Kendall Robin Turns One!

It’s really hard for me to believe Kendall is now a one-year old! Her birthday was Sunday the 19th, but we had a party for family, a few neighbors and friends on Saturday at our house. All weekend I was just flooded with memories from last summer…everything from thinking that Friday was going to be a normal day (doctor’s appointment, lunch, work, home) to ending up staying in the hospital for 24-hr. evaluation, being told I needed a c-section on Saturday morning and then not getting to see Kendall in the NICU until the next day!

I’m so grateful for God’s blessing of this sweet, happy little girl and how well she’s done physically and developmentally. It seems so long ago she was hooked up to the CPAP breathing assistance in the NICU and even her apnea monitor, which we finally got rid of in December. She’s still wearing 6-9 month clothes, but will be in 9-12 months by the end of the summer. She’s just growing by leaps and bounds!

She’s also moving and shaking! It felt like it took her forever to learn to roll over, but ever since then, it seems like she’s just taking off. At 8 months she rolled from front to back, 9 months was back to front, 10 months was sitting with assistance, 11 months was sitting alone and wouldn’t you know…the day after her 1st birthday, she figured out how get from laying down to sitting up all by herself! She’s also pulling up to her knees sometimes and does great standing up holding onto things and will even let go with one had to hold a toy or reach for something.

Okay, so here’s the rundown on her birthday party… We had 31 people, including the birthday girl, to our house Saturday afternoon for a pinata (a birthday gift from our neighbors Louis and Sylvia), BBQ cooked by her daddy, cupcakes and homemade ice cream! It was a great day and we were so blessed that our family, neighbors and friends could come share in Kendall’s special day.

Here’s Kendall taking a turn whacking the pinata, and her cousin Judah doing his best to punish the stubborn thing! Cousins Avery, Cayden and Audrey also helped bring the seemingly unbreakable yellow 1 down!

Here’s the kids, collecting the spoils of their battle. Kendall just that weekend discovered her nose…I think she was really excited to find another hole on her face to stick her fingers in other than her mouth. So here we have Jill and Matt with Kendall and her newly found nostril…

Avery, Aunt Susie, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Terri and Uncle Doug having lunch:

Kendall’s cousins helping her pick out which present to open first! It was so cute – Avery kept asking me the whole party when it was time to open presents…she couldn’t wait! :)

A birthday girl and her Mommy:

Time for cake! Checking out the candle and going in for “the squish!”

Attempting to shove half the cupcake in her mouth at once and doing “the smear” on her highchair tray:

“Yay for cupcakes” and wondering if she can have another one….

With her friend and former neighbor, S.M. True, and cousin Erin:

With Aunt Kathie and Terri and cousin Audrey:

The birthday girl with her Daddy and Mommy:

I think she had a good time…she was too tired for a snack after her party!

Mommy taking the birthday girl off to bed for a nap!

Having tea with Daddy with her new tea set from Eddie and Susie and playing with blocks from Matt and Jill:

Trying out her new swing from Aunt Kathie, Uncle Mike, Aunt Terri and Uncle Doug (she LOVES it and cries when we take her out of it!), and getting loving from her favorite guy, her Daddy!

Happy first birthday, sweet Kendall Robin! You are very loved!