The 21st of July - Claire's First Birthday!

Today is the 21st of July.  Claire's first birthday.  Her FIRST BIRTHDAY.  She's a year old, already!  Where, oh where, oh where does the time go?

When I think back to what I was doing at this exact time a year ago today, it's kind of surreal.  I was getting home from the birthing center with a brand new little human.  Today, I spent most of my time chasing that little human around as she took her first few steps yesterday, and takes every chance she gets to practice this new trick.

But I'll save the sentimental stuff for another post. We did a lot of things today and this is going to be long enough as it is without my sappy musings sprinkled throughout!

Oh!  And in case you are new here and have no idea what this is all about, you can see my original "21st of..." post here.

Without further ado...

Good morning, Birthday Girl!  Yeah, she kept me up all night...but she slept in until 7:30.  So I guess that makes it better?

Presents!  Oh my goodness was she excited.  Not about the actual gifts, mind you (except for that horse).  But the boxes!  And ribbons!  Such fun.  Luckily I learned my lesson the first time around and kept birthday shopping to a minimum (and that horse toy was secondhand).

This $12 horse from Kid to Kid was a huge hit!

Claire wasn't the only one enjoying the presents.  This excitement was almost too much for Jack to handle.  No, seriously.  He was so sweet and helpful in the morning, but all the new toys in the house - that weren't for him - were a bit much to take!  We had some sharing issues.  I'm looking forward to these toys losing some of their newness.

That train?  That was Jack's gift to Claire.  Because, you know, *she* totally wanted a train toy, right? Ha!

Do you think a one-year-old is old enough for their own cell phone?  Because I totally bought one for Claire (and on a side note, when Jack was a baby just a few short years ago the toy phones all looked like real phones...this one was labeled as a toy "smart phone" - oh, boy).  Maybe now she'll leave mine alone.

Charles took the kids for a short walk/jog and I did some yoga and drank some really black tea.

Amazing what only 20 minutes of yoga can do to your well-being.

Also amazing what a little hardcore caffeine can do.

Our neighbor's daughter had a birthday this week, too, and her birthday party was at the pool.  We all spent some time in the bathtub pool, which felt like a jacuzzi because it is so freaking HOT.

And then, nap time for the little ones and lunch for me.

I think hot dogs are so nasty...but I love them so much.  I can't help it.  I need to justify this by letting everyone know that we only get the fancy ones.  With one kind of meat in them.  The fact that there are even hot dogs with multiple species of meat means I should not be eating them!  But...they're So. Good.  And Charles can grill the shiznit out of them.  Yum.

After lunch, I try to write but fail.  This is my new writing desk.  It's a family heirloom of sorts.  From back in the day when people were in shape and didn't slouch, apparently.  Because I have been using it for a little over a week now and my back and neck are killing me.  Also, see that lamp? I know, you can't miss it.  I told Charles to get me a skinny little lamp at Target and he bought this beast.

Nap time is over and we get a very exciting phone call.  Our pictures are ready to be picked up at Michael's!  We had some professional pictures of Claire taken (she modeled some headbands for Lolaland Creations - photos were by Polka Dot Cottage Photography).  There is a new Michael's near us and they had a Grand Opening special where custom framing was 60% off and they would take an additional $10 off of the final price.  What a steal, right?

Well, guess what I learned.

Custom framing is FREAKING EXPENSIVE.  Like, way more than twice what I expected and that was after the discount.   And the worst part is not even the cost...it's that they look completely amazing.  Seriously, stunning.  And I cannot imagine framing my own pictures ever again.  I'm going to need to get a job or something, because now I want to frame ev-er-y-thing.

Here's one of the two we had done.  Of course, in real life it's just amazing.  The frame is gorgeous and is streaked with blue. And, when did I start thinking frames could be gorgeous?  Seems like an old person thing to say.

Here is where I need to tell all of you non-Texans how insanely weird Texas weather is.

Today was hot.  Extremely hot.  When we got in the car, the thermometer read 108 degrees.  We went to Michael's and on the way back it started to rain a bit.  In a matter of minutes, the temperature dropped to 83 degrees.  That's a 25 degree change in temperature in just a few minutes!

Also?  This left side of this picture shows what it looked like in front of me (when we got home) and the right side shows what it looked like behind me.  Is it hot and sunny?  Is it warm and rainy?  I DON'T KNOW.  Make up your mind, Texas!

Blue skies?  Cloudy skies?  Both?

Memaw and Grampa met us when we got home for dinner.  And Memaw brought Claire her first cupcake (and a special "big brother" cupcake for Jack).  Tomorrow we are having a family party for Claire and her cousin (who has a birthday next week) and Memaw is making the cake.  She threw these together with leftover ingredients and frosting.  Oh, had I inherited these skills...!

Claire was surprisingly uninterested in the frosting.  Jack, however, was far from uninterested.

And that brings me to right now.  The kids are asleep and Charles ordered us a special treat.

This big, fat, creamy, chocolate chip-filled cannoli is about to find its way directly into my mouth.

It's been a long day and I am going to wrap this up before I steal all of the internet's bandwidth.

I hope your day has been as awesome as mine, and I hope you have dessert.  Because we all need dessert.

And, Happy Birthday to my sweet, sweet Claire Ellen.

What did you do today?