A First Birthday Party

This past weekend was full of driving, a birthday celebration, and more driving.

Zoë's first birthday party turned out quite well. I was so glad we decided to make it where all our friends who have babies Zoë's age could come. And I was so grateful my parents graciously opened up their home to allow us to plan for having our friends and Zoë's little friends come.

We kept it small. Four familes, not including our own, plus the grandparents. And though I'm not sure what next year will look like, I do know that what we decided for this year was perfect.

We didn't really get into a theme, but we did keep it centralized to Zoë being the Princess (and boy does she have her princess hand waving down to a tee) and "Sweet". Because I am no photog, I forgot to get a pic of just the decorations, which were quite cute, in my opinion. I also didn't get many great pics. Oh and while I'm talking about capturing the moment, I completely forgot to get video of Zoë's with first birthday cake. *gasp*

So bummed.

Anyway, let me show you the little I did capture:

So this picture is post Bradley grabbing Zoë's hat, letting go, and it popping Zoë on the head. Thus the reaction you see on Katie's face (Bradley's mom and one of my good friends).

Zoë sitting and talking with her friend Liam and his parents, also our good friends, Andrea and Evan.

Zoë taking a look at her shoes from Poppa D and Gigi. I need to take a pic of the shoes to show you guys. My dad picked them out himself. And let me tell you, they are ADORABLE! I was kind of shocked he picked them out. Can't wait until they fit her!!

So I realized that this picture somewhat shows the decorations we used for the party. The hanging cupcake and the shiny, twirly thing hanging down from the ceiling. There were assorted decorations of that nature we hung from the ceiling and on the chandelier. And of course, pink balloons :)

Pic of the kiddos post gift opening. Liam, Zoë and Hannah Grace all doing their own thing. Hannah Grace is my friend Lindsey's little girl (we're sitting on the floor chit chatting in this pic). 

She was NOT happy we put her in that booster seat Daddy wouldn't just hand her the cake with lit candle and all. So she made sure we knew it.

"Gotta test this with the hand first. See what it feels like."

"Gee that's sticky...not so sure about this..."

"This seriously just might be too sticky for me."

"Maybe I should give it a try before I completely give up on it."

"Oh. my. goodness! This pink stuff is delish."

You guys, her thumb stayed like this for several minutes. She ate cake if I gave it to her, but otherwise she could have cared less about the cake and was content sucking the icing off her thumb.

That icing is yummy!

My sweet girl was so tired by the time we gave the cake to her she ended up having a melt down at the end. She pulled a huge glop of icing off the cake and Ben attempted to get her to eat it. She was. not. in. for. that. Thus, the last bit of the cake smashing was full of tears and a frantic mommy trying to wipe her sweet pea down so she could hold her baby.

I felt awful that something that could have been only fun ended so rough. However, I don't think she really remembers that. She still looks longingly at my sweets :)

All in all, it was a great first birthday party. I'm so grateful to be surrounded by wonderful friends and love watching our little ones interact with one another as they begin to show more of their personalities. (There is only 3 months between the oldest and youngest of the babies.) 

It makes me sad knowing they will have grown a lot each time we're able to get together with them. It makes me sad that they won't really grow up getting to play together as I had hoped.

But I'm hopeful that we will be able to build other relationships here with babies who are close in age to Zoë. And that hopefully relationships will blossom out of that for her.

And that about raps this post up. Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Because I Don't Feel Like...

...writing out a post.

So I'm just going to give you a precious picture of my Sweet Pea on her 1 year birthday. I realized I forgot to post her 1 year pics. And I just haven't had the time to go through them. But there was one that I fell in love with, slightly edited, and can't take off my computer background. So I will share with you :)

*As always, please note my copyright at the bottom of the blog. Any pictures I post, unless otherwise noted, are mine.*

One Year Ago...

...I was given the biggest, unasked for (SURPRISE!) blessing: my daughter, Zoë Grace. (Well, her first birthday was last week, but as we were out of town and we went for her one year check-up today, I'm just getting to this post.)

And honestly, that last sentence renders me speechless.

...

As in I just am baffled at how quickly time flies by. So cliché. I know. But honestly, it's like instead of looking at a time glass with the sand seemingly slowly seeping down to the bottom as my time here continues to pass, I'm staring at a broken one where the sand comes pouring out. All. too. quickly.

We have a digital frame sitting in our living room full of pictures from our lives over the past two and a half years. Which, of course, means there are plenty of my sweet Zo-Zo bug that I catch glimpses of here and there. Last night, I had a moment where she was staring up at me, talking away, when a picture from her 3 month shoot popped up. I quickly realized that I'm no longer staring at a baby girl, but a little girl who is rapidly leaving behind many baby features. Her face isn't even as round as it used to be. She is growing up before my eyes.

Time evades me. And all I can hope is that I use it wisely to teach and love her, to cherish every moment I am given, to enjoy the blessing that I have been given rather than succumb to complaining about whatever it is I might be able to find to complain about. (Um, that last part makes it sound like I'm a constant complainer, and though I'm not, I still like to remind myself that I always have something to be grateful for even in the difficult situations I face.)

So here is what we've been up to in her last month of her first year:

12 Month Stats

• Weight: 20 lb 2.5 oz (33rd percentile)   Height: 30" (77th percentile)  Head Circumference: 18.11" (75th percentile) As you can see, you've stayed on the small side for weight and on the larger side for head and height. As Dr. Black told us today, "She is very tall and she has a nice size noggen." :)
• You are becoming more and more verbal. You know how to properly use "Mama", "Da Da", "Poppa" (You caught him off guard when you were crawling around the house and saying it.), and can almost get out "Paw Paw" but aren't quite there yet. You've said "Gigi" a couple of times but it hasn't quite stuck yet. You change the way you say the "ba" sound for "baby" (sounds like "ba ba"), "ball" (sounds like "baa"), and "that" (you put an upwards intonation on the "a" of "ba") while you hold your hand out towards whatever "that" is. You also try to say "bye bye" when Daddy is leaving or if someone has said it to you. 
• You sing all. the. time. You love to repeat certain sing songy syllables, too. Currently your favorite is "ah ah ahhhh" with all of them being at mostly the same pitch. You also like to sing "ahhhh" sliding the pitch up.
• You recently started making yourself look pretty (umm..that's the only thing I know to call it) for people if you like them and want their attention. You will sit yourself facing them, make sweet eyes, point your right arm backwards, and move your hand in a "fancy" manner. Funny enough, you did it for Dr. Black today while we were discussing you :). You were a bit disappointed when he didn't notice.
• You've started pulling up to your feet, but only at your toy chest. If I pull the drawer out, you love to pull yourself up and peek in. It is the. only. object. that motivates you to do this. I think the reason you generally don't pull up to your feet is because most objects don't require you to in order for you to see on them (i.e. the couch, chairs, etc).
• You use all the signs we've been working on regularly now. If you start whining for something, I will look at you and ask, "Zoë, how do you ask nicely?" You, generally, stop whining and sign please. It's SO cute! You also loved your yogurt for you birthday last week and were continually signing "more". You couldn't get enough! You also love to tell us when you're "all done" with something. You started signing it today when the Lab Tech came in to take a blood sample. You had already been given your vaccines and realized what he was coming in for once he opened his kit. You were "all done"! We're now working on "yes", "no", and "eat/food".
• We opened your birthday presents yesterday. At first, you would have nothing to do with any of the other gifts because you love your push popper. However, when Daddy was able to get you to open your baby doll, you immediately dropped the popper, pulled out the doll, and gave her a kiss. Needless to say, I think we could have bought just those two toys and you would have been set for a while.
• You're clothes size is really hard to determine. You need the slimness of 12 month/12-18month sizes for both pants and tops, but you need 18 months/18-24 months size length for tops. Needless to say, I'm hoping you start walking soon because I bought dresses and bubble suits for you to wear, for the most part, considering it's just a little hard to keep pants on you (yes, even the 12-18 month size falls off cinched as tight as it will go, you skinny baby you!) and your shirts look really baggy at the bottom. :) There is no doubt in my mind (and probably Daddy's, too) that you will end up built like both of us.
• You now have 8 teeth (that's a lot for a one year old, according to Dr. Black. BTW, kids only have 20 teeth.) and are working on pushing a molar and a tooth next to it through. Tough times :(
• You handled getting your vaccines like a champ!! You cried as much as I would expect, but the minute I picked you up and held you while you held your lovie, you were golden. You snuggled in my shoulder :) Hate that you were hurt, but loved that you let me comfort you and you just cuddled right up into my shoulder.
• You've discovered the toilet paper. And yes, the first time, I let you so I could capture some proof. It is now something we always have to watch if you're in the bathroom with us for any reason. Because, well, it's just fun to unroll the entire roll!

Working on your task

 Working on one of your favorite things: shredding any type of paper...

Success...

Before I rolled all you'd torn off back on

Proof of the work

• You also enjoy pulling all of your clothes out of their cabinet. I have found you in your room several times making quick working of flinging everything over your shoulder. Ahhh! And I thought I only had to fold laundry after it'd been cleaned. *sigh*

• I might have already said this in a previous post, but I think it is worthy or noting (or renoting): you. are. a. ham! You love to get everyone's attention and subsequently love to make silly faces or act silly to see if you can get us to laugh.
• Though you seem to be a people person, you are slow to warm up. A smile comes quickly, but generally it's only after a few minutes of time has been spent with the person. It comes more quickly if the person has been engaging you. You are even hesitant to wave good-bye to anyone at first. Yet, the minute we turn to leave, you start waving. It's very cute just to watch all the subtle nuances of your personality continually unfolding.
• Though I haven't seen it happen much, you are beginning to nod and shake your head in response to yes and no questions you know the answer to. Though it makes it difficult when it comes to your will pitted against what I'm asking you to do, it's been a lot of fun actually being able to communicate with you a bit.

Zo-Zo Bug,

One year ago I welcomed you into my life. You were so precious and tiny.

I'm so glad God chose me (and your Daddy) to be blessed with the gift of you. To watch you grow is such an adventure, one I wouldn't trade for the world. You bring light and laughter into our home. Your heart is full of sweetness just beginning to show itself in different ways. It's also full of your own kind of determination which I am quite curious to see how it will develop over time. It is such a joy to call you my daughter, to be your mommy. I hope there are many more years in store for our time together!

I love you more than anything, Zoë!

Mommy

Happy, Happy Birthday to my Sweet Zoë!

Happy Birthday to my Zoë girl!!

Almost one year ago today (you were born at 5:27 pm -- see here), we were blessed with the gift of your life. Your perfectly pink, alert and searching eyes, lip sucked in during those peaceful moments, yet fully working and communicative lungs life. So, so perfect. Just as you are.

My life changed drastically on this day one year ago. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Because it changed by bringing you into mine. It changed by having someone to laugh with. To see the world anew as you discovered all there is in this great big world. To watch as your personality unfolds daily and see all the vastness that makes you you. And to know that our Creator formed you just that special way.

Ah! Zoë. I don't know what I'd do without you. I never want to imagine life without you. The blessing of your life has changed me and molded me in ways I wouldn't have thought possible. You have stretched me and helped me to see things that I don't know if I would have had you not been.

I thought for certain it would be the other way around. And certainly I know there are parts of life that I am responsible for training and directing you in the way you should go. But much more than that, I have seen how God has used the great blessing of you to mold me more into His likeness. Your life is a gift! One that I am so grateful for!

I hope you see and know just how much you are loved Sugar B. I hope you grow up understanding that you are unique and special,  a beautiful one-of-a-kind masterpiece!

You make my world sing! Happy Birthday, Zoë!

I love you!!

Mommy