One Year in a Flash!

 Brace yourself.

 I have a TON of pictures of Laken's birthday and I just can't help myself.

Here they all are...

Me and my girl

We did a banner with all her monthly pictures ... it was so fun to see her growth through the year.  I will admit I got a little weepy when I was making it - I can't believe how much she changed in just one year!

 Presents!

We did a time capsule for Laken to open on her 18th birthday.

I enclosed a note with her birthday invitation asking guests to write a note or bring a small item to include in the capsule.  It was so fun to see everyone's creativity.  Because there were some things that didn't fit in the capsule, I will be sealing the capsule and everything else inside a bigger box and will give it to her on her 18th birthday.  

Cake time!

 This was Laken's third(!) time doing the cake smash, but I think the third time was a charm.  She wasn't all that interested the first two times, but this time she devoured it and then demanded more.  She ended up eating three pieces!

MOPS Playdate

I am part of a MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) group that meets every other Thursday at Life Center.  I love being a part of it and have met some wonderful ladies doing it.  In October, my table planned a playdate to the pumpkin patch.  We had a great time and the kids loved every minute of it.

Here's the best shot we got of all five kids

Another picture mom?

I love love love taking pictures at the pumpkin patch - the colors of fall are so pretty and warm - I just can't get enough!

October Babies

(Marin, Elin & Laken - 1 year!)

The babies all turned one in October.  I can't believe how fast the time flew by and how much fun it has been.  I feel so incredibly blessed to have these girls' mommies as my friends and to have been able to share this year with them.  Here's to many more years and lots of playdates to come.

And, just for kicks, here's a comparison picture of the girls in October 2010 when they couldn't even hold their heads up or stay awake for a picture ... getting a picture of the three of them is still tough, but now the problem is not keeping them awake - it's getting them all to stay still and sit next to each other without having any meltdowns! :)

Laken (3 Weeks), Elin (9 days), & Marin (2 weeks)

LCA Homecoming 2011

 We bundled up Laken and attended Life Christian's homecoming game against Vashon this year.  We had a lot of fun visiting with our friends and seeing old teachers - Laken loved the bright lights and being up past her bedtime!

 We serve on the alumni board, so we also did a little work too

Miguel and newly-preggo Sarah were there too - we can't wait to welcome Baby Villahermosa in May! (Laken is crossing her fingers for a girl ;))

"Passing the tape"

We raised almost $600.00 to go towards an alumni scholarship

 Great fundraiser, but untangling the mess was a bit crazy - so grateful for Angelique's help!

An Attempt at the Spoon...

Ended like this.

Laken turned ONE on 10-6-11

It was a bittersweet day for Mommy - she's looking and acting more and more like a toddler every day and, while I'm excited and nervous about all the fun things that lie ahead, I am sad to leave the baby days behind.

Here's Laken in her birthday day outfit.  

 I will forever have this image of her ingrained on my heart.  

She was so excited about her little party - having everyone she loves in one house - she kept walking from one room to the next.  She made the rounds over and over, going from the kitchen to the living room to the kitchen to the living room.  I couldn't help but laugh at what a little social butterfly she was that night.

 Proud mama and dada in our almost-finished kitchen.  The kitchen wasn't quite ready for a big birthday bash, so we put it off for a couple of weeks, but we did have to celebrate a bit on the actual DAY.

 Opening presents

 Laken's favorite gift!

 Cake time!

 Yummy

(If you look closely, you can see that Laken ended up with a black eye on her birthday.  We went to MOPS that day and she got a little shiner while in daycare - I felt so bad! Some birthday present!)

Straight to the bathtub after all that cake :)