First Birthday celebration

I'm a bit behind at updating the blog; hence, the belated Halloween posting below, but I wanted to give you a sneak peak at Lillian's birthday party pics. The girls got to open their gifts from Grammy and Pops on Saturday. We are saving the other gifts (Lajla's and Brenda's) for Lillian's actual birthday. In addition to many other generous items, they both received matching tutus. Here is Lexi demonstrating the twirling capability of her tutu.

Sorry this pic is fuzzy, but it is the only forward-facing pic I got of Lillian in her tutu and I thought this one was sweet because of the way she was holding the tutu.
On Sunday afternoon, we hosted an open house from 3pm-6pm to celebrate Lillian's first birthday. I think there were a total of 33 of us in the house at its fullest. Here is the food table in advance of the guests' arrival.

We sang Happy Birthday to Lillian and she got to blow out the candle (with help) on her birthday cupcake.

Hmmm...this looks good!

OK, not so sure what to think now.

Family pic (Lexi literally had about 15 different dresses on that day. She wore one dress to church, changed into another for the party and the minute Grace arrived, she dragged Grace upstairs to put on "princess dresses". This particular dress is a "play dress" made from scraps from Lajla. She even had her new tutu on for a brief period of time.)

We managed to sneak a bow into Lillian's hair without her noticing. She generally finds them and pulls them out straight away. This one stayed in for a bit. It is a beautiful bow that was handmade from my good friend Lauren. Thank you!

Had to include this pic of Lillian practicing walking in her new shoes. These are a bit more rugged to be worn outside. Up to now, she has been walking without shoes or with her Robeez. I want her to master a more sturdy shoe so that she can wear it outside.