Scenes from Charlie Mae's 1st Birthday Party

We had such a special weekend! Our little girlie turned one last week so we had a bunch of family over on Saturday to celebrate her first birthday and our first year of being parents (!).

I have to say, this was definitely my favorite party we've ever thrown; the weather was perfect, Charlie Mae was crazy happy, I had a blast creating + setting up all of the decor for her duck-themed party, Ben grilled up some amazing food, and we had a lot of fun visiting with the wonderful family members who attended.  Also, I didn't get super frazzled the day of the party (or during the party, for that matter), which is a *huge* win for an easily-frazzled gal like myself ;)

Highlights of the day? Watching Charlie Mae point out + name every duck at the party (her latest animal obsession), seeing her light up when opening her gifts--especially her "big girl" basketball goal that her Dad got her--watching her eat her first bit of cake, and of course, seeing her interact with her dear family.

As you all know from my many blog posts about motherhood, I've found being a mom to be the most rewarding and simultaneously most challenging thing I've EVER done. This past year has been a rollercoaster of emotions {ALL OF THE EMOTIONS ALL THE TIME} along with more sleep deprivation, overwhelm, and pure joy/happiness/love than I ever could have prepared for, and while I am sad that this first year of Charlie Mae's life is over, I'm also thrilled to see what the future holds for our little babe and can't wait to watch her continue to grow + develop.

I'm also hoping that this second year of her life brings us a lot more sleep and a bit more "balance" (WTF is balance, anyways? Does ANYONE have it? No, I don't think so...and especially not parents of little ones. But still, a girl can hope, right?).

Anyways, you can see some more snapshots from our ducky party below:

Above: Charlie Mae gives her new stuffed animal a "smooch" + does one of her many assisted dunks of the party. 

Below: This girl is hovering around 55th percentile for height and weight, but is 75th percentile for head circumference. Can you tell from this silly pic of her dome? Such a little melonhead, just like her mom ;) 

 Above: After trying the cake herself, Charlie Mae promptly fed some to her dad. I don't think I have to tell you how much this meant to him ;) 

So that's that! This first year has definitely come and gone in an instant. Does the fact that Charlie Mae is now 1 mean that I can no longer use the excuse "I just had a baby" for why I'm falling behind in every aspect of my life...?

[Me getting my emissions checked after noticing my sticker had expired months ago: "I just had a baby, so just completely forgot about it." Me running late to a doctor's appointment: "I just had a baby so am a bit all over the place right now." Me explaining why I can't sub classes for other yoga teachers: "I just had a baby and haven't gotten into a good groove with my schedule yet..."

The person who I'm explaining myself to: "Oh congrats, how old is your baby?"

Me (making super awkward face as I realize how old she is): 1 year. ] 

Thanks for sticking with me through this past year of transitions and for all of the <online> support you've provided as I've muddled my way through this whole mom-thing. 

Oh, and for those who love a good look back in time, here's the first post I wrote after giving birth + some snapshots from Charlie Mae's first week of life.