Happy Birthday Dear Peyton

It is hard for me to write this post, because I can hardly believe that my little angel is one year old! Today was her birthday, and now I can't help but feel like she's slowly becoming more of a little girl and less of a baby. It's really exciting, yet heartbreaking at the same time. I'm so proud of all her accomplishments, but I want them to slow down a little! She's growing up way too fast, but she gets sweeter and more charming every day. For her first birthday, we decided to have a rubber duckie themed swimming party. Everything was pink and turquoise and yellow. It was a huge success, everything turned out perfectly, and super cute. Because I know some of you are into this stuff, here are some pictures of the decor:

We had pink and yellow lemonade, plus pink and blue juice for the kids. We also had 2 bowls of "duck food" (pretzels and popcorn).Peyton's Grandma Marianne made bathtub cupcakes and we put a hot pink mini rubber duckie on each one. The ducks even had "1" on their chests!We did goodie bags themed around the water (squirt guns, sunglasses, bubbles, ottor pops, and candy of course), pink for the girls and blue for the boys.Kid's Table, with Peyton's chair at the end

Peyton was a good sport about the singing, even though it all went over her head. She liked looking at the candle, and thought it was great watching her cousin Trent blow it out.

My mom had to show her what to do with the cupcake. Once she got the idea, she was in heaven. True to form, she was quite dainty eating the cupcake. She just kept grabbing little clumps of frosting with her "pincers".

We let her guests open up the presents they brought for her, since she had no clue what was going on. It was chaos, but the kids loved it.

Peyton's guests included her best friend Peyton Janeck, her cousins Sam, Macie, Marley, Max, Gabe, Trenton, Ike, and Taryn, and our friends Abby, Alec, and Brock Banton (I have already arranged a marriage between her and Brock). I'm so glad Peyton already has a best friend that's only 4 months older than her to grow up with. Trevor and Brittney- you can't ever move or we'll all be so sad!

The best part of the night was swimming! The kids all had a blast, and Peyton LOVED going down the big water slide. She was cold in the water at first, but ended up having so much fun.

Uncle Chaz took her down the slide her first time. She obviously liked it. She was laughing and signing "more".

On her actual birthday, we went to dinner at Red Robin with my mom and sister before they left Portland. The waiters and waitresses all sang to her and gave her balloons and a sundae. It was again over her head, but she loved the sundae!

I absolutely cannot believe my little girl is one. It has been without a doubt, the best year of my life. I am so grateful to have this angel baby in my life. There is no one else whose momma I would rather be. Happy first birthday, baby. You are my sunshine. I love you more than life itself.