Sophie's FIRST Birthday!!

I now join the ranks of all the other mothers who lament 'Where did the time go!?!?'.  I can't help it - but it's true. WHERE did the time go?  WHEN did the year pass me by?  HOW did my little girl get to be a year old already?  It seems like we brought her home from the hospital ages ago, and yet it was like the blink of an eye.

Sophie turned ONE on Good Friday and with the solemnity of the holiday, we opted to have her birthday party on Saturday.  I drove myself almost crazy throughout the week trying to get ready for the big day, with making bite size desserts for the 'little' guests who would be coming.  Luckily, my mom, for the second year in a row, coloured all the eggs for the Easter festivities on her own following Good Friday service...and may I add that Sophie was a total ham at the Good Friday service, flirting and smiling at anyone within eye-catching distance and melting the hearts of all the older ladies.  Anyway, throughout the week I enlisted the help of both grandma's to watch Sophie while I made marshmallow bunny tails, chocolate bird nests, rice krispie easter eggs, french almond macarons, devilled eggs in the shape of chicks, stuffed grape tomatoes which were displayed like a tulip bouquet on a plate...and vegetarian lasagna for dinner [as we fast until Easter].  I can say that Good Friday was a late night as we worked hard to get the house in order and finished cooking.

Saturday, we did the traditional blessing of the Easter baskets at church, came home for a nap, changed and then it was party time.  We had both sides of the family, along with a few friends.  Sophie was a total charmer and graced each guest was a tooth-ful smile consisting of EIGHT teeth!  She kept crawling all over the place and kept us all entertained as we collectively kept her away from the 'hot spots' like cat bowls, etc.  Normally, Sophie gets overwhelmed with so many people and typically doesn't eat dinner when the entire family is over, but this day, she ate the lasagna heartily, not refusing a single bite.  At cake time, even though I dislike the messy idea of a smash cake, I relented and got her a smash cake, following this north american tradition.  We presented Sophie with her little smash cake, and she was reticent to destroy it.  First she grabbed the candle, which I pulled out of her mouth. Next came a cement flower, which I took away as well - poor girl, mommy kept taking stuff away from her.  Finally, she had a bit of icing, but since I always try to feed her WITHOUT making a mess, she really didn't know what to do with this cake in front of her.  I finally took her hand and put it right into the cake - she had a strange expression of confusion and joy.  But she didn't do it again - maybe I've already instilled a bit of cleanliness in my girl?

At present time, she loved ripping into the paper and tissue.  She hit the jackpot with clothing and will be well dressed around the 2 year mark.  Overall, we had a wonderful party with our loved ones and it was so nice to see our little girl loved so much by so many people!!  Still, I wish that Sammy would have also enjoyed some of this love...but I digress...she partied till almost 10pm, which is about 90 minutes past her bedtime.  Even while she was falling asleep, she kept waking up excited, finding it difficult to settle down for the night.

I still can't believe it's been a WHOLE year.  Sophie is so big.  She can stand on her own and is already attempting a few unsteady steps.  She babbles and her personality is showing itself more and more each day.  I already miss the days when she was tiny and completely dependent on us for all her needs.  I miss cuddling with her on the couch all day...now she squirms if I hold her too long as she wants to crawl to her toys.  My little baby girl is turning into a toddler...and mommy already misses the baby days!!