need to be flaunting what my mama gave me at our friends' pool.  So.... for the first time since I was TWELVE YEARS OLD, I bought a one piece.  Now - I don't think this is too old lady'ish and has a kind of a Marilyn Monroe look to it.  It does look a lot cuter on, but I'm going to refrain from posting that picture on here.  Here it is - my official foray into being a grown-up.

These boots are made for walking!

V turned 11 months old last week.  And to the day of her 11 month birthday, she did this... 



V's walking debut.  She doesn't skip a beat and is already texting.

Here are V's pics from her 11 month shoot with Mr. Bear.   One more month to go before she's officially a big girl!

Give me hugs Mr. Bear!  You're my pal!

She's walking better and better every day and it's so fun to see her gain this independence.  I love you monkey!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's day to the best Daddy in the whole wide world. V and I love you so much!

V made Daddy a gift all by herself!  She was very proud.  She did ask me to help her with the card though.  The whole spelling thing was a bit of an issue for her so of course, I obliged.

Exterior of the card.

I love you Daddy-O!

Spaghetti, Remote Controls, and a Girl's Night Out

I've been trying to introduce more table foods to V.  The jar baby food is bland as all get out and if V is anything like her Mama, she likes herself some flavorful foods.  So, our first big girl meal was some whole wheat pasta that Mama made with ground turkey, onions, red bell peppers, and Newman's Own Sockarooni sauce.  I think she was a fan...

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Happy girl!

I love spaghetti!!

Storing up meat in her cheeks for winter.  I found pieces of said meat in her cheeks hours later.

My mom came over with my grandma over the weekend.  V showed off all her skills, the most important of which is working the remote.  She's figured out that we've given her a faux remote and now in our attempts to keep her from the real deal, we have to make the TV do fun tricks when she points her remote on it so she thinks she's doing it.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  The girl may be too smart for her own good.

Check out my loot Mommy!

I'm queen of the remote!

Here's V with her Grandma M and Mimi.  Four generations of women.

Say Ahhhhh!

And here's V tickled pink when Daddy came home.  She LOVES her Daddy!

Hi Daddy! I love you so!

On Saturday night I went out with a couple of my very good girlfriends to see S&TC 2.  S&TC was a huge generational show for me when I was in college and so many of my friends lived and breathed through Carrie Bradshaw.  That, however, was a decade ago.  One of the greatest things about Seinfeld is he left the show while he was still on top.  I thought S&TC also did that, but then the first movie came out.  Out of loyalty for the franchise, I got dressed up to go see the movie with my martini in hand.  It was okay.  I laughed some, I even shed a tear and overall, still had a warm fuzzy feeling for one of my fave shows when it was over.  Sadly, that is not the case with the second installment.  The producers, actors, directors, everyone involved would have been well-advised to stop while they were ahead.  The acting was bad, the story line was bad, the whole thing just left a bad taste in my mouth and there are no puns or references to Samantha's over-the-top libido intended.  I literally started to fall asleep at one point of the movie and over two hours later, because that's how long this film dragged on, could not wait to just go home and crawl into bed and wake up hoping it was all a dream nightmare.  If you're a S&TC fan and want to remember Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte, and Samantha as strong confident women and not spoiled immature girls, in my humble opinion, save yourself the $10 and whatever warm sentiments you still have for the franchise.  Or see this movie.

 

V's not a fan either.