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Part one and part two of Leighton’s first birthday are already up on the blog.
We’re up to her actually first birthday party now: presents and cake!
We celebrated Leighton’s birthday at my parent’s house on the day before she actually turned one. They celebrated with Tony’s side of the family the next day, on her actual birthday.
These next few make me smile and leave me with a lump in my throat.
This is Leighton with our grandma who is in her mid 80’s. Her husband of 50+ years [our grandpa] passed away in 2013, and Leighton’s middle name “Charlie” is in honor of him. Seeing them together is beautiful and emotional to me.
First, Leighton got a chance to open her presents.
That darling tutu kills me. I want one in Laura-size.
My dad made Leighton some gorgeous wood puzzles. Those will be cherished for generations, I can tell that already.
Remy wanted to be in on the action too. She loves to shred paper, especially tissue paper so she was in heaven.
That card she’s holding so sweetly is from Matt and I, and I think her little face is the cutest in this photo.
She got a helmet for bike rides this summer. You’re looking pretty stylish and safe, L!
After presents, it was time for cake!
I made Leighton a small smash cake. I made it in a small casserole dish because that’s all I had, so her cake looked a little like a football!
She was hesitant with the cake; unsure of what she wanted to do with it. Tony fed her a little bit of cake and frosting – her first sweets ever.
She made a face, did a little shudder and gagged once.
Birthday cake must be a shock to the system if you’ve never had sweets before!
After a few more bites though, I think the sugar started to hit her veins…
“Have some, daddy!”
“I LOVE BIRTHDAY CAKE!!”
She wasn’t digging in like we thought she would, and wasn’t really feeding herself at all, so Tony tried to take it away.
She put a stop to that.
“No! That’s MY cake!”
“Your turn, mom!”
“Mmm, I like cake.”
And just like that, Leighton turned one year old.
She’s turning into a little girl more and more each day.
As my sister has said to me, it’s a bittersweet transformation. She gets more and more fun each day, but seeing the baby slip away is sad too.
Thank you for letting me take your picture, Leighton. I love you so much and can’t wait for many more birthdays and many more photos sessions to come!
xoxo –
Your auntie, Laura
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