When G-Diddy is turning 70 and our house is the halfway point, we get a very special surprise visitor for dinner!
Uncle Tommy is here!
We all gathered at Lake Bluff for the weekend to celebrate G-Diddy's 70th birthday.
A special birthday milestone
The party royalty looking great in their crowns!
Abby, Lauren, Ella, Matthew and Juliet (not pictured: Jack and Johnny)
Grammy planned the party and as always did a great job adding cute little touches to make the celebration even more special.
My favorite shot of the night: a father and his sons
At each table there were sheets of paper for us to share how Tom has impacted our lives. I sat next to Abby as she confidently took on this task by herself. I loved watching her process her answer and decide what she wanted to write.
She wrote two short sentences because she was limiting herself to words she knew how to write on her own:
1. He takes me for rides on his boat.
2. He comes to my birthday parties.
The details she shared with me as she decided what to write were especially sweet. It's a gift to be given small windows into what matters most to our kids. For Abby, it's quality time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HtuKDLcfZs
All about the baby cousin love
Juliet and Johnny
Happy Birthday G-Diddy! Here's to many more!
We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing around the cottage or celebrating fall around the bluff. The girls made sure to soak up all of the baby time with little Johnny.
Uncle Tommy stayed committed to winning her affections over the weekend and eventually she warmed up. These two became best buds before the weekend was over!
The kids carved their pumpkins for the annual Lake Bluff Pumpkin Walk.
Pumpkin Patch Dirt Cups seemed like the perfect party treat!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrU3vHH9d4c
It wouldn't be a trip to the Bluff without these cuties preparing a little show for us to enjoy on our last day.
The audience.
The final bow! Looks like Juliet is ready to join next year's production.
We enjoyed the perfect sunset on our last night. Every one kept jumping up from the dinner table to run out on the porch and take pictures. It was gorgeous.
Aunt Cyncy came to visit for a fall weekend at the end of September. The weather didn't cooperate for all of our plans, but we made adjustments and had a great time together.
Juliet enjoyed a little extra present opening from Aunt Cyncy a couple weeks after her birthday. When you are one, all the paper and wrapping is even more exciting than what's inside the box. Thanks Aunt Cyncy for the Itty Bitty dolls. Juliet's collection is growing and she loves playing with them.
Saturday had a dicey forecast, but we decided to embrace the gray skies and head to the riverfront for lunch and a quick walk through the farmer's market.
I love my backseat buddy!
Sometimes cloudy days call for comfort food and remembering our roots. Nothing like Dinosaur Pulled Pork to remind us where it all began. It took us right back to the beginning and it was fun to give Aunt Cyncy her first experience.
We all enjoyed our time together. On her final night with us, Aunt Cyncy wanted to take us all out to dinner. As we waited for our dinner, Abby used my phone and took this video. A fun memory to mark a fun weekend!
This has been the fastest year of my life. I seriously don't know how you are one year old already. As cliche as it sounds, it feels like we blinked and you went from being that sweet snuggly little newborn to our spunky sweet active little toddler. We love you so much! Having a third little girl has brought us blessing after blessing. God knew exactly what he was doing when he gave us you!
You are crawling around so quickly and pulling up on everything. That is...when your big sisters aren't coming to pick you up and care for your every need before you even need it. I'm convinced that's why you've shown very little interest in walking. Why do the hard work if they want to do it for you? We love watching the three of you play together. The best is when we put you in your room to play for a minute and then turn around to find you crawling into your sisters' room, pulling out the nearest and most interesting box of toys and digging through all of it. You definitely have the art of little sister down!
Daddy's morning shakes are your favorite way to start the day. You can't contain your excitement when the blender is on and yell at your daddy until he hands your cup! A perfect way to learn that you are not allergic to peanut butter. You have transitioned to whole milk without any hesitation. You love drinking your milk from a cup. Though you were almost done nursing, when you turned a year, you were still nursing once right before bed. Some of your favorite foods include cream cheese toast, cheese sticks, mac and cheese and quesadillas. Are you sensing a pattern? You want ALL the cheese. You love all fruit, but not as many veggies. You don't love some of the vegetables that your sisters always loved at our age, like avocado, peas and broccoli. Tomatoes are a favorite! This month, you started to like scrambled eggs too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbl7GxgGjPI
You are signing "more" and "all done". Every day you seem to be getting better at letting us know exactly what you want. Some of your favorite things include Elmo and all things Sesame street (especially watching them sing on Mommy's phone), playing "chase" with Daddy, waving hi and bye bye, throwing toys for Oliver, brushing your teeth, wind on your face and reading books. Your favorite books right now are Your Baby's First Word Will be DADA by Jimmy Fallon, First 100 words by Roger Priddy and Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.
You have eight teeth and a big smile! You're wearing 12-18 months (size 4 diaper; size 4 shoe), but I'm already starting the process of moving you into 18-24.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm4PyFTFmZU
You are famous for giving us "the look". Ohhh I can't even tell you how excited I was when I caught this moment so perfectly on camera. You make the face when you are clearly "over it" (like this birthday photo session), but you also know that it cracks us up, so you do it when I am putting you to sleep. You pull away while I'm singing to you and give me "the look", then I start laughing at you and you start laughing so hard that your pacifier falls out. And you do it again...and again....and again! :)
This month, you rode your first pony and loved it. Between the boat ride at the Bluff, the pony ride at Community Day and the fan that sprayed water at the fair, it seems that you are going to be a girl who is always ready for adventure, lots of fun and a good giggle!
Juliet Grace, here's to the next year and all that God has in store. We adore you!
Some people say that a baby's first birthday isn't a very important celebration because the child won't remember. While I agree that a one year old doesn't need lots of over the top decorations, presents, events or people to celebrate (no need for a mini wedding), I can't disagree more about the importance of the moment of celebration. There is no expectation or "right way" to celebrate, but to not celebrate this special milestone is a missed moment for sure. Juliet might not remember her first birthday party, but the memories made and the fun we had as we celebrated with the people who love her will be captured in this moment forever (including the special cards and calls she had with family who were far away).
I will always remember the joy on her face when she saw her balloons and the fun she had playing with her friends. I never want to forget the look on her face when she tasted her cake or her frustration when the cake was too much in her mouth and she needed a drink! I will always remember the way her big sisters helped me plan and prepare for the party, loving all the little details as much as I do. We celebrated and it was the perfect way to thank God for the first year of Juliet's life. She is one of the sweetest little blessings to our family and we celebrated! Joe and I survived our first year as outnumbered parents and we celebrated...all the crazy and all the joy! :) We couldn't be more thankful for all the friends and family who made Juliet's first birthday party extra special. Wagon rides, hay, apples, lots of chili and cider followed by all the red frosting! It was a great day.
The girls and I spent the day before Juliet's party in the kitchen making apple cupcakes, lots of chili and macaroni and cheese. Can I just say how much I love having three girls with birthdays in three different seasons? This fall birthday was so much fun.
Starting to look a little apple orchard-y around here.
The day was bursting with celebrations. Not only did we celebrate the fastest year of our baby's life, we also stood before our church family and "officially" dedicated Juliet to the Lord, reaffirming our commitment as parents to raise her to know Jesus. Being her mom is a privilege and starting the morning with our church family and the Lord reminded me hat she is not just a gift for us to enjoy, but a sweet gift that has been entrusted to us. #thatshemayknowhim
One of the greatest moments of the morning was walking into the church cafe and seeing our good friends, The Deebs, who had surprised us and attended Juliet's dedication. The value of these Christ centered friendships isn't lost on us. We are so thankful to be surrounded by friends who love our kids and want them to grow up to know and love Jesus as much as we do.
Abby catching up with Raina like two best buddies who hadn't seen each other in forever
That's right Juliet! Soak it all in! :)
After the service, we headed back home and finished up the final preparations before every arrived.
Raina rode home with us after church, so the girls could keep playing and catching up! Abby taught her the new song about Jesus she learned at school. I loved looking in the backseat and seeing this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yv2qZDWcAM
With the threat of rain looming in the afternoon, our wagon rides and outdoor activities were in limbo. So, we improvised with a farm themed baby space in the living room.
I never would have imagine just how much the kids LOVED those hay bales. They were playing farmers in no time. The big kids took the little kids around the yard on wagon rides. :)
Callee and Ella
Grandma and Juliet
Neighbors and buddies from birth
Juliet and Callee
Ella never misses a chance to take care of the babies.
Ella, Sienna and Alessa in the background
Samantha and Lucy
Anna Kate, Juliet and Grandma
There aren't enough words to express how much I love being a mommy to these girls!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SpAltxTYWo
Red red everywhere!
There was no question that Ollie was well taken care of during the party.
Papa and Oliver
Anna Kate and Juliet
Raina, Levi, Mason and Abby
There isn't a better picture to sum up this sweet girl's personality and our relationship!
Hi Papa!
After most of guests went home, we sat Juliet down for presents. As predicted, her favorite part was the wrapping and tissue paper. The next day, she enjoyed the gifts!
After a day full of fun, Juliet went to bed early. The big girls got some quality time with mommy and daddy. We broke out the Harvest Bingo from the party and played a few rounds before bed.
