Andra's "Bee-day!"

It's hard to believe, but our little gal is officially one year-old! I can say with absolute certainty that it has been the best year of my life. I think it was as much a celebration for us as it was for her...we survived the first year and lived to tell about it! I can't even wrap my mind around how much our lives have changed in the last year, and I wouldn't have it any other way!

To celebrate, we threw Andra a "bee-day" party! We just had family over for the afternoon. I wanted to keep it small because she gets a little overwhelmed and clingy in big crowds, and I wanted her to enjoy her own party. We chose a bumble bee theme because I think she has an affection for bees. Everytime she watches her Baby Einstein video, she goes nuts when the bee comes on the screen and starts to "bzzzzzzz!"...so that's where the idea came from. These were her invites... it was my first venture into card-making, and it was fun!

I made her bumble bee cupcakes too, with these cute bees I found online (it's amazing what you can find on the internet!). I baked and frosted them, but I can't claim the flowers. Those were done by a professional baker. My craftiness does not extend into baking. :)

And I would've felt like a slacker Mom if I didn't make Andra her own little cake to dive into. So here's Andra's personal cake, which she didn't much care for. More on that a bit later...

Here's the birthday girl herself hydrating before the big party. Just don't tell her about the B-O-W in her hair. She'll pull it out as soon as she realizes it's there!

And now back to the cake. I predicted this going in. Andra has not been into eating since the day she was born (I can assure you she did not get this from her mom!). Getting Andra to eat has always been one of our biggest struggles...and apparently that includes chocolate cake. She stuck her fingers in it a few times...even fed Mommy and Daddy a couple tastes, but she had no interest in eating it herself. It did, however, make an excellent sippy cup holder.

The chocolate face is from smearing, not eating. She loves to smear.

I had to include the next two photos. This was what she looked like after her post-party afternoon nap. Check out the 'do! Doesn't she look like a baby with a birthday hangover?? It must've been the greatest nap of her life, because I've never seen her hair so messed up!! You can see it better if you click on the picture for a larger view.

And just in case you haven't had your fill of Andra, here's a video montage I put together of her first year. It's so hard to believe this little person we now have was that tiny newborn we brought home from the hospital. I love her beyond words and fall more in love with her each day!

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