First birthday party!

Willa had her first birthday party today! Her birthday is tomorrow, but we threw her a party today with friends and family! We celebrated with a pink cowgirl theme. We had cupcakes, snacks, and a Texas shaped cake that Mommy made for Willa to smash up! Here are some pictures from my camera. My sister and mom have some better ones that I will post later, but these are a few cute ones! More tomorrow on her first birthday!

Some of the decorations...


Presents!



Cake!



Friends and family!
Umm...
(it's not open)

Pushing the high chair- trying to walk!

First pony tail

I got Willa's hair into her first real pony tail today! She did really well letting me do it, too, as long as I left Thomas the Train on. It only comes on Saturdays, so when it's on she has to watch it since it's "new" to her every week!

Tissues and toilet paper

Willa LOVES to pull tissues out of their box and tear them up. And since it is still really muddy and gross outside, canceling plans to go to the park, I decided to let her have a ball in the bathroom. This is what happened...

Recent videos of Willa

Princess Willa

So I still have a lot of my old dance costumes and Halloween costumes that I've saved for Willa to use for dress up when she is a little older. Well, we were running out of things to do around the house, so I got the box out. She is going through a phase where she love love loves to take things out (but not put them back in) and I figured shiny costumes would be a fun thing to throw all over the place. While she was throwing tutus, tap shows, and Snow White's dress all over the place, she came across this crown...

...and actually let me put it on her for just enough time to snap the photo! I'm not sure we are the princess type, but she sure liked to make Mommy laugh!

Peas!

11 month pictures

She was such a big girl when I took these! She sat nicely in her rocking chair and read Mommy a book. She loves to turn pages and let me rock her (she even tried rocking herself when I stopped) while she read out loud. What a precious baby girl!

11 months old

Yesterday, Willa turned 11 months old. It is so hard to believe that we are here already. This time last year I was huge, wrapping up teaching for the year, and convinced that my active baby would show up early. To my dismay, she didn't, but looking back now I am grateful because then I would already have a one year old and I am not prepared for that yet.

It's hard remember what she was like just a few months ago because I see her everyday and am blessed to watch her grow before my eyes. It pains me to look at pictures, though, even from Christmas and realize how much she has changed. She is an angel and growing up too quickly. Her baby book is almost filled except for the rest of her teeth, a few "firsts", and pictures from her birthday party. All the tiny details are filled: the day she was born, our reactions, the day we brought her home, our first days as parents, her routine changes, first foods, first smiles and giggles...and it even breaks my heart that her last first holiday is in two weeks, St. Patrick's Day- not even really a holiday for our little Protestant family, but I can't give up on her "firsts" just yet. There will be many to come, I know, but to think this Easter is already her second one makes me a little sad. Okay. Really sad. But I also laugh at the thought of last year's Easter...she was two weeks old and we took her to Raleigh to my Aunt and Uncle's house for dinner. She still had her bellybutton stump and it was about to fall off- which freaked me out. She had an enormous diaper in the truck (but the diaper wasn't on her yet...and it scared the hell out of her)She wanted to be fed the entire time. And she hated her bow.
She still looks exactly like this when she cries...

We had no idea what we were doing! But we were so happy to have her and be a new family.

I look forward to all of our tomorrows with our little girl, but wish the present didn't go by so quickly. Before we know it she'll be walking, talking (words we understand), eating grilled cheese sandwiches, and turning on the TV by herself. Maybe even a big sister!

p.s. 11 month pictures to come...they are really cute!