Santa's Lap

Evelyn met Santa for the first time today. It went pretty well!

She wasn't sure at first.

But then he offered some candy...

And they soon became best friends!

Merry Christmas!

Birthday Highlights

Evelyn's 1st birthday went very well! Since you couldn't be here we thought we'd share some of the fun parts.

The day started with breakfast and new jewelry! I made Ev a teeny-tiny pair of silver hoops. As I was making them they looked so small I was sure they wouldn't fit. They did! She doesn't bother them at all and they look adorable.

We spiffed up the kitchen in festive decor: birthday buntings, crepe paper, and balloons. Evelyn looked around with such a confused yet delighted expression on her face

The cake. The cake, the cake, the cake. So I went to Hy-Vee bakery because their cake is THE BEST. We wanted a small cake we could just give to her to destroy. They make 5" cakes for $6...perfect! Well, the guy who took my order acted like every request I made was as impossible as rebuilding the Titanic. I asked for white cake, white frosting, bright pink and green accents, Evelyn's name, and 3 small roses. This is what we got. You'd think by how frantically and seemingly thoroughly he was writing my order that they'd for sure get it right. Well...when they handed me the cake a day later I looked at it and just laughed! I didn't have the time to ask them to re-do it. And we had a giant #1 candle to put where the '3' was. After all, she was just going to destroy it. It was funny how wrong they got it!

Evelyn received some great birthday presents. Mainly clothes, jewelry, books, and money. Heaven knows she doesn't need any more toys. Mike suggested that we just wrap up mousey (her FAVORITE little rat finger puppet). Even though he was right - that there was nothing she'd be happier to see on the other side of the wrapping paper - I insisted we bought our little girl some real birthday presents.

We figured if she could answer the question, "what do you want for your birthday dinner?" she would definitely say PIZZA! She loves pizza. We kicked it up a notch by making homemade-from-scratch pizza.

She loved it!

Time for cake. She was really fussy at this point in the night.

It didn't take her long to get over it! For several minutes she just lightly licked the frosting off her fingers. Then she really dug in.

The night ended early, in the tub, and in tears. Before we knew it stories were read, bottles were drank, and the birthday girl was in bed. Hours before her actual 8:55pm birth time. It was a bitter-sweet ending to a big day. Our baby isn't a baby anymore.
But it was a very happy birthday indeed!

Our friend - who is a photographer - took some amazing portraits of her on her birthday. They will debut on here early next week. I can't wait to show you!

365 Days of Smiles: A Birthday Tribute

Even though Mike and I have had over 12 happy years together, we both agree that our life didn't really start until one year ago today. We cannot even begin to be able to describe the pure joy we have experienced in becoming parents. Not just becoming parents, but becoming parents to the sweetest little girl in the world. Evelyn has brought us unimaginable happiness. She has lit a light inside of us. Our hearts are full today. Full of gratitude to our Father in Heaven for sending us one of His perfect little angels, and entrusting her in our care. As we reflect on the past year one word comes to mind, SMILE. Never in our lives have we smiled as much as we have in the past year. Enjoy this picture reel of our year of smiles!

 

 

 

So here is to our favorite little punkin'...

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVELYN GRACE 

 We love your sweet spirit, your infectious giggle, your head turning smile, and too many other things
to mention. You're the light of our life. We love you!

Toot Toot

 

Click to see Karena Bella Jewelry in the Des Moines Register!

Forgive me...but I just wanted to toot my horn really quick. Early last week I was contacted from a writer for the Des Moines Register (comparable to the St Paul Pioneer Press) about including my bracelet/etsy shop in a gift giving guide in the Sunday paper. Of course I said YES! The article featured a handful of local Iowan etsy shops. I was honored to be selected. It was pretty cool to see my work in the paper (in color!). The bracelet sold right away, among some other things. Gotta love free advertising!