First Birthday

Exactly one month from the day we met... Violet turned one. We didn't want to do a big party and overwhelm her, but we didn't want the day to pass unnoticed!

So, as with each of Daniel's birthdays, we began by enjoying breakfast with our favorite folks: The Garlands. We made all kinds of pancakes, chopped up a few pounds of fruit and went a little nuts with the syrup and cool whip.

The kids played for a while, and Ava and Daniel were a little too eager to help Violet open her present - an adorable black and white outfit and a sweet ladybug book.

After a hefty nap (translation: a chocolate chip pancake induced food coma), Violet and I headed to the park for what can only be described as the world's cutest (and pinkest) photo shoot. She was fairly cranky and unhappy about being on itchy grassy in an itchier tutu... but the cuteness just oozed out of her anyway. There are tons of amazing shots... smiley sweet ones that most folks would prefer... but these four just tug at my heart in a way that the "standard" ones don't.

I won't delve into the nitty gritty details, but I do want to mention that she and I had a breakthrough after the photo shoot - a beautiful, miraculous change in our relationship. My heart changed towards her, softening permanently, and any of the misplaced feelings of frustration I had been directly at her disappeared once and for all. It was beautiful.

A few days later we busted out the cupcakes as a belated celebration... and she went absolute crazy. She ended up destroying three of them... part eating, part smearing, part stomping, part everything else... it was hilarious. I'm certain she had never tasted anything remotely close to "frosting" before in her life... and she frantically worked to get every piece in her mouth before we could stop her. She clapped... squealed with joy... and plastered that hand to her face over and over.

Daniel ate part of one, neatly taking little bites so as not to get dirty (but two years ago, on his first birthday, it was a different story!).

After the cupcake devouring had ended, Violet was air lifted directly into the bathtub and her shoes were carefully recovered from under a thick layer of mainly blue frosting.

It was a colorful celebration, in so many ways. (And I'm not just talking about the bathwater!)

Happy first birthday, little lady!