There's No Birthday Like a First Birthday

I absolutely love living in North Carolina, except for how little I get to see my parents and my sister and her family. We made a special trip to visit over this weekend to celebrate my niece’s first birthday, and it was just ONEderful!

My girls got to play with my older niece, who has developed a fondness for doing art projects. My sister loves this new hobby too, as it is one of the rare times that Ally will sit still and quiet for any length of time…

The party theme revolved around winter and Beth had decorated the house with paper snowflakes she and Ally had made over the previous week. She had also found some crafts for the older children to make that had a winter/snow theme. Little did any of us realize how appropriate this would be given the two HUGE blizzards that hit the area where they live in the upcoming months.

Katy enjoyed her snuggle (and tickle) time with Grandad. It is such a wonderful thing to watch the relationship grow between my children and my parents. It fills my heart with love and adds a whole new dimension to my relationship with them. They all enjoy each other so much.

Gram especially enjoys the way that the youngest children in our little crew need her, and we all appreciate the break from some of those day-to-day tasks.

The house was filled with laughter as we played some of the games that we had received as Christmas gifts this year. ‘A to Z’ is one of our particular favorites, as is ‘Apples to Apples.’ There is nothing like being away from home so that time can be spent enjoying these simple moments of being connected. Focusing on the things that matter in our lives, as opposed to the chores that seem to steal our attention so often.

Mandy so enjoyed her new bell toy! She had all of us just beaming as she would carefully press the button on top of each bell.

Each time the bell would make a sound, she would just stop, as if she weren’t quite sure where the noise came from.

Katy is such a care-taker, and has been for as long as I can remember. She loves to help other children. Throughout pre-school, she would take it upon herself to make sure that Livie was doing okay, to the point that she would worry about Livie excessively. Splitting them into different classes in Kindergarten was the best decision we made for both of them – Livie has had to learn to fend for herself, and Katy can concentrate on just herself. Although any time we are around younger children, Katy’s little mommy instincts kick right in. She is going to be an amazing mama someday.

Of course I had to take the opportunity to attempt a few “formal” pictures with Beth and Mandy. After all, you only get to turn one once! And it is such a special moment for a mother since our memory of our child’s arrival in our world is still so fresh.

In keeping with the winter theme of the party, Beth made amazing cupcakes decorated with silver sprinkles and sparkly snowflakes. While they look beautiful, the picture doesn’t begin to describe just how wonderful they tasted! The cupcakes themselves were fabulously moist (especially the chocolate ones, although I may be a little partial since chocolate is my most favorite flavor). But then she frosted them with a swiss meringue buttercream frosting recipe that was pure heaven in your mouth. Perhaps it had something to do with the 2 POUNDS of butter?

I would love to know what the birthday child is thinking when everyone sings ‘Happy Birthday’ to them at their first party? Obviously they’ve never experienced this before: being the focus of attention while lots of people sing to them all at the same time. It must be a bit overwhelming! I know that it was also quite an emotional experience for me at each of my children’s first birthdays.

It is quite easy to figure out what the birthday girl is thinking when she gets her very first ever taste of cake! I love the way that Beth is watching her–Beth’s absolute adoration just fills my heart to the brim.