One more monthly post...

I cannot believe that I have updated this blog monthly for the development of Macie Faith for an ENTIRE YEAR!  How quickly the time flew.  For now, this will be my last post for awhile...It is bittersweet that I will not be updating monthly, just trips, and occasionally summaries.  The first year is full of so many rapid and amazing changes, that it must be documented.  Now, even though I know Macie will do something new everyday, I will keep my journal going with dates and times of what she does.  It is bitter sweet to say that I won't be doing regular updates.  I remain in utter disbelief that our baby is gone and now we have a toddler in our midst...

 

Here are some things Macie has done lately and some more photos and cute (short) videos! 

 

 

Here are some things that she has started to do!

1.  Instead of just bobbing up and down when music plays, she now sways back and forth and "dances"

2.  Loves her music and dance classes

3.  She can sign "eat" "more" "Thank you"  and one day she crawled up to her high chair at 9 pm and signed "eat" to daddy.  He fed her!  Then we were in a store getting baby gifts and she signed "thank you" and waved bye to the sales lady. :)  our hard work is paying off!

4.  She tried dance class and we signed up!  Yes, dance class for a 1 year old!  It is at the Utah Performing Dance Center and she LOVES it!

5.  She LOVES to look at pictures on the side of our fridge and wave at the people.  I tell her who the pictures are of and she waves.  She likes to grab her cousins Maddie and Hannahs pictures the most. 

6.  LOVES to watch videos of herself!

7.  She loves the nursery at church, but only if mommy isn't working (she's tooo clingy) and she steals toys and acts like the nursery is hers! :)

8.  She watched "Cinderella" for the first time with Mommy and Daddy

9.  She is starting to stick the letters to the wall in the bath tub and looks at me so I can tell her what the letter is each time.

10.  I always grab her from the nursery when the rock band plays the last 3 songs at church.  She LOVES IT!  She claps at the end!

11.  She puts her face in the water and drinks it

12.  She has discovered cupboards and the toilet!  OY!

13.  She started cows milk!

14.  She imitates us for everything we do!

 

She amazes me everyday!

 

 

Playing with her new dolly

A picture of "Earths Best" or their contest

New table from Grandpa and Grandma!

Getting into everything!

New Elmo Jammies!

playing with a princess book! 

Sitting up!

Opening birthday presents

Popping game!

Hanging with Daddy

Playing with Daddy

 

One of the new things she has started to do lately is to pat her own mouth to the "aaaaahhhh" sound.  We used to do it for her but now she does it herself.  Here is the cutest video of her and Dada playing!

Playing with her manger scene box


Opening her manger playset
Riding her new little "bike"
                              One of my all time fave videos! Her gut laugh giggle! :) Makes my heart happy!                                                 Lunch with Dada
                       Playing with her new musical instruments from Aunt Holly, Uncle Clint and Aiden!                       
 Big girl feeding herself!


Fun ball popper from Duke and Grace!

Macie's birthday party!

Macie's birthday was so much fun! Although we were sad that some of our friends couldn't come, all of our guests are so very special in our lives!  I decided that I would do 75% of the decorating myself, even though the 'Rec center where we held the party would decorate as part of the cost.  Nope, this Mama figured this was my only chance/year when Macie wouldn't have a say in what we did.  :)

 

A long long time ago, (like when she was in my womb) I knew we'd do a fancy cupcake theme.  In fact, my friend Janette named Macie "Cuppy Cake" when she found out I was pregnant and predicted that she was in fact, a GIRL cuppy from the get go.  :)  So, I began to search online for ideas for the party, and despite the mother of all websites (Pinterest) failing me, I sort of came up with my own ideas and projects.  It was easy to think I'd do pink, purple and yellow, and then miraculously I found the same colored items in a first birthday girl theme at the party supply store!  I kid you not! :)  I worked frantically for a couple of weeks to construct all the decorations, and even though it doesn't really look like that much in this gigantic (and otherwise, NOT girly decorated) room, it really was a lot of work! :)  I plan to make another post with "how-tos" of decorating, so that I may add to the fabulous Pinster world! :)  For now, I'll just tell you about the party...

Here is Macie playing with the ring toss rings while we get things ready

They are swallowed up by this huge room, but there are my cupcake liner hanging flower balls (I made them up!) :) 

Our guests!

Macie with her gorgeous smash cake!  It turned out so perfect I cannot stand it!

Her little pink, purple and yellow "cupcake" cake.  LOVED IT!

First chocolate of her life!

Some of our guests, some came later for swimming

Digging in!

Little Zach and little Liam

YUM!

Great friends!

Daddy encouraging Macie to go for it!

Our besties the Swilors :) 

 

An up close of the favors- I made cupcake crayons, rubber duckies and a cupcake eraser

Tearing it up!

Yummo!

OOOOOOH!

Hugo, Lucy and Liam

YEAH!

Zach and Luce

Our beloved Andersons.  They came early to help us set up and we couldn't have done it without them!  Seriously, we had less than 20 minutes to set up!  If they wouldn't have been there it would have been impossible!

 

 

Macie's buddy Duke (He works for Lee and babysits for us!)

Zach playing the ring toss game

Ring toss!

Nicki and Luce!

Zach about to play stick the candle on the "1"

Melissa helping Zach with his sticker (he won!  Blindfolded!)

Luce will stick her sticker on now

The room

Cupcakes and sweet treats bar

YUM!

"1" made of cupcake liners (Thank you Pinster!)

Cupcakes from a fancy bakery here in town.  DELISH!

Zach, Lee, Macie and Liam

Joe and Zach, Liam and James

The Stahlers (Lee works with Karl) and Kaylee coming to say hi to me!

Little Zac

My birthday banner.  This I truly came up with all on my own! :)  Cupcake liners!  Turned out perfectly!  I even painted the clothespins pink.  I'm so crafty! :)  hee hee

Daddy and birthday girl

YAY!

To-go treat bags

LUCE!  Macie's bestie!

Julie and Kaylee, Duke and Grace (with Macie) and Lee

Month by month pictures.  Now you know why I took them! :)  I got the idea online but I made my own cupcake liner labels.  That was all me!  God had to have given me these ideas b/c I don't have that much craftiness in my pinky finger!

Favor table

I made the tissue paper flowers

Gift table

Table filled with our favorite people

My Marybeth "MB" Love her!

Me and my birthday girlie girl

Lee rolling Macie to greet her guests

More stick the "1" on the cupcake

The winner!

CUPCAKES!

Bro and Sis

Liam takes a shot at it

 

And now....THE FUN PART!!!! Thankfully, my dear friend Nicki had her camera (and always does) and Michael sat out and snapped tons of pics!  I didn't take any in the pool area.

Zac and his daddy Luke

Liam had to give Macie her gift from him :)

Lucy thinking about jumping in

Us gals! :)

Mace and Luce :)

Our crew

The pool is sooo cool!  Indoor big slide, zero entry pool area, and spray/splash area with little slides

Daddy and the birthday girl!

Splishin' and a Splashin'

The Swilors

Too much fun!

Lucy is sooo petite.  We were comparing her (16 months) with Hugo who is 3 months :) 

Meliss and Zach

The awesome Pummels!

The gals chatting.  So Vickie decided we all needed to go down the big slide!  We were giddy as we took turns going down!  It was all us "big girls"

our crew!

Nick and Luce

What a wonderfully blessed day!   We had so much fun and everyone said that they had so much fun!  We may just go back next year and this time, Mom will let the rec center decorate for us! :) 

Here are some FUN videos of the big days!  It looks like a lot but they are so cute and super short! :) Worth the watch! 

Here is a video of Macie opening her gifts: Here are some short videos of her very first sugar in a cupcake! Here's one of her REALLY enjoying her cupcake! :) Little chatty cupcake eater saying "MMMMMMMMM" BIG BIG BIG Ole' handful of icing!!! Very first cupcake taste ever!!!! Skyping with Grandmommy and Papa
Practicing for the big day!