Marielle is 1!

Happy 1st Birthday, Marielle!  I know you won't remember any of this, so here are some pictures to show you the display we had to honor you and your big day.  I'm becoming slightly more creative with each year I have children thanks in part to Pinterest as well as participating in other children's birthday parties.

It made sense to have a Valentine's Day theme since it's so close to your birthday, and because frankly, all the decorations and candy at the stores right now are for Valentine's day. 

 So, we had what looked like a pink/strawberry explosion in our home to include chocolate-covered strawberries, strawberry milk, strawberry fudge and strawberry cupcakes.  This would have been a bad time to discover you are allergic to strawberries.

 The ice cream was cherry.

 I sprinkled dark chocolate shavings on the cupcakes.  Don't be too impressed...the cupcakes came from a box, the frosting from a can.

 I just wanted it to be beautiful, like you.  It had nothing to do with impressing my friends with my new skills ;)

 Some of your closest friends were there (ok, Laken's friends...you haven't really made any yet, but you will).

 Your sister sang "Happy Birthday" the loudest!  She loves you so much.  That, and the girl likes to party.

 There's my big girl!  You are simply gorgeous and I hope you knew on some level that this was all for you and we were so happy to spoil you today!

You've grown so much this year!  Look at you drinking from a cup!  I'm spending a lot of time today thinking back to one year ago and how much you've changed!  But one thing remains the same.  You are such a happy, easy-going baby.  I'm having fun watching your personality unfold and learn new things. 

Congratulations on several accomplishments this year:  sleeping through the night; saying 'mama', 'dada' and 'up'; crawling, laughing, clapping, and buzzing your lips.  You are pure joy for me.