Addie's first birthday party!

My sweet Adeline is almost one. In fact, it will be official on Thursday. I can't believe how fast this year flew by. I know it totally sounds cliche, but it's true... they grow up so fast!

We celebrated her birthday Saturday. Aaron's parents flew all the way from Tennessee to party with us and a bunch of our favorite friends and family members. It was, like, a million degrees out, but we still had a great time.

My best pal Kat made these delicious cookies. She's such an awesome baker/chef/ear piercer.

I have a few of these crayon jars left over from Lilly's second birthday party, so I decided to set up a mini coloring/bubble blowing station for the kids. Aren't those heart baskets adorable? Only .99 at Party City, y'all!

Addie was such a trooper. She only had a few mini meltdowns. Nothing a little one-on-one time with the boob couldn't fix.

I was really concerned about people having heat strokes in the middle of the party, so we set up a kiddie pool for our guests to splash in. I think Brooklyn got the most use out of it. Every time I walked by the pool, she was splashing away.

By the way, Lilly loves her cousin Brooklyn. She asks about her all the time. Mommy, let's see Booklyn. Mommy, where's Booklyn? Booklyn, mas best friend. Forever.

 

We are blessed with amazingly generous friends and family... and they all have great taste!

Lilly Addie got a ton of wonderful presents. Lilly, like the good big sister she is, has been breaking in all of the toys for Addie. And Addie, well, she's really good at sharing. In fact, she hardly notices when Big Sister swipes her stuff.

After opening presents, we sang Happy Birthday to our baby. I put this cake in front of her and she just kinda stared at it... then she gave it a few little pokes and licked her fingers.

And then this happened:

Look at that hair! She was such a mess. I left her to her own devices for a bit and she pretty much devoured that entire thing. 

I swear, that kiddie pool saved the day in more ways than one.

I made these monsters for Lilly's party and I loved them so much, that I had to use them again. I added hearts to match the party theme.  (Which was hearts, in case the heart-shaped cookies and heart-shaped baskets and heart-shaped balloons didn't give it away.)

And of course, I had to make these cakes for the occasion. (In fact, any excuse to make these cakes is a good one. Birthday parties, Bar Mitzvahs, Wednesday afternoons...) We had strawberry, chocolate and lemon and I think all of our guests loved them. (Strawberry still reigns supreme in my book!)

If you like yummy things that are easy to make or if you just want to trick your friends into thinking you're more awesome then you really are, make these cakes! Eat them! Give them away! Your life will be forever changed!

We cleaned up our mess and headed home... only to destroy our apartment with all of Addie's new things. I finally got around to cleaning up and organizing (almost) everything today.

Thanks to everyone who helped and celebrated with us. It was such a sweet party for the sweetest little wubbie around. We'll probably have a smaller party on Thursday... and yes, there will be cake.