Cady's 1st Birthday

Well, unfortunately, I missed the sappy, sentimental moments of walking into Cadence's bedroom Tuesday morning and lifting my first-time-1-year-old out of bed and snuggling her close. But, my thoughts were with her all day Tuesday. I missed her like crazy, and lived for word on how she was doing whenever James would come back from seeing her or call his sister to check up on her.

She had her 1-year check up (and shots, poor girl) on her birthday. No detailed stats to give, because James didn't think them important enough to remember. She's a few ounces shy of 20lbs and measuring in the 75th percentile for height (up to about the 40th for weight). She's apparently working on teeth #7 and #8 to pop through and we should be keeping an eye out for her first molars to come in soon. That should be fun!

Her birthday party was Sunday night. Well, really, it was a family dinner that had cakes made with her name on it and a few presents to give. James and I bought her a toy tool set after seeing how much she loved the toy kitchen. The tools came in a big plastic backpack. Her grandpa bought her one of the push toys that have the "popcorn" inspiration and make lots of noise when used right. And Nana got her some pants and a warm sweater to grow into.

After that, we delved into the cakes I'd had so much fun preparing. Neither were part of the original plan, but we had to deviate based on limited resources. So, I got creative and made an alternate design:

Cadence's smash cake was huge and I knew she wouldn't finish it. But, honestly, the point of a smash cake is to make a mess and take lots of pictures. Unfortunately, Cadence was very dainty about pick the frosting off with her mastered pincer grasp and we had to mess the cake up for her in the end. She did make a minor mess, at least, but was probably too full from her Nana's tasty lasagna to really dive in:

So... my baby's 1 year old (and 2 days). And she's not my baby anymore. Her hands are almost as big as her baby sister's head. I can't believe Cadence was ever that small... Actually, it makes me eager for the next few months to fly by so Megan can be almost as old. I have grown to love this little girl far more than I ever imagined I could. I doted on her when she was first born, kissed her red checks and wrinkled fingers (by the way, waterworks are in overdrive right now, I knew I'd get sniffly writing this). But now, I have a relationship with her. She plays games, and has quirks, and I absolutely, positively adore her just for being her, more than just being my baby. I love watching her personality grow and develop and shine through. I love watching her discover new things and decide what she loves and what she could care less about. I loved her a year ago and am now completely and whole heartedly devoted to her.

Now, time to go blow my nose and wash my face so James doesn't wake up and wonder what's wrong.