Ella turns ONE!

Kayla's Birthday Celebration

Pool time....




























Well, the inevitable finally happened and my little baby that we took home from the hospital, all of us wary and a little scared, made it one full year. I still cannot believe that we made it. Unscathed and hopelessly in love with a sassy blonde that cannot get enough of hide and seek and tormenting Finlay.

She is everything to us. I am eternally grateful to be her mom and to also be Scott's wife. God is so good to me!

Before I get into the party, I must touch on the amazing wedding of Kadee and Ryan. We were honored to attend and take part in such a special day! The bride was gorgeous, the venue was amazing, the band was fabulous and the wine was abundant. What more could one hope for whilst attending a wedding? Oh, yes. Fireworks. Fireworks on the beach of Sea Island. Yes, that capped off a fun night out for us.

Ella, of course, got a raging ear infection while we were in St. Simons! We have the world's worst luck when traveling and keeping everyone not violently ill! What is that about? Well, after a trip to the ER and a round of antibiotics later, she is better (knock on wood!)and we vow to get those ears checked out RIGHT before we take off next time.

Ella's birthday was fabulous. She didn;t have as many friends there because of the Memorial Day weekend (wow, how'd I miss that when I started planning MONTHS ago?!), however, we had such a fun group for the birthday that included both sets of grandparents, Uncle Clint, Auntie A AND her cousin, Grayce. How very special and grateful are we that they made the trip!

Her party was awash in pink and green and bird themed trinkets. We had a ton of food and lots of booze. Note to my sweet blog readers: when serving a fun wine cocktail and serve it in fun mason jars, label it. Like, have a 21 with an X through it or SOMETHING. A sweet 3 year old got a little more than she bargained for when taking a swig. Yes, next time I host a kid friendly party, I will make doubly sure that kids have their own virgin cocktails and that I label alcoholic beverages. Kid party throwing novice. Total rookie mistake.

Ella didn't quite know what to do with the cake! She pushed our hands away and started whining at one point b/c she was over us shoving something in her face. Once Scott successfully shoved icing into her mouth, she loved it. So much in fact, she shoved her entire face into it!

The cake was adorable and a 3D bird adorned the top of the cake. For those who haven't been, Bleeding Heart Bakery is the best bakery ever! So many organic and vegan choices. I just LOVED what they did for our smash cake. Ella is still eating it.

For Ella's actual birthday, we ventured out into the grey skies that threatened rain to go to the Shedd. Geniuses that we are, we forgot an umbrella! We made it there just as the bottom fell out. We tried to wait it out but it never let up. We made it to the nature museum instead.

The butterfly exhibit was awesome! Ella loved watching the butterflies flutter around. All the excitement wore her out so we headed home for a nap and then later cruised to Target in her new wheels. She loves them. Thanks, Aunt Becky and Uncle Keith!

I am so sorry for the delinquency of my postings! I am crazy busy lately. We are not planning on doing much at all this weekend save for a date night. Can't wait!

xoxo muffins. Thanks for popping in for the past year to check on us and for all of your love and support. We love you all.


-Nicole