Kayleigh's First Birthday Party

Kayleigh turned 1 on May 14 and we had her party the following Saturday on the 17th. We just had friends a family over, nothing huge, since really at that age it is more for the parents than for the child.

Kayleigh refused to nap the all morning so as soon as my sister came over I put her to work getting Kay to sleep. (My sister is magical when it come to getting Kayleigh to sleep!)
Spricket was jealous and wanted to join in the snugglefest.

After she woke up my parents gave  her the first present - her own outdoor chair. Kayleigh LOVED it and would climb in and out of it all day.

She also got a ball pit and when my sister was bringing the balls inside (she couldn't figure out how to wrap them) Kay saw and wanted to play with all of them right then and there.

Onto a the decorations!

I really didn't go with much of a theme. I just had some candy in yellow, blue and pink and everything else just kind of fell into place.

I took the picture frames off the wall in the living room and we taped Kayleigh's weekly photos up there. It was really neat watching everyone look at them - they didn't realize every one was a different week.

please ignore the speaker wire. We still need to hide it...

It was a lovely day so we all pretty much hung out there most of the day.

I tried getting Kayleigh to open presents but she didn't care for it too much. She preferred me to unwrap them and then she would run off with the paper or tissue.

The it was cupcake time! She did a lot better eating this than she did with the cake for her cake smash. She devoured her cupcake and looked around for more.

The someone broke out some bubbles which Kayleigh thought was the best thing ever!

All in all it was a wonderful day! Kayleigh was tuckered out by the end of it. She conked out an hour before her bedtime and slept until 7 the next morning.

One year of weekly photos

I did it. I did one whole year of weekly photos! It wasn't an easy feat and I will say there were weeks I was a few days later but I managed to take one photo a week for a whole year. It's great to be able to watch Kayleigh grow all over again! (If you can't watch the video you can also check out the photos by clicking on the "Weekly Photos" tab above.) (I will admit on the final photos you see I ended up cheating a bit and had to use photos from the previous week due to corruption files that I didn't find out about until months later.)

Happy Birthday, Kayleigh!

Kayleigh,

Today is your birthday. You are one year old. I know it's cliche but I feel like just yesterday I was holding you in my arms for the first time. One second I was holding a brand new baby in my arms, then I blinked and you were walking and talking.

It hasn't been easy, though. Parenthood has many peaks and valleys. There was much to learn, many sleepless nights and many tears - some yours and some mine. But there were so many more joyous moments! The first time you smiled at me I melted - the same smile now that still melts my heart no matter how big of a fit you just threw. I celebrated the first time you rolled over, the first time you crawled and almost started bawling when you took your first step. You are growing so fast and I don't want to miss a moment of it!

You already have us wrapped around your finger and you don't even know it.

I pray that you grow brave and strong, like your daddy. I pray that you can see the joy in every dark spot, like your mama. Most of all I pray that you never be afraid to be you.

I love you for forever and a half.