Phew, we survived her first birthday! Better yet, so did she! There were more people around than Avery was used to and way too much going on, but she eventually warmed up to the crowd.
The cake, being the first time she’s had sugar, might’ve helped a little. Her cake was actually a pumpkin brownie recipe I used as a base but cut out some of the sugar called for and used stevia in place. This is what we served as dessert to our guests and no one said they didn’t like it, so that’s good, right?
We are still in recovery mode after the long weekend, so I’m cutting it short and just making this a photo dump of the big day. Enjoy!
You spend hours creating my cake, I’ll reduce it to rubble in under a minute!Ummm, dad, your nose is in my eye and both of you are in the way of my cake!While demolishing her cake, it suddenly hit her……”I’m one!!!”It only makes sense to be in your birthday suit, opening birthday gifts, on your birthday, right?Chocolate Pumpkin Brownies for the guests. We had a lot left over!!Seriously, anything that lights up is an instant win!Going Mom opens gifts, I write who they were from, Avery plays with wand and paper. Sums up most of the party!I hope she always feels this way about sugary food!We made cake from the chocolate pumpkin brownie batches I baked and Kelley used Greek yogurt for icing and blueberries for the “1”
Fun times indeed! Hoping to post a follow up with a quick summary of events and more photos of the fun Avery has been having with her new toys. Maybe she’ll even be walking by then. Hmmm, how long have I been saying that now???
Well, it’s here, our little girl is now a 1 year old! The world has come full circle around the sun since Going Mom gave birth to Avery as I stood by her side and helped the nurses took pictures while getting in the way at the hospital.
Thumbs up for a job well done by my wonderful wife!
Seriously, how has it already been a year?! A lot has happened between now and then, but some of it all seems like a blur. And this is just the first year!
Today we’re having a small birthday party at our house and hopefully all goes well. After attending one of our neighborhood friend’s party for their 1 year old girl, we now know NOT to give a cake with a lit candle. Who would’ve thought they would grab right at that flickering light? Ha, sorry, neighbors, you know who you are. 🙂
Over the last month alone, we had many memorable moments; here’s 12 of them.
1. I’ve been adding to our cardboard box collection in the house which makes for exciting playtime for the whole family!
2. I successfully brewed my first batch of beer as a dad. You weren’t too thrilled about the beer, but I could tell you were eyeing all of those bottles.
3. Mommy’s work had a family trick-or-treating event, but it interfered with your regular nap time. To ensure you got your rest before we went, I just made nap time a little earlier. You had other plans…..
4. Dressing you up as a pumpkin for your first Halloween costume was far from original, but damn, you were are always cute!
5. Taking you around the neighborhood for trick-or-treating on Halloween didn’t last long, but Mommy, G-Ma, and I had a great time sharing another first.
6. Mommy and I have been sticking our tongue out at you since you were only a few months old, but finally, you started firing back with your own tongue!
7. Mommy took off work and we went to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens to see the festive fall decorations and take a lot of pictures with you. I know, so rare, right? It was pretty warm that day and you became fussy early, but we still snapped some great shots together.
8. Sleeping on our living room floor with you on my chest and Mommy beside us after a long night of painful teething. It was sad to see you in pain, but ended up being a moment I will always remember.
9. Your poop schedule suddenly had you booked all day for many days in a row. This was a shock since we used to see nothing at all some days. This coincided with your teething, obviously, as it is one of the signs of a teething baby. Yep, confirmed!
10. I have been kissing you goodnight on the cheek for a while now, but this month you started trying to kiss back. It’s more like you stare at me with your teeth exposed, but it’s cute, sweet, and making progress in showing affection!
11. After preparing a warm breakfast of pumpkin teff for Mommy, she let you have some and you ate quite a bit. This was confirmed that night when “the world’s smallest grain” reappeared in your diaper!
12. Your “walking” status keeps getting closer and closer, and now you’re scaling the cabinets in the kitchen or anything else for that matter. This includes going around me by holding on to my legs if I’m in the way.
We are so grateful to have Avery in our lives and look forward to many, many more wonderful years to come. But first thing’s first, lets work on that walking……
I hope to have a great report with lots of pictures from the party some time next week, but for now, I’m off to celebrate our daughter’s 1st birthday with my wife!
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
