Trip to Utah & Joint 1st Birthday Party

When Chloe's cousin Jayden was born I calculated that they were almost exactly 7 weeks apart. And then in planning and contemplating what to do for Chloe's first birthday party I was sad that we were living in California and my sister was in Utah because then we could not have them attend Chloe's birthday. I started looking at the calendar and saw that Brian had spring break pretty much in the middle between Chloe and Jayden's birthdays. I then proposed the idea of traveling to Utah for Brian's spring break and having a joint 1st birthday party for Chloe and Jayden. Planning any event from a separate state is kind of difficult, a first birthday is just the same. Luckily everything fell into place and we were able to have a great trip to Utah. We had a circus theme for the party. And again we spent way too much time decorating cakes and cupcakes, but they were delicious. One of the days before the party we took Chloe and Jayden to Hogle Zoo. It was Chloe's first trip to a zoo and I think she really enjoyed seeing all the animals. Here are some pictures from the zoo and then also from the birthday party. 

Chloe loved all the little bronze statues around Hogle Zoo, they were animals she could actually touch.

Everyone minus Spenser, who was taking the picture.

The Spread

Yummy Cake and Cupcakes

The decorated room

Jayden & Chloe, our cute 1 year olds!

Smash the cake! (Again)

First Birthday

In the weeks prior to Chloe's first birthday I enthusiastically put together a "Smash the Cake" photoshoot for Chloe. When I was little I used to be such a party planner for birthday parties. A month before my birthday I would start sketching out ideas for decorations and the cake design. I admit I did the same for Chloe's cake. I was inspired by a cute flower headband that I found since Chloe is a little flower child, she loves being outdoors. I knew that we needed to take a few pictures of her all cute before we let her dig into her first taste of cake, and then we would see the magic happen as she "smashed" her cake. I spent way too much time decorating her cake. Having only one set of decorating tips and six different colors to use while having a one year old cling to your legs for your attention is kind of stressful. Looking back I probably should have done something more simplified, but Chloe will only turn one once and I wanted her pictures to look good.

We took so many pictures, and there were many adorable ones to choose from. I think Chloe had a blast and she definitely preferred eating the frosting more then the cake. I expected her to destroy the cake, but she was actually really dainty. Picking the frosting flowers off piece by piece. It was really cute and I'm glad we took the time to do it. Here are some of our favorite shots from the day (even though it's hard to just choose a few):

Pre-Smashed Cake

Brian's Favorite

My Favorite

Smashed Cake

For Chloe's actual birthday things were pretty simple and laid back. We had a coupon for a free birthday cupcake from Barnes & Noble for Chloe and so we walked there and let her choose which one she wanted. We invited my parents up for dinner and had a small party with just the five of us. We had spaghetti and Chloe was able to open her presents a lot more enthusiastically then she had on Christmas. Before dinner we took a walk around campus and were able to show my parent's around Brian's school. All in all it was a great day.

Chloe loves bubbles

Chloe wanted to share her cupcake with River. River enjoyed it.

Opening Presents

Exactly how you're supposed to play with blocks......Right?

Little Owl's Night

For my birthday right before we found out I was pregnant Brian gave me a children's book called "Little Owls Night." It is a beautiful book, I have really come to love it. Since Chloe's birth it has been a part of her nighttime routine. We read it to her and she loves it too. She loves it so much that she accidentally rip some pages in mom's copy. And so we decided to buy Chloe her own copy, which is a board book version, much more durable. She was so cute reading it to herself that we couldn't help but do a little photoshoot. Enjoy!

Christmas Eve & Chloe's First Christmas

When it was just the two of us it was really easy to get away with not really having any traditions for Christmas Eve and Christmas. With this being Chloe's first Christmas I decided we had to have a few traditions to do every year that Chloe can look forward to. I was able to find a really cute advent calendar that is a Christmas tree that you put ornaments on for each day up til Christmas that Chloe will enjoy more as she gets older. And then for Christmas Eve we've always sat around the Christmas tree and sang carols. In addition to that we have started the tradition of opening one present, which will always be a new set of pajamas. Chloe hadn't had experience opening any presents yet so it was a fun little experiment.....she really was more interested in chewing on the present then actually opening it.

Trying to figure out how to open the present.

Now what Mom!

Here are some pictures from Christmas day:

She did not want to open any other presents once this was opened.

Did I mention we officially have a walker as of this morning!!!

Enjoying the awesome felt fruits & veggies Aunt Leanna made

He was so excited and surprised about this watch, it makes me happy to surprise him so.

Chloe's spoils

We had a great day. Although Chloe wont remember her first Christmas, we her parents definitely will. I can't believe she is walking now, at 10 1/2 months. I hope we can keep up with her now that she'll be so mobile.

Claremont Tree Lighting Ceremony

Last year we went to the tree lighting ceremony when I was very pregnant with Chloe and really enjoyed it. So we decided to go again this year with Chloe. It turned out to be a pretty cold night (with a little bit of rain), but it was fun getting a picture of Chloe with her first Santa and Mrs. Claus.

"Walking" to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus

Hooray no tears!

They had a reindeer and sleigh we could sit in.

Family Pictures 2013

Throughout our marriage I have always looked forward to taking family pictures in November for our Christmas cards. It's been fun to scout out places to take pictures and think of interesting poses. This year was even more special because we had one more person to include in our pictures, little Chloe. She is a very important part of our family now and it was interesting to find poses to showcase her and her wonderful personality. Here are some of poses that we may or may not have used in our Christmas card this year, but still our favorites (Sorry there are a few...)

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Acorn Festival at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens

Brian has always loved things related to Native Americans. So when I was browsing through the events at the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens and saw that they were have an Acorn Festival with different crafts and music I was certain that Brian would be excited to go. I was correct in my assumption and he was so happy to share this culture with Chloe. Here are some of the things that happened while we were there:

When dad's around I always play in trees!

Using a push drill to drill a hole into a shell for a necklace.

Chipping away the obsidian to make an arrowhead

Finished arrowhead!