Jillian turns 1! (Okay, almost 4 months ago...)

I'm finally blogging about Jillian's FIRST birthday!
Yes, it was in November, and yes, it is now March.  I'm not a very good blogger.

It was such a special 10 days of birthday excitement.
Yes, 10 days :) 
Matt and I are blessed to have alot of family, and alot of friends.  And we wanted to have EVERYONE come over to celebrate our baby's big day.  But, honestly, once we made the guest list, it was clear - we needed to have 2 parties.  And we still couldn't invite everyone. 

The 10 days started on Wed the 10th, when my mom and dad drove up, and my sister, brother-in-law and niece (Kristin, Eric and Kaelyn) flew in from GA to be here.  We were so excited that they could make it!

I don't think Kaelyn could have been more excited or anxious to see and play with "Baby Jillian".  They played so well together, and Kaelyn even taught Jillian how to play big-girl things like tea party, crawling thru tunnels, and sitting still to read :)  I guess that playing Barbies will be in the foreseeable future :)  Anyway, Jillian's first birthday party was that Saturday, and we had all of our family over.  It was great - and we really did have a house-full of people - I think 25 adults and 10 kids!  Phew!  Despite getting a good nap, I think Jillian was a little overwhelmed by the time we did cake.  She cried through most of "Happy Birthday", and would barely touch her cake, let alone eat it.  I tried to give her some, but she was not interested at all.  That's okay though - we got a money shot of her crying with her cake, so that will be the fun photo moment we can all look back on :)

After cake, she sat quietly for a bit with her Gramm, and when we started opening presents, she was all about it - ripping paper, standing on boxes - the whole bit.

All in all, we had an awesome time, and it was so fun to see her so happy, walking around like such a big girl.  And did Mommy get emotional?  Well, a little.  I was so busy prepping things that I didn't have time to think about what was going on until we started singing Happy Birthday.  Then it hit me - my baby was turning 1 - and the crazy big Elmo cake was for her.  She's not a baby anymore.  I didn't lose it, but I was happy and sad all at the same time.

Kristin, Eric and Kaelyn flew home on Sunday, but my parents stayed until Thursday.  Jillian skipped school for the week and played every day with Grandma and Grandpa.  On Wednesday the 17th it was her actual birthday.  Knowing how well the cake went over, I baked Jillian some blueberry muffins so that she could have a 'birthday muffin' after dinner. 

We had Matt's parents (Gramm and Poppy) over for dinner, and then we sang Happy Birthday again, ate our muffin, and opened presents from Mommy and Daddy.  Jillian really likes presents - or should I say that she really likes wrapping paper and boxes :)

I was a little more emotional this day than on Saturday since it was truly her birthday.  She got alot more kisses and special squeezes from Mommy than normal - mainly to stop me from falling apart ;)  In the weeks before her birthday, I was reliving in my head the weeks before she arrived - what I was doing, when I stopped work, the night we went to the hospital, the whole labor ordeal.  So, her birthday was definitely emotional, but it was the celebration of a truly wonderful day!

Then the following Saturday we had ANOTHER birthday party - this one for a few of our friends and their children (10 adults and 8 kiddos). Jillian had a great time playing with all of the older kids (they ranged from 3-8 years old), and even got in on the dance party that they had downstairs.

She was much better with "Happy Birthday" and even ate cake this time!  I guess after 2 parties, she considered herself a pro.  The funniest thing happened though when it came time to open presents, and as such, Jillian's first birthday will always be known as "The Year of the Tea-set".  The week before, one of Kristin, Eric and Kaelyn's gifts to Jillian was a musical teaset - complete with singing teapot, cups, and fake tasty treats.  She LOVED it!  The first gift we opened at our friends party was - a second teaset!  All the little girls started to laugh because they knew what was coming... the second gift - another teaset!  The third gift - another teaset!  The fourth and fifth gift - a baby doll and a gift card - phew!  The sixth gift - another teaset!  All in all, Jillian received 5 teasets for her birthday.  It was hilarious - even the adults were laughing.  Luckily, the adults were totally cool about it and gave us gift receipts.  I think we're going to use the money to buy Jillian some summer toys, like a sprinkler, beach toys, and pool toys.  But we still can't get over 5 teasets.

As the night wound down, the girls at the party, who are so super creative, designed a "float" for Jillian.  They took her wagon (a gift from Gramm and Poppy) and decorated it with all of the balloons and party decorations they could gather.  Then they had a parade through the house, with Jillian sitting in her float - they called it the "Just-Jillian Float".  You can see the photo below - it was adorable.  And Jillian LOVED it!  She didn't want to get out!

So, all in all, Jillian had a wonderful and very memorable first birthday!  Thank you to all of our friends and family for making it such a special time for her and for us!  You are wonderful!