Bentley's 1st Birthday

I can't believe it really happened, but our baby is no longer a baby...she turned 1! 

Every day I realize how quickly she's growing up and becoming a little toddler, rather than a baby. Although she's not walking yet, she crawls around everywhere and pulls herself up on anything. She's a busy little girl, constantly discovering new places to go and things to play with. She loves helping me sort the laundry, find food in the pantry, and clean out the tupperware cupboard. What a good little helper I have! I actually put together a poster for her birthday of things she loves to do, foods she likes, etc. 

She's a pretty good little eater. Sometimes it is hard to get vegetables down her, but she will eat some and is really good otherwise. Her favorite foods that she gets really excited about are her oatmeal cereal, hummus, and yogourt (this is a new one). When we bring out any of these things she flaps her arms, smiles and giggles with excitement. She's got 5 teeth now, and one more coming in very soon! She just learned to clap at things, which is so adorable, and she can wave, but doesn't always do that on command. As for the things she loves, I think people would be the highlight. There's never a day where I want to stay home because this girl will go crazy if she doesn't get out of the house and see some other people. She especially loves to watch other little girls and boys and will point at them. Luckily she's got a great smile that she flashes at everyone so they don't mind being pointed at! She smiles and giggles constantly, and also loves to give hugs and slobbery kisses to other kids. She's definitely a happy girl!!

Well, for her birthday I couldn't help but throw a big party for her! She's my only child right now and I've been waiting to throw a cute party. So I went all out and invited my whole family, Jeff's family, and a couple of close friends. My family is especially large, so it gets big even to just invite family! The theme I went with was a "Winter Onederland." I thought it'd be cute because it's cold outside in January and I thought the party could be a place to warm up with hot chocolate and soup. I didn't realize it would be a chinook and 12 degrees outside...I should've done a bbq! I stuck with it, though, and it was delicious anyway. When people came in the door I had made a Time Capsule for Bentley to open when she's 18, so I made people guess what they think she'll be when she grows up. Then when everyone showed up, we started eating soup, buns, hot chocolate, veggies, and other goodies. I had some help from Cindy, Kellie, and Lena with the food, which was SO much appreciated! After eating, we sang happy birthday to Bentley and gave her a cake, which I had made (my first attempt, which actually turned out pretty decent). We put her on the ground to see if she would smash the cake, but Daddy put her hand in it for her and she was not very happy about that. I don't think she liked being dirty! She didn't even want to try the icing. So...the cake smash failed, but made for a funny video. Then we had Bentley open her gifts, and I didn't realize how spoiled she'd get! She sure does have some great family and friends! She loved all her new toys and clothes. We also had a cookie decorating table for the kids where they decorated snowflakes with different kinds of icing and sprinkles. I made a coloring table upstairs as well, which the kids seemed to enjoy. It all went very well and Bentley was happy the whole time. She loved having lots of people over!

  I asked Joce to take some pictures of Bentley for me and although she had a very busy day and wasn't feeling the greatest, she took some anyway. I was so happy with how they turned out!!

Well I have a 1 year old now! This girl is such a joy. She has the most contagious smile, loves to be a goof, and giggles at things with me all the time. Along with my husband, she's my best friend, and I can only hope we will continue to be best friends all our lives. Happy Birthday Sweet Heart!!