Well, it’s here.

The day I’ve been low-key planning since my baby shower (nope, not kidding) – Layla’s first birthday.

I cannot believe our baby girl – no – our toddler girl is one year old. “It seems like only yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital” sounds so cheesy to say, but it’s entirely accurate! I remember the day we brought her home like it was just yesterday, yet here we are celebrating an entire year of growth and baby giggles. I’m not crying, you’re crying.

There’s been countless diaper changes, sleep regressions, cluster feedings, growth spurts, painful teething days, cute baby babble, milestones being reached, and so so much more. There have been smooth sailing days and days where I would have breakdowns in the nursery. There have been days where I feel like I kill it as a mom and wife, and days where I go hide in our closet for the sake of quiet and getting work done. Each day is a little different form the last and no matter what they have looked like (yes, even the uncomfortable and crazy ones), I wouldn’t have traded them for the world because each one led us to this special day.

L’s birthday fell on a Friday, so we celebrated intimately with our immediate family that Saturday. When I began daydreaming of what her first birthday party would look like (ya know, before she was even born), I knew I wanted it to be something simple and sweet. Now with large gatherings not being ideal, hosting a small shindig at home was perfect!

Chris and I decorated the dining room in pink balloons and flowers (i.e. all the girly things), with a macrame banner and a smaller banner my mom crocheted. We held the party between lunch and dinner so we wouldn’t have to stress about providing a meal for everyone, but I got creative with some in season produce and put together a fun charcuterie board for people to pick off of. I baked Layla’s little smash cake myself, which is part of a special tradition in my family. When I was little, my mom and step-mom would always make my birthday cakes and while they may not have always been picturesque, it’s something I’ve carried in my heart. We ordered cupcakes for everyone else. *smile*

The older kiddos played and there were lots of shared laughs. Layla loved every minute of it and was passed around between all the grandparents at least twice. I enjoyed watching her curious expression as she dug into her cake and hearing her giggles as she got hugs from everyone. She got lots of goodies (not that she needed a single thing) and I spent the next week reorganizing her room to switch some of her baby items for toddler things. There wasn’t much to change since I designed her nursery to grow with her, but rearranging furniture is always fun for me and this was a big enough milestone to do just that!

I’m going to miss the days of her being so little, sleeping most of the day because her body was growing so quickly. If you’re a mom, you know this bittersweet feeling. The being so excited to watch them grow up, but also wanting them to stay tiny forever feeling. Those first cooing noises, learning to roll over then crawl – All of those are done, but it’s still so exciting because I know some of the best days are ahead. Every month there are new milestones and every year there are new adventures. Thinking about my tiny baby just home from the hospital will always make me nostalgic, but I’m also thrilled to watch her grow into the lady I know the Lord created her to be.

This isn’t just a milestone of Layla’s first full year in this world, but one that marks my first full year as a mommy – Our first full year as parenting together. I could honestly write a novella just telling stories from the past twelve months, but the purpose of this post was to simply invite you to be part of the latest celebration in the Hansford house. Enjoy some more photos of our Layla Bug all growing up and thank you from the bottom of my heart for celebrating with us!