Hallie's first birthday pictures (so, so late)

Again, this is almost a YEAR late in posting. Hallie will celebrate her SECOND birthday in about 6 weeks. Thankfully, she's very forgiving of my tardiness.

Hallie's first birthday was the day after we were released from our COVID quarantine/first day of Community Day. Much to the older girls' dismay, I did not have things in place to celebrate her birthday ON her birthday. To be fair to me, I had not been to the grocery store or gathered any supplies, and I still felt awful. But they did such a thorough job shaming me that I got everything together for a party the next day after church (and when I say "party," I definitely just mean our family at home).

Evidence:

I made the cake, but we bought the cupcake. By the way, we always use a cupcake as a smash cake. Otherwise the element of waste is too much for me to handle.

Picture by Claire!

Look at the baby licking her lips.

It was a little confusing at first.

But then she tasted it and we got this knowing look.

She might also be a little unsure about whether or not this was sanctioned by the parents.

No shortage of gifts.

Apparently, she needed a lot of help to open her presents.

And Lily thought that this gift needed some extra love.

But the girls gave her the BEST gifts.

It says: Things we love about Hallie

From Claire, Lily, and Brynna

"I think she's sweet and cute. From the first time I saw her, I loved her. When I held her, it felt like sunshine (and Trumpkin loved her, too). She is my friend. -Lily"

"From the first moment I saw her, she was the perfect sister. She is a beautiful sister. She will always be my best friend. -Claire"

"We wrote this book in honor of Hallie's very first birthday! We love her and we will always love her. Happy 1st birthday!"

"A love book mark made by your sisters."

I very much cannot handle how darling their gifts to her were. They worked so hard on it, too. So thankful for all of them.

We had a great time celebrating Hallie, and I'm pretty sure she really loved the concept of the party. Especially cake. And opening presents. And being the center of attention. Just...all of it.