Hope Bird turns one...

Our sweet, happy, content baby has sweetly slipped into her birthday week with smiles and coos. She continues to just be a sweet presence- no crawling or walking, not super mobile so we delight in our easy golden days with her.

 Hope you are so easy, so sweet, so happy all the time, that you really make things sweeter, not more difficult. If I am putting the girls to bed, I just set you down on Layla’s bed and you watch, listen and coo alongside us. If we need to take visitors around town, we just bring you along, cause you just want to be close…how can we resist that?

  We even go on long visits…three hour visits….in the camps with you and you are totally happy. Cherishing the sweetness of your nature, your smiles, your clapping, and exciteable nature when people are interacting with you.

  You are irresistible to kiss and tickle, cause I am guaranteed giggles and squeals. It does not take too much work to get some laughter- deep from your belly laughter and once we start we can’t stop.

 Your sparkling eyes, your rosebud lips… your adorable cheeks…you are the perfect gerber baby.

  We love you so much and you bring out the best in your sisters as they delight in you, play with you, cuddle with you, feed you, and are concerned if you are crying.

 As our lives and schedules are so different week to week, finding a time to celebrate a simple birthday party turned out to be difficult. I ended up keeping Layla home from school and she was my main helper. She was SO excited to make the bird decorations and banner, and we loved and exclaimed over you the whole day. We all piled in the car to go get the balloons blown up and you were soooo enamored with them. 

 you were happy and loving all the attention, until the lights were dimmed, voices singing, and there.was.fire.

 we dove in and rescued, we tried giving you cake- the first dessert of your short-lived life.

 to no avail.

 you had not napped like you should, and you were utterly exhausted so i put on some pajamas while you wept, gave you a bottle, and you fell asleep immediately.

which meant there was a party for a Hope girl.

 but no Hope girl.

 As my sunken mother heart tried to rally after bedtime for the older girls, I came up with the only solution: we were just going to have to do Hope Birthday Party: take 2. 

  So the next morning with the all the decorations still up we celebrated your cuteness, your little bundle of chubs and love, your big eyes and sweet smiles. 

 Also I dressed you up in this fancy dress and actually liked it better than your little bird dress from the night before. silver lining, baby.

 you are so.expressive. have not caught it on camera quite yet...think we might just have another drama queen in the line up.

you curiously played with the cake a bit...and then discovered the fabulous taste and started eating as big of bites that you could.

this side glance. it is you. glancing at your sisters. seeing their reaction. checking out what i am doing. what you baba is doing. what the room is up to. you are so chill, so easy but man you love to see what everyone is up to.

 Alia Hope you are a delight and the perfect addition to our family!!!