Happy 1st birthday.

One. Indy is one. We had our ups and downs with her. She's a happy child now. One year minus 8 weeks ago I would have never thought that to be true. That colic thing is for the birds.  I like happy non-crying babies much better.  Although, she still for the most part refuses to laugh especially with me, she smiles (a lot), gives kisses, waves, hugs (rarely), gives high fives, and is very aware of her surroundings, always watching and thinking. I do love her! Happy Birthday, ladybug!

The birthday outfit!

Indy's birthday cake

A cupcake with a cute little ladybug candy.

Aren't these sticks and cupcake holders the cutest? 

The tower of cupcakes. So even when displayed beautifully there were some left in this house.

Clearly, she doesn't understand that she needs to be the one blowing out the candles.

This super food aggressive child doesn't know what do to with this cake. And we are not those parents. You know the ones I'm talking about.

Finally decided to touch it. (Forewarning: it may be painful to look at all these pictures that look just a like. But she will only turn one once.)

There is a tiny little bit on her mouth (not sure if that's in her mouth at this point or just on).

I know what you're thinking, here we go. Right?

Not really.  

Poor Kinsey! I had to add this picture because it's the only one she's in.  She got sick, threw up during the party, then fell asleep while watching Rio in our bed.  I actually went and got her out of bed so she could sing happy birthday to sister. She was so excited about sister's birthday and the party. And all of her friends were here! Did I mention she fell asleep during a party? She ran a fever and took two naps. 

So here you're thinking, she's going in for it. And you're right. She is! 

See. 

She likes it. She does. It's just hard to tell. 

She can't seem to figure out that she needs to dig in it with her hands.  

Instead of bringing the cake to her mouth, she takes her mouth to the cake.  And that's about as messy as it got. We all contemplated whether or not her face would be stained black after this and no worries it wasn't.  BUT when it came out the south end it did stain. BLUE! Yeah, she had a stained blue butt. I would hate to think how bad it would have been had she actually eating some of it. 

After! I tried spooning it out to her and feeding her. She bit down on the spoon and won't give it back. When I did get it back she refused anymore.  

We had ourselves a "photobooth." This is Indy with Kaylee. Kaylee and Kinsey are best of friends.

Kaylee, Indy, Jaycie and Jayce. What cuties!

That's what 1, 2 and 3 year old girls look like.  

Here we have more of the gang. Kaylee, George, Indy, Prayer, Jaycie and Jayce.  That was one of those hurry it up, they ain't gonna stay still long moments.  

The birthday girl!

Indy and Prayer. Prayer is a professional!

Yay Indy!

Mommy, Indy and Daddy.

I'm always trying to get her to laugh. This smile is as good as it gets. And that's good.

Jayce's mommy didn't want any part of him be a photo bomber but I grabbed him and pulled him in.  

This is clearly my I'm talking through my smile face. It's not great. I should work on making that look more natural.  I have a feeling with two girls, I'm going to need that face a lot!

Indy and Austin. Keep your eyes on these two, boys and girls. They've been trouble from the start.  

She's so super cute in her birthday outfit. George's (see above) mommy made her the tutu. I did the shirt and the ladybug bow and the shoes are baby Gap. 

She can walk better without the shoes.

In lieu of a gift please bring your favorite childhood book...

Look at all these great books! I have awesome friends!

That awesome tutu! (There's something pre-kid Melanie would have never, EVER, said.)

Seriously. They are that cute in person, too.

Now what party isn't complete without someone getting tatted up? 

You got two options here. Bumblebees or Ladybugs. We're hard core!

The decor for the door.  (Say it in your cheesiest voice for full effect).

The party favors. Baby food jar, ribbon, piper cleaner, candy and a thank you tag. And a thank you to Amanda for cutting those out!

Cake Pops! 

The cups. How cute are these, really!

Okay, that's it. That's a birthday party in photos. Hope you enjoyed it. 

Things I love right now...

...that Kinsey loves water slides! She's in love with the yellow slide at the Eunice Pool. And who can blame her, really? She can go down it all by herself. It's pretty great. Not loving, however, that the pool closes tomorrow for the summer.  Really. Also, that at the Lovington Pool Indy went down the big slide and liked it, too.
...that Kinsey loves water. And I'm loving that we've spent so much time at Mrs. Kris' this summer that I feel okay letting her swim in the deep. I feel confident that she knows what to do and won't panic if she can't see me. I love that!
...that Indy is so mobile.  And so close to walking. Sometimes I miss being able to sit her in one place for more than 3 seconds but overall, it's good stuff.
...Pinterest.com. If you're not on there, get on there! It's terrific.
...Indy's secret whisper language.  She cracks me up.
...that I'm officially a soccer mom.  That's right. I signed Kinsey up this morning. Then we got her a soccer ball, shin guards and soccer socks. She's super excited. And so am I! I'm also excited that Kinsey will be on a team with girls that are, and I quote, "like my best friends!"
...that Indy is such a great sleeper. Other than last night and honestly that wasn't that bad. She woke up three times last night and it was a simple as sticking the pacifier back in her mouth and walking away. Usually, she sleeps 11-12 hours uninterrupted at night. We're so lucky!
...not really loving that school is about to start, but I'm loving that Kinsey likes school so much and is more than ready to go back.
...that when playing peek-a-boo with Indy, she seems to say the words, "Ha ha." in her grunt voice. Hilarious!