So, I'm back! It was a long weekend full of fun and family. My parents arrived Wednesday evening, and Justin's parents arrived Thursday evening. Thursday, Tinley's actual birthday, my mom and I spent the day running last minute errands for her party. That evening, Justin, Tinley, and I, along with my mom, Debbie, and stepdad, Jeff, Justin's mom, Carma, and stepdad, Bill, and Justin's dad, Mike, all had dinner at the 800 Club for Tinley's Birthday dinner. It was delicious, and none of our family had ever been there before. It's a quaint, well-known Italian restaurant in Sandusky with the best homemade pasta and Chianti you will ever taste. Jeff was still raving about his caesar salad yesterday before they left! Kyle even showed up (at a perfect time, as Tinley had been sitting in her highchair for wayyyy too long) and brought with him a huge bunch of balloons, including a Minnie balloon. Tinley loves Minnie! We all had a great time, but I'm sure the other couples in the restaurant were happy to see Tinley and her balloons leave!
Papa Jeffy babysat while mom and I ran errands. She was pretty content!
Kyle arrived with balloons!
Loving on Mamaw!
Showing off her balloons to Mamaw and GiGi
She just walked around the restaurant with her balloons. It was so funny.
Friday, my mom, Carma, and I took Tinley to the doctor for her 12 month check-up. She is as fit as a fiddle and developing perfectly. She's very small for her age, but trust me, she eats like there is no tomorrow, so the doctors have no worries. She's walking, and doing all the tricks she should be doing at her age. She even managed to leave without getting any shots! I didn't want to risk her being irritable for her party, so I'm taking her back next Friday morning for her round of shots. She always handles it better than I do, and it's probably a good thing I didn't do it with my mom and MIL there anyway! That afternoon, we all just relaxed, had lunch, talked, laughed, and put Tinley's new wagon from her Great Grandparents together. It was so nice having all of our family together, minus my dad, who's doing business in Germany. I'm so lucky everyone gets along and we never have a dull moment!
12 month check-up at the doctor
Tinley and Papaw (Justin's dad, Mike)
Papaw Bill & Papa Jeffy putting her wagon together, while Mamaw supervises. Tinley thinks she's a big help too!
She loves her new wagon!
Saturday. The big day finally arrived! My mom and I once again ran a few errands, and arrived at the restaurant around 11 to get everything set-up and talk with the staff. We had her party at Weazy's Italian Eatery, formally known as Danny Boy's. It's one of our favorite restaurants, and we go there all the time. It's also close to our house, which was a plus, as we knew we would be carting a lot of loot back afterwards, and they have a private banquet room, which is where her party was. The staff there is so nice, and the food is amazing. We had all of our favorites laid out buffet style, including Justin's favorite, the buffalo chicken foldover, and my favorite, the BLT foldover. We also had pizzas, pastas, salad, and breadsticks. And of course, the beer and wine was flowing. It was better than I could have hoped for. All of our family and friends were there to help celebrate our baby girl's first birthday, a very important milestone. Justin's grandpa even drove from West Virginia Saturday morning to spend the day with us. He's the sweetest! I knew everything would be fine, even better than fine actually, with the fabulous team and support system I had behind me, but I was still stressed. I just wanted her first birthday to be fabulous, even if she doesn't remember it. We all will, right?! Besides, there are plenty of pictures! My girlfriend and photographer, Jamie Meyers, was there snapping pics of everything, from the little details, to opening gifts, and of course, the cake smash, so we didn't have to worry about missing anything. I'll hopefully get those images from her this week, but for now, I'll share with you a few images and videos from my family & friends. I have to say a big THANK YOU again to all of you that shared this special day with us. We appreciate it so much and Tinley, Justin, and I are lucky to have you in our lives! :o)
Opening gifts
My pretty girl!
Waiting for everyone to arrive
Waiting for cake
The cake table
All we need is the birthday girl!
Her giant cupcake!
The cupcakes
Waiting for everyone to arrive
Chillin' after her party
Her new big girl carseat! Each grandma bought one!
She loves her new bath toy from Sam and Jeff!
Watch her cake smash here:
She even shared with Daddy:
A little clip of gift unwrapping:
