Oh what FUN, Brielle turned ONE!

We celebrated Brielle's first birthday! We can't believe a year has already gone by since she's joined our family.  They say time flies, and it does! 

We decided to keep her birthday party low key.  I wasn't sure how I'd be feeling, so we wanted to keep it casual.  We decided to host a Bates Family Birthday Party to celebrate the September birthdays! Sister-in-law Kate's is the 9th, Mom's is the 11th, Brielle's is the 14th, and Jeff's is the 26th! So we had a joint birthday party and it was lots of fun. 

We met at the Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island. We had a yummy picnic, played games, had a gift exchange for all the birthdays, and ate cake! Perfect party!

 We had gifts for all the birthday people...Brielle couldn't help but dive in..even if the present wasn't for her!

4 birthdays to celebrate!!  We always wear crowns on our birthdays, so I made them wear these crowns at the party!

So funny....Jeff got the same presents over and over again. Here is his loot: Beef jerky and Reese's pieces! We thought it was hilarious that everyone in our family knew to get him these treats without consultation. :)  Kate even made him Reese's pieces cookies!

I commissioned Claire to make the birthday cake.  She is a cake decorator in training...a new hobby of hers! (Seriously, you should see the number of cupcakes made and decorated each week.) She made this cute cake for everyone to enjoy...with homemade marshmallow fondant! I like that she wrote "Happy Birthdays!" on it.

 Brielle was very dainty eating her first piece of cake. I had envisioned my cute one year old with cake smeared all over the place, but she took clean bites and enjoyed it. :) I guess it was easier for me to clean up! She is so sweet, no wonder she ate her cake that way!

 A favorite gift from Grandma & Grandpa... a Disney Princess Rider! She's been playing with it ever since! 

Thanks Dad for all the pictures! He was the photographer that day, so here's the only one he was in!

So here's some facts about my little Brielle.  Disclaimer: This is way too much information for the average blog reader, but since I want to keep a blog book, I gotta include it. 

BRIELLE AT 12 MONTHS:

• Brielle has 8 teeth - 4 on top, 4 on bottom! 
• She eats anything so far, but prefers fruits over veggies. Her favorite food seems to be cheese. Yum! 
• Nicknames: We call her "Baby B" most often. She also gets called "Brielle-y" and "Brielle-y Belly".  Jeff calls her "Squirt" sometimes.
• She weighs 20 pounds
• She sleeps great! She takes naps easily and sleeps through the night great. Now if only I could get my pregnant self to sleep through the night! 
• She likes to sleep with a crochet blanket.  She plays with it putting her fingers through it and falls asleep.
• She is a very happy, smiley baby - quick to smile at strangers - hasn't had much stranger anxiety at all. She's very sociable and wants to be wherever we are.  She won't stray far from where people are and is quick to make noise if she's not getting the attention. :) 
• She babbles and talks non-stop.  No first word yet, but plenty of noise! 
• Her hair is still strawberry-blonde in the sunlight.  It looks blonde indoors.
• She loves to laugh and giggle.  She seems to already have a sense of humor - is that normal for a one year old? She will do silly things like put something on her head, or put her pacifier in her mouth backwards and come over to us so we will laugh with her.  It's like she knows she's doing something funny.  I love it. 
• She's on a great routine. I don't know how her inner body clock works, but you could set a clock to her.  Without much variance, she sleeps, wakes up and is hungry about the same times every day.  It's crazy to me. It makes it easy for me, I wish she would stay this way when baby #2 arrives, but I doubt I'll be that lucky! 
• She's All-Girl: She always crosses her legs whenever she is sitting....in the high chair, on the ground, in the car seat, etc. It cracks me up! She loves playing with jewelry more than any other toy.  
• She's very organized when she eats in her high chair.  She will stack her crackers in one hand, or place them in a certain spot. She will place her sippy cup on the table next to her. Again, is this normal for a 1 year old?? But at the same time, she loves to throw her food on the ground when she's done eating and makes a mess. 
• She won't wear shoes.  She takes them off no matter how tight I think they are.  She walks on the gravel and bark at the playground not seeming to care.  I've gotta figure out how to get shoes to stay on her feet now that she's walking!

We love our happy baby! We are so glad she is a part of our family!