First Birthday For My Baby Girl

It feels like forever since I have written a post; it has just been too busy lately! Between Thanksgiving, ongoing home renovations, a teething baby who doesn’t sleep anymore, and a trip back to Vancouver, free time has been non-existent. I keep waiting for things to quiet down but really that is just not this family’s style. We thrive on the chaos I suppose….
Like I said we just came back from visiting family in friends in Vancouver. The trip to the Coast was for two main reasons. First reason is that I refuse to let go of my relationship with my doctor and Hallie was due for her one year appointment. I know that one day soon I will need to find a doctor in Kamloops but really, my doctor in North Vancouver is just so awesome. I love her and Hallie loves her so we are having a difficult time moving on. With that being said, we had to get Hallie’s one year immunizations done and it made sense to tie it into the trip! I am such a mean mommy though; I scheduled them for her actual birthday! Needless to say it was a bit of an emotional day. Considering it was four needles, my kid took it like a champ! I probably cried more than her. She had been teething badly all week long too so Friday quickly turned into a bit of an Advil day for my sweet girl. The second reason for our trip was to celebrate her FIRST BIRTHDAY! How is it possible my baby is one already? The year went by so quickly. Now my little baby is a toddler! Even Hubs can’t believe it so it’s not just a mom-thing.

So the birthday party….. man did I get a shock on this one! I have had my share of parties and many of them a little overwhelming. I have planned parties and events through work for many years and usually have a steady head on my shoulders. (meaning I can handle all of the stress!) Even at nine months pregnant I threw my own baby shower which was very busy and long and energetic… still, I kept calm hah! I did remain calm yesterday but it was a challenge! My mom’s house is on the tiny side. Many people didn’t RSVP either so as people poured into her little living room, with ALL of their kids, things got squishy very quickly. Hyper children everywhere. Plus a couple round Hallie’s age who are not solid walkers yet still want to play with the big kids so basically they are just tripping hazards. Throw in a couple of newborns and maybe 20 adults – then we have a party! (Insert moment to chug white wine here!). Luckily, most of the adults were those that have kids and didn’t seem to be too concerned. I THINK everyone had a good time but they could just be polite and secretly avoid all calls, texts and future party invitations from me. I am sure most of them are cursing me for hosting such a zoo of a birthday party but oh well. That is what happens when you don’t live here and have to host the party at your mother’s! =) In the end, it was all worth it to see my baby smile!

About that baby!…. Hallie skipped napping entirely before the party. She did sleep in until 10 AM so I figured it would be okay. I was very wrong. Really, the only thing she was content doing was crawling outside to the yard where the big kids were playing. Her highlight of the day was sitting in the dirt. MY CHILD WAS FILTHY!!!! I salvaged the tutu and cream fur vest but the gold and white leggings were disgusting. Every time I tried to redirect her attention inside to people or other shiny objects, she would scream bloody murder. So back out in the dirt she went. If you can’t get dirty on your birthday when can you?! We also decided quickly that cake would happen outside. That was the best damn idea of the day! From then on, things relaxed a bit, or at least I did (perhaps the wine?) and I finally got to catch up with some friends. All in all, despite the chaos and stress of entertaining, it was a great day.

Happy birthday my sweet Hallie Marie! You are a wild child and I would not have that any other way. We love you to the moon and back and can’t wait to see how you grow this year! Love Mom & Dad! XOXOXO