Mackenzie's 1st Birthday

Mackenzie didn't care much for her birthday hat, but it did turn out cute.
I had a lot of fun getting everything ready for the party. The banner above the table has a picture from each month over the last 12 months. It is amazing to see how much she has changed. The goodies consisted of cupcakes, marshmallow pops, cupcake cake pops, M&M's, and chocolate covered pretzels.

I decided to make the cupcakes. We had 2 different flavors: strawberry with strawberry icing and chocolate cookie dough with whipped icing. The Chocolate Cookie Dough was a favorite among the crowd. It had a ball of cookie dough in the middle.

These were my attempt at cupcake cake pops. They turned out a little bigger than expected so they ended up not actually being pops. Still very yummy!

Hunter had a blast having everyone over to celebrate.

The kids got to decorate a cupcake to take home with them. They had a blast with all of the sprinkle choices.

Hunter was very proud to be her big brother.

She is walking, but a little on the wobbly side.

The blue icing was really blue, but it was the kids favorite. Sorry moms if it stained any tee-shirts :)

Mackenzie had fun opening the gifts, but not as much fun as the other kids did helping her.

Mackenzie decided to feed me some of her cupcake.

She was a little hesitant in the beginning, but once she dug in she loved it. She takes after me loving the sweet stuff.

We weren't sure how much she would eat, but she did have fun.

We were able to grab a family photo before Mackenzie went to bed.

Back in July, Kelly Troutt and I had lunch with the girls. Over lunch, Kelly mentioned that she was going to plan Katherine's 1st Birthday around cupcakes. I loved the idea and asked if she wouldn't mind if I took that idea also. I had a blast looking for ideas and putting my creations into action. Everything either was cupcake themed or polka-dot themed.

The party started at 4. We let the kids play for about an hour and then set out dinner. Adam and I had decided to go easy with dinner. We bought about 3lbs of barbecue, some potato salad, chips, baked beans, and a few other sides. There wasn't hardly anything left.

After dinner, we opened gifts. Mackenzie got tons of girly goodies. She got her first tea set, a pink "chew-chew" train, and a pink Mega Blocks car. She didn't care too much about the gifts. The other kids loved helping her.

We then sang "Happy Birthday". As I was putting the cupcake on her tray, she grabbed the flame with her fingers and put it out. There were no tears. Everyone looked around at one another just waiting. I quickly smiled and then continued acting like nothing had happened. It didn't phase her or burn her fingers. So she didn't blow out her candle, but put it out with her finger instead. She slowly dug her little fingers in the icing, but was hesitant. Once she saw that I wanted a bite, and she shared one, she knew it was perfectly fine. After a few minutes of digging in, I decided she had had enough sugar. We went directly to the tub and I got her ready for bed. She was exhausted and went down quickly. After about an hour, the sugar kicked in and she was up again. We let her join in on the fun a little longer.

Once I had Mackenzie down, the kids gathered around the table to decorate their cupcakes. I had left a few from each batch un-iced. The kids loved using all of the sprinkles. I had little containers for them to take them home in.

Overall, her party was a hit. I love entertaining and am always looking for an excuse to have friends over. As much fun as I had getting everything ready, I don't think we will be putting as much effort into next year's party. You only have your 1st birthday once and I wanted it to be one that we would remember. Happy Birthday baby girl! We love you more than you will ever know.

Spaghetti Anyone???

No more baby food for little lady. She hasn't had baby food for about a month and she loves the real stuff!!! Spaghetti is one of her favorites, but a bath is always needed immediately afterwards. We are working on weaning her from the daytime bottles and it seems to be working. Her 1 year doctor appointment was yesterday. She is still in the lower percentile, but steady with her growth. We are going to start trying some dairy products, but very slowly. Last night we tried a little ice cream. She did have a little gas, but no skin reactions. The doctor visit went well. Here are a few of her milestones:

Milestones:

Weight: 18lbs. 1 oz

Height: 28.75 inches

She is starting to take some steps and is encouraged by her peers. I see her taking more and more steps each day.

Words: Mama, Da-Da, Hi

Signs: "All Done"

Foods she loves: Spaghetti, Gerber Graduate Veggie/Chicken Ravioli, Zucchini, Whole Grain Crackers, ANY fruit, and now...cupcakes

She is growing up soooooo fast!!!

The Fun Box

About a week ago, I came across a beautiful chandelier for our dinning room. I couldn't pass it up. It wasn't on the top of our list of things to do, but $60 @ Costco...you can't go wrong. Not only did we get a beautiful chandelier for $60, but the box came along with it. The kids have had fun playing in and around the box. Hunter loves pushing Mackenzie around. We do have to remind him to take it slow. Who knew boxes would be such a great entertainer????

1st Day in the Blue Shirt Class

Hunter has been looking forward to making the big move into the Blue Shirt classroom for a while now. Not only does he get to wear the "blue" shirt, but also gets to play on the "blue shirt playground". He is super excited. Mackenzie is making a step up in her class also. She will go from being the oldest baby in the Infant Room to the youngest in the 1-2 year old class. Eventually she will be taking 1 nap and having no bottles, but for now they are letting her slowly adapt. She still takes 2 naps and really demands them both. I don't think we are going to have troubles taking the bottle away. She is no longer getting a morning bottle, but having a "big girl" breakfast instead. It will be a slow transition. I can't believe she is almost 1 year old!

A Morning @ the Beach

Hunter and Colin's volcano.
Mackenzie was not scared of the waves or the water.

Adam and Mackenzie getting a little swim in.

School starts back on Monday. I don't have any students, but our routine is about to begin. Mackenzie and Hunter are excited about getting back to Eagle's Nest. However, we decided to take the kids to the beach this morning and soak up the last minutes of summer.

Mackenzie loved the sand! Luckily, she kept it out of her mouth and eyes. She also loved the water. She spent most of the time playing, but then decided to take a little nap, which gave me a little R&R at the beach. The sound of the waves and the feel of the sand is all I need to unwind.

We did run into The Briggs' family (minus Christine and Jake). Hunter and Colin had a blast building a volcano and splashing around in the water. Wiggins Pass Beach is nice in the morning because of the tall trees that provide shade. No umbrella needed. What a great morning!

Going to Miami

After our Burger experience, we were still all smiles (Hayden is sitting in the stroller behind Jayme.)
Mackenzie trying on the birthday hat. I'm going to be making her one now. I didn't think she would wear it.

Just chillin' in Miami.

Our good friends, Josh and Megan Hamann, moved to Miami a few years ago. They moved the same year we moved to Bristol, VA. Due to us not being in Fl for a year and being pregnant last summer, I still hadn't been over to see their place. She lives downtown Miami in a brand new condo. The view is spectacular!!! She lives across from the outside amphitheater and gets to hear free concerts quite often. Prior to having kids, I would have loved to live down there!!! Jayme and I made the trip over together. Hayden and Mackenzie slept the whole way over. We had it timed perfectly, but we made a wrong turn and it put us behind a little. It was quite humorous listening to Baby Einstein music, trying to navigate through Miami (which I HATE driving in Miami...thanks Jayme for being so brave), and hearing the babies scream in the back. We eventually found it. We spent a little time up in the condo catching up and letting the babies play. Then we went and grabbed a bite to eat. We decided on somewhere right around the corner. Again, we found the humor in eating with 3 babies and at no point in time were all 3 babies happy. One of the waiters was an amazing help. Afterwards, we went back to the condo and Megan showed us her pool area. AMAZING!!! Talk about wishing I had a Mojito and a book. If Adam and I had a pool area like that at our access, he wouldn't see me half the time. I was sad that our trip was so quick, but it was perfect! Both the babies slept the whole way back, but started crying within 5 minutes of Naples. Jayme and I just put on Baby Einstein music and laughed. Hunter spent the day with Mrs. Dominique and the girls. He enjoyed his day just as much as we enjoyed our girls day (plus Hayden).

Mommy and Me Day

Today, I took Mackenzie to Ms. Elisa's house, her teacher from Eagle's Nest. I wanted to spend a day with him before I went back to school. We had a list of errands to run. Hunter was a champ running in and out of the stores. He did get a new toy airplane that he is really proud of. After all the errands were run, we went to eat lunch and then to King Richards. Basically, King Richards is similar to Chucky Cheese, but it also has go-carts, carnival rides, a putt-putt course, and a water park. Hunter saw the go-carts and was immediately drawn. He rode the first one by himself. I knew, with his Gator driving experience in Ashland City, this wouldn't be a problem. Then we rode a go-cart together. He had a blast. We did go inside and play the video games. Overall, I wasn't too impressed with King Richards. However, we had a blast together!

A Minute of Sanity

Adam was invited to Chicago with one of our friends/members from the golf course. He flew up yesterday and will be gone until Thursday. The kids have really been following me around the house more than usual. They are wanting my full attention at all times. Yesterday, during a bad storm, I even had Callie following me and under my feet (She hates storms.) Tomorrow Mackenzie is going to visit Ms. Elisa. I got out the portable/beach pack-n-play to clean up. I opened it up and the kids wanted in. I put them in and they played in it for almost an hour. Who knew that a pack-n-play would give me enough time to clean the bathroom, unload the dishwasher, and catch up on the blog???? I'm going to have to remember this trick!

Me and My Pal

Hunter loves Callie. He wears her out most days. I think she is looking forward to him going back to school. Hunter wanted me to take a picture of them together. She is 6 years old and still chugging along. We love her and are glad that she is apart of our family.

$1 Movies

On Wednesdays, during the summer, Regal offers movies for a $1. Adam was planning on going with us, but had to work. I was a little worried about taking the kids by myself. However, I knew that there would be a lot of kids and babies in the theater and decided to give it a whirl. Mackenzie was asleep when we arrived and slept for about 30 minutes. The remainder of the movie I spent feeding her crackers and puffs. She did good and Hunter got to see one of his favorite movies, Alpha and Omega.

Sleeping Positions

Mackenzie is very flexible. She gets this from Frances Ann. She has always been able to bend in so many different directions. While sleeping, she sometimes will sit up and then decide to lay back down, as demonstrated in the picture above. It amazes me that she will sleep like this. I have a feeling that gymnastics and cheerleading are in our future.