its the most wonderful time of the year

i love this time of year. the leaves are changing and slowly falling. the humidity has finally left us. i get to wear my warm pajamas and drink hot chocolate.

it's perfect.

i think living in california has helped me appreciate the seasons a little more. i still love california weather and would go back in a heartbeat, but i love the fall and all the seasonal changes.

i know in april i'll be whining about the weather, but for now, i love it.

another great thing about the fall is the holidays! canadian thanksgiving, halloween, american thanksgiving, and christmas! it is all so much fun! especially the baking!

to get in the fall/halloween spirit a bunch of us moms went out to a local pumpkin patch. we dressed the little ones up in their halloween costumes and watched them walk/crawl/scoot around all the pumpkins. it was a lot of fun and they all looked so so cute.

(poor ainsley needed her nap by this point)

i love how big her booty is

ainsley's first birthday!!!

after many long hours of planning and several attempts to be crafty i was finally ready for ainsley's big party. your first birthday party is very serious business. okay, really, its not but i couldn't help myself. i remember calling my mom and telling her i needed an intervention.

i may have gone a little crazy, but i loved it. i think ainsley did too.

i know she didn't have a clue that it was her birthday, but every time the doorbell rang and someone else came in she ran to the door to greet them. it was so cute! she was so excited to have so many friends over. i was so sad not to have our family there, but we were so blessed to have so many good friends from church and work be with us.

it was so much fun. a lot of work, but definitely worth it. it was nice to celebrate her and look back at the past year and all the great memories we have. we are so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter.

happy first birthday miss a.

so the party....i went craft crazy. duben was kind enough to let me just go for it.

i made ainsley a 'happy birthday' banner out of fabric. yes, i sewed.

i made some tissue paper pom poms for the mantle

i also made some fabric pom poms to hang by the food table.

i printed out a variety of pictures of ainsley throughout the past year and cut out cute little borders for them.

i made a ribbon topiary w/ her party colors for the table. then for food, we had some glass jars to put some of ainsley's favorite snacks in.

i made some sugar cookies - A's and the number 1.

i made strawberry cupcakes w/ lemon frosting and dark chocolate with cream cheese frosting

her cake was strawberry w/ cream cheese frosting

she had to have a party outfit, so i put a #1 on a t-shirt for her

your 1-year old toddler

for the past few weeks all i've been thinking about was ainsley's birthday. i've been so excited to celebrate her first birthday. i went online and got lots of fun party ideas and got to work. and i worked and worked and worked.

i was so busy i don't think i really came to terms that my little girl was turning one until i got my weekly baby update. you know those emails you started getting when you were pregnant that told you what size of fruit your baby was, then it was baby emails about tummy time and eating solids.

i got my weekly email today, except it wasn't for a baby anymore, it was for my toddler.

it happened so quickly. i still remember the first time she rolled over, sat up, and started to crawl. it seems like just yesterday she started walking.

this past year has been amazing. i can honestly say that being a mom has exceeded all of my expectations. duben and i constantly say how blessed we are to have such an amazing girl. she's got such a strong personality and is always so happy and energetic. everyday is always so much fun.

thank you ainsley for the best year of our life.

my wonderful grandmother

ainsley and i were lucky enough to travel to utah a few weeks ago to visit with friends and family. the main point of our journey was to visit with my dad's parents - nani and gumpa. we knew nani was having some health issues and we wanted to make sure she was able to meet her little great granddaughter.

i think it is safe to say they adored each other immediately.

ainsley is usually pretty shy at first, but she just took right to nani. she loved playing hide and seek with her and i had to keep her from running back to see nani while she slept.

my grandmother passed away yesterday. she was blessed to have all her children by her side. i'm so grateful to have so many wonderful memories of her. she was a great example to me and was always so loving and thoughtful.

i know she meant well in giving me those poofy black dresses i had to wear to church.

i love you nani.

such a big girl

ainsley had a fun play date today with her friend savanna. you'd probably never guess that ainsley is only one day older than her.

i really wish i would have taken a picture when we put their feet together.

ainsley is a monster!

when they first started got together they kept crying back and forth at each other. quite amusing. once they got over that they were great friends.

LOOK AT THEIR FEET!!!