And Just Like That

I have a 2 year old...

And I'm not sure how that happened...

I now have a child that verbalizes very clearly when she needs something. We need a drink, we need a snack, we need this toy or that book, we need to watch Mickey Mouse or Super Why.

I now have a child that says her letters and we are working on numbers.

I have a child that will bring you book after book after book and have you read them.

I have a child that will read books to herself.

I have a child that has a temper that is a combination of her mother and fathers. Who struggles hearing the word NO. She prefers to do things herself even though she can't.

I have a child that has no fear. We will crawl, stand and jump off anything. She has fallen and cried but a simple are you okay, and life goes on.

I have a child that looks at everything with wonder in her eyes. The mere sight of something new and she wants to know all about it. I love that look of wonder and I hope it never leaves.

I have a child that I am blessed to call mine.

A Birthday Party for a Farmgirl

I would like to start out saying that we don't really get wild and crazy about birthday's in my family. I mean we acknowledge them and give a gift or a card but we don't have parties and quite frankly we are still trying to go out to dinner as a family for my dad's birthday from December. Don't get me wrong, birthday's are important and should be celebrated but we just choose to do ours on a much smaller scale.

Except for the first birthday.

Now, I've stated before that I refuse to compare Reagan to other babies close to her age. I choose to do this because each child is different and I don't go by the books either. So when planning her first birthday I was not going to compare her's to other peoples that I had seen on facebook or pinterest. Some of the birthday parties that I had seen on pinterest were amazing, adorable, and picture perfect. I made the assumption that either those people were uber crafty, had way to much time on their hands, had tons of money or paid for someone to do it. I had none of those. So off to Hobby Lobby I went with some vague idea of things I wanted.

I knew we were doing a farm theme but that was about it. Thank goodness Hobby Lobby had some great items that went with the theme.

Her party was great, she loved all the attention! She crashed and crashed hard that night and it took her most of Sunday to recuperate.

Loved her cake!

Favor bags with cow pies and road apples (peanut clusters and oreo balls)

Obsessed with balloons!

We kept it super simple.

Seeing all of her monthly pictures lined up made me almost tear up.

My little family!

Uncle Matt and Aunt Kiki

Mom's face is priceless

Do not touch my cupcake

Just kidding, I can share.

I really get to eat this entire thing!!!

And down we go...

This is Reagan and J her sitter. She was so excited to see her that night!

One Year Pictures

I have so much to catch up on, including her birthday party!

For now though, I will leave you with her first year pictures.

www.photographybyluann.com View Proofs and enter your e-mail address. Enjoy!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

I knew this day would come eventually, I just didn't think it would get here as fast as it seemed too.

I now have a 1 year old. A 1 year old, seriously. No longer a baby, no longer do I need to count in months, she is 1.

What a year it has been, from having an unplanned c-section (you can reread all about that day here, here, and here) to jaundice to heart murmurs. To crawling, walking and running. From breastfeeding, formula, baby food and regular food. From having no teeth to getting her top ones in first. Diapers, wipes, explosions, and Matt wanting to potty train her. Boat rides, camping, fairs, babysitters, farming and swim lesson. This little girl has had an amazing first year. So on this day I forget the sleepless nights, the screaming, the messes and just remember the cuddly baby that we brought into this world, our new year's baby, our everything.