Brinley is ONE!

It seems like it shouldn't be possible that Brinley is already one!  Just yesterday I was writing this post after I received news that she had been born.  Now, she is a busy little one year old.

It was awesome to be there for her first birthday celebration!  My sister-in-law did a great job on all of the decorations for her zebra themed party.  Everything was so cute!  I loved all the thought that went into everything from the backdrop to her happy birthday banner.

The tea cup and saucer that my sister-in-law used for a table decoration was originally the vase for an orchid flower Chris and I sent to Brinley just after she was born last year.  I thought that was really cool!

Brinley was fortunate enough to have lots of family and friends in town for her big day.  She had lots of fun playing with her little friends and being passed from one family member to the next.

There was also no shortage of presents for the little princess.  She is really blessed to have recieved so many wonderful toys, books, and clothes!

I spent a lot of time and effort making a couple of gifts for Brinley myself.  I found blocks with her initials on them at Michael's about a month ago so I decided to modge podge them with various words and phrases that were unique to her, me, and our relationship.  I thought they turned out great! 

The other item I spent a significant amount of time on was a little scrapbook for her.  It was small, but the perfect size to capture the moments we had together over the past year.  Unfortunately, I was only able to see her face-to-face a handful of times. (Thank goodness for facetime and an awesome brother that sent me pics and videos!!)  Because of those infrequent visits, I also included some pictures of her in outfits I sent or playing with toys I gave to her.  I thought it turned out really neat.  I hope she loves looking at it when she gets a little older.  I always want her to know how much I love her even if I don't get to see her as often as a lot of other family members!

I gave her one of these princess cards each month for her monthly birthdays.  For 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months, I gave her a book, an outfit, and a toy.  For the other months, I sent some money in the card for her college fund.  My brother said they kept all the cards for her to look at someday.  Along with the blocks and scrapbook, Chris and I also got her a couple of outfits, some bath toys, and a fun little telephone that will help her learn her ABC's and numbers for this BIG birthday.  My brother has already sent me some pictures of her enjoying those toys :)

It was great to be able to spend so much time with little Miss Brinley since the next time I see her she will have a little brother and life will be very different for her growing family!  I'll leave you with some fun pictures of her demolishing the smash cake!

Andrea :)