Lilly's First Birthday Party

What a fun day!  First, the weather was absolutely beautiful.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, but not hot and humid like many summer days in the south.  We even took a mid day walk before Lilly's afternoon nap.  I think having such a beautiful day made all of us extra happy and was a great start to our perfect day!

After her afternoon nap, it was time to get Lilly ready for the party!  We put her in her party dress and I even managed to get her to keep a bow in her on her head for a few minutes so we could snap a few pre-party pictures.  Darren snapped my new favorite picture of Lilly and I and I snapped a great one of Darren and Lilly as well.  I could already tell Lilly was in a great mood and she was going to have a great party!

I wanted to have a few "games" or things to do at the party, so I made a "Who Does Lilly Look Like?" game where people could look at baby pictures of Darren and I next to Lilly and then fill out a card saying which features Lilly shares with me and which she shares with Darren.  Most people say Lilly looks just like Darren, but I think she has my smile (and most people at the party agreed with me).  It was interesting to see how some people had completely opposite opinions.  I guess that goes to show that Lilly has a perfect blend of the two of us; she is the very best of both of us :o)

I also put together an album of the weekly pictures we have been taking of Lilly since she was one week old.    I didn't just do this for the party; I did this for us.  I love looking back at all of Lilly's pictures and seeing how much she has grown and changed this year.  We also made a keepsake of Lilly's hand and foot prints that I displayed.  Aunt Jess gave this to us at Lilly's baby shower and I was waiting until she turned a year old to make it.  That day came much quicker than I thought!

You can't see them well, but we also put out Lilly's newest photos so everyone could see our favorites in print.  They are all on my blog from last week if you missed them :o)

The other activity I set up was a Wishing Pond.  I laid out lily pads and a "pond" for people to write a birthday wish or a favorite memory from Lilly's first year.  I thought this would be a nice thing to add to Lilly's baby book so she has something from her first birthday party.

 Our friend and coworker, Kelly L, is an extremely talented cake artist and baker and she made Lilly's cupcakes and smash cake.  I was SO excited when I saw them!  They both turned out exactly as I had hoped.  Thank you Kelly for making Lilly's birthday special with custom cupcakes!

The party started and I was trying to snap pictures whenever I could, but I was on "Lilly duty" which meant I was in the thick of it with the other moms watching all the babies and kiddos play in the living room.  I was so happy that all the kids played so nicely together.  There were 4 babies all around the same age (Lilly, Emma, Joey and Gentry), so that was really cute to see them all playing together.  Lilly absolutely loves other babies, but she is fascinated with their faces (especially their eyes), so I was prepared to play referee a lot.  Luckily Lilly was great (as were all the other little ones) and we didn't have a SINGLE incident!  Here is a great picture of Lilly giving Emma a hug and a kiss!  She was very eager to give hugs and kisses to the other babies.

Here she goes trying to get Joey and give him kisses!  I hope Darren is ready for teenage Lilly ;o)

 Here are a couple of shots of the moms and babies in our living room (i.e. playroom)

 I was so excited to see Lilly have her first cake that I didn't even let her have a cupcake at the birthday party we went to a week ago.  I really wanted her to go to town and make a huge mess!  Darren hates when she gets messy while she is eating, but it doesn't bother me.  I wanted to see my baby covered in cake!

Here is a before shot.

This is right after everyone sang happy birthday and Lilly blew out the candle.

And here is Lilly in the midst of her "smash" cake.  Her hands were getting a little messy, but she was mostly smearing frosting on her tray and not on herself!

 Her hands were full of cake and frosting, but she still wasn't messy enough!

 We tried showing Lilly how to touch her head, saying "hair" over and over and even singing "head, shoulders, knees and toes" but Lilly was not getting messy.  So I called in reinforcements: the headband.  I knew that Lilly would reach up to get that headband off and would get messy!

 Except that she didn't...

I think this is the only shot we have of the three of us from Lilly's birthday.  Happy birthday, baby girl!

After her smash cake, I just let Lilly play in her diaper for a little while.  I think she was pretty happy about it!

The ball pit was definitely the biggest hit of the party.  Al the kids loved it!  They did a great job of taking turns and also being careful when the babies wanted to go in.  All three of the girls got in the ball pit at one point, but the pictures didn't come out.

 Lilly was showing Joey how her stage worked.  They were both pressing all the buttons and dancing tot he music.

After everyone left it was almost time for bed.  Since Lilly had to have a bath anyway, I decided to give her half of a banana with her diner and just let her go to town.  Apparently Lilly was all about her "smash banana" because she made a total mess!  She had banana all over herself!  I guess next year we won't bother with a cake, we'll just give her fruit salad!  ;o)  I'm just kidding.  At least I got my messy baby pictures.  I shouldn't be surprised that Lilly was more interested in fruit than sweets since she has never had sweets before so it was probably overwhelming.

Darren, Lilly and I had such a great time at her first birthday party!  Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with her and to our amazing friends and family who could not be there but celebrated with Lilly in their own way.  We are so lucky to have so many amazing people in Lilly's life who love her so much.  

Lilly Rae Weeks 51-52

Sunday, June 2

I made a little folder of all the weekly signs for Lilly a few months ago.  When I reached for today's weekly sign, I almost cried because there is only one more left after this!  I know it probably seems crazy to some that I did a weekly picture and a daily blog post.  I am sure some people think I have nothing better to do with my time (haha!) but the truth is, having Lilly has been the greatest gift I could ever imagine and 10, 20 or 30 years from now, I want to look back and remember every moment of it that I can.  Her first year went by so quickly, I can only imagine how fast time will pass after this.

I could put about 300 pictures on this blog post because we had a photo shoot today with the supremely talented Kaleigh B.  I have instead put our favorites that I edited.

A few funny things happened today while we were taking pictures.  It was inevitable that Lilly wanted to put everything in her mouth, so it was funny to put her on the ground to get a few shots and we would all be trying to get her to smile and watch as she would pick up a clover or flower (awwww, how cute!) and then look at us, look at the clover, and put it in her mouth.  Kaleigh grabbed some great shots of this happening so it actually looks like a little movie if you flip through the pictures quickly.

We also had a few animal encounters.  First there was a bunny hanging out beyond the fence that did not seem at all disturbed by 6 people invading his space.  Kaleigh's friend actually tried to pet him at once point and you'd be surprised how close he was able to get.  We also learned that if a dog was walking by, that was the only direction Lilly would look, so we used it to try to get her attention.  One time a beautiful gray pitbull was walking by with her owner (an elderly woman) and I pointed it out to Lilly and we watched it walking...then we watched it running...toward us!  I could tell the dog was friendly, so I reached out to grab her but pitbulls are basically one big muscle so I couldn't hold on to her!  Darren and Kaeligh's friend tried to grab her so I grabbed Lilly.  Her owner came over and said the dog snapped out of her collar.  Luckily she was friendly so we all had a laugh.  Lilly loved it!

Mommy also decided to hop a fence for the sake of good pictures ;o)  Maybe it's not allowed...or maybe the fence is just there for decoration. right?  Our family pictures are gorgeous, so it was worth it.

Here is Lilly's second to last weekly picture!

Monday, June 3

Lilly and I went with Darren today to get him his new phone!  It's his father's day present, so I wanted to be there when he got it.  Lilly was a champ waiting in the Spring store because it took almost an hour.  She did her normal Lilly "thing" and charmed everyone there.  The saleswoman loved her and was playing with her while stuck on hold trying to set up Darren's phone.  There was also an elderly woman there who spent about 10 minutes talking to me about pretty much everything you can imagine.  She also mentioned that we should only have one child (which is completely normal and polite for a complete stranger to tell you how many kids you should have, right?).  She said that the first one turns out exactly as you'd like and then the rest are basically the luck of the draw.  She then informed me that she has three kids...awkward!  I also told her that I am the third of four kids, so I think subsequent kids turn out just fine ;o)

Tuesday, June 4

Lilly loves her "stage" toy and dances to the music all the time.  It's absolutely adorable!  I love how much she loves music.  I know one surefire way to get her to smile and laugh is to dance around for her.  Also, when she is cranky in the car, the only way to ensure she calms down is to sing to her.  She still loves "Itsy Bitsy Spider" though "Wheels on the Bus" is starting to edge it out ;o)  Luckily she also loves the radio, so we can actually listen to music and not just my renditions of children's songs.

Wednesday, June 5

Not only does Lilly love to dance, she also loves to sing!  Today Darren was singing to himself and Lilly started "singing" along with him!  I wish I had caught it on video because it was so cute!  Of course she wasn't singing the words, but she was clearly trying to sing.  I am so proud of my little musical baby!  

Lilly is still being a pretty finicky eater.  We are trying whatever fruits and vegetables I can think of, but she is not taking to many of them.  She also eats something one day (black beans, for example), but then the next day she spits them out.  We are going to keep trying though.  Advice on this predicament is welcome!

Lilly loves looking out the window and watching people, cars, birds...you name it.  She actually stood up and  was babbling today while she looked out the window.  It was like she was trying to tell me all the things she wanted to do and everything she saw.  I loved it!

Thursday, June 6

It's crazy that a year ago today was my due date.  I remember when this day finally came I was so excited at the thought that Lilly might arrive.  When I look back it's actually really funny that doctor's give a due date at all.  It just creates anxiety for the mom (and dad) and makes you feel like you are supposed to have your baby on or before that date or else you are "late".  If we have another baby, I am going to ask my midwife to give me a "due date range".  That way I am not as anxious.  Ok, enough of that...

I love giving Lilly her bath!  She still loves the water so much.  Today she was leaning back and "singing" and also lifting her legs up in front of her like she was doing yoga.  It was so funny!  You definitely need a splash guard when giving this little one a bath though!

Lilly's first birthday present arrived today!  It was from Aunt Mare!  Lilly got a BUNCH of new, adorable outfits, a birthday bib, a new baby doll and a collection of coins from her birth year.  Lilly loved opening the packages and she LOVED her new doll especially.  She immediately started hugging her and giving her kisses.  What a sweet girl!

Friday, June 7

Today was very exciting!  First Lilly got another birthday present in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Poole!  She loved ripping the paper apart and was so excited to play with her new bugs and book.

After opening presents, I tried getting Lilly to play with her walker.  She hasn't been very interested in it (I should actually say "them" because we have several different ones), but I usually try once a day to see if she wants to practice walking with them.  Apparently she was feeling adventurous today because she started going back and forth across the living room pretty fast!  I was holding her at first because I wasn't sure if she would be able to control the walker, but after one or two passes, she didn't even need me!  In fact, the only problem was she was getting from one side to the next so quickly that she was getting frustrated that she had to stop and let me turn her around.  So we took her out into the hallway instead so she had a long straightaway to walk.  She loved it!  She did laps back and forth and had an absolute ball!  We were still nervous about her being on the hardwood floors, so one of us stood around her just in case she fell, but she didn't need out help!  She was moving so much she actually got hot in her dress so we had to change her into a onesie!  It was one of those times that I know I will remember forever, not just because we have pictures and video, but because we were all together as a family having an amazing time and laughing and smiling so much our cheeks hurt.  I am so proud of my Lilly!

Saturday, June 8

I am over the moon about Lilly using her walker.  It is one of the cutest things to watch her tiny little body toddling behind the walker.  She walks with her legs pretty far apart so it's extra cute!  She can stand by herself for a few seconds and holds on with only one hand now, too.  I think we are still a few weeks away from actually walking, but I bet a step or two is on the horizon very soon!

Sunday, June 9

I am in denial that tomorrow is Lilly's birthday.  Don't get me wrong, I am incredibly excited to celebrate her first birthday and overjoyed at the amazing year we have had, but how can I possibly be the mother of a one year old?

I am so amazed by how independent Lilly is.  She moves around without any help from us anymore, problem solves (for the very tiny problems that a baby might face), entertains herself and is so talkative, albeit in her own special language ;o)

We went to Emma's birthday party today.  It was great to see Lilly interacting with other kids.  I am so happy that that she will get this opportunity at her new daycare provider, and it eases my mind to see how well she gets along with other kids and babies.  When we put Emma and Lilly next to each other, they both put their hands out to reach for the other.  Lilly loves other babies; I just wish she didn't love their eyes so much!

Lilly found Ana's rock star microphone and practiced her singing!  It was so cute.  For an (almost) one year old, she is pretty musical ;o)

This is the final weekly picture for my Lilly Rae.  My beautiful baby has grown into a gorgeous little girl who has stolen every piece of my heart and wrapped her daddy around her little finger from the second she was born.  I wanted to have a picture a day for an entire year and to share all of Lilly's milestones via this blog, but now I will only post occasionally.
 

Monday, June 10

As adults, I feel that it can be very difficult to find what you are truly meant to do and what will make you happy for the rest of your life.  This might be unique to teaching, but I know a lot of teachers who sometimes question if they are in the right profession or if they should explore other careers.  I myself have done this on several occasions.  However, I have never, not once, questioned whether or not I should be a mom.  Don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times where I have questioned my decisions as a parent and worried for days about things that now seem inconsequential, but I know, without the slightest hesitation, that I was put on this earth to be Lilly's mom.

My name was forever changed when Lilly was born.  For most of my life I was Toni, then as a teacher my name became Ms. Ahrens followed by Mrs. Segool.  Then finally, one year ago, I became Mommy, and that will never change.

Here are a few pictures of my birthday girl!  We didn't do anything fancy for her birthday today since we are having her party this weekend, but I couldn't resist breaking out a party hat!

Lilly's self portrait!  I am not sure what is going on with her hair here!

 Happy birthday, Lilly Rae!

 Her Elmo toy sings Happy Birthday!  She gave him a huge kiss and hug.  It was adorable!