While she should have been napping

 

Sundays can be rough for this little girl, church is during her nap time and when we get home she is just to tired to sleep.  So after an hour of rest she didn't know what she wanted and playing outside  was the only thing that made her happy.

Currently our grass if full of these little dandies.  She was so happy crawling around the grass from one flower to the next.

With a smile on that binkie filled mouth

 

It made me happy that we planted those dandelion seeds!

Neighborhood Egg Hunt

Saturday was a perfect day as far as the weather was concerned, so we enjoyed it.  Our swing set was broken in for the season and I am pretty sure Allie would live on the swing if that was possible.

 

 We also attended our neighborhood Easter egg hunt. The kids had such a great time searching for eggs and candy and playing games.

 

I guess there are benefits to having Easter later in the year, the warm weather was great, I just hope it will stick around for this weekend.  HAPPY EASTER!

 We had a fun family party to celebrate Allie turning one.  We are so blessed to have such a supportive family that is there for us and help share in these special milestones.

 This the cake we made for her party.  If you have never tried using fondant I recommend it.  I used the store bought kind, it was so much fun and it turned out so cute.

 More cake and a worn out birthday girl

Thanks to everyone who could come and we missed those who couldn't.

 Our sweet girl had a great birthday.  I know that I say it all the time, but how did she get this old? I am pretty sure she was born last week...crazy.  I will admit that when we sang happy birthday to her I cried.  There is just something about your baby turning one that is so emotional, rewarding and heart breaking at the same time.  You give your all to your children everyday at the same time praying you are guiding them and teaching them those things you know you should, and when they reach a milestone, like a birthday, there is reflection and a desire to do better each day.

 She loved the cake, the lit candle and especially eating the fondant dots on the top

The presents were just as much fun. A stuffed puppy from Madison, books from Emma                                                

                                                                                                    and "GIRL" cars from C.J.
She loved the wrapping paper and had lots of extra help from excited siblings.   She is sweet and amazing, and we love her so much!

At one Allie..
-can say several words  mama, dada, oh oh, and hi are her favorites
-will eat anything and everything (this is a total change from her sibs)
-loves our dog Jake as long as he doesn't sneeze when she is around, it is the only thing
  that freaks her out.
-finally has teeth! 2 on the bottom
-sleeps at least 12 hours a night
-stops traffic with her smile and wave
-is too cute and soooo loved

Thanks for the past year little girl, I am looking forward to all the small moments the future holds for you, I am so blessed to be your mama.

Happy Birthday Allie

 We had a great day and loved celebrating this sweet girl, more to come...

SWING

Remember when you were a kid and the swings were the best.  That feeling of butterflies in your stomach, it was as if you were flying, then the chains would tighten and you were brought back down.  I still love that feeling, and so do our kids.

There was a time when our three older kids were small and I would try to avoid the swings because I would be standing pushing swings the whole time.  Now they are older and can pump themselves they are great again.

Chalk

 Break out the sidewalk chalk spring is here, well for one day anyway.  These two are big into drawing/coloring.

 C.J. was spelling any word he could think of, while Emma was drawing a dog with pink ears.

 I love these carefree warm days and hope that soon they will come to stay.

Allie has a love for her stroller.  Every time we go out in the garage, which is a lot, she dives for her stroller.  She loves being outside and going for walks.

 

She also loves to play peek-a-boo, but half the time she misses her eyes and covers her mouth, she does not want to miss anything that is going on around her.  Silly Baby.