Lydia's First Birthday

Yesterday was the big party. Lydia's 1 Year Celebration was a big, fun success, with lots of good family time, really good food, and a bigger pile of little girls clothes than you've ever seen! The distances that family drove to be a part of the festivities was humbling to Jenn and me, and we're thankful that we have extended family that takes such great interest in each other.

above: my apologies for the lighting and focus

Lydia woke up from her nap a while before things began, and because she's usually so tired in the late afternoon, we didn't know what to expect from her. Lincoln was a wild card, too. With this being the first big party that was all about Lydia and not at all about him, we were wondering how he would behave himself. Both kids were all stars. Lydia actually sat in one place (right next to me) for most of the gift-giving time, which is extremely unusual for her busy self. Lincoln was given little jobs throughout the party, and he was such a good boy that he was receiving compliments throught the evening. Lincoln "helped Lydia open her presents" and he did a great job at showing the observers what was just opened. Sure, he got distracted with some toys here and there, but he was obedient throughout.Lincoln stuffed himself with most of the dinner options. We made our award-winning chili, Grandma Paulette brought apples & a Heath dip (wow) & grapes (Lincoln's favorite), Aunt Kas brought fruit salsa & cinnamon chips, Grandma Gates brought her cornbread, and Great Grandma Mullen brought her meatballs. We all ate pretty well.

Jenn's cake was unbelievable. First of all, it tasted really good. But what was so impressive was the presentation. Check it out...Lydia seemed to enjoy her cake, but the whole smashcake thing is anticlimactic, in my opinion. For both kids I had visions of them doing to their cake what John Belushi did to the cafeteria in Animal House, but it never really happened. Her face got as messy as it usually does, but the fun part was watching her realize that what she was eating was really sweet, and the rate at which she grabbed finger-fulls of cake and icing sped up with each bite.Finally, this one's for Auntie Haley:It's hard to believe it's been a year with the cutest little girl in the world, and we can't wait to see what's in store for Lydia as she continues to grow up in our family.