Hi! Hello! We’re still here! Just loving mommy life which, ya know, keeps me sooo busy! I have a one year old now. You heard me. ONE! A year has flown by so quickly, but I’m savoring every minute of it. I know I don’t write nearly as much as I used to. I’ve gone from once a week to, hmm, twice a year!? Yikes! Thank you to everyone who is still reading my blog and following me on Instagram. I had all the time in the world before Ayla. Now, she is my world. Anyway, I’m happy to share this update with you and tell you all about Ayla’s first birthday.
March
March was pretty uneventful. Ayla started crawling like a pro.
She also had her first school photo. As you can see, she was thrilled.
April
Shane and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. You can read about it here.
May
Ayla has grown into more of a “tiny little human” as my cousins would say. She has so much spunk and personality. She likes to be silly like her dad. She likes to play games like peek-a-boo and copies just about any noise or action you make. She started pulling herself up to stand and likes to couch surf. Ayla has flawlessly grown through milestones such as transitioning to solid foods, formula to milk, nap times, etc. As each month goes by I find myself saying, “This is the best age”. It only gets better.
Rocco is starting to adjust to Ayla. While he usually keeps his distance, you can be sure to find him right under the high chair.
June
Summer! This means we start going to the beach… every weekend! At first, Ayla stayed on the blanket, unsure of the sand and the ocean. By the end of the first week she was a sand monster and a water baby. That’s my girl 🙂
July
July pretty much consisted of beach and birthdays. Get ready for picture overload.
My grandfather turned 90! We celebrated with dinner and a cake at our family beach house on his actual birthday.
The next week my entire family and all of my grandparents’ friends celebrated with a beautiful brunch overlooking the New York skyline. This is my grandfather with me, my sister and all my cousins.
Then, my baby turned one…
I attempted to become a professional photographer for a day and take my own one year old cake smash photos. While the model (ahem, Ayla) wasn’t too thrilled, I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.
Ayla’s first birthday lasted a few days. Shane’s family flew in from Florida to celebrate with us. On her actual birthday we had dinner and cake at my parent’s house. I’m so happy both families were there to celebrate because all of a sudden Ayla stood up and started walking!
The next day we hosted a mermaid theme birthday party in our backyard. We had tables and chairs set up in our driveway and corn hole in the grass (Shane and I remain undefeated on our home turf!). In front of the garage I created a “shellfie” station (get it!?). The backdrop is made from dollar store tablecloths. For props I bought mermaid photo booth props
, borrowed my mom’s treasure chest from her classroom, had my cousin paint mermaid cutouts and laid out mermaid tail blankets.
I set up a snack table on the deck that consisted of sea foam (popcorn), driftwood (pretzels sticks), fish (goldfish), and waves (wavy chips). I found some cute, beachy signs at the dollar store and set up a big fish net with balloons and 12 monthly pictures of Ayla.
Inside the kitchen was a mermaid feast. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Of course I had to make Sweet Melissa chocolate covered pretzels for party favors. For the kid’s favors I found adorable mini buckets and shovels.
The party was a huge success. Ayla was a fan of cake, but not frosting. She received so many great gifts that I [she] can’t wait to play with. I am so grateful that all of our family was there. I can’t believe I have a one year old!
