It's time!  Time for the big first birthday party post!  Saturday, July 20, Millie Janalee had her very first birthday party.  First of many I pray!  Maybe not as big, but certainly more fun parties in our future.  Ha!  It was a sweltering hot day...full of scattered showers.  Another blogger and myself were praying hard for a sunny party since we both planned outdoor party venues.  Kristin and I began decorating outside before lunch on Saturday.

Then it began to rain.  So we raced around the house...front to back...bringing everything back in.  This continued several more times, in addition to the cooking, tying balloons, hanging lanterns, etc.  It was a stressful morning.  Like, you didn't want to come near the house during this time.  It was a spectacle only suited for my family.  And I mean my Smith family.  This was not even suitable for Russ's family.  At all.  Haha!

The rain slowed and eventually came to a stop minutes before the party.  Just in time for all hands on deck to race around with sweat dripping from every limb and appendage of any kind.  Like, from our noses, ears, elbows, knee caps.  Kristin and I ran to change clothes...putting lotion on top of smelly sweat.  Maybe no one would notice.  All in time for the finishing touches on the food table.

Russ was on Millie Janalee duty all day.  His job was to see that she napped long, ate well, and was bathed timely.  He completed his job successfully, and Millie Janalee arrived at her party just minutes before 4:00 having had a 3 hour nap (unheard of) and clean as a whistle.  Such a great daddy!  God answered our prayer for a rested baby.  He cares about the small stuff too, you know.

As the guests began to arrive, I poured some Cheerios on the patio in front of Millie Janalee since she slept through her lunch.  She sat happily eating her Cheerios and greeting her guests with her "one" finger.  She did a fabulous job of telling everyone how old she was!

The guests arrived in mini droves and their faces lit up when they rounded the corner to the cuteness that was sunshine and lemonade.  Making a bee-line to the water and lemonade stand for relief from the July sun.  Russ and I were overwhelmed with the love from our friends and family.  Everyone gathered on the patio for an early dinner as they watched the precious video Kristin lovingly prepared for us.  Most, if not all the guests, were in the video at some point.  From praying for us to meeting our girl.  Every guest was special.  And a beautiful part of Millie Janalee's story.

After good food and great conversation, it was time for the main event.  Millie Janalee was super excited to dig into her smash cake that Aunt Jenny made for her.  Aunt Jenny is our go-to cake person...just like Auntie Kristin is our go-to event planner (that's a whole other post) and Matt and Leah are our go-to photographers.  Man, we are blessed with talented company!

Millie Janalee's high chair sat prepared for the festivities in front of the adorable backdrop Auntie Kristin made.  The cake was as cute as could be with a sweet pink monogram in the middle of the brilliant yellow sun.

Everyone began singing "Happy Birthday" together as Russ and I brought the cake to our birthday girl.  As you can see, the singing was a bit much for her little ears perhaps?  Or maybe we were off tune.  Ha!  Either way, she handled the voices of nearly 50 people directed at her very well.  I'm not sure I could handle all that attention either.

Happy Birthday, Millie Janalee!  Happy Birthday to YOU!

Make a wish!

Once the formalities were behind us, we helped ease Millie Janalee into her smash cake.  She was so polite with it at first.  Russ was the instigator as he worked tirelessly to get her to literally SMASH her hands into the cake.  She much preferred to be fed the cake.  [No surprise here!  The girl has no desire to use a spoon other than to play the drums with it at restaurants.]

After some encouragement and time, she got a little braver as she licked the icing off her hands and rubbed it all over her little face and hair.  This mama was cringing, no doubt.  As I like to keep a girlie girl squeaky clean.  Ha!  But I resisted the urge to interfere, knowing that she will only turn one once.  And memories are worth way more than clean hair.

Don't get me wrong.  After Millie Janalee had her fill of cake, I was on her with a wet rag in no time!  She's not a fan of getting her face wiped after eating.  This I knew.  So after cleaning as much icing as I could, we headed back to the ball pit.  The ball pit served as her favorite spot of the day!

If you have a young one, I highly suggest a homemade ball pit!  We racked our brains for something to occupy Millie Janalee and her little friend, Caroline.  Caroline is only 12 days younger than Millie Janalee.  Kristin found this ball pit idea on Pinterest.  She picked up the pool at Walmart (Because our Hawaiian themed pool we already had just didn't go with the decor. Ha!) and I ordered 100 balls from Amazon.com.  Except the night before the party...late night...we poured the balls into the pool.  That's when we realized they didn't even cover the bottom, much less provide ball pit fun.  My mom ran from store to store the day of the party and bought ALL the balls Dollar Tree had in the store!  Big and small.  Thus, our amazing ball pit!  We've already loaned it out once for another first birthday party.  Ha!  We also had a badminton set and other games set up in the yard for the older kids and kids at heart.

The thought of opening all the gifts with Millie Janalee seemed overwhelming, so we planned to open them later.  However, as guests left and only family and a few close friends remained...we decided to give it a try and only open a few.  Once we got started, we didn't stop.  Millie Janalee enjoyed it, and so did I!  I'm obsessed with baby/toddler toys, books, clothes, and pretty much anything that I know Millie Janalee will love or look cute in.  So opening these gifts was like my own birthday party!  Ha!  Millie Janalee was so blessed by our friends and family with amazing gifts!  I think I'm going to put some back, so I'll have new toys to pull out every once in a while until Christmas.  If I can resist opening them all and playing myself!

Mama, Daddy, and a one year old makes three!

She's getting the hang of unwrapping.

Her personalized birthday book from Aunt Nana

The girl loves to read!

Maw Maw enjoyed watching us open gifts!

The fun celebration, gifts, food, and decorations were fun and all.  But the most special part of any birthday party is the love you feel by those who come to celebrate with you.  Millie Janalee, Russ, and I surely felt loved on July 20.  We are surrounded by amazing family and friends.  Family and friends who have cried with us and for us, prayed endlessly, and loved our little family unconditionally.

People make parties special and fun!  People laugh to fill the quiet.  People hug to fill your heart.  People show up to fill your home.  And people celebrate to fill our memories.  Thank you to all who came and celebrated with us.

It means so much! 

The Yayas like the ball pit too!  Ha! (missing Yaya Hope!)

These ladies have the potential to get Millie Janalee into many a crazy adventure!

Russ's brother and his family

Part of the Mansel crew (Russ's sister and family...the others were at the beach.)

My crazy crew!

I don't know if you remember back to Millie Janalee's placement ceremony, when I was sad that Matt and Leah worked so hard to capture memories for us and didn't end up in a single picture?  Remember how I said I would devote an entire post to them?  Well, how about a paragraph for now?  This couple is one of the most sincere, sweet, giving, and precious couple I know!  Leah and I met in college, and I love how we can still carry on like nearly 10 years hasn't gone by.  Her husband is THE most phenomenal photographer I know!  And he has inherited the task of Millie Janalee's life photographer.  They arrived during the most stressful time of the preparations and just began snapping away and helping where they could.  Love them!  I am so blessed to know them.  And even more blessed to call them friends!

So glad we have them documented this time!

Russ and I truly are thankful for such a wonderful day.  We were thrilled to celebrate our little sunshine.  The girl that brightens our days and brightened our hearts over a year ago. 
She makes us happy when skies are gray!  She may never know how much we love her, but our little sunshine is here to stay!

I find it perfectly perfect that when Millie Janalee arrived, the rain stopped for good.  How perfect that this little sunshine would make a rainy day sunny.  A stressful mama delighted.  A tired family energetic.

She's pretty special.

This one year old of mine.

I pray that she not only bring sunshine to the lives of others...

I pray that the SON shine through her life in all she does.

I pray that our little sunshine also become God's SONshine!

Happy Birthday, precious one!  It's so fun to be ONE!

It's Coming! It's Coming!

Several people have asked about Millie Janalee's birthday party post.  And, I promise it's coming!  We asked a friend of ours to take pictures, so we wouldn't have to worry about it.  He took incredible pictures (as always), and we are waiting for the CD to arrive.  The party was amazing, and I am so thankful for my creative sister and my sweaty and hard-working family for all their help!  Oh my, it was stressful until 15 minutes before the party when the rain finally decided to stop once and for all.  Did I mention that the party was outside?  Ha!

We prayed hard for a sunny party and for a rested birthday girl.  God answered both of those!  He cares about the small stuff too.

Here's a sneak peek to tide you over until the full post...

Also, my sister created a priceless video for Millie Janalee's birthday.  She created a frame for her television so we could show the video at the party.  Many, many hours and late nights and lots of love were put into this video, and I am forever grateful for this keepsake!  She also spent some time last night uploading it to my YouTube account so I could share it with you.  Many thanks to Kristin! 

So...until I get the pictures from Matt, I hope this will keep you happy.  And smiling!

Twelve Months

"What?  I'm a year old ALREADY?!"

Well...we celebrated.  We cried.  We cheered.  We sang.  We played.  And we shared lots and lots of kisses, hugs, and smiles.  One precious year has come and gone for our sweet Millie Janalee.  Twelve sweet months!  No matter how bad in denial my mommy self was, the twelve month mark came right on time.

In all its glory!

At twelve months, this little stinker is ALL PERSONALITY!  The girl can perform and put on a show like no one else.  Of course, she prefers an audience.  But that isn't necessary.  Give her a mirror (or not) and she can still continue with her dramatic antics.  She knows what she wants, and she is certainly entering into the stage of wanting what she wants.  No matter who says, "No."  Ha!  It's a tough road learning to obey.  Bless her!

In all seriousness, this stage is incredibly fun!  There are so many new quirks that she has started doing lately, and it's hard to describe them in words.  One of my favorite things she has started doing is holding her little hands out in the "I don't know" position (does that make sense?) and yelling "Bah!"  She does it all in a sharp motion like she's trying to surprise or scare someone.  It's hilarious!  My favorite thing to date that she has started doing!  This weekend, she started mimicking us when we do it.  Now that she knows it's a crowd pleaser, she has added it to her regular list of performances.  Ha!

Millie Janalee loves to dance!  It doesn't matter if it's the radio, a musical toy, or the television.  The second she hears any resemblance of a melody or beat, she starts swinging her arms and torso from side to side.  Twisting her body to the right and the left with her arms straight out.  She has also started dancing when she's standing.  She sways from side to side.  And, if she's on her hands and knees...she can still dance.  She just moves forward and backward or shakes her head.  Such a funny girl!

She has mastered showing everyone how old she is.  She probably answered it over 100 times this past weekend.  At church this morning, Mr. Cartwright said, "How old are you?" and without blinking she stuck that finger up and out.  So smart!  Or just tired of having to do it over and over.  Ha!

Another funny thing we've started hearing is her talking.  She's still babbling, but she uses her tongue a lot more right now.  I was shopping for her birthday party supplies at Hobby Lobby last week, and she was talking up a storm.  Very loudly.  I just knew all the customers would think she was Japanese.  Ha!  It sounds a lot like Japanese to me.

This month, Millie Janalee is improving in her understanding of everything.  She can finish the entire Pat-a-cake with the motions, and she even sounds like she's saying "Roll it up.  Roll it up." when it's time to roll our hands.  And, when she throws it in the pan - oh my, the cuteness!

The girl LOVES a good book.  Any book really.  Her favorite thing is to help you turn the pages and point to the pages while Mama is pointing to the words.  When the book is over, and I close it...she cries.  Like, seriously distraught over the book ending.  I quickly grab another book to begin reading, and she's fine again.  Ha!  If I'm ready to stop, I just grab a longer book.  By the end of that book, she's not so sad it's over.  Ha!  She's smart, but I can still outsmart her on some things.

I told Lee's mom last night that I just can't take my eyes off of her, and I don't understand how anyone else can.  Ha ha!  I'm so humble, I know.  She just laughed and said, "That's the way it's supposed to be."  This little person...this tiny human being is in my care.  God has entrusted this adorable pink bundle to Russ and I, and we are amazed.  Daily.  She amazes us.  She teaches us lessons about patience and trust and taking in the small moments.  She leaves us breathless at times and in complete wonder.  Wonder at how anyone can raise a child and watch him or her grow and mature...and not believe in God.

Some twelve month facts:

• Millie Janalee is still wearing 12 month clothes.  We have ventured into 18 month clothes, but we still have some 12 month clothes we haven't worn yet.  So...until then, we will stay in our 12 months.  Ha!  I'm having the hardest time deciding what sizes to buy for the fall.  I've started hitting up the half-off sales for next summer, and I picked up 24 months and 2T.  Summer is easy because dresses, shorts, and tops can really last longer if she's outgrown 24 months.  But, fall clothes can be too short.  She has very little fall/winter, if any, because I'm so afraid to nail down a size.
• We are in size 4 diapers.  Really she can still wear size 3, but I bought a huge box since it was on sale, and I figured size 4 would be safer.
• I weighed her unofficially Friday night, and she weighed in at exactly 21 pounds.  I measured her as 29 inches long.  We go for our 12 month shots tomorrow, so we will get a more accurate measurement then.
• We are still feeding Millie Janalee baby food, but she eats solids at every meal also.  She loves to eat solids first...black eyed peas, butter beans, carrots (if they are flavored/seasoned), diced potatoes, green beans, peaches, green peas, mac and cheese, and we even tried pinto beans at Cracker Barrel last week. She enjoys Cheerios for breakfast with a fruit/oatmeal baby food pouch too.  I've picked up a few of the Gerber Pasta Pickups, and she devoured them!  So far, we tried the cheese and spinach ravioli and the carrot and chicken ravioli.  Both were a hit!
• She takes two 7-8 ounce bottles still - one in the morning and one at night.  
• She drinks juice, but she's not that into it.  I let her drink water this weekend, and she was just as enthused.  She's more enthused if I hold it up for her.  Ha!  Her spitting up with juice has gotten a little better, but she will still do it every other day or so.
• She is crawling super fast and pulling up on everything!  She and the side table with lamp and picture frames toppled over last week.  All was okay except the light bulb in the lamp.  I've got to keep a close eye on this girl for sure!  While Auntie Kristin was cooking for the birthday party yesterday, Millie Janalee reached up and could touch the stove top knobs.  Oh my!  Trouble in the making!  Thankfully, our stove top knobs are above the stove at home.
• Millie Janalee still takes two naps each day.  We tried one nap a day for a week or so, but she was sleeping terribly at night.  It could have been teething, but I didn't take any chances after a week of very little sleep for all.  She usually wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00 (notice that's a little earlier than we used to wake up), and we take our first nap around 10:45/11:00.  She'll nap an hour and a half or so.  Then, we take our last nap near 5:00.  Since we started doing this (and teething tablets at night) she has slept through the night.  

There's not much  more I can say that I haven't already said about this first year of Millie Janalee's precious life.  I am so thankful and amazed!  Thankful for this perfect gift in His perfect timing.  And amazed at how fast things change!  What a year!  I look forward to the many many more ahead.

Happy birthday, sweet girl!  We love you so much more than you can imagine!

Hey Shawty! It's Your Birthday!

 Well.  It has happened.  Our sweet itty bit is officially ONE YEAR OLD!  Did you hear that?  I have a one year old!  Russ had to work today, but he didn't want to miss out on Millie Janalee's donut breakfast, so he called in to make sure there were no procedures first thing this morning.  The first one was at 8:45, so we had time to enjoy a family birthday morning.  The first of many!  I grabbed the video camera, and Russ and I entered Millie Janalee's room singing "Happy Birthday."  She smiled and giggled and was so excited to have us both come get her up.  And singing!  This is not a typical thing so early in the morning.  Ha!

Russ changed her diaper and everything this morning, and I heard him singing his own birthday song to her.  It went something like this...

 Go shawty, it's your birthday
We gonna party like it's your birthday
We gon' eat a cupcake like it's your birthday
And you know we don't really care, cause it's your birthday

Hopefully, Millie Janalee will never look up the actual lyrics to 50 Cent's "In Da Club" song.  And I don't advise you to either.  We will stick to our cupcake version and be done with it.

Millie Janalee's high chair was set up in the living room by her birthday decorations.  I didn't even get a picture of them!  Oops!  There were balloons and a banner hanging in the living room.  She never goes straight to her high chair for breakfast, so she knew something was up.  When Russ sat the donut on her tray, she was a bit confused.  She poked it, stuck her finger in the hole, and then tossed it on the floor.  Ha!  The sugary goodness on her hands was fun to squish in her hand.  We ended up cutting it up in bitesize pieces (about a third of it) and she devoured it!  She's her Mama's girl for sure!  Nothing like a good donut in the morning!

Once Daddy left for work, the girls played.  We snuggled watching Sprout and PBS.  We played a little.  Millie Janalee even laid completely still for me to give her birthday back scratch.  Have I mentioned that she is her Mama's girl!  Made over!  She may look like her Daddy, but the girl is ALL MAMA!

My mom texted me earlier in the week to see if we were doing anything special for Millie Janalee's birthday.  Her actual party isn't until Saturday.  Russ and I made plans for the donut breakfast and dinner at Cracker Barrel.  I know.  Cracker Barrel?  Ha!  Yes, because we knew there would be veggies she could eat.  And it's her birthday after all.  So, my parents and sister loaded up and headed west for our little birthday celebration.

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at Cracker Barrel and fantastic entertainment by the one and only Millie Janalee.  She really knows how to put on a show!  Let's see...lately she has been described as "something else," "a drama queen," and "too funny."  Spend a little time with the girl, and you are sure to leave with a smile.

(I might be a little biased.)

After dinner, we all came back to our apartment for Millie Janalee to open her gifts.  She was way too young to care about Christmas presents, and that was the last time we were opening gifts.  So, we had to nudge her a bit.  Once she got the hang of it, she was a pro at tearing off the paper!  Of course, every time she tore paper off, she wanted to eat it.  I was on paper eating patrol.  Ha!

"Ooooo!  Pretty paper!"

"I need to meet Mrs. Iris.  I love this gift she sent me!"

"Yay!  A BIG present with bright paper!"

Big presents take a little extra effort. Like standing to unwrap them.

She kept trying to grab the Little People through the plastic packaging.  Ha!

"Susu and Pawpaw, I like this farm!  Thank you!"

Opening books from Farley

Listening to Mama read her card

When we finished opening gifts, Millie Janalee took a little time to play with her toys.  Auntie Kristin put together a DVD of Millie Janalee's first year.  It was such a precious act of love!  As if her hosting the Millie Janalee Birthday Party Extravaganza wasn't enough!  We all sat and watched it through teary eyes while Millie Janalee's toys made the occasional "oink" and "baaaa"...or she climbed over our bodies...or paced back and forth to get our attention.  Ha! 

 

After taking a trip down a sentimental and funny memory lane, it was time for Millie Janalee to make a wish!  We opted for a cupcake at 9:00 at night.  I know.  We're crazy!  Millie Janalee was all for it, and so were we!  We lit the candle and sang "Happy Birthday" to our birthday girl!  She was so happy to see the lit candle, and she loved watching us help her blow it out.  For some reason, she has a strange obsession with us blowing on her food (to cool it down after cooking it).  So, blowing out the candle just added pyrotechnics to an already exciting thing I suppose.  Haha!

And now...the fun begins!  First of all, I must have been on some kind of 'zoned out so I don't realize my baby is turning one' all natural Valium, because I suggested we park the high chair in the middle of the carpeted living room.

"Oh fun!  What do I do with this?"

"Whoa!  How did THAT happen?!"

"It's squishy."

"Mmmm...it tastes good too!"

And this is why I suspect the all-natural Valium.  An entire half of a cupcake and icing on the floor.  AND I DIDN"T EVEN STOP TO PICK IT UP.  In fact, I don't even know who ended up picking it up, but I heard that she ended up eating the entire thing!  At one point, Mama and I left my dad and Russ to watch her as she continued to eat the cupcake.  We were gathering party things from the back bedroom.  It must've been at that point that they retrieved the lost cupcake and placed it back on her tray for consumption.  The girl may be up all night with a tummy ache tonight!

Who cares about a little icing on the floor?  It's her birthday!  And we're gonna party like it's her birthday!  We're gon' eat cupcakes like it's her birthday.  And we don't care if they fall on the floor 'cause it's her birthday!

"It's my birthday!"

"Yum!"

"I'm ONE!"

After smashing and eating the entire cupcake, it was time for a 9:30 bath.  Russ started the bath while Mama, Kristin, and I cleaned up the remnants.  Ha!  I'm not exactly sure what my dad was doing.  Hmmm...

My clean one year old

Bathtime, more playtime, and an 11:00 bottle left this birthday girl with heavy eyes and a sleepy head.  As I rocked this angel and laid her in her crib tonight, I thanked the Lord for this past year.  I thanked Him for her birthparents and for the experience we have had.  Even from the time we began "praying for more."

This "shawty" is our more.  Immeasurably more!