Flashback Friday: Jacob's first birthday

The night before Jacob turned one, Jason and I looked at each other and said, "Holy crap...we have a one year old!" The year had flown by, but at the same time, I felt like Jacob had been in our lives for so long. I think it's because so much happens in the first year. By the time we got used to one way of doing things, it was time to adjust his schedule, feedings, car seat, etc. When I looked at Jacob when he was born, I couldn't believe that what I was holding only took 9 months to create. Don't get me wrong, 9 months of pregnancy seems like an eternity when you're the one that's pregnant! But if you really think about all that takes place in those 9 months....it is simply amazing. I felt the same way looking at my one year old baby. I couldn't believe that what I was looking at only took one year (or technically one year and nine months) to happen.

For Jacob's first birthday party, we invited our family to our house to celebrate. When the time came to sing "Happy Birthday," we all gathered around the table with our cameras and Jacob watched us all like he was in a state of shock. Jacob has always been scared of loud, abrupt noises. So when the song was over and everyone clapped and yelled "yay" he got a big frown on his face and started crying! It was so sad!

"I don't think I like where this is going...."

"Yep! Too Loud!"

Luckily he was not too traumatized to have some cake. He hated having stuff on his hands (he got that from me!) and after poking at the cake a few times realized that it was too messy to touch. So he decided to just cut out the middle man and dive in face first!

"Hmmm....How am I going to manage this?"

"Lady. I need a napkin. Pronto."

"That's better!"

I could seriously talk your ear off about how amazed I am with how God works. I've always felt this way. But experiencing pregnancy, giving birth, and watching a baby grow has made me appreciate it so much more. Having kids has been by far the best thing I have ever done. And getting to that first birthday with hair left in my head is by far the biggest thing I have ever accomplished! I get so sad thinking about how fast they are growing, but I'm excited to see all that God has in store for us in years to come. I'm just happy that with each year that comes, they grow a little slower!

Reece is 1!

I cannot believe our baby girl is 1 year old! I know it sounds cliche, but time sure has flown by and she has grown so fast! Reece's first year has gone by so much faster than Jacob's. With Jacob, we had time to sit and savor every moment. With Reece it's different because she has a big brother to keep up with! 

For Reece's party, we had a flower theme. I tried to tie in some cheesy expression about how she's "blossomed" or "bloomed" into one-dom....but I was already overdoing it with everything I had planned.

My wonderful and creative friend Jenny helped me make a banner. THANK YOU JENNY!

We also made flowers with pictures of Reece showing how she's grown each month.

The kids got fun party favors: watering cans, pot/seed/soil kits, and pinwheels. 

I had to take a picture of Reece's party hat because she sure didn't wear it long!

Reece had a ladybug cake and everyone else had "dirt cake."

We had a wonderful time celebrating with family and close friends. We did, however, have to keep with the Sells family tradition of making cake time traumatic for the one-year-old (I'll have a Flashback Friday to tell the story of Jacob's first birthday). Here is the sad tale of what happened to Reece:

We strapped her into a booster seat at the table, put on her party hat, lit the candle, and proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday." After the song I pushed the cake a little closer to her and reached over to bring Jacob to the table so he could help her blow out the candle. As I was bringing Jacob over, Reece decided she'd waited long enough and reached over and PUT THE CANDLE OUT WITH HER BARE HAND! There was a loud gasp from the audience, a few moments of silence, then a scream from the poor birthday girl....

Yep, that's right, Mom of the year right here! I was extremely upset, but happy to see no burn or mark on her hand. So Reece didn't have the typical cake experience that most one-year-olds do...she was too scared to touch it! Bless her heart! So Dada stepped in and fed some to her.

Happy Birthday Sissy! We love you!