Happy Birthday Eliza!!

I feel like a big slacker considering Eliza is now 15 months old, and I am now just getting around to writing about her first birthday.  There won't be a whole lot of commentary - I'll let the pictures do the talking. 

I can't believe my baby is a year old already.  She is slowly turning into a cute little toddler.  At this point, Eliza still didn't walk or crawl.  She would get around by spinning in circles on the floor.  I find it funny how "grown up" she acts; yet she doesn't crawl. 

I'm glad my sister was here for her birthday party - she did a great job decorating.  We had a small party at our new house (before we moved in) with some friends from our ward.  Ironically, all Eliza's little church friends couldn't come, so we didn't have many other kids there. 


We had a lite lunch of finger sandwiches, chips, and veggies.  Then we moved on to the cake!!  Eliza was slightly confused when everyone started singing to her. When I put the cake in front of her, she was a little hesitant at first.  When I told her to go ahead and eat as much cake as she wants, she looked at me like, "are you sure I can do this."  It didn't take long for her to dig right in . 

This miniature cake she is enjoying wasn't made or decorated by me. The bakery at one of the grocery stores I shop at gives a free cake on a child's first birthday. If you look closely at the bottom right picture of the last collage, you will see the cake I made from scratch for her party guests.  Although the decoration is terrible, the cake tasted great.  Picking up my free cake was an adventure.  I called a week in advance asking if I needed to special order her a cake.  The lady at the bakery told me that I am just supposed to come the day of her birthday with her birth certificate and pick out one of the 7 inch round cakes on display.  Then, they will write her name on it with icing before they give it to me.  When I showed up at the bakery to pick up the cake 1 hour before the party, the cake decorator told me that I should have pre-ordered it because they custom make them.   I told the cake decorator what the other bakery lady had told me on the phone.  She felt so bad that I didn't get to order the kind of cake I wanted.  I, on the other hand, was excited that I could get a fancy bakery made cake for free; no matter what it actually looked like.  Because of my limited time, I said the cute little  bee 5 inch round cake was perfect for the occasion.  They quickly, yet apologetically wrote "Happy Birthday Eliza" on the side in pink, frilly icing, and I was out the door.  Next time I will know to ask for the cake decorator on the phone to preorder all future free cakes. 

 

I think the black frosting makes it seem even more messy.  For great photos, I recommend black frosting. 

 

 

Enjoying some cake!

 

 

Getting washed up!

 

 The table after the birthday girl was done demolishing her cake. 

 

 

 

 

After a quick outfit change, it was time to open presents.  I should have specified on the party invitation that no presents were necessary - she ended up getting more presents than I intended for her to get.  However, the girl had a ball opening the gifts, and was super fun to watch.  She got excited about each one, and wanted to play with each one before moving onto the next one. 

 

Eliza really is an expressive girl.  These next 2 photos are the epitome of Eliza.

I want to always remember this cute little face.  She looks up at me with this expression countless times a day. 


Bruce and I got her this rocking horse. 

As you can tell, she loves it. 

After being on it for seconds, she figured out exactly what to do.

She doesn't ride it long, but I think she will ride it more and more the older she gets.  It is worth the few minutes she does enjoy it. 


Our Realtor gave Eliza a new car seat.  I personally would have chosen a more gender neutral color, but I'm grateful that Eliza was given one.  We call it her princess chair because she sure feels like a princess when she sits in it.  The first time we put her in it to go for a ride, she couldn't stop smiling.  She even got upset when we took her out. 

Another classic Eliza face....

Happy Birthday baby girl!!  You are such a delight to our family.  I love that our house is full of giggles, smiles, and cuddles all day.  You seriously are such a sweet, good little girl.  We love you to pieces.  You will always be my special Baby Cakes.