HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY ELIZA!!

Now that I have the reminiscing over with, I will tell you about Eliza's 1st birthday. What a great day we had! Since my dad has been off school he has been so nice in the mornings to take Eliza so I can sleep in. This morning was no exception, but I woke up earlier than normal because I wanted to see my little Birthday Girl. SAD! She was taking a nap. So, I went downstairs and turned on Good Things Utah and ate a donut. Good Things Utah is a show that comes on at 10 in the mornings here in Utah. The ladies that host the show are so funny! Well, not so much funny as totally cheesy. My sister and I can only describe this show as "So Utah." But I love it! Anyways, towards the end of the show everyday they do this little mini segment of babies who are turning one that day. Well of course I had been planning on sending my child's picture in to be on the segment when they turned one since before Eliza was even thought of. So, I sent in Eliza's picture on Monday so that it would be up today. I was a little bit worried because I sent it Monday night and it has to be there 2 days before the actual birthday, so I wasn't sure if it was going to make it on for her official BIRTHDAY day or not. I watched intently hoping to see her picture and there it was! I was so excited!! That will always be a fun memory. Anyways...when my dad and I screamed when her picture came up, the dog barked and then Eliza woke up. Dang it! But that was ok because I wanted to give her a big birthday hug and kiss. The rest of the morning and afternoon was full of getting her party ready for 5 o'clock. I made pasta salad, cut up tomatoes for the hamburgers, my dad (what a saint!) ran around getting last minute groceries like picking up the cute cake, I picked up balloons and her little ONE YEAR OLD cake (by the way, Albertsons makes ONE YEAR OLD cakes for FREE! Amazing! Just a little tip!). It was a busy afternoon but all so worth it! Oh! I also wrapped all of Eliza's presents because, for some reason, I never like to think ahead and do that kind of stuff the day before or something. That would clearly be too organized. The party started at 5 with my parents and myself still running around taking care of last minute things (if anyone has a solution to getting RID of the last minute run around, I would love to hear it). It was so fun! John's sisters Carly and Danielle and his brother Chris all came and hung out for a little bit. Eliza LOVES Carly! Then our family friends Kaylene and Bryant came and brought their cute little boy Carter. My friend and Eliza's babysitter Lisa came with her two kids Olivia and Coleman. Then it was the rest of the fam: Mom, Dad, Phil, Mollie, Carlos and Carrie Beth's kids Amanda, Madison and Brandon. A couple of neighbors stopped by as well. It was a really great time! Eliza devoured her cake again. She was a disaster to clean up. Even after I gave her a bath she still had chocolate frosting in her ears and nose. What a mess! I literally had to hose her down before I took her inside to put her in the bath, thats how messy she was. I'm so glad we went all out for her party! Mollie took some great pictures (as usual) that I will put up later. Here are some highlights:








WHAT A FUN AND EVENTFUL DAY! I can't wait to post the pictures Mollie took. She's so awesome! Hope all is well with everyone!

TAKE CARE!
LAURA & ELIZA