Happy Birthday!

Happy First Birthday Makenna!

It is absolutely crazy for me to believe that we have a one year old! My little tiny baby is now a complete big girl! I won't say it has been an easy road- it hasn't. Makenna was a very difficult tiny baby! But she is such a delightful big girl! Makenna not only walks now- she runs! And she talks so much. Sometimes we can make out her words (mama, daddy, dad, da da, no, yeah, yes, bye bye, and tons more!) and sometimes she has her own language. But she talks all day long! She has also learned to follow most directions (although she sometimes chooses to selectively ignore mom and dad). She is completely off the bottle. She eats only big people food. To sum it up, she is the exact definition of a toddler! And she is so much fun! We love our precious little Makenna! So today was a really fun day to celebrate her being our fabulous little girl! And for family and friends who could not share this wonderful day with us- get ready for tons of pictures and a VERY long post!

I have to admit, I was so excited for Makenna's birthday that I had a hard time sleeping and got up very early this morning. And the second she made a peep I made her Dad get up and we burst in her room singing Happy Birthday. Well we scared her to death and I had to just sit and hold her for about twenty minutes! Then she opened her present from us- a little radio that plays all sorts of songs! She loved dancing to them like crazy! Soon after that we got her ready and took her to IHOP (her favorite place) for breakfast:

Makenna (and the always present thumb) waiting for her food.

Mom and Makenna (both looking a little out of it)

Dad and Makenna (her necklace is a new favorite present from Grandmom!).

Makenna got a big breakfast of strawberry pancakes and eggs. But when the waiter found out it was her birthday, he brought her a big dish of ice cream. What a lucky girl to get ice cream for breakfast on her birthday! She loved it!

We came home and Makenna and mom went down for a nap. Afterwards mom checked the mail. Makenna received a card from Grandma Linda and a package from Grandma Becky, Melissa, Alexa, Jonah, and Eli.

Looking at a birthday card.

Makenna with her new feel book. She loves to feel the fur on those bears!

Makenna playing with her new play food set.

Makenna received so many presents! Just for posterity sake (and to let all of the relatives know), we will go ahead and list them out (yes it might be a little tacky but we want everyone to know how thankful Makenna is for all of her presents!)

Grandmom and Grandad, Hollee, Logan, Gordon: table and chairs, new outfit, cell phone with carrier, purse, necklace, bracelet

Grandma Linda: Card and money! We will have to see what Makenna picks out for her present!

Grandma Becky: Lots and lots of clothes, shoes, a bed set for her new big girl bed, book, play food

Melissa: clog shoes (Makenna's favorite kind!)

Alexa, Jonah, Eli: a new float for the pool

So many thanks to all of our family! It is so wonderful to receive so many fun presents! Makenna loved all of them and she spent all afternoon playing with everything! She really is so cute- she would go from one thing to the next trying to get a chance to play with everything! So thank you again to everyone!

After Makenna played again for a while and had lunch, we put her down for her afternoon nap. Then it was time to get ready to PARTY! We invited several friends over for a BBQ outside by the pool. Thanks to everyone who came- we had so much fun!

Makenna and Annie- her absolute favorite friend! This little girl is honestly happiest when her best friend Annie is holding her!

The birthday girl! Makenna looked like a little hippie at her party! She was wearing this bright tshirt dress and bright shoes (Grandma Becky she went ahead and wore her new shoes-they are just a little too big but they matched perfectly!) and a headband and beads! Then we ended up adding her birthday crown that all the kids made as a craft. Such a cutie!

After dinner of hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, soda, and pasta salad (thanks Carly!), we had yummy birthday cake!

Makenna (and Dad) blowing out the candle.

Mom dishing up the cake.

Makenna taking her first bites of birthday cake.

Yummy! She might not eat very much dinner, but she can definitely handle that cake!

Michael, Logan, Emma, Natalie, Makenna, and Mom enjoying cake.

After cake, Makenna opened her presents. Once again, thanks to everyone! Makenna loved all of her presents! Annie, JJ, Logan, and Cole got her a Little People set with a house and a little DVD. Jenn, Nate, and Natalie got her an Elmo movie. Nate, Brittnee (is that how you spell it- I'm sorry!), Ari, and Devynn (spelling again! I'm sorry if I got names wrong!)her a little newborn baby doll. And Scott, Jillian, Michael, Emma, and Katelynn gave her some certificates for playdates (that one is very nice for mommy!).

After the party, we drove around as a family for a bit and then came home to clean up. When it was finally bedtime, Makenna cried because she wanted to stay up playing with all of her toys! Obviously, that proves it was a great day!

I've said it several times already, but thanks to all of the family and friends who gave Makenna such wonderful gifts and came to her party to make this a great day for her. She is such a blessed little girl to have so many people who care about her. Thanks to everyone! We love you!