Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Noelle's 1st Birthday


October 8th, 2012 - Our littlest peanut turns one! It was a pretty quiet day as far as 1st birthdays go around our house. We mostly just hung out at home. Usually the day is full of family and food and a big celebration, but Noelle has the first Grenada birthday!

Is that not the CUTEST little girl EVER!! What a pose!

I worked for two days to make her cake. Mostly because you have to let the cake cool before you put on the frosting. Plus, I'm at a huge handicap here without my Kitchenaide mixer. I miss it so much! I brought a hand-held mixer which is just a step up from the hand-crank mixer that I've seen in stores here.

Thanks to Pinterest, I learned how to frost anything on to the top of a cake. See tutorial here. And here's how it turned out:


I was mostly happy, except that the orange is supposed to be a pretty light yellow, but when I went to mix the frosting the top came off of the food coloring. Well, what are ya going to do? Overall, I think I would try this again, and with Analeigh's birthday in 3 weeks, I have some time to think about what to do for her cake. I am sure it will be pink or purple or both!

She waited for 2 days for this party. 

Ethan was pretending to be a dinosaur, such a boy!

Some of our friends stopped by for cake.

Such a happy birthday girl

Then after we blew out the candle, the fun begins. Ethan dug in and made a huge mess on his 1st birthday. Analeigh was not that interested in getting dirty. Noelle loves to put things in her mouth, so I had high hopes for lots of cuteness. 

What, is there something on my face?

Here Dad, have some, it's tasty. 

Don't you wish you could do this sometime?!



The damage was done!

Overall, a great day! I know the kids enjoyed the cake and Noelle's toys. She got a new little baby doll that I got just for her, but Analeigh asked me all day to get the dolly down for "Noelle". Ya right! She can't wait to get her hands on it. She's the stasher. I also got her a tower that has all sorts of moving parts. The other two also love that toy. It's amazing how 2 little new toys can be so entertaining!

It's Been an Amazing Year....

Noelle was born on a Saturday and she came quickly. I was in labor for 12 hours before we went to the hospital...in hindsight, that was not the best plan, but they tell you not to go unless the contractions are 5 minutes apart. She was born only about an hour after we got to the hospital with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck twice AND a huge knot tied in it. She came so fast the nurse delivered her and I DID NOT get any drugs. Two weeks later we got the letter that Josh would be going to St. George's University in Grenada for the Charter Foundation Program. 

  


Josh left in January when Noelle was only 3 months old. It was the hardest 4 months of our lives. I was working full-time, had the kids in daycare, and I was nursing Noelle full time. I felt like I was working 4 jobs instead of just one. I am amazed just thinking about it how we did it. If it wasn't for Josh's mom, we would have never made it through. She gave up just about every other week to come stay with us and watch the girls. Thanks Mary!!


Josh missed a lot but he did so well in Foundations that he, obviously, got into med school. Yay for Daddy!!
Then we spent the summer packing up and moving....and you know the rest of that story.


Noelle has been such a happy, easy-going baby. I think when you are the third one you kind of have to be. She just goes with the flow. If she is fussing at you, it's for a reason. Usually hungry, poopy, or tired. She is on a very predictable schedule and stays happy as long as you follow it, but even if you don't she'll hardly fuss. Give her some food, and she's good. 


For such a little girl, she's already had quite an adventure! 

We missed our friends and family that we are normally surrounded by, and I know they missed us too. There will be plenty of birthdays together and only a few apart, and if you have to be far from your loved ones, at least we are lucky enough to be in such a beautiful place. 





Cheers!

Tarryn