Clearly, since Ruthie is my first little girl, I was over the MOON to plan her first birthday. Luckily, since we are blessed with lots of good friends, I was able to plan several parties! I shared details and photos of her first party with her buddy Nolan, in Oklahoma, which turned out so cute. Oddly enough, she didn't love the cupcake, but she sure dug all of the attention, and the presents. And in true girly fashion, she adored her outfit, which consisted of a pink tutu, a minnie mouse t-shirt, and a giant bow. And I'm not joking about adoring her outfit; this little one is all about the accessories. She will bring me her shoes to put them on, and hand me bows and barrettes. Thank goodness for my girly girl.
Because we celebrated her birthday big-time in Oklahoma, I was able to plan a small tea party for just her little baby friends on her actual birthday. I really wanted to do a vintage theme, and I tossed around the ideas of My Little Pony and Care Bears, but ultimately decided on Strawberry Shortcake. What tipped the scales? The fact that my mom still had my old Strawberry Shortcake figures, and they even retained a little bit of their vintage fruity scents! It was meant to be. And I love my mom, because she actually washed all of their clothes, and then went online to make sure all of the their outfits were complete and correct. After a quick visit to the fabric store, she also procured a lovely Strawberry Shortcake table runner, and the scene was set :) She wore a frilly little tutu that I had special ordered for her, and while my mom was getting her dressed, she cried and fussed until she put the pettiskirt on. True little lady fashion!
The party was planned for a day when the boys were in school, and it was made up all of babies under 18 months. In contrast to my boys, who always played with kids their own age, Ruthie mainly hangs with the older kids, and rarely gets to spend time with babies her own age. It was so sweet and adorable to watch her get thrilled with each new "friend" that arrived at her party. One cuter than the next. We had tea sandwiches, a strawberry pecan salad, some deviled eggs, fruit kabobs, mini-quiches, and the most amazing sugar cookies with strawberry frosting, from Swirl Bakery. Delish. My hope is that Ruthie had a wonderful time with her friends, and I think she really did!
That night, we continued the festivities with a gathering of our family friends. Once again, she dressed up in her most fetching attire, this time a dress from her Aunt Allison, which was beyond frilly and cute. Although it was made even more frilly by the fact that Ruthie whined and cried until we put her morning party pettiskirt back on, under her frilly dress :) The boys were able to help celebrate this time, and they insisted on wearing matching homemade birthday hats, even though they were of a very girly print. I just love that they wanted to participate in the fun. A great meal of spaghetti was capped off with a giant strawberry frosted cookie cake, and then our girl was ONE.
ONE! What a big number. She is certainly reaching all the milestones that are typical of a one year old, and then some. She began walking at about 11 months, after our week in San Fran with our buddy Nolan, who showed her the ropes. Now she is running. She will give hugs and kisses readily, and just wrap her chubby little arms around your neck and smile and snuggle. She loves to bring me shoes and bows and socks, and honestly enjoys being dressed. It's like she knows she is pretty. The boys and I like to sing her a song, "She's a big girl, she's a big big girl", and she'll sway and dance to the tune. Often, she'll pull a blanket up over her eyes and play peekaboo with me, expecting me to say the phrase "where'd she go", to which she'll reply "there she is" in a very baby-talk version haha. But I know what she is saying! She is such a good natured little girl, who naps easily and peacefully, and is finally beginning to sleep long stretches at night. While she is still nursing quite a bit, she does LOVE almost all foods. Some of her current favorites are avocado, blueberries, cheese, eggs, beans, broccoli and green beans. She is pure bliss, and the apple of her daddy's eye. I just absolutely love her, and count my blessings each day that I get to wake up to her little curls and hazel eyes, and ready laugh and smile. My sweet Ruthie is ONE!
That Ruthie is a girl after my own heart with her accessorizing ways! ;)
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