It's been a year already?

Sloane has turned a year old. Already. In some ways it's gone by so quickly, and it other ways, it's felt just right. She is such a fun baby. She really is. She's been fairly laid back, although we are just now starting to see a little attitude come out of her. Sometimes she thinks she's 1, going on 21. Since she's getting more mobile, she doesn't like to hold still, and when someone is holding her down, she lets out the loudest shriek and shrill. She's definitely been the loudest of the 3. We always call her the little shriek owl. Or sometimes howler monkey. Yes, it's that loud. But when she's not piercing eardrums, she is a ball of fun. She's got a great personality. She greets you with smiles and giggles every morning and after every nap. She likes to play and be tickled. She "talks" a lot, usually with something she's trying to tell us, but nothing we can understand unless she points at something. She mimics us and her siblings alot (which is setting us up for T-R-O-U-B-L-E). She likes to sing with others and at church. Reid learned a song about colors at school and it has sign language with it, and he's sung it so much that she's picked up on it. I didn't realize that until I was pointing out colors today and saw her start to move her hands (imitating sign language) and heard her "singing". It was so cute. She's taken a few steps, but isn't consistent with it yet. She's almost completely on table food now (still eats some rice cereal and jarred fruits for breakfast). And she loves her sippy cup of milk! Anyway, on to the party...!

Her actual birthday was spent at home. Instead of a cake, we got some big, thick, iced sugar cookies from a favorite cookie shop. We put a candle in one that looked like a cupcake and used that as her cake for the night.


To celebrate her birthday with family and friends, we held a circus-themed party the following Saturday. It was a fun party to plan because the whole family got in on it. Reid and Blair helped me stuff bean bags for the Bean Bag Throw, paint coke bottles for the Ring Toss, color signs (all of which proved to be awesome busy-projects for them), and then helped set them up at the party. My mom baked the cake, while Jeremy did the icing and decorating (I think we have another Ace of Cakes on our hands!). And my dad figured out the mechanics of getting the Bean Bag Throw and the Strongman Cutout to stand up. Okay, so my mom and dad probably weren't really LOOKING to get that involved, but well, they were here, so they got put to work! And Sloane showed up ready to party!

Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages...

Step right up and try your hand at the bean bag throw!

And ring toss!

Come challenge the amazing Strong Man!

And, uh, Strong WO-man! (yes, she has a hairy chest, she moonlights as the Bearded Lady on weekends)


And what would a circus be without Sidewalk, the clown?!?

...making balloon animals

...and painting faces















Also featuring the internationally-renowned and incredibly talented Pooch Performers!




















So grab your hot dog...












...popcorn and peanuts...















...and of course the cotton candy (clown noses optional)















...and witness a spactacular feat of cake balancing...

...as Miss Sloane, Star of the Galaxy, celebrates her First Birthday!