Birthday Bonanza

Jeff and I simply cannot believe that our little girl is 1 year old! We were warned repeatedly that the first year flies by, and while we knew that would be the case, we had NO idea how fast it would really go. One year ago we brought home a tiny baby girl who was totally dependent upon us for everything. From the day she was born we have watched her grow and become more independent and adventurous. Every new advancement has been wonderful to witness, from being able to hold her head up on her own, to running throughout the house, ordering everyone around. Each day brings with it a new development, a new moment to remember and we are quite simply in awe of her.

To celebrate her first year of life we decided to keep it fairly low key for several reasons. We decided on having a family dinner out our house with Jeff's parents and sister the weekend before her birthday, then dinner with my mom, Phillip, Russell, and Alyssa the night of her birthday.

We picked out a couple small toys for her, but the main thing I wanted to do was make her birthday cake myself. It's not often I make a specific request in regards to how something is done, but this meant a lot to me. I made the cake and icing from the same recipe my mom made for me when I was little. Fortunately it's a lactose free recipe since we don't know for sure if that is still an issue for her, and they turned out pretty cute too!

She loved the candle on top of the cupcakes, but was not at all interested in the icing or the cupcakes themselves! I had given her some to try earlier in the week so I was neither surprised nor disappointed by her reaction. Although how any child of mine could dislike sweets is a mystery to me!!

Both celebrations were memorable, leaving Norah completely over-stimulated jumping from one toy to the next, then to the next, and then the next. She is well loved and it shows. Thank you to everyone who made such an important milestone in her life so special.

Happy Birthday Norah Grace! We love you!