Her birthday

Yes, I'm a month behind.

My baby is one. Like, she's been alive for a whole year. Does that blow your mind like it does mine? I think that time goes by quickly in general, but having Norah around is like have a living, growing, time-measuring monster full of awesomeness.

She changes so much so quickly that sometimes I find myself being sentimental even as she's dancing or clapping or telling me "no, no, no."

Remember when she was this tiny?

How about when she was all googly-eyed?

And she used to be an almost-completely-bald drool face.

She doesn't really have to grow up, does she?

We had her birthday party at Thanksgiving Point Farm Country. Until she's old enough to have a preference, I will choose whatever kind of party I want--and I wanted baby animals!

The girl had three cakes. Three. One was a farm-themed cake for the kids; one was a smash cake for her; and one was carrot cake deliciousness provided by my mom, Jess, and Josh.

And do you see the heart-shaped thing on her cheek? That was as far as she let us get with the face painting.

We had a "special visitor" stop by, which means all the little girls got to pet a baby bunny. Adorable!

I've made Nic take me to Thanksgiving Point to see the animals on our own. It's nice to have a baby now so I can pretend like she's the one who wants to do these things.


She totally went on the pony ride, too. There wasn't even any crying involved.

She did get a little restless on the wagon ride, but in her defense, it was very, very hot.

She didn't quite know what to do with her smash cake at first. She's never had access to that much sugar in her life. But she got in to it. Nic's face is my favorite in this picture. He loves that baby girl!


Norah did pretty well opening presents. Her favorite part was the cards. She would open them and turn them around and try to read them like a book. I could basically eat her up whole.

She passed out within minutes of getting into the car. That must mean it was a big success.

I've never been really big in to holidays and parties and such. But just like everything else in my life, Norah has changed it all. I'm already thinking about what she'll be for Halloween and what we can do for her next birthday. I'm seriously obsessed.

Is it cliche to say that I never imagined how much joy our daughter could bring into our lives? I can't get over it. It's incredible and terrifying and fun and exhausting. It's so much better than I ever thought it would be.

Thanks to everyone for helping celebrate Norah's first birthday. And thank you even more for being a part of our lives.