Laurel is one!

Well, it's officially a year since we became parents. And what a busy, wonderful year it was. We are so very grateful for our baby and everything that has come with her. So to celebrate, we had a fun picnic at our local park! We invited some friends and local family (plus grandma o.) over for a barbeque and some cake and socializing. It was a beautiful afternoon and Laurel was so very cute as usual. And to top it all off, she is officially walking on her own! She's been practicing and is now confidently toddling about all by herself.

For the party, we made a character cake shaped like Elmo's face. Each child also got a cupcake with a candy Elmo on it and their name. We barbecued hot dogs and burgers, ate potato salad, deviled eggs, chips and dip, shrimp cocktail, and fruit salad. Laurel was very excited to eat her own cupcake. She took some huge bites and got a decent amount of frosting on her fingers and mouth:). With the party came some great gifts as well. She's well stocked on wardrobe items, lots of cute things came from the grandmas! She also received lots of Elmo-themed gifts. We are now the official owners of a Tickle-Me-Elmo, which is funny because I can remember the craze for them when they first came out 10 year ago! She also has a toddler-sized basketball hoop, a tea set, a musical drum, an elmo purse with Elmo-themed contents, a small rocking horse, and some money in the college fund.

Overall, a great success, exactly what we wanted to have for her! Happy Birthday to our little girl!