Tula's first birthday!!

On August 3rd our little Tula turned one. I'm a little behind (again) with the blog, but I wanted to share some of the pictures from her party. We had a simple little bbq in our backyard with a handful of friends. I can't believe she has grown up this fast. When Alden turned one, he seemed so big, but Tula still seems like she's my little baby. She tries to remind me several times a day that she's now a toddler—albeit a non-toddling, toddler—by throwing tantrums when she doesn't get her way and picking fights with her brother. I still like to snuggle her like she's a newborn when she'll let me, though.


I made a big pink ice cream cake for her party, but since her little tummy can't handle dairy, I made her a chocolate covered banana cake to eat all by herself. The thing that makes me laugh is that she only ate a little of the cake, but she ate nearly a whole plate of pulled pork! She's just a meat and potatoes kind of girl I guess.

It's funny how I didn't notice that I sat Tula in front of the one dead circle of grass in the yard to take her picture until I uploaded the photos on the computer... urg!

Here's a picture of the ice cream cake. Notice the pile of knives next to it... I think I should have let it thaw out a little more before trying to slice it. It took two people, four knives, and some serious muscle to cut it up!

Daddy with the birthday girl... so sweet.
This is my friend Anna's son Esteban. They live just a few houses down and we love getting together with them.

The kids had an egg race, although the younger ones didn't quite get it. It was fun to watch their interpretation of the game.
It's not very often that Alden willingly lets anyone ride in his favorite blue car. It was a gift for his second birthday from his Mimi and Papa. I guess he was being generous since it was a special occasion. Annabelle looked adorable in it.

Here's Tula opening presents with a little help from her friend Ausia (Esteban's little sister). All of our friends were so generous and Tula got such lovely gifts. We had a great evening with everyone and we are so grateful to everyone who celebrated this milestone with us. Happy Birthday sweet Tula!!