lucy's first birthday bash

photo by cassie

my baby turned one! it's so crazy to me. i haven't even fully processed that yet, the fact that one year has passed since i became a mother, the fact that it has been one full year since i met this dreamy sparkling hummingbird of a girl.

we threw her a garden party in our backyard. i spent the early part of the week trying to tidy up our backyard and make it cute, which is an endless task, the results of which will never completely satisfy me. but in any case, we had a nice place to hang out, play, dance, eat and celebrate this precious little girl of mine.

party prep:

sunflowers remind me of her birth because several people brought me sunflowers in the hospital, that and fresh lavender. it was this that made me want a "garden party" with visions of a bumblebee pinata (till i realized none of my friend's kids really eat candy) and little potted flowers for party favors (till i realized i was broke.) it pretty much turned out to be just a plain old backyard picnic; the most gardenny thing happening was little oliver watering my marigolds.

as could probably be expected, naptime was a no-go that day until about 4:30 pm. so she was still asleep when the party got started. when i finally brought her out she was a bit overwhelmed, taking the whole thing rather seriously.

photo by cassie

warming up, greeting her guests. i mean, c'mon, all her favorites were here! including abby the dog!

photo by cassie

picnicking on the lawn.

baby central on this here quilt. lucy and aesop both wore vintage 50's baby outfits. dying.

photo by cassie

cousin utah is such a curious little gent! lucy can't keep her mitts off him.

photo by cassie

photo by cassie

KIDS GALORE! it's so fun to have everybody around. 

photo by cassie

lucy was back in fine form in no time. giving out topes and everything!

prepping for some cupcake action.

emily made her famous fresh strawberry cupcakes!

aaaannnnd she digs in!

she picked up plops of frosting rather daintily at first, but it wasn't long before she was grabbing the whole cupcake and basically shoving it in her mouth. and it wasn't long after that she was reaching for more....but i was so pleased that the only thing she wanted more of was the fresh strawberries on top!

feeling GOOD.

it was such a nice evening. i felt surrounded by goodness and so glad to raise our children in this community, and it was nice to just know that lucy is so appreciated and loved. not just by me, and her dad and grandparents and aunties, but her whole tribe adores her.

photo by cassie

she got some rad presents. 

but i think what she loved best of all was the helium balloon papa brought her. she sees them at raleys all the time and goes nuts for them. to have one in her own home was just too much. 

still thrilled the next morning.

what a joy this past year has been, and the quickest blink of an eye i've ever blinked! 

i am so lucky to have this happy-go-lucky little charmer in my life, and i couldn't be more excited to see her in action as a sister come wintertime. happy birthday, my sweet sweet girl.