1 year old!

I started the day off yesterday by singing Happy Birthday to my baby girl. I'll admit, I shed a couple of tears. What a year this has been! One year ago, I was really sick and didn't even know it. I had preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. We were so lucky that this happened when I was 39 weeks pregnant, and that Caroline was full term and healthy. I have loved every second of being a mommy, even the rough patches. All of those phases that you think will never end eventually do, and you end up with this fun 1 year old who is learning and discovering new things every single day. It's amazing! She cracks me (and herself) up daily! Here are her monthly facts:

*This child "talks" nonstop! As a speech therapist, I am thrilled. As a mom, I think my ears might fall off--just kidding...I love it!

*She can say "thank you" when she feels like it.

*She can drink out of a straw. We're working on milk from a cup but haven't quite gotten there yet.

*She's not much of an eater. She still loves grapes, bananas, and yogurt. And that's about it. Everything else is hit or miss. She has had her first sandwiches (grilled cheese and pimento and cheese) and seems to like eating "big girl" food.

*She's starting to walk! It's just a couple of steps, but she's very proud of herself when she does it.

*She loves the phone. She "talks" on my old cell phone and her toy phone ALL day. I even caught her texting along beside me!

*She has 8 teeth (but 2 of them are just barely peeking out).

*She has started initiating peek-a-boo with her washcloth in the tub...so cute!

*Last week, she was doing great signing (and trying to say) "all done" when she finished her meal. This week, not so much.

I'm sure there's more, but my brain is tired! I'll have to update height and weight next week after her 1 year check up on the 17th.

My new owl hat!

Thanksgiving dinner at Cracker Barrel

She moves so much when she sleeps, she wriggled out of her pillowcase dress!

My 1st sandwich

Hanging out with Max

The Big Party!!!

Caroline's party has come and gone, and I'm still recovering! We had so much fun, and I was lucky enough to have my mom come in on Wednesday and lend me a big helping hand. I really enjoyed gathering all of the ideas and seeing it slowly come together (well, slowly until about 12:30 on party day when we kicked it into super high gear!). We had 8 babies and a 2 year old big sis plus mommies, daddies, Grandmama, Nana, and a good friend to help celebrate. We played outside on Caroline's birthday presents (a slide and homemade ball pit) and in a fun tent/tunnel that we borrowed from Mason and Jace. Then, the party moved inside where we chowed down on little sandwiches, spinach and artichoke dip, a cheese ball, and fruit and veggie trays. Presents came next. Caroline started to get the hang of ripping into the packages and wasn't a big fan of anyone touching her new treasures. The grand finale was the cake! She made a little mess with hers and got some frosting in her mouth. Most was smeared all over the highchair though. We sent sleepy babies and tired mommies off with their goody bags and cake pops, and Caroline settled in for a nice, long nap. Here are some pictures from the big day. (I will be uploading more to my Facebook page, so be sure to check them out too!)

The tablescape

Highchair banner

Watch Me Grow banner

Happy Birthday banner

The cake! (This is what I was most nervous about!!)

Caroline's cake

Owl cake pops

Tutu cute!

Mama, Daddy, and me

Yummy!

My mom and I made these little guys for the goody bags.


Let me take a minute to thank everyone who helped and whose ideas I "borrowed". I bought the owl clipart and got the idea for the invite from an Etsy shop called monkeyhut. Check it out here. The idea for the Watch Me Grow and highchair banners and goody bag tags came from an Etsy shop called Ciao Bambino. You can find it here. I found the cute branch idea here. I found the cute owl cake here. The ideas for the little owl and cake pops came from here. Many thanks to my friends McCall, Ginny, and Melissa! McCall inspired me to make all of the decorations and cake myself and also did me a huge favor by cutting out the banner letters for me. Check out her awesome blog here. Ginny made Caroline's perfect onesie and bib. Look for her shop, Just For Keeps, on Facebook. Melissa signed me up for my cake decorating classes and helped out with the big cake on Friday (including icing it, my least favorite part!). Big thanks tomy hubby, John, for being a computer geek and helping design the invites and decorations; to my mom for ALL of her hard work; and to my MIL for cleaning up the aftermath of the party!