Birthday Party Success

I'm just now catching up after the big birthday bash weekend. It ended up being a really wonderful time and Mr. Soup and I were so grateful to have our friends and family with us to celebrate. Cuppa did really well, despite the chaos of many people crammed into our small house. As always, she did well with the other kids but didn't let any of the adults hold her. She prefers to be admired from a distance apparently.

Mr. Soup outdid himself with the cake planning. It was the one task he took on for the party and wanted it to be a surprise. Instead of a traditional cake, he went with cupcakes to match her "theme." He had a friend make them and they were unbelievable! He knew that Cuppa's most favorite thing in the whole world is her lovey (which he picked out and bought for her on our trip to Martha's Vineyard last June) and so he had them made with her lovey on them. Words don't do it justice, so here are some pics:

Good job Mr. Soup!

I was totally thrilled that Cuppa let me play dress up with her as well. She's really not your typical girly-girl most of the time. Sure, she wears a lot of pink, but with almost no hair, she's not generally found wearing frilly bows and stuff. And, it was definitely a gamble getting her a tutu to wear for her party, considering the first time I tried to put her in one it didn't go over so well.

Want to see how much she loved them a few months ago?

Luckily this time worked out much better:

Well, for the most part:

But, at the end of the day, there was plenty of cupcake smashing, hugs, kisses and love showered on our special birthday girl. It was a great day and one we'll always remember.

A big day ahead

Tomorrow is our Cuppa's first birthday party. Her party outfit is laid out and ready to be worn. I have no great hope of her tolerating it for long (she's not really a tutu kind of girl but it was just too darn cute to pass up). Hopefully she'll indulge her Mommy's need to play dress up for just one afternoon.

Just a year ago we brought our Cuppa home from the hospital. She struggled to stay warm enough, nursed like a champ and curled right up on my chest and snoozed. Oh how I miss those days, especially when in their place I have a toddler who is deciding nursing is no longer fun and who strong arms me any time I even go in for a hug. Things change, quickly. They say if you blink you might miss something. I believe they're right about that.

Tonight we had fun with Mom Mom, Aunt L, and cousins H & D. D tried to show Cuppa how much fun walking was, but she was more interested in crawling circles around Mommy. After dinner, Mr. Soup and I cleaned and I prepped a bit for the big party tomorrow. Our house will be filled with family and Cuppa's little friends, all here to celebrate her life.

I hope it's a good day filled with love and memories for my baby girl.

A Letter to my Toddler

Dear Cuppa,

Your world is filled with wonderment and adventure. I understand that this means you have a need to explore and test and attempt feats of grand proportion. But sweetie, while you will always be a superbaby in my eyes, the fact of the matter is, you are not superhuman. When you dive off the bed, contort your body into flinging itself off the couch, or head butt the wall, you will get hurt.

Mommy is getting old and my reaction time is slowing, clearly. So when the day comes that you decide to leap tall buildings in a single bound please know that Mommy will do her best to get there with the net to catch you should you fall, but let's hope for both of our sakes you remember to wear a parachute.

With love and kisses,
Mommy

The Life and Times of a One Year Old

I realized yesterday, as I sang "Happy Birthday" to my now one year old Cuppa, that I've been a neglectful blogger. So much of Cuppa's achievments have passed and I haven't documented them. I vowed yesterday, as I wiped smashed cupcake off my little girl's face, that today I would start anew. So, here we are.

Cuppa didn't get to bed until late last night. Apparently I should have heeded the wise advice from my friend NoVa and not given her that sugar filled cupcake right before bedtime! Though it could have also been her excitement over her new Laugh & Learn House. She must have crawled circles around and through that thing for an hour straight. She also LOVED that her Daddy could crawl through the door. (Mommy didn't try. I worried about how I'd have to explain to the ER docs how I managed to get a toy house stuck around my hips).

It was a good day. Cuppa and I played, laughed, snuggled. I looked back at pictures of her as a newborn and small infant and told her the story of how she was born. She must have known that her first birthday was as much a celebration for her Daddy and I as it was for her, because it almost seemed as though she was consoling me throughout the day and letting me know that while she wasn't that tiny, helpless newborn any longer, she still needed me. And she assured me, through her mischievoous play, that the fun was just beginning.

I can't wait.

For fun, a look at how she's changed in her first year:

I loved this hat that the hospital gave to her when she was born. It SWAM on her. She was such a tiny thing, weighing only 5lbs. 3oz, but she was absolutely perfect with her round head (thanks to my c-section) and cute button nose. I stared at her for hours and just couldn't believe that she was really mine.

I have never felt more complete than I did the moment I first held her and she looked at me with her big bright eyes. It was as though I had known her my entire life, even though we had just "met" for the first time. It's so strange to realize that the tiny person you hold in your arms is the same one who kicked and squirmed inside your belly for 9 months. It's just so surreal.

It amazed me how quickly she grew and changed. It was like every time she stretched she grew and every time I blinked she changed on me. Those first few weeks she did little other than sleep, poop and eat. Nursing was a challenge, but I loved it. I think she did too. She gained weight quickly and steadily.

By one month, she didn't even look like the same baby to me:

She was smaller than her toy octopus and kept sliding down in the glider as we tried to take her picture. Even the sign seemed HUGE compared to her.

This was the time in her life that we could take her out to a restaurant and she'd sleep the entire time. Oh how things have changed! She was such a little peanut and I remember how excited I was (and a little sad) when she outgrew her premie clothing and was solidly in the newborn size.

She learned so much this first year. She was sitting up on her own by 4.5 months. She rolled over shortly thereafter too. She was slow to crawl and we joked that she was going to be the baby who sat and waited for the world to come to her. Everyone told me to appreciate her before she was mobile because life would change majorly when she moved. They were right!!

By her first Thanksgiving she was army crawling (at just shy of 10 months) and babbling up a storm and by Christmas she was a speed racer on 4 limbs. She started pulling up on anything taller than her at that time too (which in her world was basically everything!) and began cruising the furniture too. She started taking assisted steps with her walking/push toys around 11 months and now runs around the house with them. She still won't stand on her own or take her unassisted steps, but I have no doubt those achievements are just around the corner.

She has amazed me every day of her life and challenged me equally as much. Motherhood has been hard, fun, and nothing short of incredible. I can only imagine what the next year will bring. But I am ready for the challenge and excited to see what new things she has to teach me. Because let's face it, as parents, we are truly the students when it comes to raising a child. For today though, I am just going to soak in my new one year old toddler and enjoy every moment.