The Vice Squad: Happy First Birthday, Aurelia!!!

August already . . . it seems so surreal that one year ago I was swollen to the size of an elephant, trying to keep myself as busy as possible so I wasn't going crazy with anxiousness waiting for Aurelia to be born. One year seems like such a small amount of time when you consider the whole picture of ones life, but one year has brought so many tremendous changes to our little family. Garrett and I often remarked how my pregnancy seemed to last forever. Every week felt like a year, and the trend continued with 36 hours of labor and a hospital stay before we were finally able to bring our baby home. Now she is 1 year, and it seems as though it has happened overnight.
Aurelia is such an incredible light in this world. She always puts a smile on my face. No matter what the day brings, I can count on her to find joy in the smallest things. She reminds me everyday how beautiful our world is. She loves laughing and making people laugh. She is a flirt, especially with older gentlemen in the grocery store. She won't pass up a chance to wave hello and give a sweet smile. What an immense gift she is to us, and to everyone she meets. We love you, Rae. Happy Birthday!

Rae's birthday party was a lot of fun. We chose a watermelon picnic theme, and had a few close friends and family over. Garrett's mom, stepdad, and his mom's best friend, Diane, flew out to spend the week with us. They were so much help getting everything together for her party. Bridget made a cute table runner for our kitchen island that looked amazing, and I made a birthday banner, which turned out pretty well considering my very tiny amount of crafting experience and talent.

Yummy cupcakes and cookies from Froste Bake Shoppe

The Spread

Thank you for all the great presents!!!

Walking with her new dinosaur!

The birthday kids! Rae's party was on the 28th, which was Phoenix's bday and Garrett's friend Matt's son had a birthday that weekend as well, so we sang to all three of them.