Our Baby Turns One - Part 1

February 26, 2008 our lives changed forever. I could never have imagined how much I could love someone until Shannon came along.  Here we are 1 year later and I can't begin to think of life without her or before her for that matter!  As many people say "what did I do with all my time before I had a baby??!!"  I'm guessing Todd and I did a lot of sleeping and wasting time.

My whole life family celebrations have always been big.  From graduation parties to communions to birthdays, I've always loved gathering together with family and friends to enjoy the celebrations of  life.  Shannon's first birthday followed right along with that tradition.  At a local Irish restaurant/pub we all gathered to celebrate the big "1"!  It was the perfect atmosphere... comfortable, inviting, and familiar to most. Online I found this ceramic plate that everyone at the party can sign. You bake it and it creates a forever keepsake. We look forward to using this birthday plate for years to come. 

 

I wanted to have some kind of theme for the party, but as usual I am not very creative and couldn't quite come up with something.  Luckily enough, it just kind of fell into place. First, I found cute invitations with flowers that have a whimsical feel to them with a design or two that could kind of resemble a Celtic design.  A dress I had my eye on for quite some time went on sale with an extra 25% off and of course... it had flowers on it.  After those two items were in place I knew that the cake had to be to finishing touch to bring it all together. 

Our sister in law Wendy, Shannon's godmother, makes cakes as have mentioned before and together we designed a fun flower themed cake.  Wendy helped me pick the frosting colors and flavors, adding the cupcakes for the kids as the stems.  It turned out just as I had imagined it. Wendy's business partner designed the basket with an adorable "Happy Birthday Shannon" design complete with "thank you" white chocolate suckers for the guests in flower shapes!  I told Wendy that she has now set a bar for future birthdays, communion and special occasions for Shannon.

You should be able to click on each picture to view it in a larger size. 

Special Gift

Grandma Jan called and said she wanted to stop by and see us. She has just bought a new car and wanted to show it off.   Well, she brought a surprise for Shannon as well.  Her birthday is on Saturday and grandma had prepared a special gift. 

She had saved Todd's rocking chair from when he was child. She fixed it all up, painted it, and made a seat cushion from the same sheets that match Shannon's bedding. It was the cutest thing with green bows at the corners. Todd recognized it right away. I think he enjoyed it more than Shannon did!

When grandma had arrived she was running late because it took so long to get the new car so Shannon was already past her bedtime.  At first she did not take to the chair at all. As you can she she was crabby and wanted nothing to do with it. The next day however she was much more interested and willing to sit while daddy shared a story. 

Thank you Grandma Jan!

Fun to share...

Reading a book with grandma.

Enjoying  new toy with Christy.

Someone loves pasta! I think I've shared this one before?

Rare picture of Shannon smiling. She is always so distracted by the camera.

All done!

Happy Valentine's Day

This year's Valentine's Day was the last "first" holiday for Shannon.  It is hard to believe she will be 1 year old in just a few weeks!  As usual, the grandparent gifts were the hit of the day. Grandma Marilyn and Grandpa gave her a Valentine heart pillow and a balloon.  As of now Shannon says "papa" when she tries to say grandpa.  If she continues to say it and it sticks as his name, it will be really cute!

They also gave her an adorable bib that had "My First Valentine's Day, her name, and the year 2009. There was a matching giraffe (with red spots of course) with his own bib that somewhat matched hers.  I have saved all her "firsts" bibs. I'm not really sure what to do with them. My mom kept a lot of clothes and items from my childhood. Over the years growing up it has been fun when she brings it out and shares a story or memory.  I'm hoping to do that with Shannon as well. 

Grandma Jan gave Shannon the cutest horse with chenille and red plaid designs.  She shops at the cutest little stores and finds just the right gift for every occasion. As you can see, she loves to cuddle him. 

She's Walking~

For many weeks now Shannon has been pulling herself up, walking along furniture and reaching from one piece of furniture to the next. We knew it was only a matter of time until she started walking.

The last weekend in January, Shannon spent the night at Grandma Jan's house. Todd and I attended an engagement party for friends of ours in the city.  When picking her up the next day grandma said she had been being brave and letting go and taking a few steps on her own!  Shannon loves Grandma Jan. She has a calming, warm spirit about her and I know Shannon can sense this from her. 

She did the typical "walk to mommy or daddy" while one of us was close by and little by little it just happened!  It was so fun to watch her go through this process of learning and trial and error.   Because we were so busy catching her as she tried to walk, we don't have many pictures except a few. We have been better about taking video, so at least we have more of that.

People have said things like "oh, it's a whole new world when they walk" or "you'll wish she was crawling again".  We were obviously anxious about this new change, but as it turns out, we love the fact that she is walking!  Shannon is always on the move so walking seems to make her more happy and independent as she has shown us to be!