One Year Old ! ! !

I guess it is pretty safe to say that time is never going to slow down, not even for me.  Every day she gets bigger. Every day she discovers new things. Every day she melts our hearts more and more. When she was a day old, I couldn't imagine her being two days, when she was 3 months old I couldn't imagine her being 6 months old, when she was 9 months old I never imagined her being a year old. I just wanted to hold on to every day and freeze her in that moment in time, like somehow things could not possibly get better or that I would somehow forget the magic of those moments. Ironically though, now that she is a year old I squeal with excitement at the thought of tomorrow and the happiness  she will bring to our lives.  I look forward to new words, new expressions, new discoveries.  I watch the excitement in her eyes when she points to a balloon and grins from ear to ear as I hand it to her and she smashes it in to her mouth and yells into it.

Her birthday was today and it was everything I ever imagined it would be and more.  Nana came down from California for a couple days to share this special occasion with us. We were pretty busy getting ready for the party so we worked very quickly to get it all done.  I thought I had done a lot more than I really had because there was still so much to do.

We had our oatmeal for breakfast in the morning.  This is always messy because she must do it herself these days...always fun to watch, not so much to clean up.

On a side note: I never thought she would have teeth by her first birthday but there they are! All four of them made their appearance last month, just in time ; )

The next several hours were dedicated to setting the table up and getting the cupcakes frosted and food ready.  We decided about two days before the party to serve some little tea sandwiches and fruit so that there was a little something to offset the sweetness of all the candy. Thankfully my mom is a trooper and she worked hard to finish all the sandwiches while I finished last minute details.  And it is worth mentioning again that my mom is amazing and a lot of this would not have been finished if it wasn't for her! Thank you mom. 

Brynley's Pop pop came early and helped with little details before people started arriving.  He also gave Brynley her present, an Elmo chair.  She loved it and immediately tried to sit in it.  Amazing that they just know how to do these things.

Brynley had almost all of her grandparents there to celebrate with her. Papa and Grandpa Dennis couldn't be here and we missed them greatly. Nana flew in from California, Grandmommy flew in from Texas, Grandpa Eddie drove down from Kansas (as a surprise), Mimi brought Savannah and Makenzie, and Pop pop. Even great grandma Paula came by early because she had her 50 year high school reunion that day.

We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many people that love our family so much.  We are thankful for each and every person that God has placed into our lives and the unique friendships that we have developed with each one of those people.

More pictures to come.   

Happy Birthday my beautiful princess. Mommy and daddy love you so much.