My Baby Turned One

Putting on her new shirt...

Couldn't believe I was letting her eat her own cake.

30 great people

2 failed cakes

5 trips to the store

3 emergency borrowed items from a neighbor

Nowhere to have the party

And 1 nervous break down later...

We had a party!

Okay, so it wasn't that stressful. Okay, actually it was. But once the party actually happened it was all okay. Seriously, not many more things could have gone wrong in preparations for the big party. But then it got rolling and I realized all the things I was worrying about were silly. (Except for the fact that I ruined two cakes the morning of, or that we almost didn't have anywhere for the 30 people to go...that was real stress.)

ANYWAY, Kellyn is one. She is beautiful and happy and we love her so much. Here are a few more fun Kellyn facts:

• She LOVES dogs
• She is going to be very independent and stubborn--she is already even trying to dress herself
• She LOVES shoes
• Her hair grows in a perfect pony tail pattern--who knows why but it's super cute (except not so cute when it's not in a pony tail, then it looks like a bad comb over)
• Kellyn LOVES her daddy
• Kellyn calls any man with a shaved head "dada"

You know when you get married you are excited and think you couldn't love each other anymore? And then a couple years later you realize how much more you really love them? That's how it's been with Kellyn. When she was born I was in love. Even though I was a bit traumatized by the birth and nursing and no sleep, I totally loved her. But every moment I'm with her, every diaper I change, every story I read and song I sing, I love her even more. It's like my heart is growing. Motherhood is so hard yet so beautiful. I hope this year doesn't go by quite so fast.

Happy Birthday Kellyn--we love you.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Three years ago I married this guy. I really love him. Marriage is a lot of hard work. It REALLY is. But it's totally worth it. Three years down, lots more to go.

Kellyn

Kellyn definitely takes after her mom. She's going to be a talker! Here is her vocabulary list so far. All of these words are not completely discernible to the naked ear but we know what she's saying because of our super parent senses.

• Dada
• Mama
• Nana (Banana)
• Jees (Jesus)
• Lithe (Light)
• Daw (Dog)
• Fafafafa (Dog barking--see video below)
• Yeah
• Uh-Uh-Ooh-Uh-Oh (Uh-Oh)

She says all of these words a lot. Over and over. And then she says lots of nonsense words. She talks constantly and we love it. A few of her other favorite things include:

• Dancing--especially to hymns during church
• Swimming
• Walking
• Eating--especially bananas
• Dogs
• Jumping and rolling in big piles of blankets and pillows
• Books, books, and more books
• Watching dumb Baby Genius movies (like budget Baby Einstein movies)
• Playing with her friend Maeva
• Playing and chewing on whatever she's not supposed to

This age is so much fun. The first few months with her as a new baby just about did me in. Honestly, I didn't enjoy it like I thought I would. It was so hard and I wasn't sure I could do it. So here's a shout out to new moms who are struggling--it's really hard at first but it's okay because it gets better! I love it now. I feel so blessed to stay home with her and look forward to all the stages to come. She will be ONE this month. I really wish time wasn't going by so quickly. But I'm just trying to soak it in and enjoy every second with my baby, while she's still a baby!