Celebrating Stella

Wowza.

Today was all about Miss S.

And it couldn't have been more fun...okay, maybe if we had our awesome families here to celebrate with us it would have been that much better, but still.  Fun was had by all.

I attempted one "last" photo shoot.

Let's be honest, I am sure it won't be our last but at least the last one of her very first year.

This year has been quite the ride baby girl, but I am so glad you were here to keep us smiling.

We sure love everything about you.

From your two beautiful blue eyes, to your nine teeth, to your ten munchable toes.

You couldn't be more perfect for us.

There are a lot of pictures and a lot of them are a bit blurry.

But all of them show a little bit of Stella's spunky personality and each of them make me smile.

So why not share them?

As a one year old, Stella says mom, dad, and Dodger.

She loves Elmo's World and Baby Signing Time.

Is sleeping wonderful, basically 8-8 every night.

Still loves to eat, but I can sense the pickiness coming.  I am doing everything I can to stop it too!

Rarely gets a bottle.  Sometimes when I am in a hurry or really need her to settle down for bed I will give it to her, but for the most part she is drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup.

Enjoys "playing" with her toys as long as making a mess with them is considered playing.

Loves to climb the stairs as fast as she can.  Usually because one of us is chasing her and trying to get her to come back down.

Oh boy.

Lately she will hold up the number one when we ask her how old she is.

Sometimes it finds it's way into the most convenient orifice she can find.

Hey, it's her birthday, she can do what she wants.

We decided to have a little par-tay to celebrate the babe.

I started out simple and progressively made it more complex and complicated.

In the end it wasn't too much work.

I spent a couple late hours making cupcake toppers and birthday banners last night, and used Stella's nap time to play baker this afternoon.

I think in the end everything turned out just fine.

Feminine and dainty, just like our girl.

Stella "opened" a few gifts, but of course enjoyed the wrapping paper much more than what it actually contained.

We gave her this little stroller/walker and as soon as she found her way to it she has been scooting all over the place.

She really will be walking anytime.

When it came to the cake she was much more reserved than I expected.

For as much as she loves food and incessantly shovels it into her mouth she held back quite a bit.

Eventually she got the hang of it and required a quick bath to remove all the crumbs and frosting from her hands and hair.

Here she is showing us all that she is one.

This time the nose was avoided.

Well after a year of this mother stuff I must say all the frustration, tears, and sleepless nights that accompany motherhood are completely worth it.

My world has been forever changed by one little girl.

We love you so much, Stella, and we hope you never, ever forget it.