Saturday, May 30, 2009

Larkin's 1st Birthday Party


She's growing up! Up! UP! Larkin's 1st birthday party was held today and it was a blast! Larkin loves bopping around with balloons, so we made "Up!" the theme of her party. It was very appropriate since "Up!" is Pixar's 1st 3D movie, it premiered the day before her birthday, and it's all about balloons! So, as you can see from the decorations, there were balloons everywhere! We also made from scratch Larkin's 1st birthday "cake" which was actually a bunch of cupcakes made to look like a bunch of balloons. We used licorice for the balloon strings and that's actually a head shot of Larkin in the clown costume!






Larkin ate the cupcake that had the big "1" on it - it had pink frosting and yellow cake. Knowing how much Larkin loves to eat and not being sure how messy the cake event could be, we decided to have her eat in just her diaper. But, Larkin really didn't go crazy with it (she had just eaten a big lunch after all)... instead she rather neatly took handful after handful of cake and shoved it into her mouth. She loved it, of course!






Opening presents was next and Larkin was blessed to get such great gifts from our friends. Here are a few pictures of her opening gifts and wearing some of them too! In a couple of the pictures, she's wearing a pink tutu that her Grandma Hittle got her over her birthday dress, along with the pink Converse Chuck Taylor's that the O'Callaghan's got her. What an adorable get-up! Larkin also got her first tea-set, a puzzle sorter, clothes, Fridge Farm, etc. Thanks for the great and generous presents, everyone!






The party wouldn't have been the same without our good friends coming to celebrate with us. We had a great time hanging out and eating mini-burgers and mini-hotdogs. Larkin made the rounds saying hi to everyone and here are a few pictures of her and our friends. I love the pic of Larkin and Gage - she's totally wanting to play with him and he's giving her a look like "Dude, where are your clothes?!"






Sera ate her fair share of food dropped on the floor and zonked out as soon as everyone left. Nothing's better after a fun and fabulous party than taking a long nap. Thanks, dear friends, for making Larkin's 1st birthday party a day we'll always remember and cherish. Our baby girl is 1!


Thursday, May 28, 2009

Larkin's Growth Chart - 1 year



Wow, our baby has grown! Born tiny at 5 lbs 14.9 oz., our Larkin loves to eat, and in her first year she has nearly quadrupled her weight! People love to comment on Larkin's chubby cheeks, and I love it. Here are Larkin's stats from her 1-year 1-day doctor's appointment. The appointment went great, despite the 3 shots that she had to endure (MMR, pneumoccocal, and Varicella chicken pox).

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Larkin's 1st Birthday!


It was 1 year ago today that our adorable baby girl, Larkin, was born and made us the happiest parents on earth! We remember it, so fondly, as if it were yesterday. Here she is, so small, so peaceful, and so loved...


And here she is today, on her 1st birthday... so vibrantly alive, with a lot more hair (ha!), and still so loved. HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY, LARKIN!!!! We love you, so much! I took these pictures of Larkin smiling this morning as she ate some breakfast before school. I feel so lucky that I can treasure moments like these every day.




Finally, here's a snapshot of an e-card that Larkin got from her Grandpa Bud. Thanks for thinking of your Bug-a-boo!


Saturday, May 23, 2009

Matt & Krissy's Wedding in PA

We spent Memorial Day weekend traveling (for the third weekend in a row!) to Pennsylvania. Aside from desparately missing my beloved puppy, Serafina, we had a wonderful time celebrating Brian's cousin, Matt's wedding to his college sweetheart Krissy. It was a beautiful wedding, as well as a mini-extended Hittle family reunion and a chance for Brian's side of the family to meet Larkin.

We started out the trip by flying into Pittsburgh, PA. We stayed at a quaint inn called Morninglory Inn downtown. We had a large group... Brian, me, Larkin, Brian's parents Peggy and Jim, Brian's sister Jenny and her daughter Sierra, Brian's Uncle Tom and Aunt Linda, Brian's cousins Christine and her two kids Carter and Amber, and Kate with her husband John (and a little Grey in the oven). Since we had such a large group, we had the bed and breakfast to ourselves and we had a great time! Only 1 block away from our street, guess what street name we happened upon... Larkin's Way!


Here are pictures from our dinner out at a cozy Italian restaurant and a few pictures from our stay at the bed and breakfast.





The Rehearsal Dinner took place at the beautiful Nittany Lion Club Inn in State College, PA. The Inn served an amazing buffet and we had the best lobster bisque we've ever had. Yum!




Check out Carter's "Old Man" pose and his sister, Amber, showing off her version too!


The morning of the wedding, our family went to breakfast. Here's one of our two tables. Left t0 right: Carter, Christine, Amber, Uncle Tom, Aunt Linda.


The wedding was beautiful. Congratulations, Matt and Krissy! We are so happy for you!



I love this picture of Larkin with her third cousin, Amber. So cute!


And, finally, here we are at the reception!



Larkin loved getting to spend time with her relatives. Here she is with Brian's cousin Katie, her husband Jon, her Great Aunt Sue, Christine and Carter, and the groom Matt. She made the rounds!









Best of all, here is a great photo of our entire Hittle family!