Blanche Turns One

My baby is one. Well, she will officially be one in four and a half hours at two thirty am. So right about now one year ago... I was ready to have my baby. Really ready. Like almost thirty hours of labor... so ready.

And now she's one. Blanche is crawling, standing (until she sees we are watching), saying mama, dada, papa, hi, bye, buh (boo) baby (sort of) and can make signs for milk and all done. She also has one little tooth! Blanche has more and more personality every day. Some days she seems so big, toddler-like. Other days she's just my little cuddly baby.

Andrew's mom and her husband Keith came up for a long weekend, and we had such a good time visiting with them and celebrating little Blanche. They stayed for Blanche's birthday party on Sunday afternoon before they left. We did a simple and modest sock monkey party. Perfect for Blanche. The decorations were my watercolor banner and pictures of Blanche all over the place (which may have been her favorite part). I hung twine and used little clothes pins to hang them. We had cake (made by the cafe's amazing baker Betty) and coffee at the bookstore/ cafe where Andrew manages. Because Blanche can't really say "Mom, make sure and invite this friend," we invited our own friends. And as you can see above, some of our friends have very handsome babies that come to celebrate Blanche. My step-sister and her family came from Oklahoma as well, which was a nice treat for Blanche since they have a young daughter.

Its funny because as a visual/ artistic person I often look through pictures again and again and those become my memories. But I am finding as a mother that sometimes its best to put the camera down and live in the moment. To sit beside Blanche as she eats her cake and help her unwrap her presents. So, I didn't get every "detail" shot of the decorations, or capture the best picture of Blanche eating cake, but I did get some photos that will always be special to me. I also felt like I was able to talk to people, and most of all I got to carry around the birthday girl for most of her party : )

Blanche was sleepy at the end but so sweet and curious about what this thing called a party was all about. It made me realize that once again birthdays and holidays have become something filled with wonder that only a child can bring. This time though, I am on the other end, watching my daughter smile and laugh as she explores the world. It does make me thankful, not only for the year behind us but hopefully for the many more to come.

Cake Eating Video