first birthday flamingle

Last year, the wait for our baby girl to arrive was overwhelming. I'd been hoping for a girl, honestly, with every baby since miss E arrived. I have 6 sisters, and always imagined I'd have a house full of girls, but it's been boys, boys, boys. So, finally, I was getting another girl, and I just wanted her here. I mean, I had a timeline, of sorts, because I'm weird and want things to be orderly and patterns and I'm weird. And then she didn't come, was too cozy, each day that passed felt like it was taking forever, each night as I climbed into bed I hoped it would be the night, and each morning I'd wake after a full night of sleep and little miss wiggling around inside and feeling like she'd never come. But she finally did, with some coercion, but she came. Nearly two weeks late, but she came! All that waiting was finally rewarded with a sweet, tiny, perfect girl.

And then I blinked.

Now she's a year old.

And walking like a pro.

She is beautiful and bright, a little ray of sunshine, and a bit of a sassy-pants too, if I'm honest.

I knew the day was coming, but I still kind of let it sneak up on me. Thankfully, not so much so that I couldn't pull together a super cute, flamingo-themed first birthday party.

Number one in my vision was a matching headband and cake topper from one of my absolute favorite bow shops, Fancy Free Finery.

I especially loved how quickly they arrived, especially being a custom order, and as soon as I opened the box I died. They were exactly as I had envisioned, completely perfect. I felt like, no matter how anything else turned out, I would be happy with how the party turned out. Dorky, maybe, also totally true.

(PS - Not sponsored, I just seriously love this shop.)

The only other thing that I was super set on was making a birthday tu-tu for my girl, just like I had for E's first birthday. Of course, procrastination meant I was up until 4:30 am on her birthday making it and was a glitter monster by the end, since I'd gotten glittery tulle, but I got it done!

From there, everything else just came together. Along with sitting up and making a tu-tu, I blew up some balloons and hung them around the living room. Then there were birthday pancakes, once I was awake. A number 1, and a baby flamingo, naturally.

The rest of the day was spent somewhat frantically, as I tried to get a cake and a bunch of cupcakes baked and decorated, as well as ensuring that the house was in shape for guests. It would not have been possible without the help of Boss and one of my wonderful sisters. Not to forget the contribution of food in the form of pizza from another awesome sister. (You guys, sisters are the best. ...I need to have more girls!!)

Most everything was ready by the time our guests started arriving, so I was able to chill out a bit and enjoy the company. And every time I walked in the kitchen, I couldn't help admiring how perfect the cake looked with that beautiful cake topper. Like, I just cannot believe my baby is a year old, how could this happen? But everything turned out so perfectly, so it was hard to feel upset. Haha..

My aunt even got her (us? haha) a pair of flamingo moccasins from Freshly Picked! And grandma Rosie made her a super cozy flamingo blanket. And we were surrounded by family and friends, not everyone, unfortunately, but like I said in my last post, after 6 years away, it just feels magical.

But seriously, why/how/why, why, why is my baby girl already one?!