Audrey's First Birthday

It is so hard to believe that my baby girl is one year old.  Although the last year has been difficult in some ways it seems like just yesterday we were bringing home our tiny princess.  Audrey weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces, but was hard to handle from the beginning.  She had colic and reflux and rarely slept.  She still isn't the greatest sleeper.  At six months old she did sleep twelve hours at night, but that didn't last for long.   Audrey was born three months to do the day after my dad died.  He wanted another granddaughter so badly.   He would have loved Audrey and would have ensured that she loved him as much as he loved her.  

We went home to Kentucky to celebrate Audrey's first birthday.  It is a little difficult to plan a party 800 miles away, but with the help of Pinterest, my mom, and Jessica we pulled off a fancy affair.  Audrey's snowflake soiree was rather spectacular.  My mom's house was the perfect setting for the event.

 
It was great to have the family together in one place.  Alexander was thrilled to see his cousins and friends.  He was especially excited to Jessica and Derek and baby Addie of course. 

Audrey loved being the center of attention, especially when we sang Happy Birthday to her.  Alexander was a good big brother and helped his food deprived sister, who only has one tooth, eat her birthday cupcake.  She finally figured out what to do. Surprisingly, she wasn't as interested in the gifts as I expected.  At Christmas she couldn't keep her hands off the packages under the Christmas tree.  She was excited to play with her birthday gifts, but didn't care to open them. 


Our new family birthday tradition is to have a balloon release for my dad.  We did this at Alexander's birthday this year, but my mom missed it, so I thought we would do it again.  I want my kids to always remember him and know what a special father, grandfather, and friend Daddy Bob was.  My heart aches that they will not have the opportunity to know him. 

Audrey is so serious, but loves to play.  She loves a basket of laundry, bibs, or socks.   She has just recently become increasingly interested in books, primarily touch and feel books.  We call her the Audreycane because she can make a mess of a clean house in moments.  She loves to eat avocado and banana.  She will make use ofany item as a pretend phone.  Her big blue eyes and long eyelashes melt her Daddy's heart.  Audrey enjoys music, especially The Cars' "Drive."  Auj is quite the dare devil and has no fear, unlike her brother at this age.  It was a blessing to be able to celebrate the life of our precious Audrey.  We are so thankful for her and all the joy she brings to our life.