What a birthday looks like... with smash pictures!

I was busy pretty much the whole day, so I was able to take a few - but most of the pictures were taken by other people.  When you're the Mom of the birthday girl, you have a lot to do!

Charlotte's party was fantastic!  Dear friends of ours with more space opened their home to us and helped us celebrate her first year.  Having a birthday so close to Christmas, though, makes it look like Fisher Price/Step 2/Little Tikes threw up all over our house.  You can't take two steps without stepping on an elmo, tripping over a walker, kicking a piece of the kitchen set, or hearing a strange voice singing an irritating song.  But Charlotte LOVES it!  She's definitely in "play" mode now...  and really only comes to us when she wants to eat/sleep/be changed.  

Thank you so much to everyone that has celebrated this year with us...  not just at the party, but with prayers, hugs, well-wishes, etc.  We survived!  

Anyhow, here are a bunch of random pictures of her day.

The Invitation

Charlotte's Circle of Friends

Because we were having the party at someone else's home, we tried to keep it small.  I know that I didn't get pictures of everyone...  actually I myself got practically no pictures of anyone - but what can you do? Here is who I did get. 

Madeline, Ella & Mia

Bestie Prestley

Dreamy Pierce

Super-fly Levi

(who, we're told, specifically dressed up for Charlotte - and calls her on his cell phone)

(You can also see Aunt Crystal, and C's cousins Joshua and Samantha in the background)

Wild and crazy Dealey

Maggie and her baby brother (and her parents, too!)

Miss Tiffany (and half of Mia, in this picture)

The Outfit

Miss Nicole and Mommy worked together to make this special birthday shirt for Charlotte.  Her little chucks were the perfect accessory.

Opening gifts...

 

The Cake

I might be the meanest mom in the whole world, but up until today - Charlotte has had no dessert.  No cake, no cookies, no pies, no ice cream, nothing.  My thought being that her tiny little tummy only had so much space, and nutrition is vital for an itty bitty growing and developing so quickly, so she didn't need it.  Now that her birthday has happened, though - all bets are off.  She really wasn't terribly enthusiastic about it... but she did finish it.

The Next Day...

Christy made Charlotte a second cake, specifically for some "smash cake" shots.  Unfortunately, I didn't think ahead enough and all I had for set up was a sheet - but we made it work.  Again, she wasn't terribly enthusiastic... she was more about crawling away.  I also didn't think about a diaper cover - but hey!  She's at least wearing the real turquoise bracelet that her Auntie Mir brought her from New Mexico.  

Some of these aren't as sharp as they should be - but please keep in mind, I was getting cake all over me during this, too.  Her daddy and I had to pick her up and put her back in place every 45 seconds so that she wouldn't track orange buttercream icing throughout the house.

It's been a year. One whole year.

I can't believe it.  How did this happen?  It simply flies through your fingers...  one minute, they're putting this squirmy, wrinkly new person on your chest - the next minute, you're planning her birthday party.   When you're dreaming of it and your body aches for it - you really have no idea just what "it" is going to be. How all encompassing "it" is.

(from the hospital, less than 24 hours old)

My sweet, sweet Charlotte... if I had to use one word to describe you, it'd be silly.  You make us laugh, you make yourself laugh, and you love to playplayplay.  You'll crawl up to us super-quick, lay your head on our lap and squeeze a hug, then giggle and run away.   You often get so tickled by the simplest thing... sometimes I'll just blow in your face, and you'll laugh like it's the funniest thing that ever happened.  You're ticklish on your ribs, on your back, on your neck, under your chin, and most of all - right where your thigh meets your torso.  You splash half the water out of the tub during your bath each night, love to put stuff on your head and as of this week - the sweet hairs on your head are finally long enough to touch the spot where your neck meets your back.  But only when they're wet.  

You aren't walking on your own yet, but you get braver each day.  Today you took one step, completely by accident, then looked at me in amazement at what had just happened.  With your walker, though, you're burning tracks into our carpet.  Our toes will never be the same.  You're starting to slim down, I think I notice a roll missing each week.  I don't know how tall you are, but you're still rather petite.  As of tonight, you're wearing mostly 6-9 month jammies - but there are still one or two pairs of 3-6 in your drawer that we can get on you, and zipped up.  

You LOVE to have us read to you.  We usually read 2-3 books before each nap, then 3-5 before bedtime.  Right now, you're going through a separation anxiety phase where you need us to sit by your bed while you fall asleep at night, and we're okay with that.  You love to sit in our laps while we read, and rock and rock and rock... 

You've started giving us kisses.  Open mouthed of course, lol.  We'll take them! A month or so ago you were saying bye-bye, but you decided to stop doing that.  You still say mama, dada, cat and once in a while - baby.  You're an excellent pointer... you point at stuff you want, and stuff that's just interesting.  You can point at a picture of your daddy and say Dada, and the same with a picture of your mama.  You dance all the time and like to tap your foot.   You squeal with delight when I chase you on the floor, and then always return the favor by chasing me back.  I'll hide behind the couch and startle you, and you'll laugh so hard it makes me cry.  

If Mama had to name one favorite little Charlotte-ism, though, it'd be the way you twirl your hair.  It's a dead giveaway that you're sleepy, but it's just the sweetest thing I may have ever seen.  I pray that the image of your little chin, long eyelashes, big sleepy grin and finger twirling your little strawberry blonde ringlet never, ever EVER leaves my heart or my minds eye. 

It's overwhelming, sweet girl.  I could never have imagined a love like this.  

xoxo, 

me

eta: I didn't take the photos in this post...  the newborn shot was taken by my HS friend, Tobin, when his family came to visit us at the hospital - and the one year portraits were taken by a professional.  :o)  It would be QUITE the trick to get a portrait of us three, with smiles, and me not looking totally frazzled. 

The best Christmas EVER!

Seriously...  having kids makes everything so fun.  I had no idea.  I mean, I thought I knew... but I didn't.  Charlotte doesn't really care yet about presents, but she's big enough to know that SOMETHING fun was going on - and I thought her little head was going to explode.  She'd just go from ribbon to bow to box to person, tasting this, licking that, throwing this, petting that.  Combine her super fast activity with me sticking the wrong lens on my camera, add in a little bit of 'my glasses are scratched all to hell from being thrown by a baby' and you have 90% of my pictures out of focus.  But who cares, really... I will forever remember this Christmas. 

While we're talking about Christmas, there are some truly, exceptionally, insanely, unexpectedly generous people out there.  Jason & I have knelt to pray each night this week not even knowing how to begin to thank God for the way he's touched our lives, through our friends and family.  Having the primary breadwinner of your home out of work during Christmas, when the news just tells you 3 times a day how much worse it's going to get, is anxiety inducing - at best.  Those around us, though, have shown us such love that we're at a place where we're feeling peaceful.  The sermon at church on Christmas Eve was about waiting - and how we tend to hear "not yet" as "not ever" but that what we're waiting for, is always worth the wait.  Be it a job, a partner, a baby, or the Jewish people waiting on Christ.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.          Isaiah 40:30-31

It was what we needed to hear.   I hope all of those that have been so generous to us in the past few weeks know how truly thankful we are. 

Just hangin' at the park with my Bestie...

Wordless Wednesday

From the catwalk in Oman...

I remember the days when Charlotte would sit and let me take her picture. *sigh* Now, I chase her around the house, taking (literally) almost 200 shots in 45 mins, and get maybe 10 that aren't blurry or crazy looking.  She's a mad woman!  She has two jobs this week, one for a Belk ad and one for a JCPenney catalog, so it will be interesting to see if they get anything they can use. 

She's also started throwing her food on the floor, and spitting out what does make it into her mouth.  I know this is "normal" - but you can't help but worry that she's going to starve to death.  And it's so hard not to laugh.  I know I shouldn't, and I don't want to encourage the behaviour - but when she's looking at me and grinning with that gummy grin while nonchalantly dropping her porkchop off the side of her high chair... it cracks me up.  In fact, to be honest, I even laugh later when I'm cleaning the floor.  I know the humor will wear off, and I'm doing my best to not let her see me laugh - and to be stern, but damn she's cute.  Naughty, but cute.

Our dear sweet friends - Dave, Gloria & Aliza - who are  in Oman sent Charlotte a fancy dress for Christmas.  Yes, we opened it... we can't wait that long.  It's so pretty, but babies must be longer and skinnier over there... it barely fit over Charlotte "rubanesque" figure, yet was touching the ground.  We miss them terribly and love them so much!  Charlotte actually stood still, looked at the camera, and let me take her picture in it....  she knew it was for Gloria.