Happiest 1st birthday, Baby Bean...what a JOY to celebrate you!!!!
There are few things more fun in life than celebrating the life of your children. Yes, I DO celebrate them every day of their lives…but once a year, a super special date rolls around, and I get to go a little above-and-beyond. My baby girl only turns one once!!!
A few good friends flapped on over to join us, and Brian’s parents even flew over for the festivities! What a joyous day!!
“It’s TWEET to be ONE!”
Let’s get this party started!“TWEETS”
Selah Beans, Ruffled (Feathers) with Bird Droppings, Boiled Bird Eggs (read: Deviled Eggs fail!), Bird Beaks, Bird Seeds, Fruit From a Big Green Egg, Bird Nests, and a Bird Bath
My, oh my, how the first year flew by! Put the Selah Birdies in order from month 1- month 12!Selah’s Birthday BannerThe Birthday Girl!!!!
Everyone ate the “bird food” and the big kiddos got to do a craft.
Here’s Miss Ava, showing off the awesome bird she created! (You can’t see it too well, but she is feeding the bird a gummy worm!) 🙂
Time for CUPCAKES!!
My friend Tish did all the cupcake baking for me! They were AMAZING!!!!
We couldn’t wait to see how Selah would react to her very first taste of sugar! I think this is my favorite part of the 1 year old birthday parties :).
As everyone sang, she didn’t even noticed the flaming pink and chocolate yumminess that I was holding for her. She just stared at everyone…studying everything! Maybe we were off key??Elliott helped her blow out the candle.…and then she carefully inspected the foreign object in front of her.“What on earth is this squishy sponge-like substance?”“Okay, now it’s on my hands…eww.” (In other news…Like father, like daughter; like mother, like son…look at each of our faces, haha!!)So when she wouldn’t take a bite, Brian finally gave her a taste……aaaannddd she wasn’t super impressed :).“What did I do to deserve THIS? Is this a rite of passage for turning one?”“Mama, can we have a little talk about this cupcake thing? Privately…in another room, please?”“Maybe if I offer it to someone else with a cute smile on my face, they’ll fall for it…hee…hee…”“I’m full now, Mama…may I please be excused from eating this pink and brown sponge?”
PRESENT TIME!
Selah was lavished by our friends and familyElliott was a VERY good helper and VERY willing to help Selah open all of her presents. Such a servant :).Selah has a slight obsession with hats and shoes. Since we live in Colorado, I thought it only appropriate to get her a cowboy hat and boots. We couldn’t WAIT for her to open it up! Here she is trying it on for the first time.Our friends the Sundbys got Selah this AWESOME giraffe chair, without even knowing that her favorite passtime is throwing herself without caution onto floors, couches, pillows, beds, etc. This giraffe chair has provided HOURS of entertainment as she lounges, rolls, somersaults, climbs and throws herself on top of it!
Some of our FAVORITE PEEPS:
So grateful that Selah gets to walk alongside of Miss Ariel as she grows up. What a beautiful, tender-spirited, kind, already-godly 9-year-old role model!Family photographer 🙂 and dear, dear friend… Auntie SuzSweet Charlotte teaching Selah how the doll she gave her works.Playing peek-a-boo with Kari and AvaThere she is!“Your turn!”Finally getting to meet Sara and Emmy!The guests who traveled the farthest to celebrate our Selah Bean…Grandma and Granpda!!Us.The favors
We celebrated a couple weeks later with my family down in the Springs. Her super special birthday gift was this beautiful, hand-made blanket by my mom.
What a gift to be treasured!!
October 8, 2013: HER ACTUAL BIRTHDAY!
The night before Selah’s birthday, I was on my way home, thinking about the day that Selah came, and I just began to cry…how had one year FLOWN by already…It was Brian’s birthday, and I vividly remembered every detail of where I was, how I was feeling at that VERY MOMENT one year ago…resting in such faith, knowing that The Great Shepherd was writing her story. There were so many unknowns. And oh, how faithful He was, and how faithful He has been…to guard, protect, and guide her life. It’s a crazy concept to grasp, but nothing could be truer: God loves her more than I do. Whew.
So, eyes wet with tears, I came home to such a fun sight: Brian and his dad putting together the play kitchen that his parents got for Selah. We were so excited for her to wake up to it on her birthday!!
Brian and I turned in for the night and began to relive those very moments in time, one year ago. And as I blubbered through my mess of “He was just so faithful to us!!” Brian burst out, “Let’s go sneak into her room and write her an email!!”
I love it. If you don’t know already, both our kids have email addresses (and they’re waiting to hear from YOU!). We write to them regularly, often attaching pictures off of our phone from the day’s events. So we snuck into her room around 10 at night with our little lap top in hand…It was PITCH BLACK and HILARIOUS as we fumbled about, trying to be quiet but without ANY source of light. We finally got the computer on and began to type to her as we listened to her breathe. It was perfect. And a million times more fun than the labor I was in one year earlier at that very moment :).
And many hours later, our baby girl awoke…as a ONE YEAR OLD!!!!
And both the kids got right to work!!Thrilled to be one, thrilled to be in Daddy’s arms…This shirt is SUPER special because, besides the fact that it is adorable, it is a hand-me-down from Kari’s girls, Ava and Charlotte…who wore this shirt for each of their 1st birthdays, too!We celebrated by doing the thing that Selah loves most–going to the park and going up and down the slide OVER AND OVER AND OVER again…She just loves to be thrilled!!!After the park we got out her other special present from us–a stroller! With a super sweet baby doll from Auntie Melisa!She walked with it for a minute or two, until……she realized it was the perfect object TO CLIMB…“I think I’m starting to get the hang of this stroller thing…do you think the doll minds that I’m stepping on her face?”“Okay, this is AWESOME! NOW I see why you got me this toy!”And, finally, we tried round 2 of the whole “cupcake” thing. She was much less cautious this time around…And even looked like she ENJOYED it :).Happiest 1st birthday, Baby Bean…what a JOY to celebrate you!!!!
3 comments
What an absolute joy both of your children are! And you are the best parents too! xxxooo
What an absolute joy both of your children are! And you are the best parents too! xxxooo
OH da goodness…tuper, tuper TWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE YOU, Selah B!