Happy Birthday, Eleanor!

Yesterday we celebrated Eleanor's first birthday, and it was fantastic! We started off in the morning with giving her a sippy cup of whole milk which she seemed to like before throwing it on the floor. I think it was more for fun than her being disgusted with it. Then it was time to host preschool at our house where we had 10 kids come over (a little more than usual, but everyone was well behaved). After learning about her primary colors, Eleanor went down for a short nap and when she woke up we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Mudrick a little before Ben came home early from work. Next up we went to Chipotle for a late lunch and then off to Wegmans to buy a birthday cake and ice cream. When we came home we lounged for a bit, opened up her gifts and invited over our neighbors for cake and ice cream. After FaceTiming with Grandma and Grandpa Bruford, Eleanor was sung to and she devoured her birthday cake. Then after a quick clean-up we headed out to trick-or-treat with our neighbors as well. One trip around the block and we were home in time to prepare and feast on spaghetti with sausage, peppers, and onions and then it was bath time and finally bedtime for the birthday girl. She was pooped, but overall seemed to have a great birthday!

Trying to teach her to say she's one.

Testing out her new presents.

Singing Happy Birthday to Eleanor. We were FaceTiming, filming and taking pictures at the same time. It's a 21st century birthday after all.

She stuffed her face with cake as if she knew exactly what to do with it.

This handful went directly in her mouth after this shot.

Mmmmm! So good!

Now time to go Trick or Treating!

Cutest little garden gnome I've ever seen.

Birthday dinner!

I'm so glad we were able to spend Eleanor's birthday with Ben's parents. Though Eleanor isn't the friendliest of babies (she gets a little weary of people other than us), I think by the end she was happy to have her grandparents around. She showed off all of her tricks and showed them how silly she can be. She is a crack up. We are so lucky to have Eleanor in our family and since she is pretty different from her brother in many aspects, it's nice to have different personalities around the house. She definitely adds some spice to our family. Ok, and some sugar too. Happy Birthday to our Halloween baby girl! Here are some flashbacks of her over the last year.

After 20 minutes of pushing, Eleanor came out; broken collarbone and all: 1 minute old.

We just happened to have a Halloween beanie for her to sport right after she was born: 2 hours old.

Our chunky 9 lbs. 2 oz. lady being held by Grandma: 12 hours old.

Photo shoot with Aunt Rebecca: 4 weeks old.

Sitting in her swing: 2 months old.

Hanging out in her room: 3 months old.

Passport photos: 4 months old.

In front of the Eiffel Tower: 5.5 months old.

Hanging out on Mom and Dad's bed: 6.5 months

Bathtime: 7 months old

First 4th of July at Stony Brook: 8 months old.

On our trip to New Hampshire: 9 months old.

Eating spaghetti like a pro: 10 months old.

So serious during snack time: 11 months old.

Drawing (or eating the chalk) with her brother: almost 12 months old.