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| Our sweet birthday girl |
On Wednesday, May 11 our sweet Macie Claire turned 1 year old. It was a bittersweet day for this Mama! She is such a blessing in our lives. We love her more than we ever thought possible. Before having "baby #2", I wondered how on earth another person would
fit into our family. Then Macie Claire entered our lives. She filled a hole in our hearts that we didn't even know was there! She made our family complete.
We got her up that morning and sang Happy Birthday to her numerous times. Each time she just looked at us and grinned like we had lost our minds! She got all dressed up for her day, and headed to Mrs. Nikki's with her cookies we made the night before to share with her friends for her big day.
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| "1" |
Throughout the day, I got text messages and pictures from Mrs. Nikki telling and showing me how much fun my baby girl was having on her birthday. Mrs. Nikki made her feel like a princess with a crown to wear while she enjoyed her cookie. :)
Before I picked her up that afternoon, I went to Wal Mart and got her two new toys so that Brenna and I could give her a present to open that afternoon. (Daddy had to work.) I knew Macie wouldn't really know if she got a present ON her birthday or not, but Brenna would. And I was right, Brenna was SUPER excited to give her sister a present on her birthday.
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| Macie was more interested in the tissue paper than the gift! |
After we opened her present, we took Brenna to church for her Wednesday night class, and Macie and I headed to Pulidos to eat dinner with MeMawMom. Aunt Emily called us right after we got there and wanted to see the birthday girl, so she and Wyatt came and met up with us. Then Graddy called and said he was off of work and was headed our way! It was an impromptu party! I even left and went to get Brenna and bring her back to join us! Aunt Emily couldn't wait to give Miss M her present, so she brought it in with her. Macie loved the snacks and books in it! (and Mommy loved all the new clothes!) Sadly, I got ZERO pictures of her birthday dinner. :( But we did have a good time!
BIRTHDAY PARTY!
We had Macie's birthday party on Saturday, May 14 from 4-6 at the church. We LOVE having parties at our church because there is enough room for everyone to be comfortable, it is easy, and the kids have the bounce house to play on! Since Macie was still a bit young to really enjoy the bounce house, we brought two of her little coupe cars and Brenna's tricycle to play on. The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves!
Her friends at her party included: Brenna, Blain, Kallie, Wyatt, Tia, Hartliegh, Ainslea, Baby Paul V, Kyson, Hanna and her friend Kathleen. And yes, I know that the majority of the kiddos on this list are technically Brenna's friends, but, hey- how many friends does a 1 year old really have??!! :) It was for sure a list of people who love Macie Claire!
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| The CAKE! A friend designed it to match her birthday theme- "Birthday Princess" |
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| Her own personal cake to play in and eat! |
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| Water bottles with personalized labels! I LOVE Etsy! |
With Brenna's first birthday, I had no trouble at all coming up with a theme. It HAD to be Barney. She was totally in love with Barney, and got excited every time she saw something with his picture on it. Macie's theme, on the other hand, proved to be a bit more of a challenge. She doesn't care much for TV, and doesn't really gravitate toward one type of toy or character over another. I didn't want to pick a character theme that she didn't recognize, so we went with "1st Birthday Princess". I thought that was very fitting for our little princess!!
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| Catrena made her shirt and matching pants. I LOVED them!! |
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| Daddy and I got her a "ball pit" to play in, and Brenna and Memaw decided to test it out! The pool was a little big for the amount of balls we bought, so we went back and got a smaller pool the next day. This toy has proven to be a favorite at our house!!! |
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| While the big kids played in the bounce house, Macie and Wyatt took a ride in the Coupe. Macie enjoyed it WAY more than her cousin Wyatt! :) |
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| We eventually kicked all the big kids out of the bounce house so that the birthday girl and Miss Ainslea could have a turn. |
After all the playing, it was time for some presents. I thought Macie would enjoy unwrapping the presents, but she could have cared less. One toy and she was good to go. She helped with some of the tissue paper, but for the most part, Brenna and I opened her presents. She just sat in my lap and looked around.
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| Macie's audience |
I love the fact that my girls still have their great-grandmothers around to love on them. Nana, Nina, and Mimi are an important part of our lives and I hope that my girls realize how lucky they are to have these wonderful women to love them!
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| 4 generations |
After the presents had been opened, it was time for the main event....The 1st Birthday Cake! I had put a lot of thought into how we were going to be able to do Macie's birthday cake at the church. I knew she wouldn't just sit in a chair or on the floor to eat it, and I didn't want to haul her high chair up there and then try to clean it up to haul it back. I finally came up with the idea to put her in her bumbo with the tray on it, and it worked out great! She was really too big for the bumbo and could climb out of it but I knew we would be standing right with her, and with chocolate cake in front of her, I knew she would NOT want to climb out! It ended up working out perfectly!
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| "Why is everyone singing to me?" |
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| YUMMY! |
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| She would take one bite, then crumble some of it on the table, then repeat. |
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| "Hey- Wait a minute! I am NOT done with that!!!" |
After the party was over, we all headed over to Pops and Memaw's house to celebrate Mother's day. Brenna enjoyed playing with Hanna and Kathleen. Macie was so worn out from her party that she spent a lot of time doing this.......
It was a great day. We enjoyed celebrating our second gift from God with all of our family and friends. We appreciate everyone who came and helped us celebrate! I still can't believe my baby girl is a year old, but I am sure that is a statement I will be making each year for many many more years to come. Time goes by so fast, but we are doing everything we can to enjoy each and every stage of her life. We love you Macie Claire Bear!!
