Hadley's First Birthday!!

Has it really been one year since our sweet Hadders joined us?! I swear I was just in our hospital room, staring at our black-haired bundle of joy.
All day on the 19th, I kept looking at the clock and thinking back to what was happening a year ago. "At this time last year I was given my epidural." "At this time last year Levi's family arrived at the hospital." It's crazy how you can live your life day-to-day and not notice too many details, but on a day like your child's birth you remember every tiny detail. It's like it's set aside in my mind and I can revisit those memories anytime I want.
Since Hadley's birthday fell on a Monday this year, we decided to host her birthday party a couple of days early, on Saturday the 17th. We reserved a party room at the Student Union/Bowling Alley at BSU. It ended up being just the right size to host everyone. Laurie and her kids were going to join us, but ended up staying home due to sickness. We sure missed them and can't wait to see them when we visit Utah this spring. It was still a big crowd at the party and we enjoyed the company of Papa Brad and Grandma Julie, Abuelita Maria, Maria's friend Maga, Seth, Aunt Avery and Uncle Chris, and even Aunt Sevy flew in from Boston to surprise us! It was so great to see her and we couldn't believe she was able to sneak in without us ever finding out. Aunt Heather and Uncle Zane were there with Wilson and Eliza (who we were lucky enough to steal for a couple of hours, since she was so busy that day Irish dancing for all the St. Patrick's day crowds.) Our friends Laci and Jason Bauer, and their darling boy Axel came too and it was so great to see the room full of people who wanted to celebrate Hadley.

Hadley loved opening her presents, though we had to move quickly to keep her focus on the presents and away from the cake that she found. Hadley was completely spoiled and got lots of great things. Grandma Katie got her a little xylophone that she has been pounding ever since, The Colbys got her a Fisher Price little person Irish dancer playset. It's about the cutest thing I've ever seen, with a train and little figurines dressed in Irish garb. So precious! Avery & Chris gave her a couple of adorable outfits and a neat sign for her room. Sevy gave her a cute board book called "Goodnight Boston" that has fun drawings of the city. The Bauers gave her a set of alphabet blocks that she loves to scatter all around the room. Seth gave her a fun drum and Maria gave her some beautiful clothes and Maga gave her a Fisher Price purse that sings when you open it. So fun! Brad and Julie special ordered a fun wooden puzzle that spells out "Hadders", which she's already had so much fun playing with. They also got her a great Little Tykes Roadster that she can sit in a steer as we push her from behind with a long handle. Levi's already taken her around the block in it and got lots of smiles from passengers and drivers driving past him. Levi and I decided to be simple at just got her a Little People pink jeep. She likes pushing it along the carpet and the Irish dance little people can fit in it too :) Aunt Bonnie sent her the cutest summer romper and I can't wait to see her little legs in it!

Albertsons in Boise has a deal giving parents a free cake for their child's first birthday party. It's a decent size, too! We got to pick the cake flavor and the frosting flavor. I still can't believe it was free. After eating pizza and opening presents, we let Hadley tear into her cake, and did she ever love it!

All in all it was such a fantastic day to celebrate our little princess. She had so much fun getting spoiled and we had a great time with our loved ones. While I wish time would slow down just a little bit, I'm happy to see Hadley grow into this beautiful, funny little girl. Thank you to all our loved ones for making this day so special!

Hadley at home with her birthday loot!

***Cake Part 2***
Heather and Eliza had to leave before they got to see Hadley eat her cake, so on her actual birthday, we took the remainder of the Albertsons cake over to the Colbys and she had a blast diving in again.