First Birthday Celebrations

Fiona did a lot of celebrating for her 1st birthday.  First, she had a "casual" baby birthday playdate with her buddy, Ethan.  Fi has quite a few baby friends whose birthdays all fall within a couple months.  Here she is chowing down on her smash cake.

And here's a picture of all the babies partying in their hats and bows.  Aren't they all adorable?

Thank you so much to Jess for letting Fiona share the playdate with Ethan.  Jess is the best party planner ever.  You should go check out her blog.  Or you can head over to Megan's blog and look at more pictures of the party. 

So we didn't end up doing much partying on Fiona's actual birthday.  Nathan was sick and we had a minor car scare.  I did get a picture of her when she turned exactly 1 year old though.

Don't you love her birthday crown?  A blogging friend of mine made it for her.  You should definitely check out all the cute stuff she has in her etsy shop, Applesauce Crafts.  Amber was so nice to make the crown for Fi.  It made the perfect birthday accessory.

So finally, the day after her birthday we had Fiona's little family party.  Unfortunately, the stomach flu had hit my family hard and so not everyone was able to attend her birthday party.  We just may have to have a mini party with the family that missed the party.

The tired birthday girl.  By Sunday, it had been a very full long weekend and she was a little tired.  She looked awfully cute in her tutu that I made for her though.

Her Aunt Maggie decorated her highchair.  Fiona really liked the balloons.

Her Godmother, Eileen, decorated the cake.  Isn't it cute?

She loved unwrapping the presents.  Of course, it took almost an hour because she had to check each one out.  She got lots of cool toys and is one spoiled little girl already.

Then of course came the cake.  She wasn't a huge fan of strawberry cake, I guess.  I think she ended up throwing half of it to the dogs, which she thinks is hilarious.

We had a great time celebrating her first birthday with friends and family.

An Amazing Year

Dear Fiona,
Mommy can't believe that a whole year has flown by.  I feel like I barely blinked and you went from a tiny, snugly baby to a happy, busy big girl.  This year has been amazing and challenging.  I never knew that it was possible to love someone so much.  Your Daddy and I have loved you from the beginning.  That first day we got to hold you we knew you were someone special.  Every day we love you even more.

You didn't make life easy for us in the beginning.  You were a very colicky baby and Mommy struggled with breastfeeding you.  There was lots of crying (yours and mine) and not much sleep.  Somehow we managed to survive those rough patches and it only made your smiles and giggles that much more precious.

I love watching you grow and learn new things.  I get so excited about your "firsts".  At the same time I get a little sad that my baby is growing up so quickly. 

You are a ball of energy now and very independent aka, stubborn (I have no idea where you got that trait from).  You like to do things your way or not at all.  You don't let things like gravity slow you down at all.  You have no fear, my brave little girl (except of the vacuum cleaner).  You were determined to walk so you didn't let any number of bumps and bruises slow you down.  Now you are running all over the place.

You make us smile and laugh every day.  We are so blessed to have you in our lives and in our family.  I can't imagine my life without you and I thank God that He gave you to us.

 

You have grown and changed so much in this last year.  I'm excited to see how much you grow and change every day.  We love you so much!!  Happy 1st Birthday, Fiona!!

Wordless Wednesday: Fall Fun

 

 

 

 

Practically Wordless Wednesday: Minnie Mouse

I was really happy with the way Fiona's Minnie Mouse costume turned out.  She looked very cute and I was incredibly surprised that she didn't mess with the ears at all.  Too bad she was not at all interested in smiling for any pictures (or even holding still).

 

Nathan was finally able to tickle her until she smiled, such a stinker .

A Month Away

The countdown has begun.  My baby will be 1 in a month.  I was sitting there thinking about it this weekend and about what we were doing one year ago.  I remember being very pregnant and wishing that this mysterious baby would should up sooner rather than later.  I was very impatient to meet this small person who kicked me hard and dug her toes in my ribs.  I was also very eager to be comfortable and be able to sleep again (hahaha).  It makes me a little sad to think that my baby isn't really going to be the baby anymore.  She looks more grown up every day and she keeps learning new things.  I really do love the stage that she is in right now though.  She's developed such a little personality and it is fun to watch her and play with her.  Little babies are fun to snuggle, but 11 month olds are much more fun to play with.
(My friend, Tina, took this picture.  Doesn't it make her look more grown up?)

Fiona is getting much better at walking.  Before if she stopped or slowed down she immediately fell.  It was like she stayed up because she was moving fast enough forward.  Now she is a little less wobbly and she will take a couple steps stop and grin at you and then take a couple more.  Her favorite game is walking back and worth between her music table and the couch.

This last month she had a babysitter at our house ( her Aunt Maura) for the first time.  Before she has always gone to Grandma's house.  I was worried about bedtime, but she went down easy without any screaming.  That is a major milestone.  Only within the last maybe 2 months has she really started to become easy to put to bed for me.  However, if I left her home with Nathan than she screamed at bedtime.  It's nice to know that we can actually go out occasionally and leave her with a sitter and she'll go to bed for them now.

 We're loving this stage and soaking up every second.  I know we'll blink and she'll be all grown up and won't even want to cuddle with her mama when she's sleepy.  I'm excited for her first birthday and sad all at the same time.

Happy 11 months Fiona!