Madelynn's First Birthday

So I am a slacker and this post is over a month late, but I had to write about it. Ever since we learned we were going to move to Wisconsin I always had this weird hangup with the fact that Madelynn would move just before her first birthday and was sad that she would have to spend that special day away from all of our friends and family in Utah who love and care about her. If we had still been in Utah there probably would have been like 50+ people invited  just among the family and close friends set (that's what happens when your families only live 15 minutes away from each other). I kept being saddened by the idea that we would have just moved and wouldn't have time to make any friends and that no one would even care about the fact that my special little princess was turning one. I know I was being irrational because she would not even remember at all and McKay would be more than happy to not entertain an enormous group of people, but I was still a little sad.

So when Madelynn's first birthday rolled around I was very happy that my parents were able to come visit us from Utah and that my sister in law Cecily's family was able to make the 3 1/2 hour drive to come to the party. Knowing that there were some people there who truly love and care about her was important to me. We also invited a few of that families that we had gotten to know here. It turned out to be a much smaller affair than I had been planning in my head, and a little bit less organized because for some reason when more than half of your party guest are under the age of 8 things get a little crazy! Here is a picture of the guests that were still around when we thought about taking a picture.

I had fun making a pretty birthday bunting banner for Madelynn and making her a small pink birthday cake that she got to smash. I wanted her birthday to be the first time she tried cake, but alas, she snuck some cake crumbs off of the floor when I was baking another cake a little while before. I had planned to do a pink and grey elephant party because I am crazy and bought her Halloween costume back in August, and since I bought her an elephant costume and her birthday is on Halloween... I planned it around her costume. I even designed my own party invitations to match the theme. I also had a lot of fun printing off photos from each month of her life and turning them into cupcake toppers and hanging them on the wall with her birthday banner.

I know McKay's eyes are closed in this picture, but it is the only picture that had the birthday banner in it.

Like I said, It was a much smaller party than I had planned in my head, but it went over really well. We had lots of food and since we took a trip to the cheese factory the morning before her birthday party we had a bunch of cheese and crackers. I even cut some cheese slices in the shape of an elephant! We played a couple of games including pin the tail on the elephant and pass the parcel and had a lot of fun. We also played a game where each of the kids had a balloon and they couldn't let it touch the ground. The older kids loved this, but when one of the balloons popped Madelynn freaked out and started crying. She is still a little bit afraid of balloons.

We were able to catch her reaction to the balloon popping in this picture, how sad is that little face?

When it came time to sing happy birthday and eat cake, Madelynn was not to sure about things. With everyone standing around her and watching her she was a little bit nervous and cautious about the cake eating process. She eventually dug her way through about a third of the cake and a lot of it ended up on her face and on the floor. We all go to eat cupcakes and let Madelynn have her cake all to herself.

This is the only picture we got of her smiling with her cake

Spending her Birthday With Grandma and Grandpa

Madelynn had a blast opening up presents. She just barely figured out that wrapping paper rips like regular paper, and ripping up paper is one of her favorite things to do. Thank you all who gave her a birthday gift, they were wonderful.

That night Cecily's family was able to stay the night so we got to have cousins sleep over! I think that will be more fun for the kids when they are old enough to sleep over together in the same room, but it was still fun having them stay in the house.

Mow some things about Madelynn at 1 year old:
-She weighs 20.5 pounds and is 29 inches long
-she loves to eat cheese, rice, noodles, crackers and pears
-she has 10 teeth!
-she started walking exclusively 1 week before her 1st birthday
-she love to play with cars and dvd's
-she likes to nod her head yes and shake her head no. It is always hilarious when she does this in an appropriate situation
-the only thing she will say is "yeah". Any other words she has learned have been shelved and Yeah is the only thing she wants to say.
- she loves animals, especially ones with fur she can pull
-she love to pull mommy's hair... we are working on that one, ouch!
-She likes to go outside
-She cries whenever daddy walks out the door to go to school
-She is enamored with the bathroom. She loves to play in toilet water, unroll and shred toilet paper and bath time is her favorite
-She likes to dance, she does this by stepping repeatedly in place or spinning in a circle. She mostly dances to music from Bollywood movies.
-she likes to play in the kitchen cupboard and the dishwasher. She likes to pull thing out of them and put her toys there instead.
-She likes to play with older kids. She follows them around like a little puppy dog
-She really likes to play peek a boo, especially under a blanket
- she also likes to play chase, especially if you are chasing her.
-She likes to pull a big cheesy grin that closes her eyes, scrunches her nose and shows all of her teeth
-she likes to sit in boxes. Whether it is empty or not, she loves to climb in.
-she puts anything an everything in her mouth. If she shouldn't eat it, she inevitably finds it and sticks it in her mouth. Coins and leaves are her favorite.
-she likes to watch mommy cook and sometimes "helps"
-she loves to empty bags. She empty's the contents of her diaper bag almost daily. It is always a struggle at church to stop her from digging into someone elses bag!
-she likes to watch the show Yo Gabba Gabba and Blues Clues
- she hates wearing hats. Seriously hates them.
- she stopped taking a binky on her own when she was 9 months old, but now she sucks her thumb again instead.
-she likes to turn the page when we are reading books
-she LOVES to unfold laundry and throw it on the floor. That makes my life a little difficult.
-she likes to snuggle up with mommy under a blanket on the couch while I watch a movie
-She is a sweetheart with a fiery temper brewing under the surface
-She is our amazing baby angel princess and we absolutely adore her and couldn't love her any more!

Happy Birthday Madelynn!