and then she was one

Vivienne turned one last Friday.  It was an awesome day, filled with family, friends, smiles, and laughter, exactly like Vivi wanted it.

 Vivi got to open her first birthday present, which was a baby doll and a new birthday dress.  She was a pro at unwrapping already! We had a fashion show and dance party.  Vivi knew she looked cute, because she pranced right out of the bedroom with a huge smile and shook the skirt of her dress around while she danced.  It was one of the best moments of the day.  And Marley put on her dancer costume and turned the living room into a dance floor.  They both had so much fun and all the cameras in the house were rolling!

We spent an hour of the morning at the river.  Vivi took a short birthday nap on the way there and then in my arms and Papa's arms.  Nothing makes my heart swell with love like holding one of my babies while they are sleeping.  So, to hold her for a nap on her birthday while I sat in the shade and watched the river flow was beyond words.

She is always a fan of the river.  It always brightens everyone's mood and I'm so happy that we squeezed it into our busy day!  We all sat in the middle of the river while the water drifted past and played Pass the Baby and Pass the Marley.  It was an awesome time.

We also had Donna and Emily V. in town for Vivi's birthday party.  So, we all went back to the house ad got ready for the birthday party!  I remember Marley's enormous first birthday party and I didn't want Vivienne's to be the same.  I really wanted a relaxing party.  It was just family and our friends, the Bollins.  So, we grilled fajitas (coincidentally the same as Marley's first birthday) and had some fresh salsa, queso, and guacamole.  Vivi ate chicken, cheese, bell peppers, and literally anything else someone gave her!  I love how many different things she loves to eat!

Then it was cake time!  Marley didn't want anything to do with her birthday cake on her first birthday, but we all knew Vivi would be different!  This kid loves to get messy and loves to eat, so this would be right up her alley!  She has actually been helping me blow on hot food for a couple of weeks.  She watches us and then blows on it herself.  So, I joked that she had been practicing for the candle.  But the whole fire part was confusing for her, so Mimi blew it out and Vivi dug in to her strawberry pie!

Marley was a little disturbed about the mess!

After a quick bath, Vivi was ready to open presents!  We took it slow and let her explore her gifts, which was amazing.  She was so entertaining.  She tried to put all the clothes on and loves her toys.  And she got pretty great at opening the gifts!

Her last gift was a special gift that Asa, Marley, and I made her, a cloth book.  I will write a separate post about it with pictures, but it was a very sentimental gift that meant a lot to me and will hopefully mean a lot to her one day.

And shortly after dark, our one year old passed out.  She was exhausted from her big day and I couldn't blame her!

The whole day, I had been noting the time and thinking about what I was doing at that time a year ago.  It's so crazy to think about how I was feeling, the pain and the joy, and how I feel now.  It was so hard to imagine how our lives would be at this time when I was in the middle of it last year.  Asa was gone, I had a new baby and a three year old that I was trying to keep happy.  Life was wonderful and magical, but hard at the same time.  But now I feel so incredibly happy to be where we are, together.  I miss Vivienne being a newborn, and I miss all the little things that come along with it, but I also love this present time.  She is so happy and fun and I love every inch of her!  She makes our family so complete!

Happy first birthday, my sweet baby.