Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

How is it possible that my baby is one??? I just can't believe it. When I look at Sarina, I feel like she has always looked as she does now. But then I go back on old photos and realize just how much she has grown. Blows my mind. She has brought Derick and I so much happiness, every day is a blessing with her. I almost forget how hard it was to get pregnant with her. Just seeing her smile wipes away all the pain that we endured with the miscarriages. In the end, it was so worth it. And, I think it makes me a better mommy to her. I really try hard not to take things for granted. Even when she is kicking and screaming because she wants to play with my laptop, I don't lose my cool with her. I am just grateful that I have her in my life to stop what I am doing online and play with her.

We had her first birthday party yesterday, and it was a huge success! We had nearly 40 people, a mixture of family and great friends. It was difficult to have so many people trapped in the house because of the weather, but it worked. I wouldn't have it any other way. When it comes to celebrating, I say go big or go home! I was raised with big family functions, and have such good memories of my parties. I hope Sarina does too.

Now for some bragging. I tried to think of a party theme that was a) relevant to Sarina (she doesn't watch TV so characters from kids shows were out) b) something not too girly ( I didn't want it to be ALL pink) and c) original. What better theme than a puppy party!! She loves Koda and Winston, so it just made sense. I was very proud of my craft skills for this party. I made the invites, party favors, her smash cake, and my favorite...her POODLE skirt! Everything came out exactly as I had envisioned. A friend is starting up a cupcake business, and she made puppy cakes for the party. My one regret was that the party went by too fast. I always fear that when I host parties, I don't get to spend good quality time with everyone. It is like your wedding day, when you try to rush around to all the tables during dinner to say hi to the guests. By the time all the coats were in the guest room, I felt that I just had to run up again to retrieve them. But the important thing is that Sarina had a good time. I think she was amazing for being passed around so much and being so over stimulated. She was so pooped that she went to bed 1.5 hours early!

Derick and I are so blessed for so many reasons, but Sarina is the one that tops the list. I can't wait to see what year 2 will bring!